Severe Slugging Control: Simulation of Real Case Study

The current study shows slugging as one of the flow assurance issues and their effects on the hydrocarbon production rate and surface facilities. Slugging is a complex type of flow regime and unsteady in nature. A case of slugging at one of West Africa′s offshore production pipeline has been used to run the slugging simulation using OLGA software; and comparing the simulation results of this study with the simulation results of Burke and Kashou and the real case study.

Two modes of running OLGA have been studied; the steady state mode and the sensitivity mode, by simulate different control structures e.g., choke valve opening, and different parameters such as pressure, temperature, and flow rate in OLGA version 7 tools, and by reducing the pipeline diameter, and changing pipeline roughness; and study these effects on a particular output (e.g. flow rate, slugging volume, etc.).

The results of the simulation shows an increase in liquid hold up production about 55.74% in the outlet of the riser compare with the liquid hold up production of the case study.

Author(s): Muhammad Ali Theyab*

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