OPTIMASI PENGGUNAAN INSULATOR, HEATER, DAN KOMBINASI KEDUANYA UNTUK PENCEGAHAN WAX PADA PIPA DIDALAM LAUT

• Main Author: Ari Wibawa, Ramdhan
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/64271
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Low underwater temperature causes wax to be formed easily in the subsea pipeline. Wax cause problems in the production process due to the effective internal diameter reduced give low flow efficiency, pressure drop increased result higher pump work and even can cause blockage in the pipe. Therefore, the wax formed in the pipeline will disserve economically. Heater and insulator can be used to prevent the formation of wax inside the pipe by maintaining the fluid temperature larger than WAT. This study learns about optimization of using insulator, heater, and their combination in the subsea pipeline, shutdown time allowed when the fluid stop flowing, the effect of gas and water to the flowing fluid temperature , and estimation of required cost. The system reviewed is the pipeline that consists of tieback with 8000 m in length on seabed with 600 m in depth and connected by a riser to the surface platform. OLGA simulator is used to make pipe model and simulate fluid temperature, pressure, WAT, and wax deposition inside the pipe. PVT sim is used to simulate properties, phase envelope, and wax curve of fluid. The study shows that using heater throughout the pipeline will give unlimited shutdown time but it requires more cost than other cases. Using heater on tieback requires more power at start up heating periode compared to the heater used on the entire length of the pipeline. The presence of gas in the stream causes the fluid temperature profile to be lower while the water will give fluid temperature profile to be higher than the fluid temperature profile in which only the oil that flow inside the pipe.