Lowest possible flow temp. offers savings vs. pour point

• Published in: The Oil & gas journal Vol. 111; no. 8; pp. 86 - 90
• Main Authors: DANILOVIC, Dusan, KAROVIC-MARICIC, Vesna, IVEZIC, Dejan, BATALOVIC, Veselin, ZIVKOVIC, Marija, CRNOGORAC, Miroslav
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tulsa, OK Pennwell 05.08.2013; Endeavor Business Media
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Boundaries; Boundary conditions; Cost control; Cost reduction; Crude oil; Crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products; Design; Energy; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; Exact sciences and technology; Flow; Fuels; Gas pipelines; Heat; Heating; Laboratories; Low temperature; Methods; Natural gas; Oil and gas fields; Oil fields; Oil wells; Petroleum pipelines; Petroleum production; Pipelines; Rheology; Savings; Stations; Studies; Temperature; Transportation; Viscosity; Serbia
• ISSN: 0030-1388; 1944-9151

Leaving produced gas entrained in heavy oil pipelines reduces energy costs by allowing the oil to flow at a lower temperature. This article analyzes boundary heavy oil flow conditions, defining the minimum possible flow temperature. Pipeline design for heavy oil transportation must not be done exclusively on the basis of the oil's pour point value, but instead by determining the lowest possible flow temperature. This method achieved energy savings for two well pipelines in Serbia's Turija North oil field of 5.4 and 9.5%, with research suggesting an average savings for the technique of The Turija North oil field provides an example for analysis of temperature flow conditions of heavy oil when the fluid heating system is redefined and energy consumption reduced. This field produces heavy oil from 60 wells and has four gathering stations. Each well is connected to a gathering station by its own pipeline.