Predicting Hydrate Formation in Oil and Gas Production

Tackling challenges with numerical and experimental novel approaches

Hydrate formation is one of the most challenging problems in flow assurance. Hydrates can lead to internal corrosion, causing disintegration of the pipe’s properties, which can even result in the pipe’s leakage or rupture. By predicting when and where hydrates may form, we can lower production costs and reduce environmental and human health risks.

To mitigate these risks requires gathering reliable thermodynamic data, understanding local hydrodynamic conditions, and using accurate models for hydrate crystal formation, growth, and agglomeration.

ESSS, ISDB, and NUEM/UTFPR (Multiphase Flow Research Center) have worked for 5 years to develop solutions for hydrate challenges. A novel model based on a population balance approach was designed.

This webinar will bring together engineers from ESSS and ISDB and the leading professor from NUEM/UTFPR to discuss how to address numerical and experimental challenges and better predict hydrate formation in wells and production lines.

What you will see on this webinar:

Numerical challenges to model hydrate formation
Experimental challenges to physically simulate hydrate formation
Preparing experimental data to be used in mathematical model validation

Presented by:

Vinicius Girardi

Business Development Manager, ESSS O&G

Vinicius Girardi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronic Engineering and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and a Petroleum Engineer Degree from PUC-Rio. Girardi’s experience spans 10 years in the use of simulation for engineering applications, from 1D multiphase flow to reservoir simulation. Vinicius has been working at ESSS since 2011 connecting oil companies, universities, and research institutions to ESSS in order to develop R&D projects related to simulation and new software technologies.

Carlos Fontes

Service Manager, ESSS O&G

Carlos Fontes holds a BSc, MSc, and DSc degree in Chemical Engineering from UFRJ. He’s worked at ESSS since 2008, and he’s currently service manager responsible for oil and gas products. He has experience in the field of fluid dynamic simulations (CFD), with an emphasis on reactive and multiphase flows. Other areas of expertise are the application of fluid dynamic simulations in risk analysis and the development of new processes in the oil/gas/alcohol areas.

João Carneiro

Lead Scientist & Managing Partner, ISDB FlowTech

Dr. João Carneiro is Lead Scientist and Managing Partner of ISDB Flowtech, Institute for Research and Consultancy in the oil and gas area, formerly SINTEF Brazil. He has been working for over 15 years in the field of R&D and simulation of industrial multiphase flows, having executed and managed several projects in multiphase production, artificial lift, and flow assurance. He holds a master's degree from PUC-Rio and a doctorate from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Carlos Lange

Post Doctoral Fellow, Multiphase Flow Research Center – NUEM

Dr. Carlos Lange Bassani has a BSc and MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from UTFPR, and a PhD dual degree in Mechanical Engineering at UTFPR and in Chemical Engineering at Mines Saint-Etienne. Carlos has 10 years of laboratory experience working with multiphase flow coupled to gas hydrates, with an emphasis in gas-liquid slug flow modeling in both analytical steady-state approaches, as well as in simulation using transient frameworks as slug tracking and capturing. His recent research is on the multiscale modeling of growth kinetics and agglomeration of gas hydrates for flow assurance purposes when dealing with gas hydrate management strategies.