World Oil magazine, in its April 2015 issue, took note of an early Ideal Energy Solutions, LLC success story. In this case, a first-of-its-kind, non-toxic paraffin remover effectively restored oil flow in a severely plugged, 1.43-mile, inter-platform flow line that had been out of commission for 10 months. Nearly the full length of the 8-inch flow line, in just under 127 feet of water in the Vermilion area offshore Louisiana, was plugged by paraffin wax. The operator had made a number of high-pressure pumping attempts to remediate this line, using conventional solvents, but all were unsuccessful. The operator planned to abandon this line and convert a 6-inch water line to transfer oil between the two platforms.
Paraffin wax and asphaltene deposits in flow lines and associated production components has long been regarded as one of the industry’s most expensive and difficult-to-mitigate flow assurance issues. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that paraffin deposition costs operators upward of $2 billion per year in restricted or delayed production, often fruitless remediation attempts, and pressure-induced equipment damage. While paraffin wax can manifest itself in any onshore or shallow water pipeline, the costs and removal difficulties are magnified appreciably in the colder subsea temperatures of remote deepwater tiebacks and other flow lines.
Over the years, the numerous economic and HSE issues associated with paraffin buildup are equaled only by scores of chemical and mechanical remediation efforts that have been undertaken with widely mixed results. For instance, typical chemical treatments, including line heating, warm solvents, hot oil treatments, and conventional wax inhibitors, are largely ineffective in longer pipelines when temperatures fall to 40°F and below. Pipeline lengths and any bends present, likewise, restrict coil tubing intervention, which is otherwise relatively effective, but comes with a high cost and risks.
Ideal Energy Solutions, LLC PipeRenew® treatment surmounts all of these problems.
Unlike traditional solvents, PipeRenew® is a non-hazardous and temperature-independent blend of surfactants. Its density and composition effectively lower surface tension, allowing the solution to penetrate between the blockage and pipe wall, and throughout the micro-cracks within the wax deposit.
The specially formulated and controlled, oxygenated alkaline composition acts on the adhesion intrinsic to paraffin, effectively dislodging the wax into chunks that can flow easily out of the pipeline, and be collected for disposal. The solution is activated by either freshwater or seawater, making it equally effective in both onshore and offshore applications.
In the success story highlighted by World Oil, full communication was established after less than two days of intermittent pumping and soaking with PipeRenew®. Conceived from chemistries in other industries, PipeRenew® non-toxic paraffin removal agent has shown that it can restore flow to severely plugged pipelines.
