One of the key issues in deep, and ultra-deep water production is that the production system must be able to deliver the produced fluids in such a way that downstream processing facilities can handle them. Because of the long riser associated with the ultra deep water production system, terrain slugging is highly probable, especially at the late stage of the field life when the production rates are significantly reduced. If downstream facilities (such as slug catcher) are not properly designed, the huge amount of liquid associated with terrain slugging will cause operational problems. We performed transient simulations for typical subsea production systems in Gulf of Mexico to characterize multiphase flow behavior. The effects of GOR, host pressure, water cut, and riser shape were investigated. The results of this study will improve the understanding of multiphase flow behavior in ultra-deep subsea pipeline/riser system and benefit the production system design for deep water fields.
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