Fulfilling the Promise of Low Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors: Journey from Academic Curiosity to Successful Field Implementation

摘要

Low Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors (LDHI’s) have been activelyrninvestigated for well over a decade in both academia andrnindustry. The promise of LDHI’s has been to provide a viablernalternative to thermodynamic inhibitors such as methanol andrnglycol. Inevitably, the journey of LDHI’s from its modestrnbeginnings in the minds and laboratories of researchers to arntechnically robust, operationally simple, and economicallyrnviable, alternative to conventional inhibitors has been fraughtrnwith challenges. In this paper, we discuss some of the driversrnthat led to the development of LDHI’s for application inrnsevere deepwater environments. The different classes ofrnLDHI’s are discussed briefly with an emphasis on thernapplicability window of each type of inhibitor. We alsornprovide a detailed summary of the successful implementationrnof LDHI’s in the deepwater and summarize key learningsrnobtained from the field deployment of this technology. Wernconclude by demonstrating the role of LDHI’s in alteringrnindustry perspectives on hydrate control and their impact onrnthe system selection and design of new field developments.