| Paper Number | 64-179 | ||||
| Title | Hot-water Tracing of gas Lines to Prevent Hydrate Formation | ||||
| Authors | H. E. Leith, Canadian Fina Oil Limited; J. Lukacs, Canadian Fina Oil Limited | ||||
| Source | Drilling and Production Practice, 1964 | ||||
| Copyright | 1964. American Petroleum Institute | ||||
| Language | English | ||||
| Preview | ABSTRACT In 1961 a hot-water tracing system was installed in the Wildcat Hills Field, a high-pressure, sour gas-condensate field in Alberta operated by Canadian Fina Oil Limited. The function of the tracer system is to maintain the gas temperature above the hydrate-formation point in 14.8 miles of gas-gathering lines. The tracer system was put in service in December 1961, and has operated without interruption. Flow and temperature data have been collected during the past 2 years to evaluate the general performance of the system. 1n the summer of 1963 a detailed study of the system and of its operating characteristics was initiated. The performance of the system is discussed in this paper in light of operating experience and of this study. In view of the past 28 months of operating history of the tracer system, it is safe to conclude that effective hydrate control can be achieved by underground hot-water tracing. The main advantages of this type of installation are that it is simple, flexible, safe, and requires little operating attention. INTRODUCTION The well effluent from the Wildcat Hills Field contains an average of 4 percent H.S and 6.5 percent CO2 There are approximately 8 bbl of condensate and 0.6 bbl of free water produced with every MMscf of gas a t the operating wellhead conditions of 1,200 psig and 110 F. The well effluent from 7 wells is gathered to a trunk line and transported to a processing plant 3 miles south of the field. There are several methods known today to prevent hydrate formation in high-pressure gas-gathering lines. Such methods, for example, are dehydration at the well head, heating the gas by line heaters, and alcohol or glycol injection. In this case, a method new to the natural-gas industry was used in which the gas line is traced with a hot-water line. The application of this method was proposed by T. Nitescu, President of Canadian Fina Oil Limited. The basic thought behind this idea was that, if the soil around the gas pipe were maintained at or above the gas-line temperature, there would be no heat loss from the gas to the soil. The tracer system was built during the fall of 1961. The well effluent, including the condensate and water, is now transported to the plant in one single line traced by the hot-water line. DESCRIPTION OF THE TRACER SYSTEM A detailed description of the field and the original design of the tracer system was presented in an earlier paper.1 Therefore, at this time, only the most important features of the system are discussed, with the main emphasis on its operating characteristics. The Wildcat Hills Field is situated about 45 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The terrain is typical foothills country, dominated by ridges running northwest-southeast. The elevation of the ridges is about 4,800ft and the surface relief is in the order of 600 ft. There are muskegs in the valleys between the ridges. A hot-water line, generally referred to as the \"tracer line\" | ||||
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| File Size | 313 KB | ||||
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