Evaluation of anti-agglomerate hydrate inhibitor in water-in-crude oil emulsions of different water cut

Abstract

A commercially available anti-agglomerant (AA) was evaluated in water-in-crude oil (W/CO) emulsions at different water cut. The injection of an AA to an emulsion affects the induction time and rate of hydrate formation. When AA was injected before emulsification, AA performed better due to the higher number of AA molecules at the hydrate surface has been increased. The transition from stable a W/CO emulsion to a stable hydrate-in-crude oil suspension takes place without hydrate agglomeration in the presence of AA, so the results obtained can be applied for developing deep-water transport technologies of crude oil under pipeline conditions.

Keywords:

• Anti-agglomerant
• crude oil
• gas hydrates
• hydrates inhibitors
• water-in-crude oil emulsions

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the Nalco Champion for the opportunity to conduct experiments on RCS apparatus in the Flow Assurance laboratory (Aberdeen, UK).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project No. 16-58-20008) and the Research Council of Norway (Project No. 254959).