Production System Design

At INTECSEA, production system design, and particularly Flow Assurance & Operability, embodies a whole-system approach. Design and operation of the system are inexorably linked and must be treated as such throughout the design process.

Figure 4 is representative the overall Flow Assurance & Operability Design Process that is used to develop the design of the production system. The process is shown in a sequential fashion for illustration purposes. In practice, multiple paths are followed simultaneously and the process is highly iterative and interactive; involving input and interchange with the entire system design team.

Steps of an effective process include:

Develop a starting point for the work including such things as feasible mechanical design options for the system, operability provisions that are likely to be appropriate, chemical injection options, capabilities of (and/or requirements for) the host facility, and the effect of these early decisions on system economics. For this first step, only very cursory information may be available from other members of the ultimate design team.
Interact with team members representing other parts of the system to determine modeling/analysis bases, options, and desired outcomes.
Perform analytic/design work to the appropriate level of detail (too much detail is no better than just the right amount of detail).
Test results against the needs and characteristics of the rest of the system.
Reevaluate design requirements (including design bases) and direction as required to attain goals.
Continue the process until final system and economic optimization is achieved.

A prescribed path through the process cannot be tightly defined. Large measures of skill, experience, and judgment are involved.

The flow assurance design process involves multiple technical interfaces. Reservoir engineering, completions engineering, pipeline/flowline mechanical design, subsea and controls engineering, facilities engineering and operational and HSE personnel will all interact with flow assurance during the design process. The numerous interfaces necessitate effective project management. Interactions between INTECSEA’s strong Subsea, Pipelines, and Flow Assurance disciplines and between INTECSEA’s Flow Assurance engineers and client reservoir, operations, and project personnel greatly aid the design process.

The flow assurance and operability design and analysis process should start at the earliest conception of the system and often continues through the operation of the system is decommissioned. Early Flow Assurance and Operability involvement is particularly important for the fast-track projects being considered in the industry today.

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