At this years conference, Ms. Ezinne Onwuemena, Process Engineer, TOTAL, will provide an overview of the AKPO field, its development and hydrate risk mitigation in subsea production systems after a long shutdown.
The AKPO field is located offshore Nigeria in a water depth of 4,921 ft (1,500 m) and is operated by TOTAL. The field’s development consists of 22 production wells tied to four production loops with the produced crude oil processed in an FPSO facility.
In April 2014, an unplanned shutdown cut-off the power supply to the AKPO FPSO for more than 30 hours without the capability to preserve the subsea production systems within the time frame specified in the preservation strategy. Because of this, a restart strategy was developed to minimize the risk of hydrate formation. The strategy consisted of preserving hydrous well tubings and jumpers using methanol; depressurization of the hydrous branches to a lower pressure; and warm-up of the anhydrous branches with anhydrous well fluid. The live fluid in the production loops was displaced by dead oil before restart; and the AKPO field was restarted without any hydrate challenges after more than 40 hours of shutdown.
Onwuemena’s presentation is scheduled to occur Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 16:00-16:30, in the Abora Suite of the Eko Hotel & Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. For more information, please visitwww.offshorewestafrica.com.
