Modelling the Formation of Gas Hydrate in the Pipelines

Water and hydrocarbon are generally found beside each other in nature i.e., hydrocarbons are formed in aqueous environment. Natural gas and crude oil of storage reservoirs and transferring pipes from petroleum wells to industrial processes of oil and gas are in contact with water and they are in equilibrium with each other. Generally, water is considered as an intruder in oil and gas industry from primary production to ultimate consumption. It causes corrosion in pipelines and reduces the heating value of the fuel. High pressure and low temperature could also cause water condensation and liquid water considerably reduces pipelines efficiency. Low temperatures in winter or an adiabatic pressure drop could ultimately lead to hydrate formation in pipelines. Therefore, hydrate formation causes various problems and costs. In order to prevent hydrate formation, there should be comprehensive information about hydrate formation conditions. The available data on hydrate are outdated and might not have enough accuracy. The data are also specified for a single gas component while mixtures of gases are generally observed in pipelines. The current work tries to increase modeling accuracy of hydrate formation condition in pipelines with different compositions. In this research, a program was coded in MATLAB which specifies hydrate formation condition. In this program, the most accurate equations were used to predict the most efficient condition. Results of the program were compared with real data as well as results of PVTsim simulator. The comparisons indicated that this program could predict hydrate formation condition more accurately