Building Australia’s Capability- WA Research in Subsea … · · 2017-12-22Analysis of the best MEG inhibitor performance from different MEG suppliers. 2. ... Corrosion Inhibitor

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Professor Brian Evans, Director O&G research initiatives, Curtin University

Building Australia’s Capability-

WA Research in Subsea Engineering


Biomarkers& isotopes Modern &

ancient

Past and present

environments & life

Biogeo-chemistry

Oil, gas and

minerals

Temp

Mass Extinctions

Climate

Toxic sediments

Nutrients

Pollution

Food webs

Weathering

Provenance

Spills

DegradationContact: Prof Kliti [email protected]

Redox

Modern / ancient

analogues

Geo-microbiology

Bridges:ChemistryGeologyEarth SystemsEnvironmental Science

World class exceptionally well-equipped analytical facility

WA ORGANIC & ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY CENTRE


• Source rock characterisation

• Fluid characterisation

• Jurassic vs Triassic

• Upper-Jurassic vs Middle-Jurassic

• Oil–oil and oil–source rock correlations

• Applications of novel techniques and

ancillary analyses: comprehensive gas

chromatography coupled to time-of-flight

mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS),

compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA),

analysis of diamondoids.

Establish discrimination among fluids and new insights

into the petroleum systems in the Dampier sub-Basin

Northern Carnarvon Basin

WA ORGANIC & ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY CENTRE


Modelling of underwater noise emission from offshore pile driving

(Chevron)

Press Enter to play movie

ground

pil

e

ram

• Develop comprehensive physical/numerical model of sound emission and

propagation from offshore pile driving to accurately predict underwater noise

levels and assess potential impacts of piling noise on marine fauna.

• Models available until recent times are not capable of sufficiently accurate

predictions.

Sound pressure in water and particle displacement in ground after

hammer impact over three different seabed types

water

Centre for Marine Science & Technology


Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of humpback whales on NW Shelf

ChevronAcoustically detect and localize humpback

whales to prevent potential harm, including ship

collision, in offshore operational areas on NW

shelf.

2

13

Humpback cow with calf and escort

Spectrograms with bearing data from 4 sensors

-2 0 2 4 66

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

Easting (km)

2

1

3

-6 -4 0 2 4 6-6

4

2

0

2

4

6array of 4 acoustic sensorsdetected and localized whales95% localization confidence

Nor

thin

g (k

m)

Three whales detected



Ship hydrodynamics (Chevron)

• Ship under-keel clearance for ports- developing guidelines for LNG Terminal, Barrow Is

• Wave-induced motions and mooring analysis for side-by-side vessels in waves.

Measuring vertical

motions of a tanker

[email protected]

u.au



Sound Scape in the Fremantle Inner Harbour (Fremantle Port Auth.)

2

13

Three whales detected

Daily machinery, train (nearby bridge)

& vessel traffic noiseVibratory & Impact pile

driving noise

Dolphin whistles



Dolphin transits when pile driving

Dolphins transited the area within

the vicinity of pile driving less

frequently when piling than when

no pile driving occurred (based on

modelling using Generalized

Estimating Equations)



Gas Hydrate Research

PVT Sapphire cell used for hydrate formation/dissociation testing,

operated to -100Deg C under 500 bar pressure:

� Effect of MEG degradation on hydrate formation inhibition performance along gas systems:

1. Analysis of the best MEG inhibitor performance from different MEG suppliers.

2. Study of the various temperature degradation effects for different durations.

3. Hydrate formation temperatures using different MEG concentrations.

� Effect of thermal exposure on MEG with Film Forming Corrosion Inhibitor (FFCI) and MDEA and its

Influence on inhibition of hydrate formation.

� Effects of inert gases on hydrate formation/dissociation of natural gas

� Thermodynamic modelling that establishes the prediction correlations of hydrate formation in

presence of thermal degraded MEG Contact [email protected]

Clean Gas Technology Centre


PVT Unit (Sapphire cell)

Clean Gas Technology Centre


• Reduction in corrosion resistance of weld metal and mechanical properties

during welding. Accepted sigma phase content: < 1 %

• Need for portable test device to determine the corrosion resistance of these

welds (an alternative to G-48 test).

� Chemical Etching- Sigma phase identified with orange-yellow colour.

� Redox couple/Chemical potentiostat

� Polarization test Contact [email protected]

Weld qualification and field testing

Curtin Corrosion Centre

50

µm

0% sigma

phase

3.1% sigma

phase5.1% sigma phase

Pitting confirmed by appearance of Prussian blue colour


Test feasibility of internally protecting subsea flowlines from sea-water corrosion

316L SS

100 mm

6 m PVC

Natural Sea-water

TSA coating

• Corrosion potential remained well below Epit value for 316L

• No pitting observed even after 2 months immersion period.

Contact [email protected]

Sea water ingress in 316 cladded pipelines



Corrosion under insulation (CUI- Santos)• Modification to the ASTM G189-07

• Electrochemical measurement to monitor the insulation dry-out period.

• Investigation of wet/dry cycles

• 3D surface analysis for localized corrosion

• Correlate corrosion rate with different climatic and operating conditions.

• Improve level of confidence in using carbon steel in benign conditions.



Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC)Woodside Chevron

CAPABILITIES:

� Microbial Diversity Profiling

� Electrochemical methods to study MIC

� Evaluation of microbial adhesion and biofilm formation: SEM,

AFM, Fluorescence Microscopy.

� Identification and quantification of MIC microorganisms.

� Gene expression studies

� Metabolic activity levels

� Biocide Qualification

� Microbial adhesion and biofilm formation

� Materials susceptibility to MIC



Microbial research & testing for oil and gas industry

DGGE profiles of bacterial populations in biofilms grown on different CRA materials.

Scanning electron microscope image showing biofilms grown on CRAs.

Laboratory cultures of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB)

Laboratory cultures of Acid-producing bacteria (APB)



Corrosion Inhibitor – JIPcontact [email protected]

� Corrosion under-deposits and its inhibition.

� Inhibition of localized corrosion at magnetite-deposited steels.

� Limits for corrosion inhibition at elevated temperature/pressure and flow rate.

� Synergistic effects of chemical compounds used in commercial inhibitor formulations.

� Corrosion inhibition in oil/wet systems affected by the presence of hydrocarbons.

� Corrosion and condensation rates in the presence of monoethylene glycol.

� Performance of corrosion inhibitors at welds.

� Corrosion inhibition of 13Cr stainless steels treated under extreme conditions.


Bare carbon steel Corrosion inhibitor (organic surfactant) in CO2-saturated

brine showing cylindrical aggregates formed at the

surface


Embedded sensors in drill rods and subsea plates

� Future long term equipment conditional monitoring using embedded sensors Contact [email protected]

� Signal Processing of Subsea Communications

� Underwater Communications with ROVs

� Future sensors for MWD using carbon fibre rods

Curtin Petroleum Engineering


Flowline sand detection (Chevron)

� Sand production causes erosion, inefficient separation, flow-line plugging

� Studies of non-intrusive acoustic sensors versus intrusive erosion sensors

� Characterising sand types and combining both to give high confidence alarm systems in the future

Curtin Petroleum Engineering


Built Information Modelling (Woodside)

System Integration Modelling


BIM Technology (Woodside)

As-planned Model

As-built Model

Deviation Analysis

Tolerably mobile foundations

• Designed to move tolerably across the seabed to absorb some of the load imposed

by thermal expansion of the pipeline.

• Enables smaller foundation footprints, quicker, cheaper installation by smaller

vessels.

Contact: Susan Gourvenec,

[email protected]

N = 1N = 2N = 3

ForwardBackward

Reconsolidation

Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems

As flowline expands at PLET, flat base allowsPLET to slide- slides back during shut-down

O-tube Program

• The O-tube allows ocean-pipe-seabed interaction to be simulated at large scale

• Seabed mobility can be observed, quantified and now included in design

• This has benefits for pipeline stability, which are leading to reduced project costs

Contact: Prof. Liang Cheng, Professor of Hydraulics [email protected]

Prof. David White, Shell EMI Professor of Offshore Engineering [email protected]


O-tube Cyclone Simulation

• Example test from STABLEpipe JIP, exploring stability limits (Woodside/Chevron funded)

Draper, S., An, H., Cheng, L., White D.J., Griffiths, T.G. 2014. Stability of subsea pipelines during large storms. Philosophical Trans. of the Royal Society, DOI:10.1098/rsta.2014.0106


Field data to verify new methods

Historic survey data mining to model self-burial (Woodside)

Leckie, S., Draper, S., White, D.J., Cheng, L. & Fogliani N. 2015. Lifelong embedment and spanning of a pipeline on a mobile seabed. Coastal Engineering. 95:130-146



Building Australia’s Capability-

WA Research in Subsea Engineering

Thanks to the academic staff of:WA Organic & Isotope Research CentreCentre for Marine Science and TechnologyCorrosion CentreDept of Petroleum EngineeringBuilt Information Modelling CentreCentre for Offshore Foundation Systems

Documents

Building Australia’s Capability- WA Research in Subsea … · · 2017-12-22Analysis of the best MEG inhibitor performance from different MEG suppliers. 2. ... Corrosion Inhibitor