Multiphase Drag Reducing Agents to Increase GOSP Production in Offshore Saudi Aramco: Field Applications

Drag reducing agents (DRA) are commonly used in the industry to increase pipelines’ throughput by reducing the frictional pressure drop along the pipeline segment. The application of DRA has been primarily for single phase flow; however, a multiphase DRA was introduced and trial tested in an offshore gas-oil separation plant (GOSP) in Saudi Arabia to maximize the production of heavy oil from the GOSP without the need to flare the excess produced gas. This initiative was considered to avoid a major GOSP upgrade. The objective of conducting the trial test is to determine the effectiveness of the DRA in maximizing GOSP fluid output utilizing the existing equipment and layout without having to go into flaring mode. To achieve this, a multiphase DRA was injected into the GOSP discharge line or trunkline to reduce pump discharge pressure by lowering line differential pressure. This DRA was tested twice on the same facility with contradicting outcomes from each test mainly due to the different procedures used. Analysis of the inconsistency in the different test results sheds some light on the optimum environment of the multiphase DRA and on the best practices to be followed in a test procedure. This paper provides results and analysis of both DRA trial tests along with detailed procedures of each test. It elaborates on the causal factors of the discrepancies noticed, and the optimum environment for the multiphase DRA application.