The following figure shows a sample list of projects we have undertaken. At MSi, our staff have dealt with a full range of issues regarding the design and operation of oil and gas production and gathering operations.

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Case in point, as oil and gas exploration moves into deeper waters offshore, flow assurance challenges become more prevalent and system design must address these issues from a fresh perspective. In addition to structural and economic issues, the decision to employ a particular production system needs to consider the flow assurance aspects that ultra deepwater production presents.

The primary conclusion to draw from our extensive flow assurance analysis is that ultra deepwater developments present new opportunities and new challenges that must be addressed early on in the development stage. Traditional methodology used in the past for selecting a suitable riser design does not necessarily hold true at increasing water depth. The dominance of the riser on the thermal and hydraulic performance of the system must be accounted for.

At MSi, we have extensively evaluated the issues related to development in the challenging environment in deepwater and ultra-deepwater. As such, we have developed detailed flow assurance guidelines and standards employed by companies like ExxonMobil and Shell.

Another example to consider is industry-wide, pigging or scraper runs is considered a good way to manage a wax deposition problem. And although it can be an effective means for mitigating the above-mentioned problem, the actual cost of pigging needs to be thoroughly understood so that the economics of a project can be properly evaluated. In particular, a number of recent subsea tieback projects are using looped flowlines to allow round-trip pigging.

The experience and costs associated with short tiebacks may be initially deceptive when considering long-distance tiebacks. In all cases that were considered, down-time during pigging becomes a critical economic issue. Operational procedures may be employed that will cut the down time in conducting pigging runs or finding ways to optimize the pigging cycle.

At MSi, we help shed light on the economic impact of these procedures and provide cutting-edge design and operating guidelines.