Use of Laboratory and Field Testing to Identify Potential Production Problems in the Troll Field

Abstract

Summary The areal extent of the oil found in Troll made it clear at a very early stage in the field's appraisal that subsea wells would be required if the oil were developed. Owing to cooling in the subsea flowline, subsea wells can be expected to pose more production chemistry problems than would be expected with conventional platform wells. Consequently, a number of laboratory tests were carried out during the appraisal campaign to identify problems to be expected with scaling, foaming, emulsification, wax deposition, and hydrates. Dehydration and wax deposition tests were also carried out offshore during appraisal-well testing. These tests are described, together with the methods subsequently adopted to minimize future production problems.