In both onshore and offshore production, companies are always looking for long-term, cost-effective ways to increase production and enhance efficiency.
One way these sorts of benefits have been realized is through the addition of chemical injection technology to production platforms and vessels.
A chemical injection system integrates software and hardware equipment designed to inhibit deposits and corrosion and improve the quality of oil and gas before transport. The required equipment often varies depending on application, environment, and usage. It may be installed above ground or even below ground, in deep-water or other harsh environments.
Several components make up such a system. Dosing pumps meter out chemicals at both and low and high pressures via manual, electric, or pneumatic mechanisms while flow control valve panels allow more than one chemical to be injected into multiple individually adjustable points. Applied chemicals include wax and corrosion inhibitors, demulsifiers, dilutants, biocides, methanol, and water treatment chemicals.
Many of the components of a chemical injection system can be monitored for performance with data being transmitted locally or remotely via special cabling to a system outfitted with diagnostic software than can document, analyze, and report on the data. That software is often referred to as an injection management system, and it provides many benefits, including controlling cost issues associated with over-injection of chemicals and ensuring pipeline integrity and crude quality, all while promoting a more environmentally friendly work environment.
When properly utilized, chemical injection systems also provide other benefits. They can help minimize internal corrosion in production tubing caused by hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Additionally, they can remove deposits of wax, salt, and other minerals that can build up and decrease production efficiency. Finally, all of these benefits stack, meaning increased production times between invasive well interventions. These benefits and more make chemical injection systems a solid offshore investment.