With the development of offshore oil and gas resources, hydrates pose a significant challenge to flow assurance. Hydrates can form, accumulate, and settle in pipelines, causing blockages, reducing transport capacity, and leading to significant economic losses and fatalities. As oil and gas exploration moves deeper into the ocean, the issue of hydrate blockages has become more severe. It is essential to take adequate measures promptly to mitigate the hazards of hydrate blockages after they form. However, a prerequisite for effective mitigation is accurately detecting the location and amount of hydrate formation. This article summarizes the temperature–pressure, acoustic, electrical, instrumental–response, and flow characteristics of hydrate formation and blocking under various conditions. It also analyzes the principles, limitations, and applicability of various blockage detection methods, including acoustic, transient, and fiber-optic-based methods. Finally, it lists the results of field experiments and commercially used products. Given their advantages of accuracy and a wide detection range, acoustic pulse reflectometry and transient-based methods are considered effective for detecting hydrate blockages in future underwater pipelines. Using strict backpressure warnings combined with accurate detection via acoustic pulse reflectometry or transient-based methods, efficient and timely diagnosis of hydrate blockages can be achieved. The use of a hydrate model combined with fiber optics could prove to be an effective method for detecting blockages in newly laid pipelines in the future.

中文翻译：

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海底石油/天然气管道中的水合物堵塞：表征、检测和工程解决方案


随着海上石油和天然气资源的开发，水合物对流动保障构成了重大挑战。水合物会在管道中形成、积累和沉降，导致堵塞，降低运输能力，并导致重大经济损失和死亡。随着石油和天然气勘探深入海洋，水合物堵塞问题变得更加严重。必须及时采取适当的措施来减轻水合物形成后的危害。然而，有效缓解的前提条件是准确检测水合物形成的位置和数量。本文总结了各种条件下水合物形成和阻塞的温度-压力、声学、电学、仪器-响应和流动特性。它还分析了各种堵塞检测方法的原理、局限性和适用性，包括声学、瞬态和基于光纤的方法。最后，它列出了现场实验和商业使用产品的结果。鉴于其精度和宽检测范围的优势，声脉冲反射法和基于瞬态的方法被认为可以有效地检测未来水下管道中的水合物堵塞。使用严格的背压警告，结合通过声脉冲反射法或基于瞬态的方法进行准确检测，可以实现对水合物堵塞的高效及时诊断。将水合物模型与光纤结合使用可能被证明是未来检测新铺设管道堵塞的有效方法。