improving the reliability and economy of hydrate blockage prevention techniques

Common practice in the industry, for preventing hydrate blockage, is using various inhibitors or dehydration. normally hydrate phase boundary is measured and/or predicted, then a safety margin of 3-5 °c is considered. then, the worst operating condition is considered, and amount inhibitor is determined. finally, some extra inhibitor is added for the inhibitor loss to hydrocarbon phase(s) and bad mixing. normally, the dosage of inhibitor is not changed due to changes to ambient temperature and/or pressure and/or production of saline formation water. this has resulted in extra production costs and damage to environment and sometimes blockage(s). in this communication, we discuss about new technology and devices that can optimise inhibitor usage and detecting early signs of hydrate formation. these techniques have been used in several fields around the world with excellent results. combined with iot (internet of things), it can provide a cost effective and reliable hydrate blockage prevention technique.