Prediction of Scale Deposition Kinetics - A Step Change in Inorganic Scale Management

The deposition of inorganic scale onto production equipment is a major flow asssurance issue in oil and gas production. The major drivers for the project are economics and safety which are both affected by the current limitations in scale prediction at engineering component surfaces. Prediction of the thermodynamic tendency of scale is now fairly advanced but there is an urgent need to address an area of real concern - the kinetics of scale deposition at engineering surfaces. This collaborative project, led by an operator and involving a company specialised in water and well sampling and a university with experience in scale research, will deliver the first scale deposition model and will advance scale management to a new level. Measurements in realistic conditions will be made and will be used to develop the semi-empirical model which will be refined by the input of real well data. The final tool to predict surface scaling will be exploited as an additional module to an existing thermodynamic precipitation model which is widely accepted by industry (MULTISCALE) through Expro. The specific objectives are:
- to assess the scale kinetics at realistic temperatures and pressures on various substrates and covering a range of conditions (e.g brine chemistry, temperature, flow regime);
- to develop a fundamental understanding of the surface/fluid interactions in scale deposition using multi-scale modelling and experimental techniques;
- to develop and validate the first scale deposition kinetic model for carbonate scale.