SPE

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 25339

Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Blowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline

B. M. Zagalai,* Unocallndonesia, Ltd., D. W. Montgomery,* Unocal, U.K. Ltd., C. L. Redus,*Texaco Exploration
& Production Technology, and T. K. Tan, Scientific Software-Intercomp (U.K.) Ltd.
*SPE Member

Copyright 1993. Society of Petroleum Engineers. Inc.

This ~ was prepared for presentation at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil &. Gas Conferance held in Singapore. 8-10 Fabruary 1993.

This papar w_ selected for presentation by en SPE Program Committea following raviaw of information contained in en abstract submitted by tha authorlsl. Contents of tha
~ as presented, have not been reviawed by the Society of Petroleum Engine.,s end ..a subject to correction by the authorlsl. Tha matarial, _ presented, does not
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130989 SPEOAL

ABSTRACT effects are compared to the installation of a sub-sea

A practical investigation is reported of rapid
depressurization and blowdown in case of riser
rupture of an offshore pipeline exporting live oil at
high pressure. This work was performed to assess
the environmental and safety consequences of not
installing sub-sea isolation valves on the Heather-
Ninian pipeline. The Heather Field is close to its
economic limit, consequently, the overriding objective
was to evaluate changes in operating procedure
which would provide an equivalent level of safety to
that of installing a sub-sea isolation valve.
Three methods - simple analytical. approximate and
rigorous numerical simulation were used to predict
leak rates in case of riser rupture. To build
confidence in the predictions, a blowdown test to the
separators on the exporting platform was performed.
The test results are in good agreement with the model
predictions.
The oil was found to have a bubble point pressure
near the threshold pressure at which riser rupture
could cause sustained hydrocarbon release due to
solution gas drive in the sub-sea pipeline. As a result,
the process facility on the exporting platform was
modified to lower the bubble point pressure. The
isolation valve. A blowdown system on Heather
platform was shown to be effective when the leak is
from a hole with a diameter of less than 2 inch
(50 mm).
INTRODUCTION
Simulation of rapid depressurization in case of riser
rupture is becoming an important part of the North
Sea pipeline environmental and safety studies. If the
pipeline is not fitted with a sub-sea isolation
valve (SSIV), hazards may result from the high leak
rates and the large cumulative release.
Heather Ninian Pipeline
The Heather Field is located in the UK Block 2/5,
90 miles northwest of the Shetland Islands. The field
was first discovered in 1973 with first production
commencing in October 1978. Currently there are
26 actively producing wells and 10 water injectors.
Peak oil production of 40,000 B/D occurred in 1982
and has been followed by steady decline over the last
decade to about 12,000 B/D. Crude oil and
condensate are exported via the Heather-Ninian
16 inch pipeline to Ninian Central Platform (NCP),
(Fig. 1). It is then further exported to Sullom Voe

References and figures at end of paper.

2 Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Blowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline
terminal. The 16 inch (406 mm) pipeline is 20 miles
(32 km) long with risers at Heather and NCP of
541 feet (165 m) and 518 feet (158 m), respectively
(Fig. 2). At the average operating rate of 14,000 B/D
(25 kg/s), the inlet pressure and temperature are
725 Psia (50.5 bara) and 131 -F (55 -C), and at the
NCP outlet are 695 Psia (48 bara) and 50 -F (10 -C).
The pipeline is operated at high pressure to facilitate
entry to the 36 inch main export line at NCP where it
joins with fluids from four additional fields. Under
steady-state conditions, the flow is single-phase liquid.
The primary technical objective was to determine
whether a rupture of either riser would lead to:
(1) sustained hydrocarbon release due to solution
gas drive in the sub-sea pipeline and with its
large inventory released, or
(2) a small fraction of the inventory released due to
liquid expansion only, with the liquid head in the
riser maintaining a pressure at the base of the
riser above the bubble point pressure of the fluid
in the sub-sea pipeline.
With the pipeline inventory of about 49,000 BBLS
(6,700 Tonnes), the cumulative hydrocarbon released
for the first scenario would be about 7,300 BBLS
(1,000 Tonnes; 15% depletion) and for the latter would
be about 220 BBLS (30 Tonnes; 0.5% depletion). The
cumulative release under the first scenario could be
reduced from 7,300 to 110-220 BBLS (1,000 to
15-30 Tonnes) by installation of SSIVs, depending on
the time to fully activate the valve.
An approach was needed to predict leak rates and
cumulative release in case of riser rupture from small
hole size to full-bore. The effects of including SSIVs
and blowdown to the separators can then be
analyzed.
METHODOLOGY
Richardson 1 reported on a computer program which
can be used to simulate the emergency blowdown of
a pipeline containing hydrocarbons. Richardson
assumed homogeneous two-phase flow (no slip
between the gas and liquid phase, where the
two co-exist, gas and liquid phases move at the same
axial velocity) and the flow is pseudo-steady state (the
SPE 25339
mass flow rate is assumed to be the same in every
element of the pipeline at a given time).
Ellul 2 used a more rigorous pipeline transient flow
simulator (OLGA) to simulate pipeline riser rupture.
The code 3 is a one- dimensional, two-phase, transient
flow in multi-branch pipeline networks. The model
solves three mass conservation equations; one for the
gas, one for the liquid droplets and one for the liquid
film on the pipewall; two momentum conservation
equations; one for the gas oil liquid droplets and one
for the liquid film. Finally, one energy equation for the
mixture is solved, assuming equal temperature and
pressure for all three fractions (gas, liquid droplets
and liquid film). The model calculates pressure,
temperature, holdup and velocity for the individual
phases along the pipeline and at the point of the leak.
We have first used a simple analytical method and
then adapted a compositional, isothermal reservoir
simulator to solve the problem while investigating a
more rigorous approach such as OLGA. The reservoir
simulator approximate solution is shown to be in good
agreement with OLGA's. We are not suggesting that
pipeline modeling may be done using a reservoir
simulator. For this type of problem, the depletion
performance is more controlled by the phase behavior
than the two-phase fluid dynamics in the riser and the
reservoir simulator provided a reasonable
approximation.
Heather Export Fluid
The export fluid consists of about 12,000 BID of stock
tank crude and 2,000 BID of condensate. The crude
without the condensate has a bubble point pressure
of 40 Psia, and with the condensate spike it increases
to 145 Psia at 50 -F (10 -C). The condensate has a
saturation pressure of 415 Psia at 72 -F. Flashing of
the pipeline feed at atmospheric pressure and 50-F
(10 -C) resulted in a GOR of 80 SCF/STB and liquid
gravity of 32 -API. PVT experimental data was used
to calibrate the Peng-Robinson equation of state and
generate required fluid properties as functions of
pressure and temperature. Table 1 shows the
predicted bubble point pressure for the temperature
range in the pipeline for the original export fluid and
after modification of the process facility which is
discussed in a later section.
SPE 25339 B. M. Zagalai, D. W. Montgomery, C. L. Redus, and T. K. Tan
Under steady-state conditions the flow is single-phase
and the pressure drop across the pipeline is only
20 psi. The pipeline is operated at high pressure
facilitating its entry to the export line of NCP.
Steady-state flow calculations show the pressure and
temperature at the base of the riser at Heather are
925 Psia and 127 -F (53 -C) and at base of the riser at
NCP are 908 Psia and 50 -F (10 -C). The pressure
and temperature at mid-point of the sub-sea pipeline
are 918 Psia and 68 -F (20 -C). The corresponding
bubble point pressures at the base of each riser were
200 Psia at Heather and due to seabed cooling
145 Psia at NCP.
Conceptualization of Flow
in the Riser After Rupture
The most extreme condition of rupture from a fluid
flow perspective would involve leaks at NCP from
holes or full-bore at the sea level splash zone. For
sub-sea leaks, the ambient pressure due to the sea
water hydrostatic head at the seabed is about
215 Psia which would result in minimum degassing of
the Heather riser with low leak rates due to higher
backpressure. Rupture at topside the platform is
slightly contained by the liquid head from sea level to
topside.
First consider a riser rupture at NCP. This is the
platform with the higher risk due to the potential
escalation impact on an additional eight risers. Also,
if the pressure at the base of NCP riser falls below the
bubble point, the entire sub-sea pipeline would fall
below the bubble point pressure, because the bubble
point pressure is lowest at NCP.
It was assumed that in case of a leak, the Heather oil
exporting pumps will be shut-down instantaneously.
For the OLGA simulations the pump shut-down period
lasts 30 seconds. At the instant of the rupture the flow
is single phase liquid. The initial leak rate would
depend on the size of the hole. The pressure wave
moves from the ruptured end to the intact end of the
other riser at the local speed of sound, after which the
pressure there begins to fall. For a leak from a large
hole, an acceleration wave begins to propagate due
to higher fluid velocity at the ruptured end.
3
Depressurization due to liquid expansion would be
very rapid and all of the fluid produced from the initial
pressure of 900 Psia to a pressure of about 200 Psia
would be due to liqUid compressibility. Flashing
would occur at the ruptured end at NCP as well as
topside the riser of the intact end at Heather. Pipeline
friction losses result in a pressure differential between
the intact and ruptured end. Whether flashing would
occur in the sub-sea pipeline would depend on the
pressure at the base of the riser due to the
gravitational head, when the topside ruptured end is
near atmospheric pressure. Determining that requires
the simultaneous solution of mass, momentum and
energy conservation equations. If the pressure falls
below the bubble point at the base of the risers at
NCP, gas begins to evolve over the entire sub-sea
pipeline. Depletion of the pipeline continues under
pseudo-steady state flow until the top of the riser
reaches atmospheric pressure.
ANALYTICAL METHODS
Pressure Profile in the Riser
Assuming homogeneous two-phase flow and
neglecting pressure losses due to friction and
acceleration, the relationship between the riser topside
pressure (P,) and the pressure at the base (P ~ is
analogous to static fluid column in a wellbore 4 and is
given by the integral equation
rpz v dp = -g~z (1)
)p,
where, v is the specific volume of the two-phase
mixture.
At the end of the leak period, the pressure at the
topside of the riser is equal to atmospheric pressure.
The final sub-sea pipeline pressure (Eq. 1) at the
base of the riser at NCP would be 100 Psia. This
pressure is below the bubble point pressure of
145 Psia. When the analytical approach was first used
the pipeline fluid was estimated to have a bubble
point pressure of 86 Psia (6 bara) based on
recombined composition of crude/condensate sample.
In that case the final pressure of 100 Psia is above the
bubble pressure and the cumulative release would be
only 16 Tonnes. With the numerical integration of
4 Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Blowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline
equation 1 the calculated final pressure can be under
estimated if not enough steps are taken to account for
the substantial drop in the two-phase fluid density as
the pressure drops from 30 Psia to atmospheric. For
example, with a pressure step of 15 Psia, the final
pressure at the base of the riser was 57 Psia (4 bara)
which is lower than the bubble point pressure of 86
Psia and the cumulative release is 930 Tonnes. In an
intermediate run with a final pressure of 76 Psia (5
bara), the cumulative release was 335 Tonnes.
Leak Rate
The leak from the topside NCP riser initially would be
single phase liquid until the pressure at the top of the
riser falls below 145 Psia. The usual formula for the
flow rate through an orifice is used to calculate the
leak rate, when the flow is subcritical.
Assuming a discharge coefficient of 0.8, the initial
instantaneous leak rate for hole sizes 10, 50 and
100 mm (0.4", 2", and 4") would be 6, 115, 350 kg/s,
(3,300, 65,000 and 195,000 B/D) respectively. For a
full-bore rupture the initial leak rate would be
1250 kg/s (700,000 B/D).
For two-phase flow, it is assumed that the fluid
behaves as a homogeneous mixture with the average
two-phase density used in equation 2.
Critical Flow
The flow through an orifice is at critical (choked)
condition when the downstream pressure is
apprOXimately 0.55 or less of the upstream pressure.
Under these conditions the flow rate is a function only
of the upstream pressure and is given by:
dm=C.,A~ dp (3)
dt dv
The expansion wave moves at the local speed of
sound of about 4600 ft/sec and reaches the intact end
of the 20 mile (32 km) pipeline at about 20 seconds.
SPE 25339
Cumulative Release
By assuming a horizontal sub-sea pipeline and
neglecting frictional pressure losses, the sub-sea
pipeline is treated as a tank with uniform pressure and
temperature. The riser at Heather is ignored. The
average pressure of the sub-sea pipeline is assumed
to be equal to the pressure at the base of the riser at
the ruptured end. The temperature is assumed to
remain constant at 10 ·C.
Cumulative release when the pressure drops from
initial pressure to a pressure above the bubble point
is given by:
(4)
Using an oil compressibility of 5x1 0 -6t /Psi, the
cumulative release with depressurization from 900 to
145. Psia is 0.38% of the pipeline inventory of 6684
Tonnes or 25 Tonnes. For a given pressure
decrement, total mass release is calculated using
equation (4), pressure topside the riser is calculated
using equation (1) and the leak rate using equation
(2). The time step corresponding to the pressure step
is calculated assuming the rate to remain constant
over the pressure step.
Once the pressure in the sub-sea pipeline falls below
the bubble point pressure, the change in the mass
content of the pipeline is calculated using the average
density of the two-phase homogenous mixture. The
liquid/gas saturations are determined from the phase
behavior predicted by the equation of state.
Fig. 3 shows the leak rate and cumulative release
from a 100 mm hole for a pressure step of 15 and 1
Psi. The rate declines from 350 to 50 kg/s in about
two minutes due to liquid expansion and gradually
declines once the pressure falls below the bubble
point in the sub-sea pipeline. The sensitivity to the
pressure integration step is shown in Fig. 3.
The analytical approach was biased toward under
estimating the final pressure at the base of the riser
and hence could be used a screening tool prior to a
rigorous study. It also highlighted the need for
accurate PVT data. SUbsequent laboratory PVT
characterization showed that the fluid had a bubble
SPE 25339 B. M. Zagalai, D. W. Montgomery, C. L. Redus, and T. K. Tan
point pressure of 145 Psia and in this case the
analytical method would show flashing in the sub-sea
pipe and cumulative release of about 900 Tonnes.
Approximate Numerical Solutions
In reservoir engineering terminology, the simplified
analytical approach discussed may be classified as a
black-oil tank type problem, under pseudo-steady
state flow with an explicit source term. While preparing
for use of a rigorous multi-phase transient pipeline
flow simulator, we adapted a compositional reservoir
simulator to model the pipeline inventory depletion.
The use of the reservoir simulator allows relaxation of
the assumptions of pseudo-steady state flow and
static fluid column in the riser.
The pipeline was divided axially into 91 grid blocks,
with the sub-sea pipeline represented with
geometrically increasing increments toward its center.
The risers are represented with grid blocks of equal
size. An equivalent well prOductivity index was
assigned based on the initial mass rate calculated
from equation (2) and used to represent the leak
point. An absolute permeability of 1 billion Darcys
resulted in a match of the pressure drop across the
pipeline under steady-state flow. A relative
permeability of 1 was used for both oil and gas
independent of saturation. The entire pipeline was
assumed to be at constant temperature.
For a 50 mm rupture at topside of the NCP riser, the
initial mass rate was 125 kg/s (70,000 B/D). The
simulated rate declined rapidly due to
depressurization above the bubble point (Fig. 4). The
rate was 740 B/D after 15 minutes from rupture.
Because the pressure drop across the pipeline is not
significant, the pressure drop in the ruptured end is
transmitted to the intact end at Heather. As a result,
gas continues to evolve at the intact end and migrates
to the top of the riser to form a free gas column. The
rapid gravity segregation due to the very high
permeability causes stability problems for the reservoir
simulator which by its very nature is not designed to
solve this type of problem. The gas migration results
in continuous flow at the low rate of 700 B/D. When
the model was reconfigured without the Heather riser,
5
leak ceased after 15 minutes with a cumulative release
of 160 BBlS (25 Tonnes).
At the end of the leak, the sub-sea pipeline pressure
was 165 Psia which is above the bubble point
pressure. The riser fluid at NCP was consequently
liquid at saturation pressure. However, due to gas
prOduction, the bubble point pressure was no longer
constant.
OLGA SIMULATIONS
OLGA is a 1-0, transient, two-component, two-phase
flow simulator for pipeline networks. Compositional
effects are accounted for by table look-up of fluid
properties as functions of pressure and temperature.
The tables are generated using a pvr pre-processor.
The pipeline is divided into a number of elements and
mass, momentum and energy balances are performed
for each element. The model calculates pressure,
temperature, liquid holdup and velocity of the
individual phases in each element. The model is first
initialized to arrive at steady-state operating
conditions. A restart run is made by changing the
boundary conditions and specifying the leak point at
a particular element.
Case Studies: Rupture at NCP
Case studies were performed with a rupture point at
topside the NCP riser. The boundary condition at
topside Heather was changed to flux specified with
rate decreasing to zero over a period of 30 seconds
to account for shut-down of the operating pumps.
Threshold Pressure
For each fluid and pipeline-riser configuration, there
exists a threshold pressure. If the fluid has a bubble
point pressure above that threshold, then degassing
will occur in the sub-sea pipeline. For the Heather-
Ninian pipeline, the threshold pressure was estimated
at 150 Psia. Sensitivity runs were performed with
modified pvr data for fluids with bubble point
pressure of 230, 145 and 90 Psia. For a fluid with
230 Psia bubble point pressure at 50 -F, a leak from
a 4" (100 mm) diameter hole lasted for 6.7 hours with
a cumulative release of 5,500 BBlS (750 Tonnes).
For a bubble point pressure of 90 Psia at 50 -F, the
6 Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Blowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline
leak lasted only 7 minutes with cumulative release of
230 BBLS (31.5 Tonnes).
Heather export fluid had a bubble point pressure of
145 Psia at 50 -F. Due to its proximity to the
threshold pressure, simulation was sensitive to small
changes in the input fluid property tables used in
OLGA. Slight variations resulted in a cumulative
release between 90 Tonnes to 185 Tonnes, and leak
duration from 35 to 85 minutes for 100 mm hole.
Although the riser loads up in both cases, simulations
were near to the balance point, and the leak could
continue for 7 hours with cumulative release of
750 Tonnes.
Process Modification to Lower the
Bubble Point Pressure
Reducing the bubble point pressure from 145 Psia to
about 100 Psia was thought to provide a good safety
margin. The target was achieved by lowering the
operating pressure of the condensate stabilization
vessel from 415 Psia to 300 Psia prior to spiking into
the oil stream. A PVT sampling program was initiated
to ensure the export fluid remained within the target
pressure. Laboratory PVT results were in excellent
agreement with predictions performed using the
equation of state. Table 1 shows the bubble point of
the modified export fluid as a function of temperature.
Sensitivity runs were performed for a rupture topside
the riser at NCP for hole sizes of 0.4, 2 and 4 inch
(10, 50 and 100 mm). The results are summarized in
Table 2.
The flow rate in the pipe prior to rupture was 14,000
BID (25 kg/s). The leak rate (Figure 5) shows the fluid
accelerating to its maximum flow rate of 210,000 BID
(380 kg/s) and 67,000 BID (120 kg/s) for the 100 and
50 mm hole, respectively, in 3 seconds. The leak rate
from the 10 mm hole is 3,300 BID (6 kg/s). The
cumulative release of 250 and 204 BBLS (34 and 28
Tonnes) and duration of 8,15 minutes for 100 and 50
mm hole, and 167 BBLS (23 Tonnes) and duration of
2.6 hours for the 10 mm hole (Fig. 5).
The pressure at the point of rupture (NCP) begins to
drop at the instant of rupture and gradually decreases
to atmospheric pressure (Fig. 6). The pressure at the
intact end at Heather begins to drop after 20 seconds
SPE 25339
and decreases to 90 Psia after 2 minutes from rupture.
The sub-sea pipeline average pressure follows the
trend of the ruptured end and remains above the
bubble point pressure of 104 Psia with a final pressure
of 145 Psia. The liquid holdup follows a similar trend.
A column of free gas forms very early at the intact
end. The leak ends when a free liquid level forms and
the riser loads up. A slight differential in pressure top
side the Heather and NCP risers exists at the end of
the leak due to higher density of the cooler liquid
column at NCP.
Blowdown to The Heather Separators
To model blowdown to the Heather separators in case
of rupture of NCP riser, the pipeline configuration was
changed to account for flow through a "3" backflow
line to the main production separators. The
equivalent length of the 3" pipe after accounting for
bends and valves is 82 m. At 2 minutes from rupture,
the boundary condition at Heather was altered from
zero flux to a constant pressure of 60 Psig, this being
the normal operating condition of the production
separator's first stage. It is assumed that backflow
would not result in pressurizing the separator. The
two separators have an operating volume of 480
BBLS each, which is considerably larger than the
expected liquid back flow due to liquid expansion.
For a 10 mm hole, the blowdown rate was much
larger than the leak rate (Fig. 7). Backflow to the
separator was 109 BBLS (15 Tonnes) and cumulative
release at NCP is reduced from 167 BBLS to 25 BBLS
(23 to 3.5 Tonnes). The backflow rate to the
separator is smaller than the leak rate from 50 and
100 mm holes. For the 50 mm hole, about 10 BBLS
(1.4 Tonnes) backflowed, while almost no backflow
was observed for the 100 mm hole. Lowering the
separator back pressure from 60 Psig to atmospheric
increases the backflow modestly to 2.9 and .4 Tonnes
for the 50 and 100 mm holes, respectively.
Case Studies: Rupture of Riser at Heather
Because of the higher temperature at the Heather
end, the bubble point pressure was 160 Psia at the
base of the Heather riser and 115 Psia at about half
way in the sub-sea pipeline, compared to 104 Psia at
the NCP end. The bubble point pressure at Heather
SPE 25339 B. M. Zagalai, D. W. Montgomery, C. L Redus, and T. K. Tan
is slightly higher than the threshold pressure
established from simulation of rupture at NCP.
Model case studies were performed for Heather riser
rupture from 10, 50, 100 mm holes and full-bore 375
mm at sea level (Table 2). For the 10 mm hole, the
riser loads up after 2.5 hours with cumulative release
of 17 Tonnes. The temperature at the base of the
riser decreased from 54·C to 35·C due to sea-bed
cooling. For the 50 mm hole the riser loads up at
about 30 minutes with cumulative release of 29
Tonnes. As with the 10 mm hole, the pressure in the
sub-sea pipeline remains above the bubble point with
final pipeline pressure of 145 Psia.
For the 100 mm hole, the riser loads up in 2.5 hours
with cumulative release of 180 Tonnes which was
higher than the 30 Tonnes expected from liquid
expansion only. However, the cumulative release was
much less than the 750 Tonnes expected from
complete degassing of the sub-sea pipeline. Because
of the decrease in bubble point pressure With distance
away from the Heather riser due to lower fluid
temperature, the pressure remains above the bubble
point in most of the sub-sea pipeline. This results in
partial and diminishing gas drive as the Heather end
cools down, and when coupled with the decrease in
leak rate, results in loading up of the riser. The leak
rate and cumulative release are shown in Figure 8,
and the liquid holdup at the base of Heather riser in
Figure 9. For the smaller hole, the back pressure on
top of the riser prevents propagation of the two-phase
region and riser loads up quickly. The liquid holdup
profile for 100 mm hole ( Fig. 10) shows the
propagation of the flashing zone to a distance of
about 5 km.
In simulation of full-bore rupture, the model grid was
refined by adding an additional 30 grid blocks in order
to model extreme conditions due to the very high leak
rate. Furthermore, the portion of the riser above sea
level (22 m) was eliminated from the model grid.
Simulation of full-bore rupture results in a initial rate of
700,000 BID (1250 kg/s) and resulted in gas flashing
over the entire sub-sea pipeline with cumulative
release at 1 hour of over 400 Tonnes. The leak rate
at run termination is 80 kgls and would continue until
the maximum depletion, estimated at 750 Tonnes.
7
Figure 11 shows the liquid holdup at the base of
Heather.
Sub-Sea Isolation Valves
Assuming that a sub-sea valve closes at 1 minute after
riser rupture, the cumulative release from a full-bore
rupture would be reduced to 28 Tonnes. However, for
the riser rupture at NCP, reducing the bubble point
pressure from 146 to 104 Psia also resulted in a
cumulative release of about 30 Tonnes. For a series
of ruptures at the Heather end of the pipeline, only
rupture sizes of 50 mm or less result in releases of
less than 30 Tonnes. The 100 mm and full-bore
rupture result in releases of 180 and 750 Tonnes
respectively. Currently these values are being input
into further safety studies for assessing the risk of
rupture.
BLOWDOWN TEST
To build confidence in the model predictions, a
blowdown test was instigated at near normal pipeline
operating conditions. After close of the ESDV at NCP,
the line was pressurized to 745 Psig topside Heather,
following which the shutdown valve for 3" line to the
separator was opened. After 17 minutes the
pipeline-separator system had equilibrated to the
separator pressure of 35 Psig. Table 3 compares key
model results to field measurements. The calculated
cumulative oil released over the duration of backflow
(20 Tonnes and 16 minutes) are in very good
agreement with the measured data (18 Tonnes and 17
minutes). The calculated pressure at the top of
Heather riser was also in good agreement with
measured pressures. It should be kept in mind that
no model parameters were adjusted to obtain this
match. This is strictly prediction and is dissimilar to
that of reservoir history matching.
CONCLUSIONS
(1) For each fluid and pipeline-riser configuration,
there exists a threshold pressure; if the fluid has
a bubble point pressure above it, then degassing
will occur in the sub-sea pipeline.
(2) Use of a simple analytical method which assumes
homogenous gas-oil mixture and pseudo-steady
8 Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Blowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline
state results in overestimation of cumulative
release from riser rupture of Heather-Ninian
pipeline. The simple approach could be used as
a screening tool prior to a rigorous study.
(3) Adaption of a reservoir simulator provided a first
order approximation for prediction of leak rate
and inventory depletion.
(4) Rigorous simulation work demonstrated that a
slight change in operating procedure and
process design would provide an equivalent level
of safety to that of installing a sub-sea isolation
valve.
(5) The combination of simple analytical method,
approximate and rigorous simulation improved
understanding of the physical process during
riser rupture. The matching of the blowdown field
test builds a level of confidence in the model
predictions.
NOMENCLATURE
A = hole area (m 1
Cd = discharge coefficient
Co = Oil compressibility, psr'
g = gravitational constant (9.8 m/s 1
m = mass, kg
P, = upstream pressure of rlWtured end (N/m 1 Flow Simulator OLGA,"
Pa = ambient pressure (N/m j
Pi = Initial sub-sea pipeline pressure (N/m 1
p = density, kg/s
t = time, seconds
v = specific volume of mixture (m 3/kg)
v =Xv g+(1-X)v I
V = Pipeline Volume (m ~
X = mass fraction of gas phase
z = vertical distance from topside to sea floor (m)
Subscripts
g = gas
I = liquid
SPE 25339
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the management of the operating
company, Unocal U.K., and the Heather Field group
partners for the opportunity to present this paper, with
special thanks to Texaco U.K. for their support.
Access to the OLGA simulator was provided by
Texaco Exploration & Production Technology,
Houston and Scientific Software-Intercomp (U.K.) Ltd.
REFERENCES
1. Richardson, S. M. and Saville, G.: "Blowdown of
Pipelines," SPE Paper 23070 Presented at
Offshore Europe Conference, Aberdeen, 3-6
September 1991.
2. .Rygg, O. B. and Ellul, I. R., ''The Dynamic
Two-Phase Modelling of Offshore Uve Crude
Unes Under Rupture Conditions," Paper OTC
6747 Presented at 23rd Annual Offshore
Technology Conference, Houston, May 1991.
3. Bendiksen, K., Brandt, I., Fuchs, H., Maines, D.,
and Moe, R.: "1986, Two-phase Flow Research at
SINTEF and IFE, Some Experimental Results and
a Demonstration of the Dynamic Two- phase
Presented at The
Offshore North Sea 1986 Conference, Stavanger,
Aug 28, 1986.
4. Bradley, H. B.:"Petroleum Engineering Handbook"
Society of Petroleum Engineering (1987).
SPE 25339 B. M. Zagalai, D. W. Montgomery, C. L. Redus, and T. K. Tan 9

Table 1
Properties of Heather Export Oil

Oil Gravity 32.2 °API

Solution Gas-Oil Ratio 80 SCF/STB
Gas Gravity 1.29
Oil Compressibility 5X1O- 6 l/psi

Bubble Point Pressure as a Function of Temperature

Bubble Point Pressure

Temperature Original Fluid Modified Fluid
of Psia Psia

32 131 92
34 133 93
41 139 98
50 146 104
59 154 110
68 161 117
n 169 123
86 177 130
95 185 137
104 194 144
113 202 151
122 211 159
131 220 167
141 230 175
149 288 183

Table 2
OLGA Case Studies

At NCP At Heather

Hole Size. in 0.4 2.0 4.0 0.4 2.0 4.0 14.7

(mm) 10 50 100 10 50 100 375

Initial Leak Rate

K9/s 6 115 335 6 115 335 1250
(B/D) 3.300 65.000 188.000 33.000 65.000 188.000 700,000

Cumulative Release. Tonnes

at 1 Minute 0.3 7.0 15.0 0.3 6.9 14.5 28.2
at 2 Minutes 0.6 12.6 21.7 0.6 12.4 21.7 47.7

Leak Duration.
Minutes 156 15 8 160 32 160

Final Cumulative Release.

Tonnes 22.6 27.5 33.8 16.6 28.9 182 412*
*at 48 minutes
10 Simulation of Rapid Depressurization and Slowdown of an Offshore Oil Pipeline SPE 25339

Table 3
Comparison to Result from Blowdown Test

Simulated Top Riser Measured Top Riser

Time Backflow Pressure Backflow Pressure
(Minutes) Kgjs BID Psia BID Psia

1 64 36.000 580 46.000 620

2 53 30.000 420 32.000 440
3 42 24,000 301 16.000 265
4 33 18,000 219 5.500 165
7 15 8,000 108 2.700 105
10 9 5.000 78 5.500 84
15 3.6 2.000 56 5,500 50
17 0 0 50 0 50
Cumulative
Backflow 20.7 Tonnes 18 Tonnes

1m!~~I'fIIIIIIIIH_E_A_T_H_Er-R"_-r _ _~.- 61 oN

~ LYELL
~~ NINIAN CENTRAL
~A.
.... ·Vli)· PLATFORM
.!Q11 76" Pi .
Ninia.!!.-Su!!f> Voe 36" PiQeIineP... me_
- - - - -

MERALD

Figure 1 Heather Location Map

 en
"'0
NINIAN CENTRAL m
I\)
01
P =695 Psla c.>
HEATHER ALPHA =
T 50°F c.>
<D
14,000 BID
=
P 725 Psla Hl~!"I
T_=_13_1_oF_.. "l,NM'Ilo~SEA LEVEL
...

M
....N
OJ

470' ~
Co co
CJI iii N
-----I n>
(Q
n>
~.
0

SEAFLOOR
~
~

Figure 2
20m es

Heather-NinJan Pipeline
---~l-197'

-0
:J
(Q
0
3(I)
~
600 200 100 1000 a
r
500 ::II
Ic 80 800 ~ (I)
150 c ~ ID
lD
0-
C
400 ~ ::E W en
.;. rn
iii W 60 600
rn
c( n>
~
-e !C
a:
W :J
0-
100 w
iii 300 oJ
oJ w :-I
~ w
a:
:ill:
c( a:
a: w w
~ w oJ
40 400 > ?'
-e >
~
200 ~
w
oJ
5 oJ n>
:J
100 .-._ ........
",-p=lf!L-----9- ::I
::E
::I
0
20 200
:J
::E
:J
0

0
--------------.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.0
TIME (Hours)
TIME (Hours)

Figure 3 Leak Rate and Cumulative Figure 4 Leak Rate and Cumulative
Release from 100 mm Hole Release from 50 mm Hole
(Analytical Method) (Reservoir Simulator) ......
......
 103 r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -__---., 40 1000

III .......................
102
'\
5Q 1'l}!1\••••••••••
..... tI
C
C
SOO
TOPSIDE HEATHER
...........................
30
~ .... .... ' ....... en
~ ui .! .... .... 3'
~ In
oC
III 600 ...... ••••••••••$UB-SEA PIPELINE
... c
~ 10 20
W
..J
W
A.
ui
a::
..... .... . . e
o'
a::
w
a:: :::l
In 400
.... .... :l
~
oC > In
W
.... ' . o
.....
W ~ a::
..J
10 :5:::l A. TOPSIDE NCP :D
lU
::E 200 ""0
:::l
U a:
oCD
10.1 L--...L-_-L-_---J..._----l._<::::..-'----_-'-=_.LI-_---C.<_--' 0 0 ""0
....
10.5 10-4 10.3 10.2 10.1 10 103 10-8 10.3 10-2 10 CD
(J)
TIME (Minutes) TIME (Minutes) (J)
c
....
Figure 5 Leak Rate and Cumulative N'
Release from 10, 50 and 100 mm
Figure 6 Pressure at NCP. Heather and e
Sub-Sea for 100 mm hole at NCP o'
:l
Diameter Hole at NCP
lU
:l
0.
OJ

102.--------------------,
102
~0.
o
:E
•! :l
c o
.....
~ lU
~ 10 10 ui :l
~
......... ~ o
•..... l~I(~T W ~

.•.••.........:::::::::::::~~- ,.::::::::::. :::::::::::::::::::...

..J (J)
W
a:: ::T
w o
....
1-
> CD

5
:::l
Q
::E ::Po
:::l
U ""0
~
10.1 S·
CD
5 10 15 20
TIME (Minutes)
en
-0
Figure 7 Leak Rate at NCP from 10 mm m
Hole with Slowdown to Heather I\)
(11
(,,)
(,,)
(0
 III
en
"1l
400 200 !c m
..
)300
{!.
150 ~ D.
I\)
(]I
c..>
c.l
ce ::) 1.0 <0
u.i W
.... C
~ 100 ~
.J
0
a: 200 ::I:
0.9
lllI: w
i3.... ~ c
100 50 5
:)
5
a
:J
0.8
:::E OJ
:)
0.7
CJ
60 120 180 240 300
s:
60 120 180 N
ll)
(Q
TIME (Minutes) TIME (Minutes) ll)

~.
0
Figure 8 Leak Rate and Cumulative Figure 9 Liquid Holdup at Base of Heather ~
Release for 100 mm Hole at Riser for 100 mm Hole at Heather
s:
Heather 0
::J
r+
(Q
0
3
CI>
-<
0
1.0 - r
D. 1.0 :D
0.8 t- ::) CD
Q, 0-
:)
c
c 0.8 c
.J
.... 0.6 - 0
(J)

0 ll)
::c ::I: 0.6 ::J
c 0.4 - C a.
5
a 5 0.4 :-f
::::i -
a
0.2 :J 0.2 ?'
-f
I I I ll)
::J
10 20 30 10 20 30 40 50 60
DISTANCE, km
TIME (Minutes)

Figure 10 Liquid Holdup Profile at 30 Figure 11 Liquid Holdup at Base of Heather

Minutes After Rupture of Riser for Full-Bore Rupture of
Heather for 100 mm Hole Heather
.....
c.l