Flow Assurance
About the course
Course duration: 5 days
Flow assurance is the discipline concerned with the economic and reliable production and transportation of oil, gas, and formation water from the reservoir to the delivery point throughout the entire life of a field, under all operating and environmental conditions. Operational challenges such as deposition, system blockages, and corrosion-related perforations can disrupt production, resulting in unplanned shutdowns and increased operating costs. These issues may arise from the formation of gas hydrates, paraffin (wax), asphaltenes, inorganic scale, or other flow-impairing mechanisms.
An effective flow assurance strategy must consider both fluid properties and operating conditions. It requires a multidisciplinary approach involving production, maintenance, engineering, laboratory analysis, and health, safety, and environmental (HSE) functions, with a strong focus on prevention as well as remediation.
Designed for
This course is particularly tailored for petroleum production engineers, laboratory personnel, field operators, system designers, and anyone seeking practical experience in this field, including researchers or managers who want to understand technical issues that support effective decision-making.
Course objectives
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of flow assurance challenges associated with fluid production, gathering, treatment, and transportation
- Apply fundamental principles of multiphase flow and related phenomena to evaluate and implement flow assurance solutions
- Identify existing and potential threats to uninterrupted fluid flow
- Design cost-effective, efficient, and reliable mitigation strategies that maintain production targets and extend equipment service life while complying with environmental regulations
- Define evaluation criteria and calculate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to corrosion, inorganic and organic scaling, and produced water treatment
Course Outline
- Day 1 – Flow Assurance & Gas Hydrates
- Introduction to Flow Assurance
- Organic & inorganic deposition
- Gas hydrates fundamentals
- Hydrate prediction methods
- Prevention methods (physical & chemical)
- Case studies
- Day 2 – Gas Hydrates & Emulsions
- Gas hydrate prevention techniques
- Emulsion formation mechanisms
- Emulsion viscosity & inversion point calculations
- Emulsion destabilization
- Day 3 – Asphaltenes & Wax Deposition
- Asphaltene properties & stability
- Laboratory determination
- Deposition prediction & mitigation
- Wax precipitation mechanisms
- KPIs & case studies
- Day 4 – Wax & Inorganic Scale
- Wax modeling & remediation
- Scale types and formation risks
- Risk assessment & mitigation
- Monitoring and KPIs
- Day 5 – Corrosion
- Corrosion fundamentals
- CO₂ / H₂S corrosion modeling
- Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC)
- Corrosion monitoring & KPIs
- Risk-Based Inspection (RBI)
Course delivery method
The course consists of lectures supported by worked examples and real-world case studies. Participants are encouraged to bring their own field examples for in-class discussion and analysis.
Instructor
Snežana Šević holds a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. from the Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, with over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Her expertise includes diagnosing produced fluid issues, risk analysis, flow assurance modeling, and optimization of production systems.
She has worked with PM Lucas d.o.o., NIS–Gazprom Neft, and Qimica Apollo (Mexico) and participated in more than 50 projects across Serbia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Dr. Šević has authored over 30 scientific papers, a book on formation water impact, and has supervised numerous academic theses. She was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer (2018–2019) and a member of the SPE E-Mentoring Program for five years.