Paraffin and asphaltene deposition in subsea tiebacks is often handled reactively, after production is lost or an intervention is already needed. For deepwater assets, that approach is expensive. Proactive flow assurance catches the problem earlier.
This case study follows evoleap’s work with a Gulf of Mexico operator from greenfield design through years of operation. evoleap built an OLGA model before startup, monitored daily for the first 30 days, then moved to a monthly, exception-based surveillance workflow.
Inside the proactive flow assurance case study
- How pre-startup steady-state simulations set a safe operating envelope
- How evoleap’s Performance Index flagged possible deposition before it affected production
- How cooldown, restart and pigging plans followed the model instead of fixed schedules
- Lessons for running flow assurance as a lifecycle program, not a one-time study
The case study reports fewer unplanned interventions, longer intervals between pigging runs, optimized chemical treatment and improved uptime.
For a recent example of early wax detection, see Case Study: Catching a Wax Restriction Before It Cost Production.