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CASE HISTORY: Assure® HI 43DW

Anti-Agglomerant Hydrate Inhibitor Helps a Gulf of Mexico Operator Increase Production and Improve Water Quality Problem A Gulf of Mexico operator was experiencing significant production problems for two subsea tiebacks located in the East Breaks area, with the water depth of around 4000 feet. These problems included:

• Two subsea tieback, gas-condensate wells were shut-in due to hydrate plugging in the un-insulated flowlines as the methanol pumps reached max capacity and could not meet the hydrate inhibition requirements.

• Incumbent chemical vendor failed to replace methanol with three field trials involving three products over the course of a year. All three field trials resulted in

extremely poor water quality that was untreatable.

• Hydrate plugging risk was high (high sub-cooling) and was expected to get worse with more water production.

• The elevation profile of the flowlines indicated a bow-shaped structure, which could potentially hold water and form hydrate plugs easily.

Champion’s Solution Champion’s Technology team developed an Anti-Agglomerant Hydrate Inhibitor (AAHI), Assure® HI 43DW, which was recommended as a solution and is proven to effectively prevent hydrate blockages without having a negative effect on water quality. This product is extensively used in the Gulf of Mexico with a track record for gas condensate applications. Laboratory testing, topsides and subsea field trials were conducted to prove the performance of the product.

© 2010 Champion Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. www.champ-tech.com or information.request@champ-tech.com Date: 25 October 2010

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Performance Result

• The pressure drop across the flowlines was steady with no increase suggesting successful prevention of hydrate plugging. See Figure 1

• Methanol injection was completely eliminated, hence met the crude export specifications.

• Excellent produced water quality was observed with no changes in the water treatment chemicals or equipment.

• Production was at full capacity of 23,000 BOPD and 17.6 MMSCF for an extended period.

Figure 1 A successful LDHI field trial can be observed as the methanol rate is ramped down from 3500GPD to 0, while the LDHI is ramped up to 300GPD. Pressure drop across the flowline remains steady during the application of the LDHI.