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The biofouling on cooling systems surfaces is one of the major problems in industrial processes because it causes operational drawbacks that interfere in the process performance. The application of...

Non-chemical scale prevention strategies are an important driver to reduce costs and minimize environmental impact on oilfield operations. Application interests includes both downhole and surface critical scenarios. Downhole use applies where chemical injection devices show low reliability or in the implementation of intelligent completion configurations which do not support chemical injection in the lower zones. This article summarizes both positive and non-conclusive experiences with different methods in onshore environment as a pilot for the implementation of massive offshore applications. The team tested electromagnetic and permanent magnet devices in different onshore and offshore applications, including downhole magnetic subs installed at a tubing string, surface electromagnetic/magnetic devices at production separation facilities and water and an ultrasonic assisted chemical remediation of an offshore hydrocyclonic separator. This article also discusses additional ongoing offshore tests. The use of several technology solutions employed so far showed promising results in order to enable subsea well construction employing completion designs with no downhole chemical injection.

A physical model for scale growth in the Dynamic Tube Blocking Test (TBT) is presented aiming at the determination of the first layer formation time and the scale growing rate. The proposed model has been applied to 38 experimental results, each one with a different water composition. The fluid compositions were selected to represent the majority of the fluids found in typical Brazilian oil wells. For the application of this model, no differential pressure was considered before pumping. Additionally, the pressure rising time was not taken into account in the calculation of the first layer formation time. The model showed excellent fitting to the experimental data, with correlation coefficients superior to 0.98 for most data. Furthermore, the results of the scale growing rate were compatible to the results from other experiments, utilizing: rotating cage; static reactors; and full scale Inflow Control Valves (ICVs). Furthermore, on a scientific perspective, the model can also be used for the development of scale growing models as a function of pressure, temperature, composition.

Technology advancements and the increasing need for fresh water resources have created the potential for desalination of oil field brine (produced water) to be a cost-effective fresh water resource for beneficial reuse. At the mature oil and gas production areas in the northeast of Brazil, the majority of wells produce a substantial amount of water in comparison with oil production (more than 90%). At these fields, the produced water has to be treated on site only for oil and solids removal aiming re-injection. The aim of this work is to assess the quality of the produced water stream after a reverse osmosis desalination process in terms of physicochemical characteristics influencing reuse of the water for irrigation or other beneficial uses.