Specialists from RN-Purneftegaz LLC, a subsidiary of Rosneft, have developed and tested an innovative anti-icing technology for oil production units. The novel solution’s feature is the use of an exothermic heating device—a chemical heater consisting of a heating cartridge and a cover that is worn on a well casing or a pipeline section. Exothermic heaters are efficient under the temperatures down to -60C.

Technological potential development is one of the key items of the Rosneft-2022 Strategy. The Company pays special attention to innovative development, recognising technology leadership as a key competitive factor on the oil market.

There are various methods applied to defrost well casings, valves, and pipeline sections, such as mechanical scrapers, inhibitors, and warm-up of frozen sections. The latter is the most efficient but also quite costly since the warm-up is carried out with steam being generated by a mobile steam unit.

The non-conventional warm-up method developed by the specialists of RN-Purneftegaz is unique. It uses exothermic heating devices—cartridges with an active component which generates a strong heat chemical reaction if a catalyst is added. The cartridge is inserted in a lap of a specially designed cover in order to ensure the effective distribution of heat.

The method has undergone pilot testing on two wells and proved its production and economic efficiency. If compared with steam units, the warm-up time is reduced from 40-60 minutes to 5-10 minutes, and the expenses are down in dozens—while steam units cost 1,239 roubles per hour, one cartridge costs 50 roubles. The technology is to be run on other facilities of the Company in 2020. It will alleviate the workload of oil and gas production operators and shorten the time of production processes.

Rosneft
Information
Division
May 27, 2019