From January next year, Unicamp's Centers for Energy and Petroleum Studies (Cepetro) will operate a new laboratory with open-air experiments to study stop and restart, a recurring problem in the oil industry. With an area of 1.500 m², the laboratory is ready and will receive equipment financed by the company Petronas Petróleo Brasil.
The inauguration of the facilities took place on October 18th, with the presence of several company executives, including the Americas Exploration manager, Nasaruddin Ahmad, the general manager of International Assets, Yusof Addullah, and the Brazil Exploration manager, Ali Andrea, as well as Petronas country manager Brazil, Omar Abdulah. The executives were received by the director of Cepetro, professor Marcelo Souza de Castro, among others.
Formally named Professor Fernando de Almeida França Laboratory, the MultiFlow Lab, as it was nicknamed, is part of Cepetro's Alfa (Artificial Lift & Flow Assurance) group and is strategically located close to two other laboratories in the group: the LGE (Assurance Laboratory Flow) and LabPetro (Petroleum Experimental Laboratory). The integration of these laboratories, with the sharing of infrastructure, will make it possible to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of the research carried out, accelerating the cycle of technological innovation in the national oil and gas sector, with a view to the Brazilian pre-salt.
“We will have a three-inch, 100-meter-long multiphase [two- and three-phase] flow simulation line and a series of equipment. This will all allow us to increase the scale of what we currently have at universities in the country to carry out simulations and tests that improve oil production. Initially, the focus of our research will be on a common problem in the oil industry, which is the stopping and repair of wells, a time when several flow guarantee problems can occur, and which still has a lot to be improved”, says the director of Cepetro.
The professor explains that, when producing oil from reservoirs, for example in fields offshoreIn addition to oil, natural gas, water and sand are generated. “Normally, we use mathematical models to predict the extraction of these different products, and these models are developed with laboratory data like the one under construction”, he says.
However, when production from a well is stopped for a period, the phases segregate along long lines – gas at the top, oil in the middle, and water at the bottom. “This generates what we call in the industry a stop-and-go problem, because when production restarts, these different phases can mix, causing production problems, called flow guarantee problems. In many cases, it is even necessary to inject chemical agents to inhibit these mixtures”, explains Castro.
This is a common problem, but it needs to be better understood and monitored according to the characteristics and particularities of each extraction well. “Much progress has already been made to inhibit this problem, but there is still a lot to be studied and that is what we are going to do in the new laboratory”, he says.
The great difference of the new laboratory, according to the director of Cepetro, is that it allows researchers to carry out simulations on a larger scale, allowing the models to come closer to reality. “With the new equipment, we will have a laboratory with larger infrastructure where it will be possible to collect a lot of data to provide models for the software that companies use to predict production problems”, he explains.
Scope of projects
The research and development (R&D) project has investment from Petronas, obtained with resources from the RD&I (research, development and innovation) clause of the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP). Jonas Castro, head of concession contracts exploration at Petronas in Brazil, also present at the inauguration, states that the company is investing to understand issues that cover the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, renewable energies, including hydrogen production, and the capture and the use of carbon. The focus of research has been, above all, energy efficiency and studies linked to the energy transition.
“Petronas has sought to establish investment partnerships with recognized universities with an extensive history of investments in RD&I related to the production of hydrocarbons, as is the case with Unicamp and, in particular, Cepetro”, states Castro.
The executive explains that investment in research infrastructure, such as the one being carried out with Cepetro, is seen by the company as a fundamental part of training professionals for the industry and improving research. Furthermore, there is interest in developing new technologies, improving processes and producing new products to increase the efficiency of exploration and production of oil and new energy.
“Contributing to the installation of the new laboratory was Petronas’ goal for this project. It will be up to Cepetro to evaluate and seek alternatives in order to keep the new laboratory relevant for new studies”, says Castro.
The director of Cepetro adds that the laboratory will begin activities focused on resolving issues related to the stopping and starting problem. “But the idea is to investigate other issues related to important topics for the oil industry, such as other points related to ensuring flow and even carbon capture, for example. We have other companies interested in building new experimental apparatus for different industry problems,” he concludes.
