An offshore slug flow control system that could save millions lost in oil production each year has won the 2010 East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) Innovation Award.
Cranfield University and Suffolk firm Neftemer, together with five other companies and support from the TSB created the Inferential Slug Control (ISC).
Severe slugging, in which separated gas and liquid regions run along a pipeline leading to pressure and flow fluctuations is a common threat to hydrocarbon recovery and can even lead to equipment being damaged. About 10% of offshore oil fields around the world suffer from slugging problems.
This is the first system that systematically detects unwanted accumulations of liquids in pipelines from offshore oil production systems, without compromising oil production or using subsea instrumentation.
