Volume 62, Issue 341, May - August 2026

Sustainable synthetic fluid of Dehydration in Natural Gas Pipeline using Rubber Latex

Oritom Hezekiah-Braye¹, Godloves T Nonju²

¹Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
²Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Submarine developments significantly increase operational challenges related to intervention and flow assurance. In subsea pipelines, low seawater temperatures frequently induce gas hydrate formation. Using a 12-meter closed loop designed for hydrate research, this study investigated the impact of rubber latex on suppressing hydrate plug formation in gas-dominated systems. During testing, water and natural gas were circulated at 150 psi, utilizing 0.04 wt% and 0.05 wt% rubber latex as a kinetic inhibitor. Hydrates formed when 0.04 wt% rubber latex was used, causing the uninhibited system pressure to drop from 150 psi to 70 psi alongside visible hydrate clogging. Conversely, increasing the concentration to 0.05 wt% effectively kept the experimental loop free of hydrate plugs at 150 psi. Based on these experimental outcomes, mathematical models were developed to describe the performance of NVinylcaprolactam (N-VCap) within the system. Because inadequate chemical dosing can still allow hydrate formation under subsea conditions, field engineers must accurately determine effective inhibitor concentrations prior to operational deployment.

Keywords: Flow assurance, Rubber latex, Hydrate Inhibition, Subsea Pipelines, Kinetic Modeling

Discovery, 2026, 62, e24d3306

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Published: 16 August 2026