Gazovaya promyshlennost’ № 05 2020

Raising of gas-water contact is inevitable when developing the massive gas deposits. This results in the water-entry problems and decrease of daily gas production. Drilling horizontal sideholes in idling well stock and new horizontal wells allows maintaining the production at the design level. It is feasible to select the drilling direction of the horizontal section based on the seismic data, especially in complicated geological conditions. The study revealed the dependence between the water-entry issues in the well stock and the seismic data. It also describes how the conditions of sedimentation affect the operation time without water-entry complications. Safe drilling zones are outlined. Based on the analysis, the idling well stock was successfully restored, and six new horizontal wells were drilled.

The article describes the innovative methods for corrosion protection of underground (underwater) metal pipelines. The problem of the dangerous corrosive effect of cathodic protection is considered for parallel, converging, crossing pipelines, along with improving the efficiency of cathodic protection. The paper presents two joint cathodic protection circuits with and without diode resistive unit. We have proposed the optimization principle for the cathodic polarization of multi-line underground (underwater) pipelines in utility line areas according to the pipe-to-earth protection potential level relative to the copper sulfate reference electrode. The principle accounts for the line position relative to the common anode earthing when implementing the joint protection from the common cathodic protection unit. We have also proposed the technique for corrosion protection by alternating current in those cases where the cathodic protection is ineffective or significantly limited by the unsatisfactory condition of the insulation coating, soil structure and texture, climatic conditions, technical complications or inapplicability (ground and surface laying), high costs of implementation and maintenance, energy consumption, or other factors. A summary is given for the theory that describes the effect of weak alternating current on the kinetics of an underground (underwater) pipeline corrosion. The paper provides the main practical results of laboratory weight-loss tests in electrolytic cells with and without protection by applying the alternating current. The proposed innovative approach to corrosion protection of underground (underwater) and process pipelines, wells, and utility pipelines (water pipelines, heating mains, product pipelines, sewage) will be interesting to experts in companies and organizations associated with production and transportation via pipeline systems, as well as students and professors of educational institutions.

One of the objectives of PJSC Gazprom gas transmission companies is to provide reliable measurements of gas flow rate and the volume of transported gas. To meet the accuracy standards of measurement procedures, the requirements are established not only for flow rate and flow variable meters but also for lengths of straight-line sections of instrument piping and the disposition of local drags before and after the primary gas flow transducers. The accumulated implementation experience of gas flow metering procedures shows that the location of transducers relative to various local drags needs further clarification. Types of local drags at the facility where the gas flow measurement unit is installed should be accounted in more detail based on operating conditions, which are not always fully specified in procedures. Regulations for lengths of straight-line instrument piping are set in [1], depending on local drag types and their locations. The standard also describes the effect of various types of drags before the orifice. However, minimal length requirements for the instrument piping section after the orifice do not consider the type of local drag (any local drag apart from symmetric intake), whereas it has to be taken into account in this case because it can affect the readings of gas flow meters.

The article gives an analysis of the structure and regulation mechanisms for the social infrastructure of a large gas production company. It also reveals the formation prerequisites of social facilities and reasons to sustain them in conditions of the Far North. Shifting the gas production geography to the northern regions considerably increases the responsibility of PJSC Gazprom and its subsidiaries for providing favorable and comfortable working conditions, maintaining social protection, compensations, and benefits. The paper systematizes the types of social infrastructure facilities of gas industry companies exemplified with Gazprom dobycha Nadym LLC. We have also investigated the dynamics and structure of expenses on social infrastructure facilities, as well as their income. The study reveals the main provisions of the social infrastructure management model of Gazprom dobycha Nadym LLC and highlights the main elements of social policy. The article describes the effective measures of social property management, proposes ways to reduce the current expenses, adjust the number of employees, improve energy efficiency, and more. Social infrastructure management is one of the key elements of the development strategy for a large township-forming enterprise, and it and has a major effect on employees' life quality. It also indirectly affects the effectiveness of human resource and production policies. Thus, when optimizing the expenses on social infrastructure facilities in order to improve the efficiency of large extracting companies, it is necessary to carefully consider the issues of maintaining a decent standard of living for workers and their families, especially in Arctic conditions.

The article considers the prospects of noise diagnostics method for gas industry machinery given the current state of existing equipment and beyond the algorithms of noise source direction-finding. The noise diagnostics is shown to be a feasible addition to well-known and widely used methods. To date, the method was based on contingent noise perception by highly qualified subject matter experts that have deep experience with a specific equipment type (mainly in vehicle repair), which restricted the scope of the method. However, now the advanced instruments and algorithms enable the automatic processing and analysis of noise spectra. Thus, with sufficient development of noise generation and propagation theory for gas and oil industry machinery and equipment, as well as the development of noise source direction-finding methods, noise diagnostics results will become evidential and independent from the human factor. The paper shows the advantages of the noise diagnostics method, the feasibility of its implementation, and describes its algorithm. It also lists processes and equipment where the method can be effectively applied. Using the advanced equipment and the noise generation and propagation theory for machinery and equipment, which is developed in Gazprom VNIIGAZ LLC, as well as the theory of elementary functional noise source direction finding, together make it possible to rule out the contingent factor in machinery and process noise diagnostics. This article is the first theoretical justification of the viability and feasibility of using the method in the gas industry. This area is actively researched abroad [1–3].

The issues of design quality attributes of transported gas (including the moisture content) have great importance. The article describes the research results for flow structure and regimes of moisture vapor in inlet pipeline sections of a vacuum module during pipeline drying. A technique has been developed for diagnosing the pipeline vacuum drying modes. The technique allows assessing the dynamics of changes in operating parameters to control drying the line sections of gas pipelines, as well as compressor station process pipelines.

The article describes the opportunities and prospects of information modeling in the design, construction, and operation of gas treatment and transportation facilities. It is suggested to use the information models during the entire life cycle of the facility. Applied at the first stage, they allow detecting collisions in detailed design, developing the site assembly projects in the fast-track manner, visualizing the construction projects. At the construction stage, the model is used to create the as-built documentation, coordinate the material and equipment supply schedule with the activity schedule. Besides, the three-dimensional image can be used as an additional guide on installation. After the model is corrected according to the as-built documentation, it becomes a general source of error-free information on the pre-commissioned facility. At the operation stage, the information model gets modified into the digital twin of the enterprise by correcting the relevant elements in line with operating technical specifications and maintenance and repair regulations. This allows to automatize creating the schedules and maintenance specifications. The model's features make it possible to organize an interactive staff training on life safety rules effectively. In computer-aided management systems, the mathematic model can be applied to identify the equipment operation algorithm depending on the affecting factors.

It is generally recognized that the world is entering the fourth industrial revolution, often referred to as Industry 4.0 and simplistically interpreted as the Internet of things. This naturally affects the hydrocarbon production, including natural gas from developed and new fields, each of which has unique parameters. The revolution covers three areas: technology (mining equipment), geoecology (interactions with gas-bearing reservoirs and overlying strata), and environmental (interactions with the environment). According to the sustainable development principles, this activity requires continuous technogenic, geoecological, and environmental safety management at gas-field facilities, including by improving the efficiency of using the existing management information systems. Ideally, the development of all three safety aspects should be based on common principles (three-pronged approach), and innovations in this direction should meet the Industry 4.0 ideology. The article shows the priorities of development and reconstruction of management information systems of existing gas field facilities that go beyond the established concepts. The paper also gives the examples of practical implementation of the integrated approach to expanding the scope of existing management information systems and resolving a wide range of innovative technical, process, and environmental issues at Yamburg and Zapolyarnoye oil, gas, and condensate fields. The approach can be defined as the development of the Internet of high-level innovative technologies that can only be implemented by using facility-oriented digital models (digital twins) for process control by continuous comparison between the model and actually measured process parameters. In such a system, the response time to potential deviations should rule out the possibility of accidents and catastrophes. It is also essential to consider the new natural, geological and environmental phenomena encountered when developing the Northern fields of the Russian Federation.