Kinetic inhibition of natural gas hydrates in offshore drilling, production, and processing. Annual report, January 1--December 31, 1994

Natural gas hydrates are crystalline materials formed of natural gas and water at elevated pressures and reduced temperatures. Because natural gas hydrates can plug drill strings, pipelines, and process equipment, there is much effort expended to prevent their formation. The goal of this project was to provide industry with more economical hydrate inhibitors. The specific goals for the past year were to: define a rational approach for inhibitor design, using the most probable molecular mechanism; improve the performance of inhibitors; test inhibitors on Colorado School of Mines apparatuses and the Exxon flow loop; and promote sharing field and flow loop results. This report presents the results of the progress on these four goals