Using Spoolable Composite Pipe in a Large CO Enhanced Oil Recovery Project to Reduce Flowline Installation and Lifecycle Costs

Historically, steel pipe has been the primary material used in oil and gas production gathering applications. More than 25 years ago, glass fiber-reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipe was introduced to the oil and gas industry, and this material has been used in applications where internal or external corrosion was causing high failure rates and maintenance costs in steel pipelines. GRE pipe (commonly called stick fiberglass) is produced in joints typically just over 9 m (30 ft) in length, which are mechanically joined together during installation. Overall construction costs for steel and GRE pipe are similar. In both steel and GRE, the underlying pipe and construction technologies are mature, and thus it is difficult to reduce total installed costs beyond small increments. More recently, spoolable composite pipe has become a widely accepted alternative to these materials demonstrating lower capital and operating costs for in-field gathering and injection applications, as well as improved pipe integrity and field performance. This paper describes a major operator's experience using Fiberspar® spoolable composite pipe in place of steel and stick fiberglass in one of Canada's most highly visible CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. Fiberspar LinePipe™ enabled this operator to reduce flowline costs while eliminating corrosion-related failures and problems with joint integrity in this hostile producing environment. This paper summarizes actual field experience showing how LinePipe can substantially reduce costs and improve pipe integrity over the producing life of a field.