Peer Reviewed Papers: Overview

This month we again feature four papers that have completed the peer-review process, a process that depends entirely on dedicated individuals who serve either as technical editors or as associate editors.

Welcome to the peer-reviewed papers section of Oil and Gas Facilities. This month we again feature four papers that have completed the peer-review process, a process that depends entirely on dedicated individuals who serve either as technical editors or as associate editors. Every year, SPE recognizes technical editors who have made an exceptional effort to ensure the technical excellence of the Society’s peer-reviewed journals, and, in 2014, three individuals were recognized for their work for this journal: Doreen Chin, Amrin Harun, and Benjamin Pierre. While I want to thank all the technical editors for their contributions, a special word of thanks goes to these three, as well as to associate editors Williams Chirinos, Galen Dino, and Sudhakar Mahajanam.

Of the four papers featured in this issue, three deal with modeling. The first paper covers a method to optimize the spacing of the compressor stations along a natural-gas pipeline so that the total fuel consumption is minimized. The model uses genetic algorithms, which allows it to perform various assessments for a given situation and to identify the solution that meets the defined objective(s). After describing the model, the paper illustrates its use through two case studies.

The second paper describes a new method to predict the viscosity of heavy oil as a function of temperature. The paper also compares the results generated by this method with those from several widely accepted existing correlations to illustrate the potential use of the method.

In the third paper, a finite-element-analysis modeling method is presented that can be used to simulate large plastic deformation, pipe ovality, and local pipe buckling in the touchdown zone of a deepwater steel catenary riser (SCR). The paper also describes the methodology for evaluating the compression and plastic deformation that could be experienced by deepwater SCRs, including the modeling approach, analysis results, and possible failure modes.

The last paper deals with degradation and drag reduction of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer solutions during transport in pipelines. The authors refute the claim that polymer pipeline transport is limited because of mechanical degradation. Because this degradation only occurs at or above a certain critical velocity, there is no limitation, provided that this velocity is not  reached.

I hope that you will review these interesting papers, and we welcome further discussion whenever you feel that the content of a particular paper warrants additional debate or comment. Last year, there were no discussions published for Oil and Gas Facilities papers, and it is our hope that will change this year.

Finally, I invite you to submit papers for peer review. Visit www.spe.org/authors/peer.php to find the details for submitting a paper (or a discussion). Feedback provided to SPE indicates that our readers truly enjoy and find valuable the peer-reviewed papers, but we can only present this feature if papers are submitted for review.


verbeek-gerald.jpg

Gerald Verbeek,
Peer-Review Editor
Verbeek Management Service


Associate Editors

Williams Chirinos, Inexertus

Galen Dino, Consultant

Sudhakar Mahajanam, ConocoPhillips