Comprehensive review of severe slugging phenomena and innovative mitigation techniques in oil and gas systems

Severe slugging refers to a complex, cyclic flow regime that occurs during hydrocarbon extraction and transportation. It involves intermittent movement of gas and liquid surges, causing significant flow and pressure oscillations. This phenomenon is commonly observed in pipeline-riser systems and presents numerous challenges to oil and gas production operations. These challenges include production decline, separator flooding, unwanted flaring, and platform shutdowns. A comprehensive review of recent advancements in detecting and mitigating severe slugging in multiphase flow systems is provided in this paper. The review includes results from experiments, simulations, and theories, highlighting factors like pipeline setup, flow rate differences, instabilities, and gas-liquid interactions that influence slug formation. It discusses strategies like gas lift, flow control, pressure management, foaming, and smart chokes for managing severe slugging. Moreover, it evaluates the effectiveness of different mathematical models and simulations in predicting slugging behaviors, emphasizing the need for accurate modeling to develop robust mitigation techniques. The findings underscore the importance of understanding flow dynamics and regime transitions to enhance operational stability and efficiency in oil and gas pipeline systems. This work aims to aid engineers and researchers in designing safer and more effective production systems by addressing the challenges presented by severe slugging in multiphase flows.