A subsea fluids storage facility comprises a tank for holding and separating fluids which is equipped with ballast capacity and a separable base to be deployed upon the seabed in shallow or deep water, and the storage facility is connectable to a surface production facility, especially a buoy for processing fluids. In deep water the tank is held at a depth above the base for temperature controlled stabilization of produced oil in the tank.

Compounds comprising multiple hydrophilic heads and a lipophilic tail may be employed into fluids to inhibit agglomeration of hydrates, among other things. Suitable hydrophilic heads may include secondary, tertiary, and/or quaternary ammonium cation moieties, phosphonium cation moieties, and combinations thereof. Such LDHI compounds may provide enhanced interactivity with hydrate crystals and/or hydrate-forming molecules. These compounds may be employed in fluids in various environments, such as a conduit penetrating a subterranean formation, or a conduit carrying fluid in an industrial setting.

The present invention relates to a composition comprising: at least one copolymer of which at least one of the repeating units comprises at least one amide function; and at least one polyether having a molecular weight (Mw) greater than 60 g.mol.sup.-1. The invention also relates to the use of said composition for delaying, or even preventing, the formation of gas hydrates, in particular in a method for extracting oil and/or gas and/or condensates, as well as to the method for delaying, or even preventing, the formation and/or agglomeration of gas hydrates, using a composition as defined above.

A method of reducing the viscosity of a crude oil, the method comprising adding to the crude oil (i) a surfactant compound including at least two hydrophobic groups wherein the resultant mixture has a water content of less than 10 vol %.

A method is provided for inhibiting formation of a gas hydrate in a pipeline or removing a gas hydrate existing in a pipeline. The method can comprise injecting a foam composition into a fluid in the pipeline to inhibit formation of the gas hydrate in the pipeline, prevent gas hydrate formation in the pipeline, or remove the gas hydrate from the pipeline.

A method is disclosed that includes introducing one or more dual function inhibitor compounds through an umbilical into a deepwater environment such that the one or more dual function inhibitor compounds are introduced into a fluid in the deepwater environment. The dual function inhibitor is a corrosion inhibitor and a hydrate inhibitor.

A hydrate inhibitor comprising a boronic acid moiety and associated methods and compositions.

A method for exploiting a natural gas hydrate reservoir includes drilling a borehole entering the natural gas hydrate reservoir; perforating the borehole to form perforations; fracturing the natural gas hydrate reservoir via the perforations by using a gas containing calcium oxide powder having a particle size 0.001 to 10 mm to generate a fracture; and collecting natural gas released by the natural gas hydrate. The method is easy to operate, cost-effective, and suitable for commercial applications.

The present invention provides a process for recovering glycol from a process stream comprising glycol, water, dissolved salts, and hydrocarbons. The process comprises subjecting the process stream to a salt-enrichment process to obtain a salt-enriched stream having a salt concentration higher than salt concentration of the process stream, and a salt-reduced stream; subjecting the salt-enriched stream to a glycol reclaiming process to separate the salts and at least a portion of the hydrocarbons from the salt enriched stream to obtain a substantially salt-free water-glycol stream; and blending the salt reduced stream from the salt-enrichment process with the substantially salt-free stream to produce a reclaimed water-glycol stream

The present disclosure relates to a gas hydrate inhibitor composition, comprising A) a compound according to formula (1) ##STR00001## wherein R1 is an alkyl group having from 1 to 5 carbon atoms; R2 is hydrogen or an alkyl group having from 1 to 5 carbon atoms; R3 is present or not as hydrogen and organic moieties having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms; R4 is selected from —(CH.sub.2).sub.t—, —[CH.sub.2—CHR.sup.6).sub.t]—, —(CH.sub.2—CHR.sup.6O).sub.u—(CH.sub.2).sub.t— and combinations thereof; R5 is an alkyl or alkenyl group having 4 to 22 carbon atoms; R6 is hydrogen or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R7 is hydrogen or an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R8 is present or not as hydrogen or organic moieties having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms; t is 2, 3 or 4; u is an integer between 0 and 100; n is 0 or 1 m is 0 or 2 o is 0 or 2, p is 0 or 1 X.sup.− is an anion, and a synergistic cationic surfactant which is selected from quaternary benzyl ammonium salts having besides the benzyl group at least one C.sub.8-C.sub.18-alkyl group bound to the nitrogen atom.