In 2002, I reviewed a special protein called AFGP in deep-sea fish. After a few more years in research and development, it is now being applied in the real world for improving offshore production of crude. By questioning why deep-sea fish did not freeze, my Shell workmates have came up with a solution to keep oil and gas moving along pipelines in very low temperatures at the bottom of the ocean. The answer was a AFGP that the fish produced and which our scientist workmates were then able to make a synthetic copy of.
In our deep-water projects, thousands of metres below sea level, temperatures are near freezing. Combined with the high pressure which is also present at these depths, oil congeals and ice-like hydrates form. And both these effects can block pipes. Companies solve this problem in a number of ways, and adding chemicals to prevent freezing is one traditionally used across the industry. But Shell’s approach, using a new additive based on AFGP, is proving to work better and more cheaply. Injected into the oil and gas as it is extracted, the synthetic additive can be used in far lower doses than other chemicals and have already saved millions of dollars in our projects in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell World article: Delving deeper: unlocking offshore energy
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