Slugcatcher - Purpose of The Slugcatcher

Purpose of The Slugcatcher

A slugcatcher is a vessel with sufficient buffer volume to store the largest slugs expected from the upstream system. The slugcatcher is located between the outlet of the pipeline and the processing equipment. The buffered liquids can be drained to the processing equipment at a much slower rate to prevent overloading the system. As slugs are a periodical phenomenon, the slugcatcher should be emptied before the next slug arrives.

Slugcatchers can be used continuously or on-demand. A slugcatcher permanently connected to the pipeline will buffer all production, including the slugs, before it is sent to the gas and liquid handling facilities. This is used for difficult to predict slugging behaviour found in terrain slugging, hydrodynamic slugging or riser-based slugging. Alternatively, the slug catcher can be bypassed in normal operation and be brought online when a slug is expected, usually during pigging operations. An advantage of this set-up is that inspection and maintenance on the slugcatcher can be done without interrupting the normal operation.