Welcome to our Fundamentals of Gas Processing Webinar
Be part of our digital journey which continues on Thursday 24 September 2026, starting at 11:30am BST (12:30pm CET)
New for 2026! This session will form part of a new webinar series we are launching focused on the Fundamentals of Gas Processing, aimed primarily at Young Professionals.
Our second Webinar in the series is titled "Flow Assurance"
FREE of charge for all to attend.
The Programme
We are delighted to present our Virtual Programme to you.
Please note the below schedule is subject to change. Information is being added regularly so do come back and check.
Flow Assurance
Thursday 24 September 2026
11:30am - 12pm BST / 12:30-1pm CET
Flow Assurance in Natural Gas Pipelines
Speaker: Martin Watson, Wood Group
This presentation introduces the fundamentals of flow assurance for natural gas pipelines, emphasising its role in ensuring reliable and efficient gas transport through both design and operational phases. It covers key topics including pipeline sizing and optimisation, the influence of fluid properties and composition on hydraulics and compression and the importance of maintaining single-phase flow through dew point control. The presentation also explores transient behaviour during commissioning, start-up, and operational upsets, highlighting modelling approaches and their limitations, particularly for complex flow phenomena. Operational concepts such as linepack and the management of off-spec gas are discussed, alongside monitoring and leak detection techniques. Overall, it demonstrates that flow assurance is a multidisciplinary, simulation-driven discipline that requires an understanding of both system behaviour and model limitations.
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Martin has a PhD in Multiphase Flow and over 27 years of experience in solving and explaining problems in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics within the oil and gas industry. His background provides him with an understanding of the limitations of current modelling methods and how best to apply them to real-world challenges. He gives a course on Flow Assurance and Process Engineering at Imperial College London and is currently Wood’s Chief Flow Assurance Engineer, responsible for knowledge transfer across a global community of around 300 flow assurance engineers. |
12-12:30pm BST / 1-1.30pm CET
Flow Assurance in H2 Pipelines
Speaker: Craig McKay, Wood Group
This presentation highlights the unique properties of hydrogen which significantly alters its transportation behaviour when compared to natural gas. Properties such as the minimum ignition energy, low energy density, broad flammability and the impact of impurities are discussed, which all have the potential to significantly alter the design of hydrogen transportation networks. Key steady-state and transient assessments which are required to ensure the safe and reliable design of hydrogen pipelines will be discussed and contrasted against the typical assessments performed for natural gas/CO2 transport networks. The concept of hydrogen blending within natural gas distribution networks is also introduced. This will demonstrate the use case of simulation software which can track the blending concentration of hydrogen throughout distribution networks.
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Craig McKay is an Energy Transition Lead for Wood with over 12 years’ experience in industry. He has a background in both flow assurance and process engineering, providing consulting for a variety of onshore and offshore projects. Craig is a specialist in the modelling of H2/CO2 rich fluids and subsequent model set-up, having been involved with some of Europe's largest energy transition projects. He has also provided input to the recently completed JIP led by Wood regarding Industry Guidelines for Setting the CO2 Specification in CCUS Chains, which has won multiple industry awards. |
1-1:30pm BST / 2-2.30pm CET
Flow Assurance in CO2 Pipelines
Speaker: Paul McDermott, Kent Energies
This presentation will explore the key flow assurance considerations associated with CO₂ transportation in pipeline systems. Topics will include the unique phase behaviour of CO₂, the impact of impurities, and fluid modelling approaches, highlighting key differences from conventional natural gas systems. The presentation will also examine important transient operating scenarios, including pipeline depressurisation, and discuss the modelling techniques used to assess these scenarios, together with their associated challenges and limitations.
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Paul McDermott is a Principal Flow Assurance Engineer at Kent with over 15 years of experience supporting onshore and offshore developments across the upstream oil and gas sector. He specialises in fluid analysis and the steady-state and transient modelling of pipeline systems, delivering solutions to complex flow assurance challenges. His work has supported the safe, reliable, and efficient transportation of hydrocarbons and CO₂ across all phases of the project lifecycle. Most recently, he led flow assurance activities for the detailed design phase of a major CCUS and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) development. |
