Ravva - Cairn’s first development success story has been the bedrock of innovation, and the foundation of our success story in the country and the region. Ravva, which in Sanskrit and Telegu means “diamond” showcases the journey of growth that Cairn has been able to achieve in its business. Incidentally, Ravva is the only field in India to get such a unique name indicating the belief of the nation in it.

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RAVVA
Celebrating 16 Years of Technical Excellence
Operation | Drag Reducing Additive

2. Ravva | Production
Operation
Drag Reducing Additive
DRA is the acronym for Drag Reducing Additives or Agents, which are also called Flow Improvers. They
are used to improve the pipeline flow capacity by reducing friction between the liquid and the pipe.
Crude oil flow in the pipeline experiences pressure drop
due to the friction created by the pipe surface and the
frictional loss between the liquid layers, which is called
the ‘Drag’. Frictional pressure loss, or drag, in a pipeline
system is a waste of energy, which costs money. The
drag reducing additive minimises flow turbulence,
increases throughput and reduces the energy costs.
Flow can be increased by as much as 80% with existing
assets, which improves the return on investment (ROI)
significantly.
The use of the FLO® pipeline boosters in the Trans
Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in the late ‘70s marked
the first commercial application of drag reducing
additives (DRA) in a crude oil pipeline.
Whether the need is offshore or on land, the FLO®
pipeline booster together with the DRA injection module
can be implemented and be made fully operational
within weeks, and in some cases, days. Opportunities
can immediately be capitalised when they arise and
lengthy construction projects can be avoided.
DRA is suitable if:
 The flow is in the turbulent region
 Most of the pressure loss is caused by straight pipe sections
 Water to oil ratio is less
Cairn, at Ravva, is the first company to use DRA technology in India.
The sea lines RA-RT & RD-RE were experiencing high pressure drop due to high production, which offers
higher back pressure on the oil wells. The back pressure in these lines was expected to increase further
after the infill drilling campaign. This higher back pressure was hampering the deliverability; and in turn
the potential of the well. Various options were analysed to reduce the back pressure, and DRA was found
to be most cost effective.
DRA ‘Liquid Power – LP111’ field trail was carried out at RA in first week of December 2005, by NALCO.
Since the result was impressive in reducing the back pressure on sealine at the platform end, DRA
injection was started at RA in the last week of the same month. Later in March 2006, DRA injection was
started at RD and an increase of 1000 bopd was experienced. DRA has been more effective in reducing
the back pressure at RA & RD due to handling additional well fluids after infill drilling campaign and before
the Multiphase Phase pump was commissioned. DRA injection is still proving to be a more effective

3. Ravva | Production
Operation
method of reducing back pressure to the wells at RA/RC. DRA injection has been stopped at RD after
commissioning of RD-RT 14” oil line.
DRA Injection Skid
DRA injection skid consist of a 1) day tank, which holds the chemical for round the clock injection, 2) a
circulation pump, which keeps circulating DRA between injection pump and day tank, & 3) an injection
pump, which injects DRA into the pipeline through a special injection arrangement - ‘QUILL’. Quill delivers
the chemical exactly to the middle of the flow stream in a pipe, to achieve complete mixing of DRA into the
liquid.