Subsea heat exchanger and method for temperature control

摘要

The invention concerns a subsea heat exchanger for cooling or heating a hydrocarbon-containing fluid, said heat exchanger comprising: a convection section enclosed by a shell or enclosure comprising: one or more heat exchanging fluid inlet(s) and outlet(s); one or more hydrocarbon-containing fluid inlet(s) and outlet(s); and one or more fluid carrying convection tube(s) adapted for heat transfer between the hydrocarbon-containing fluid on the inside of the tube(s) and a surrounding heat exchanging fluid on the opposite side of the tube(s),wherein the heat exchanger is provided with one or more flow regulating device(s) for controlling the hydrocarbon- containing fluid outlet temperature, wherein the heat exchanging fluid circulates in a closed circuit for heat transfer both with said hydrocarbon-containing fluid and with surrounding sea water on the outside of the enclosure. The invention also concerns a method for subsea cooling or heating of a hydrocarbon containing fluid.