November 12, 2026
LedaFlow Technologies forms research consortium to de-risk hydrate and wax slurry transport in long tiebacks
Image: Unlocking the Next Frontier in Subsea Tiebacks with HyWax
LedaFlow Technologies has formed a major research consortium with global energy leaders ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies, and Vår Energi, alongside key technology partners Falkor (formerly Kongsberg Digital) and SINTEF Industry.
The project is also supported by The Research Council of Norway. The high-stature industrial initiative will significantly enhance multiphase transport simulation technology to enable ultra-long subsea tieback solutions. This initiative marks a major step in the company's long-term strategy for low-emission, cost-effective energy production.
Closing the Subsea Infrastructure Gap
The consortium, designated as the HyWax project, aims to develop advanced multi-component slurry transport models within the LedaFlow simulator. These models are designed to derisk and hence enable the safe transport of unprocessed oil and natural gas over unprecedented distances with limited pipeline insulation.
Currently, the world's longest subsea tiebacks are limited to roughly 60 km for oil fields (note that most oil field tiebacks are significantly shorter) and 200 km for gas fields because of flow assurance constraints. As unprocessed hydrocarbons cool down over long distances, they inevitably trigger the risk of formation of blockages by wax precipitation and gas hydrates agglomeration.
Historically, the offshore energy industry has worked around these fluid limitations by deploying capital-intensive fixed platforms or Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units to process fluids locally. Alternatively, operators have relied on high-cost pipeline heating or aggressive chemical injections — both of which introduce significant environmental liabilities and carry substantial operational overhead for long-distance transport.
HyWax directly disrupts this status quo. By converting wax and hydrates into a manageable, stable slurry, the technology minimizes the reliance on expensive floating structures and complex local processing. Enabling significantly extended subsea tiebacks opens the door for direct-to-shore subsea pipelines — a paradigm shift that fundamentally streamlines offshore logistics, radically reduces capital expenditures (CAPEX), and lowers total lifecycle carbon emissions.
Shifting from Avoidance to Controlled Slurry Flow
Traditional flow assurance strategies depend heavily on energy-intensive pipeline heating, massive volumes of costly chemical injections that pose clear environmental risks, or frequent pigging operations that interrupt commercial production.
HyWax introduces a definitive paradigm shift: rather than attempting to avoid wax and hydrate deposition altogether, the technology focuses on managing the risk as a fully controlled, fluid and flowable slurry. This innovative methodology builds directly upon the pioneering Cold-Flow research conducted and validated by SINTEF since the late 1990s.
The objective is to equip engineers with a validated digital toolbox for accurately predicting multi-component slurry flow behavior. LedaFlow will enable identification of safe operating limits, optimize chemical usage, and de-risk transport through ultra-long direct tiebacks.
Turning Data into Millions in CAPEX Savings
The potential commercial impact is substantial.
... direct-to-shore slurry transport models could potentially save several hundred million of $ on a single offshore project by reducing capital expenditure during development and lowering energy use throughout production.
Vanessa Richon, TotalEnergies, and LedaFlow Board Member
Building on the commercialization model successfully executed by Falkor since 2010, the new LedaFlow HyWax models will be delivered as world-class, industrial-grade software and integrated into digital twins to support real-time asset operations and predictive maintenance.
Unifying World-Class Resources
The consortium leverages SINTEF Industry’s experimental infrastructure, including access to advanced multiphase flow loops at the Tiller facility. Concurrently, participating energy companies will contribute crucial field operating data and operational expertise to close this technology gap.
The HyWax consortium is a central piece of our long-term strategy to enable and de-risk ultra-long tieback solutions. This technology will fundamentally change how entire offshore infrastructures are developed for the future.
Jan Gerhard Norstrøm, Managing Director, LedaFlow Technologies DA
"It delivers on our vision to bring next-generation physics closer to actual simulator execution, de-risking low-emission production at a significantly lower cost."
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