Multiphase Meter Production Well Testing Applied to Low-GOR Mature Fields

Abstract

In many mature fields production well testing is limited by the availability of test separator. Prior industry attempts to utilize the new technology of multiphase metering to fill this gap has been hampered by the cost of multiphase meters. This paper describes the development and field tests of a low cost portable multiphase meter. The meter utilizes the Coriolis flow meter technology combined with a microwave based water cut meter that can measure WC in the 0-100% range. The combination of these techniques provides a light weight metering package that can be mounted on trailer for portable well testing. This multiphase meter can measure oil, water and gas without separation of the production stream at low GOR. These applications can be found in mature fields with low GOR and in heavy oil fields.The multiphase meter was subjected to field qualification tests prior to deployment in a West Texas field. The paper describes the results from the qualification tests and the performance history during the 18 months of deployment in the field. Well test data from the multiphase meter is compared to conventional test separator and grab samples. Comparison between the test separator and the multiphase meter shows average liquid flow deviation of about ±7%. The water cut was measured within 1-2 points of the water cut from the test separator.

A Microwave Sensing and Imaging Method for Multiphase Flow Metering of Crude Oil Pipes

“…Gamma-ray and x-ray methods are costly to implement and not very popular due to safety aspects [10], [13], [14]. The combined microwave and Coriolis technique is bulky and hard to install [15].…”

Moving Toward Intelligent Field Applications: MPFM for Production Rate Testing and Beyond

“…Ideally, the desirable output will be the exact measurement of oil flow rate along with the associated gas and/or water production, if any, to an engineering acceptable range of accuracy 5 . A device that would provide such factors in a direct manner without the dependence on other measurements is unfortunately not available yet.…”

“…The separation of production at low gas-oil ratio (GOR) will not be required to address the oil, water and gas rate measurements. Such MPFMs consist of a Coriolis mass flow meter, a pressure transmitter, and a differential pressure transmitter 5 . The transmission of the raw data of incessantly measured pressure, mass flow, density and temperature along with the dielectric properties of the flow stream enables the determination of the gas, water, and oil flow rates in real time for the subject test flow path.…”

“…The Coriolis measures the mass flow rate and fluid density. From the combination of the measured fluid density and the calculated liquid density, the gas fraction is estimated and consequently the flow rates in accordance to three governing flow equations 5 .…”

“…A multiphase measurement is the measurement of oil, water, and gas phases in a production stream without the separation of the phases before entering the meter [4][5][6][7][8] . A multiphase flow meter (MPFM), compact and lightweight compared to conventional separators, can generate accurate flow measurements and operate in a wide range of flow regimes and changing fluid conditions 8 .…”