Successful Well Test Application Of Portable Multi-Phase Flow Meter (MPFM) For High Gas-Volume Fraction And High Water-Cut Wells In East Kalimantan, Indonesia Available to Purchase

A series of well tests using a portable multi-phase flow meter (MPFM) was recently conducted for production wells in East Kalimantan. The wells were in a mature field where productivity from these wells normally had high water cuts (WC) that ranged from 80- to 100%, and extremely high gas-volume fractions (GVF), ranging from 90- to 100%, respectively. Since most of the wells in this area are low productivity, they are very sensitive to back-pressure. Because of the high WC, high GVF and low-productivity, these wells present an extreme challenge for accurate production measurement. Barges are commonly used to perform well services in the swamp area of this marginal field, and production allocations from the wells in this area had been monitored and measured using conventional well-test equipment on board a well-testing barge. Unfortunately, the well test equipment required a large footprint, and the associated flaring presented an environmental situation. To better meet the challenges presented by the testing conditions, the operator and service company decided to try a portable multiphase flow meter (MPFM) to perform testing from a well-test barge. For comparative purposes, the MPFM was installed on the well-testing barge immediately upstream of the well-testing equipment. Initial measurements with the MPFM yielded results that were ±30% of the test separator reading. To improve the accuracy of the testing, a slight modification was introduced to the MPFM system in the form of a gas knock-out (GKO) vessel. Subsequent measurements with the modified MPFM system yielded readings that were ±10% of the test separator reading