Brazilian operations today are faced with limited deck space on platforms and rigs, the principal reasons being the increased number of wellheads, Xmas trees and piping arrangements that operators must incorporate into complex production systems.
The result is that fitting crucial equipment, such as multiphase meters, is often a difficult challenge. And this at a time when the ability of multiphase meters to accurately measure complex flow regimes, and generate information on water saturation, break through and gas coning, is crucial to production optimization. Petrobras, for example, has indicated that they would like to see a multiphase meter on each of their wells and trees.
This paper will look at how Emerson, in cooperation with FMC Technologies and Statoil, has found a solution which is meeting the requirements of better maximizing space on offshore platforms and the development of a new flow measurement principle to map complex flow regimes.
The new meter design allows the meter to be retrofitted on X-mas trees in a simple intervention without the need to modify the current well head design. The new measurement principal, based on an electrode geometry sensor, provides more detailed knowledge on flow rates and complex flow patterns.
Focusing on the North Sea's Oseberg platform, where the installation of instrumentation such as multiphase meters is very difficult, the paper will look at the development of the new solution by Emerson, FMC and Statoil.
The paper will chart the results of the Oseberg pilot, where the new meter was deployed on the platform with preliminary flow tests indicating that the results are as good as for regular multiphase meters. The paper will also reference a new high pressure/high temperature version of the meter, ideal for the deepwaters offshore Brazil.
The paper will conclude on the benefits of this new solution in flow assurance and the implications for use offshore Brazil, where there is a need for multiphase meters and where many platforms are limited in terms of space.
Many oil & gas operators today are faced with limited deck space on their existing platforms and rigs. There are a number of reasons for this from the growth of small, satellite offshore platforms through to the increased number of wellheads, Xmas trees, piping arrangements and other equipment that operators must incorporate into their production systems.
