TRIALS OF A MULTIPHASE FLOW METER ON PRODUCTION PIPELINES FROM OIL WELLS

Abstract

This paper describes trials of a new multiphase flow meter (MFM) on the Vicksburg offshore production platform and at the oil processing facilities on Thevenard Island. The flow meter is based on two specialised gamma-ray transmission gauges mounted on a pipe carrying the full flow of oil, water and gas.

Two MFMs were used in both trials, one mounted on a vertical (up flow), and the other on a horizontal, section of a pipeline linking the test manifold to the test separator. Measurements were made on flows of oil/water/gas mixtures from each well, and on combined flows of different pairs of wells.

The r.m.s. difference between the flow rates determined by the MFM and by the separator output meter was determined by least squares regression. For the Vicksburg trial, the ratio of r.m.s. difference and mean flow rate was 8.9 per cent for oil, 5.6 per cent for water, 5.2 per cent for liquids, and 8.2 per cent for gas for flows in the vertical pipeline and slightly larger for flows in the horizontal pipeline. For the Thevenard Island trial, the preliminary results for flows in the vertical pipeline show the ratio to be 6.8 per cent for oil, 6.0 per cent for water, 3.4 per cent for liquids, and 5.9 per cent for water cut.