Case Study Automated Control of Annular Pressure in High‑GOR ESP Wells
97% fewer field trips and 14% higher production.
Metering and Automation Systems
Measurement of injected fluids and multiphase well production
Measuring injection and production rates accurately, reliably, and remotely
Flowmetering is one of the most important measurements in the oil and gas industry, quantifying well and process performance with mass flow rates or volumetric flow rates.
You need this data in real time, wherever you are, without long trips to remote locations. Injection and production rates help inform decisions in well production optimization, reservoir management, hydrocarbon transfers, chemical injection, gas lift injection, annular pressure control, lease and tax payments, and more. That means high reliability and accuracy in the metering equipment are paramount, no matter the application.
Vx Spectra surface multiphase flowmeters quantify flow on an oil and gas location. Vx multiphase well testing technology is available topside and subsea.
Ultrasonic Flowmeters
Measure the velocity of liquid inside a pipe using sound waves. Inexpensive clamp-on models are less accurate than inline models.
Differential Pressure Flowmeters
Calculate flow rate using Bernoulli’s equation for the pressure drop across a restriction in the flow path.
Multiphase Flowmeters
Measure multiphase flow using a gamma detector in the venturi section for continual measurement without separation.
Coriolis Flowmeters
Measure inertia of fluid through oscillating tubes to calculate mass flow rate. Very high accuracy but at a high cost, and limited to smaller pipe sizes.
Thermal Flowmeters
Measure injected heat dissipation in a gas flow stream. Most accurate in minimally complex gas compositions.
Vortex Flowmeters
Measure fluid velocity using the vortex shedding principle. Can be used in gas, liquid, and steam flows.
Multiphase Flowmeters Deliver Multiple Benefits in Unconventional Wells
An article in World Oil explains how replacing traditional per-well metering separators with surface multiphase flowmeters in unconventional wells benefits operators beyond accurate production accounting.
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Challenges in multiphase metering and automation
Because metering data are used in so many oil and gas applications, inaccurate or incomplete measurement of multiphase flow hinders reservoir performance prediction, production optimization modeling, chemical treatment scheduling, process and pipeline planning, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) activities.
Being able to measure performance of individual processes is important, but you also need to have the ability and intelligence within the technology to maintain your targeted flow rates. This ensures stable injection and production rates, which reduces operating costs while maximizing well performance.
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