Technical Paper: Topside and Subsea Experience with the Multiphase Flow Meter

Society: SPE
Paper Number: 38783
Presentation Date: 2007
 

Abstract

Multiphase flow meters (MPFM) are finding increasing acceptance offshore, where operators are achieving some level of comfort after several years of familiarization with the technology. Meters are being applied in well testing, well management, and allocation of production. Since first deliveries of the Framo meter in 1993, significant experience has been gained in both topside and subsea application of the devices. For topside applications, the principal advantage of the meter remains the elimination of the test separator and all its associated hardware and maintenance. For subsea applications, the advantage is even greater, viz, the elimination of the platform.

Combining the Framo fluid mixer and Venturi with a multiple-energy gamma ray absorption composition measurement provides the optimum in precise estimation of gas, oil, and water flow rates, while at the same time solving many of the operational problems which plague alternative methods.

Operational experience with Framo multiphase meters installed around the World, both topside and subsea, will be reviewed. Special attention will be paid to the difficult issues peculiar to subsea meters, such as their remote installation, retrieval, calibration, and maintenance.

Finally, future trends in multiphase metering will be explored. One of the most significant of these will be the migration of this methodology into areas of application where today it is not economically feasible. What must be done to apply multiphase metering in more routine applications, such as in onshore fields? The answer, as with any other standard oilfield measurement, lies in the evolution of the technology from an experimental domain on one of routine usage. This and other future directions in this discipline will be addressed.

Related products and services

Multiphase Well Testing and Monitoring