In 1998-2000 the first generation of multiphase meters were installed at StatoilHydro operated fields as one of the first users of this technology as a result of close cooperation with suppliers.
StatoilHydro soon became one of the major users of multiphase meters and have since then vast operating experience.
During the development of the Mikkel field, it was clear that current multiphase metering technology was not proper for the Mikkel field flow profiles, and a suitable metering system was not commercial available. Hence a new generation of multiphase meteres had to be developed in cooperation with the suppliers. The feature of the next generation multiphase meters focused on improved regularity, repeatability and measurement accuracy.
In addition formation water detection and product allocation became issues.
In cooperation with Roxar Flow Measurement AS a development project was formed to develop and qualify wet gas meters. The requirement of measurement accuracy was 5% of hydrocarbon mass rate.
Illustration of the Snøhvit field.
For the development of the Snøhvit field, the wet gas meter technology developed for Mikkel was further developed. The goal for Snøhvit was to increase the reliability of the wet gas meter and to have formation water detection.
Both the wet gas meters developed for Mikkel and Snøhvit were extensively tested at the special multiphase flow lab at the Kårstø gas plant (K-Lab) to document and verify the performance of the technology. The test at K-lab revealed that more R&D efforts were needed to increase the sensitivity of formation water.
In 2004 Multi Phase Meters AS (MPM) formed a partnership model (JIP) with Statoil and Hydro, as well as ConocoPhillips, ENI, Shell and Total, to develop and qualify a high performance multiphase meter. For StatoilHydro it has been of great importance to work closely with other end users when developing this new product together with MPM. The oil company specialists’ experiences over many years and numerous applications have contributed to ensure product compliance to field requirements. It has also been a goal that the same meter is developed to handle both multiphase flow and wet gas flow.
MPM Topside meter
The new technology developed by MPM represents an important progress in multiphase metering. The MPM meter is using tomography based technology (3D Broadband™) to reduce measurement uncertainties in all multiphase and wet gas flowing regimes. The 3D Broadband™ technology is used to establish three dimensional measurements of the flow inside the pipe.
The MPM meter can perform up to a hundred complete measurements every second. For each measurement, the meter produces flow rates for all three phases in the multiphase flow. The image is made using very fast electronics, which can analyze up to 27 different measurement planes of the pipe at hundred different frequencies, within a few thousands of a second.
As with all new equipment introduced to the oil industry, a comprehensive qualification program was required before the product could be taken into use. StatoilHydro first tested the meter at K-Lab in October 2006.
The meter was then installed at the Gullfaks A platform in series with the test separator for further tests at different conditions. The results came out to great satisfaction to all parties. Not only did the tests prove the performance of the meter, but the meter was also able to measure the salinity in the produced water from the wells. Significant time saving can be achieved by actively using the meter for well testing.
The MPM meter has now been operational since November 2006 without any malfunction of hardware or software. The performance of the meter has demonstrated accurate measurements with good repeatability compared to the test separator measurements for several wells for a wide range of flow rates, GVF (5-95%), and WLR (0-95%).
By testing the same wells at several times, the repeatability of the MPM meter has been demonstrated to be excellent. The qualification program for this top side meter was fulfilled in November 2007.
The positive experiences have led StatoilHydro to exploring new applications, in addition to consider using it for new field developments coming up. Two 3” meters for delivery in August 2007 were purchased by StatoilHydro for measurement on, and control of, new sub sea compact equipment for deep water. StatoilHydro has also purchased a 10” MPM meter where the very sensitive and fast meter is going to be used for measurement and control functions for a subsea wet gas compressor system.
MPM Sub sea meter
Two MPM multiphase meters has been tested in a heavy oil application in Brasil, in a joint project with Petrobras. This test took place in October 2007.
The development of this equipment required quite substantial amounts of risk capital. It would have been rather difficult to develop this product without financial and technical support from the 6 oil companies. More capital is required for a successful commercialization phase, and StatoilHydro has decided to provide capital for the company through a LUP agreement.
Specification for MPM sub sea multiphase/Wet gas meter qualified in August 2007:
- Design pressure of 15 Kpsi (1000 bar)
- Design temperature of -50 to +250 deg.C
- Water depth of up to 3500 m
