Research and Practice of Digital Three-Phase Flowmeter for Complex Oil and Gas Occasion

Abstract

In the development of oil and gas fields, the accurate measurement of oil, gas and water production rate is the basis for calculating the key parameters such as water cut (WCT) and gas-oil ratio (GOR), as well as the important basis for formulating the stimulation measures and field development plans. The traditional surface flowing test is mainly carried out with the help of three-phase Separator or multiple phase flowmeters (MPFM), which is not only complicated operation process and long operating duration time, but also cannot be implemented for environmental protection reasons in some special location. In recent years, with the acceleration of digital oilfield transformation, many wellhead digital multi-phase flowmeters have appeared in the market. However, due to the interference of flow rate, high water cut, high gas content and other factors, the measurement accuracy of most three-phase flowmeters in the market is not good enough, which cannot meet the actual requirement of the customers. In view of the above problems, the design and development of a new on-line three-phase flowmeter is carried out, and the hardware and software system of the flowmeter is upgraded with an iterative and innovative method. Through large-scale field pilot tests to evaluate the performance of equipment, find out the problems during the testing process, and continuously improve the hardware design, software function and core model of the product, so that the instrument can detect the gas and liquid production rate online in real time, and realize real-time data collection and communication through the deep integration with the Internet of Things technology. Present the data to the user in a visual manner in the same time, thus, the whole field data sharing can be realized. The product was put on line in a domestic oilfield after pilot test. The application results show that the product has high stability and the ability to work under complex conditions, and can meet the needs of flow measurement under high GOR and high water cut in the oilfield, and has the feasibility to widely expand the application in domestic and foreign oil fields.

Copyright 2023, IFEDC Organizing Committee

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2023 International Field Exploration and Development Conference in Wuhan, China, 20-22 September 2023. This paper was selected for presentation by the IFEDC Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the IFEDC Technical Team and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the IFEDC Technical Committee its members. Papers pre-sented at the Conference are subject to publication review by Professional Team of IFEDC Technical Committee. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of IFEDC Organizing Committee is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of IFEDC. Contact email: pa-per@ifedc.org.