Author(s)

K. Mokhtari, P. J. Waltrich

Abstract

This paper presents a performance evaluation of multiphase flow models when using these models on Virtual Flow Meters (VFM). Recently, VFM simulators have been identified as a technology capable of provide metering backup, monitoring for abnormalities of physical multiphase flow meters and also for production well allocation. Nevertheless, there are just a few studies found in the literature analysing the accuracy of different VFM models applied to multiphase flow metering. In the oil and gas industry it is essential to accurately measure the amount of oil, gas and water being produced by individual wells. Prior to the 1980s, single-phase measurements alone were sufficient to meet the industry standards. However, with the advent of deepwater exploration and production, multiple wells comingling to a single production separator is a common practice in petroleum production for offshore systems. Therefore, the use of multiphase flow meters to account for the production of oil, gas and water from individual wells became evident. This investigation uses field data for more than one well to evaluate the performance VFM simulators. The results obtained from this study shows that VFM models can provide accurate predictions for multiphase flow metering. The simulators evaluated in this study could predict flow rates of oil, gas and water within acceptable levels of uncertainty, with an average absolute error of 20%.

Keywords

multiphase flow metering, virtual-flow-metering, production allocation