Principle and Design of Multiphase Flowmeter with Batch Separation

Today, I will introduce a national invention authorized patent - multiphase flowmeter with batch separation. The patent was filed by Rosemount Corporation and was granted an announcement on August 17, 2016.

Content description

The present invention provides a process fluid flow system, in particular a multiphase flowmeter with batch separation.

Background of the Invention

When an oil well produces oil, it will sometimes produce unwanted components, such as water. For wells that are producing oil in large quantities, expensive and complex equipment is often invested in continuously measuring the relative proportions of oil, gas, water, and/or other substances. Such devices often use nuclear densitometry to provide multiphase flow meters that can continuously monitor the relative amounts of oil, water, gas, and/or other substances. However, the cost of a multiphase flowmeter based on nuclear densitometry may amount to $100,000 per unit investment. Although this cost is high, it is still reasonable for wells with significant production volumes.

Oil wells begin to produce significant amounts of oil/water/gas three-phase mixtures near the end of their useful life. Furthermore, since these wells have reduced production capacity, the large capital expenditures for managing the wells are not always justified. For example, the continued use of multiphase flow meters employing nuclear densitometry is often not justified. However, simply abandoning late-stage wells due to higher operating expenses is also not advisable, as the remainder of the oil remains in the well.

It would be beneficial in the technical field of oil recovery if a new multiphase flow meter solution could be provided to replace nuclear densitometry based multiphase flow meters for wells that do not produce sufficient quantities of oil. Providing such a multiphase flow meter can extend the useful life of a well without the same high operating costs associated with high-production wells.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a process fluid flow system having an input, an output, and a plurality of fluid lines disposed between the input and the output. At least one valve is arranged to selectively allow process fluid to flow through a first circuit of the plurality of circuits or a second circuit of the plurality of circuits.

During normal production, process fluid flows through the first line, and during process fluid isolation (sequestraTIon), process fluid flows through the second line. A process fluid flow measurement device is operably interposed between the input and the output and is configured to measure the total flow through the system. A separator is arranged in the second circuit and arranged to allow the process fluid to separate by specific gravity into immiscible components of the process fluid over time, the separator having a known internal volume .

A guided wave radar level measuring device is preferably arranged to measure the height of the interface within the separator. A controller is coupled to at least one valve, the process fluid flow measurement system, and the guided wave radar level measurement device. The controller is configured to combine total process fluid flow information from the process fluid flow measurement device with measured height information from the guided wave level measurement device to provide an Fractional flowrate of at least one immiscible ingredient.

Embodiments of the present invention arise from the idea of ​​isolating a fraction of the actual oil well flow from the production flow, and allowing the isolated sample volume to settle to such an extent that relative relative information on oil, gas, and/or water can be provided. Measurement and/or inference of proportions. Although such techniques do not provide up to the second-level real-time output of multiphase flow meters using nuclear densitometry, they do provide a viable solution with significantly reduced expense.

In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided that is capable of accurately determining the amount of gas, oil, and water with an overall error of less than /-10% and is capable of operating at moisture levels in excess of 80%. Furthermore, this multiphase flow meter is capable of operating in the region at temperatures of about 200°F and pressures up to 15,000 psi. Furthermore, the design requires only minimal labor and manufacturing costs, and can be implemented at approximately 1/5 the cost of multiphase flow meters using traditional nuclear densitometry techniques.

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