Upstream oil & gas producers face unique challenges in measuring their production compared with other industries. What comes from a well is a changing mix of oil, gas, produced water, and sediment. Traditionally, test separators have been used to periodically check an individual well’s performance. These well tests are performed on a periodic basis.
I caught up with Sturle Haaland, Emerson’s Roxar Flow Metering Director, who shared with me that for unconventional, shale oil & gas production well pads, multiphase flow meters, such as the Roxar 2600 MFPM, are being used on each well to provide accurate, continuous measurement of water, gas and oil rates coming from the wellhead.
One concern oil & gas producers have about multiphase flow meters is verification of performance, as they replace conventional test separators. To build confidence in the performance and reap the full benefits of the vast amount of real-time well data provided by these meters, their output should be monitored, analyzed and reported on. This provides valuable insights for reservoir and production optimization, as well as performance of the meter sensors. In case process conditions require any setting adjustments, an auditable track record is logged.
Sturle explained that operators often use manual processes for collecting data from the field. What’s more, their available resources for analyzing the data are also limited, and they may not always be trained on new multiphase flow metering technologies. This can make the detection of changes in production difficult, and ultimately lead to costly wrong decisions.
That’s where Emerson’s Roxar 2600 Multiphase Flow Meter Performance Monitoring service comes in. An innovation in remote monitoring, powered by the Microsoft Azure Cloud, these services enable Emerson’s metering experts to perform the verification process without the need for test separators. It’s the latest offering in an expanding portfolio of remote monitoring solutions for equipment and processes offered through Emerson Connected Services.
The new service pairs operators’ teams with Emerson Roxar 2600 Multiphase Flow Meter experts who use advanced analytics to remotely assess and interpret data from the meter and provide actionable insights to improve reliability, safety, performance.
The Roxar 2600 MPFM meter generates large amounts of data output that is securely sent to the cloud where Emerson experts can run detailed analytics. The experts provide operators with actionable insights into their process and well performance, as well as recommendations to optimize meter performance and maintenance.
Through regular ongoing data sharing and collaboration, an effective maintenance strategy is enabled by focusing attention where and when it is needed.
Visit the Roxar 2600 MPFM Performance Monitoring and Connected Services sections on Emerson.com to learn more about this service, which is part of the Plantweb digital ecosystem. You can also connect and interact with other oil & gas industry and flow measurement experts in the Oil & Gas and Measurement Instrumentation groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.
