Evaluation and Quality Checks to Ensure Reliability and Sustainability of Safaniyah Multiphase Flow Meters (MPFMs)

Abstract

Abstract Since the mid-1990s, Multiphase Flow Meters (MPFM) has evolved from a revolutionary new technology into a consolidated solution widely adopted by all the major operators worldwide. This evolution has taken place mainly due to the need for high quality measurements at low operational cost and the capability of enabling remote monitoring with ease. More than 80 MPFMs have been installed in Saudi Aramco's offshore Safaniyah field offshore Saudi Aramco. The utilization of MPFM technology goes back to 2003 thus enabling Saudi Aramco to gather the reliable production data from the field and significant knowledge of operating such equipment1. MPFMs like other devices in the field are prone to failure and therefore are subjected to regular checkups and routine maintenance. Not only the physical equipment but also the data provided by MPFM must be quality checked and calibrated periodically as part of building sound Intelligent Field Infrastructure (IFI). Therefore, to ensure a continuous flow of valid production data from the field to the desktop, several measures of data QA/QC are implemented and will be presented in this paper. One of these measures was the establishment of a service contract with one of the major MPFM suppliers to service and maintain the integrity of the MPFM software and hardware. The objective of this case study was, therefore, to analyze the main issues related to both data quality and physical checks faced by Saudi Aramco and the service company during the last nine years of MPFM operations in the Safaniyah field. Also to share experiences and lessons learned over such an extended period of time of working with MPFM, especially in an offshore environment dealing with various operating conditions, flow regimes and an artificial lift. In this paper, the effect of field PVT variation over time on MPFM will also be discussed.