Multiphase production metering: Benefits from an Industrial data validation and reconciliation approach

Abstract

Multiphase production metering - Benefits from an Industrial Data Validation and Reconciliation approach Simon Manson, Mohamed Haouche, Pascal Cheneviere and Philippe Julien TOTAL Research Center-Qatar at QSTP - DOHA, Qatar Contact: simon.manson@total.com Context and objectives TOTAL E&P QATAR (TEPQ) is the Operator of AL-Khaleej offshore Oil field under Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Qatar Petroleum. AL-Khaleej field is characterised by a high water Cut (ratio of water over the liquid), which classifies the field as mature. Operating this field safely and cost effectively requires a large involvement of cutting-edge technologies with a strict compliance with internal procedures and Standards. Metering's main objective is to deliver accurate and close to real-time production data from online measurements, allowing the optimization of the operations and the mitigation of potential HSE-related risks. Solution The solution tested by TEPQ is based on a Data Validation and Reconciliation (DVR) approach. This approach is well-known in hydrocarbon downstream sector and power plants. Its added value lies mainly in the automatic reconciliation of several data originating not only from the multiphase flow meters but also from other process parameters. The expected result of this approach is an improvement of data accuracy and increased data availability for operational teams. A DVR pilot has been implemented in the AL-Khaleej field for multiphase flow determination. It performs automatically online data acquisition, data processing and the daily reporting, thanks to a user friendly user interface. Results The communication intends to present the latest findings obtained from the DVR approach. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to highlight the impact of potentially biased data on the integrated production system and on the oil and water production rates. These findings are of high importance for trouble-shooting diagnostic, to identify the source (instruments, process models, etc.) of a malfunction and to define remedial solutions. Oil and water production data, with their relative uncertainties are presented to illustrate the benefits of the DVR approach in challenging production conditions. Conclusions The main benefits from the DVR approach and its user interface lies mainly on the time saving in data post-processing to obtain automatically reconciled data with better accuracy. In addition, thanks to its error detection capability the DVR facilitates troubleshooting identification (alarming).