Performance evaluation of multiphase flow models applied to virtual flow metering

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%.

Modelling oil and gas flow rate through chokes: A critical review of extant models

“…Cost: Quite expensive in installation and maintenance due to the fact that it has moving parts (Falcone et al, 2001;Patel et al, 2014;Hasanvand and Berneti, 2015). Durability: MPFMs may degrade owing to sand erosion or blockage (Marshall and Thomas, 2015) and may lead to years of inaccurate flow rate measurement if unchecked (Mokhtari and Waltrich, 2016). They also fail to measure flow rates accurately at water cut range of 40-60% or above 90% (Meribout et al, 2010) Health & Safety: Some MPFMs have radioactive sources as detectors which may affect workers (Hasanvand and Berneti, 2015;Roberts and Allen, 1993) Virtual flow meters (VFM)…”

A Survey on Distributed Fibre Optic Sensor Data Modelling Techniques and Machine Learning Algorithms for Multiphase Fluid Flow Estimation

“…Several different approaches can be used to measure the multiphase flow, including but not limited to, conventional dedicated hardware-based flow meters [ 7 , 10 , 14 , 15 , 43 ], virtual flow meters [ 17 , 18 , 39 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], and distributed sensor flow estimations [ 8 , 37 , 40 , 48 ]. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive review of the last approach, using distributed sensors with physical flow modelling and machine learning algorithms for multiphase flow estimation.…”

“…VFMs combine pressure, temperature, and other process control data from an existing sensors with multiphase fluid models, in order to estimate the fluid flow rates. However, the VFMs require extensive parameter tuning and active sensor calibration [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Parameter tuning in VFMs becomes complicated due to the complexity and ever-changing variables in the downhole environment.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that presents and analyzes the state-of-the-art in multiphase fluid flow characterisation with an emphasis on distributed fibre optic sensor and machine learning algorithms. There are several excellent reviews for multiphase flow estimation using other technologies, such as VFMs [ 17 , 18 , 42 ] and hardware-based flow meters [ 7 , 43 ].…”

Well Performance from Numerical Methods to Machine Learning Approach: Applications in Multiple Fractured Shale Reservoirs

“…When it comes to saying well production, a lot of numerical models can characterize it, starting from the well testing to decline curve analysis (DCA). Mokhtari and Waltrich [9] used the multiphase flow models to evaluate the well performance in virtual flow meter simulators and concluded that virtual flow meter simulators can provide accurate predictions for multiphase flow metering, such as flow rates of oil, gas, and water. Wang et al [10] used a multiscale flow model to analyze the well production performance in shale gas reservoirs with fractal geometry and concluded that there are six regimes of flow characteristics of type curves and a small fracture conductivity and a large region conductivity can lead to a large pressure depletion.…”