Schlumberger Technology Corporation

Services Petroliers Schlumberger

Schlumberger Holdings Limited

Prad Research and Development Limited

Ian Atkinson

Cheng-Gang Xie

John Sherwood

Songming Huang

Paul Simon Hammond

Barry Nicholson

Miriam Archer

Arthur H Hartog

Rogerio Tadeu Ramos

Robert J Schroeder

Gary Martin Oddie

Jeffrey A Tarvin

Paul Bolchover

Yuehua Chen

Franck Monmont

A method for compensating for changes in a property of water in a multiphase fluid during analysis of the multiphase fluid is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a multiphase flow meter system configured to emit and detect nuclear radiation, to emit and detect microwave radiation, and to analyze a received multiphase fluid. The method can also include measuring a temperature and a microwave complex permittivity of the multiphase fluid. Further, the method includes compensating for changes in the property of water in the multiphase fluid during analysis of the multiphase fluid by using an empirical transformation between the fluid temperatures, microwave complex permittivities and nuclear mass attenuation coefficients for mixtures of different waters expected to be produced and received by the multiphase flow meter system. Additional systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.

Method of compensating for changes in water properties in a multiphase flow meter

Methods and systems are described that provide for measuring flow properties of multiphase mixtures within a pipe carry gas-liquid hydrocarbons and water produced from oil-gas wells. The methods and systems may provide for a combination of a clamp-on ultrasonic gas flow meter to measure flow characteristics of a gas phase in a pipeline and a pulsed ultrasonic Doppler sensor(s) and/or an RF/microwave electromagnetic sensor(s) to measure flow characteristics of a liquid phase. The combination of sensors may provide for multiphase flow measurements under certain flow conditions, such as when the gas-liquid is flowing in a substantially horizontal pipeline, when the flow is stratified or is caused to be stratified and/or the like.

Multiphase flow measurement

A telemetry apparatus and method for communicating data from a down-hole location through a borehole to the surface is described including a light source, an optical fiber being placed along the length of the wellbore and receiving light from the light source, a transducer located such as to produce a force field (e.g. a magnetic field) across the optical fiber and its protective hull without mechanical penetration of the hull at the down-hole location, one or more sensors for measuring down-hole conditions and/or parameters, a controller to provide a modulated signal to the magnetic field generator, said modulated signal being under operating conditions representative of measurements by the one or more sensors, and an optical detector adapted to detect changes in the light intensity or polarization of light passing through the fiber.

Borehole telemetry system

An apparatus for producing swirling flow in a pipeline is provided. The apparatus comprises in flow series: an inlet pipe, a flow deflection section, and an outlet pipe. The inlet pipe is configured such that fluid arrives in the flow deflection section from the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe has one or more apertures formed in a radially outward side wall thereof for the entrance of fluid to the outlet pipe from the flow deflection section. The apertures are configured such that the entering fluid adopts a swirling flow in the outlet pipe. The flow deflection section is configured such that, in the flow deflection section, fluid arriving from the inlet pipe is deflected to a location radially adjacent the apertures while maintaining a substantial component of flow in said principal direction.

System and method for swirl generation

A multiphase flowmeter for determining at least one characteristic of a first phase flowing in a pipe with at least a second phase being also present in the pipe is disclosed. The multiphase flowmeter includes a processor configured to determine the at least one characteristic of the first phase, a first transducer configured to emit a first pulse signal into the first phase at a first incident angle with respect to a straight line that is perpendicular to an interior pipe wall; the first pulse signal is in an ultrasonic range and is configured to be coupled to an exterior pipe wall; and the absolute value of the first incident angle in the first phase is configured to be at least 10 degrees and at most 80 degrees and a second transducer configured to emit a second pulse signal into the first phase at a substantially normal incidence.

Ultrasonic clamp-on multiphase flowmeter

This disclosure relates in general to robust and efficient methods and systems for obtaining a sample of a liquid or gas phase from a multiphase mixture flowing in a pipeline, where the multiphase mixture comprises oil and/or a gaseous hydrocarbon and the pipeline is configured for the transport of the oil and/or gaseous hydrocarbon. In certain aspects of the present invention, after obtaining the sample of the liquid or gas phase of the multiphase mixture, sensing devices, meters, sensor systems or the like may be used to analyze the properties of the collected liquid phase sample.

Robust system and method for obtaining a liquid or gas sample from a multiphase mixture flowing in a hydrocarbon pipeline

An apparatus and method is provided for determining the static gas pressure in a gas/liquid flow. The apparatus and method may be non-invasive relative to the flow to be analyzed. The apparatus and method may include swirling a multiphase flow so that the flow is separated into a gas core and a liquid outer layer, measuring flow parameters, including the liquid layer tangential velocity, the liquid holdup, and the static pressure of the flow at the wall of conduit, and determining the static gas pressure in the gas core from the measured flow parameters.

Gas pressure determination in a gas/liquid flow

Systems and methods are disclosed for measuring densities and flow rates of gas-liquid fluid mixtures. In the systems and methods, the fluid mixture is caused to exhibit swirling flow as it flows through a conduit that includes a constriction, a first pressure difference is measured between two vertically-spaced measurement positions in the conduit, a second pressure difference is measured between two horizontally-spaced measurement positions in the conduit, the first horizontally-spaced measurement position being at the constriction region and the second horizontally-spaced measurement position being upstream or downstream of the constriction region, and one or more of the pressure differences is used to determine a density or a flow rate of the gas-liquid fluid mixture.

Determination of density for metering a fluid flow

A method of sampling a multi-phase fluid stream is provided which comprises the steps of: sampling, with a sampling probe, a portion of the fluid stream; measuring the flow rate of said sampled portion; and measuring, independently of the sampling step, the total flow rate of the fluid stream, wherein the flow rate of the sampled portion is controlled according to the ratio of the flow rate of the sampled portion to the flow rate of the fluid stream, in order to obtain substantially isokinetic sampling of the fluid stream. The method may provide isokinetic sampling to an accuracy of 5% or less and preferably only samples a small portion of the fluid stream. The method has particular application for high rate condensate gas wells. A corresponding sampling system is provided which has particular application in the sampling of streams from well-heads. A flow conditioner for use with sampling methods and systems is also provided, the flow conditioner being a pipe section including: a swirl inducing section; a flow straightener; and an orifice plate.

Isokinetic sampling

A method and system are provided for investigating a gas-liquid fluid mixture as it is conveyed in a conduit having a first constriction region providing a reduced conduit cross section. The method and system include inducing the mixture to exhibit swirling flow in the first constriction region, thereby separating the liquid from the gas, and determining one or more properties of the fluid in the first constriction region.

Method and apparatus for investigating a gas-liquid mixture

Methods and systems are described for determining a flow rate of a gas-liquid fluid mixture in a conduit. In the described systems and methods, the fluid mixture is conditioned so that the liquid in the mixture is separated from the gas in the mixture. Properties of the conditioned flow may then be measured to determine the flow rate. In an embodiment of the invention, the hold up of the separated liquid is measured; the velocity of the separated liquid is measured; the velocity of the separated gas is measured; and the flow rate of the gas-liquid fluid mixture is determined from the hold up and the velocities.

Flow rate determination of a gas-liquid fluid mixture

A downhole apparatus and method for maintaining or reducing the level of liquids at the bottom of a gas producing well is described including a constriction or throat section, such as a Venturi, in which a production gas flow from the well is used to generate a low pressure zone having a pressure less that the ambient formation gas pressure and at least one conduit providing a flow path from an liquids at the bottom of said well to said low pressure zone. The conduit may be adaptable in length to provide for maintaining the flow path as the level of the liquids changes.

Method and apparatus for lifting liquids from gas wells

A method and apparatus is disclosed for identifying changes in composition in a flow containing an oil/hydrocarbon gas fluid mixture, including a measurement of the respective holdups of any two of the gas, oil and water; and measurements to determine attenuation or scattering of high energy photons passing through the mixture; and combining holdup measurements and attenuation or scattering measurements to detect the presence or concentration of a hetero-component in the mixture.

Method and system for analyzing multi-phase mixtures

A downhole apparatus and method for maintaining or reducing the level of liquids at the bottom of a gas producing well is described including a constriction or throat section, such as a Venturi, in which a production gas flow from the well is used to generate a low pressure zone having a pressure less that the ambient formation gas pressure and at least one conduit providing a flow path from an up-stream location within said well to said low pressure zone. The conduit may have additional opening for production gas to enter the conduit.

Growing community of inventors

Ely, United Kingdom

Ian Atkinson