We must marvel at the ingenuity of the first oil and gas producers to tackle subsea production – pioneers who completed the first subsea well on the ocean floor, offshore in California in 1961. Building a wellsite on the seabed invokes a whole new set of difficulties, presenting operators with specific requirements and unique challenges. Fortunately, technology has advanced from those early days to modern, sophisticated equipment designed with these extraordinary conditions in mind.
When producers are dealing with some of the toughest field operating conditions in the world, reliable flow metering is a key parameter in the effective management and optimization of these complex reservoirs. You cannot take any chances in high-risk, deep water environments. You need technology to maintain flow assurance and integrity, prevent water breakthrough and reduce risk of hydrate plugs from forming in the icy temperatures. That is why at Emerson, we have developed some of the most innovative, high performance flow meter technology available on the market. Roxar’s Subsea Wetgas Meter is the only dedicated metering solution targeting wet gas and condensate applications in subsea production systems. The largest, most advanced gas projects on the planet rely on this technology for flow measurement in extreme conditions.
Extreme Precision in an Undersea World
Operators need to control the flow from subsea wells with maximum precision. To do so requires top meter performance, not only to optimize their production of oil and gas, but also to avoid costly mistakes in these challenging environments. In the subsea setting, water in the subsea pipeline can wreak havoc in the well. Avoiding hydrates increases the need for MEG injection, raising operating costs. In the long term, water breakthroughs can cause scaling and corrosion in the pipeline. Formation water breakthroughs can even flood a well completely if they are left unmitigated.
Roxar’s Subsea Wetgas Meter has built-in water detection and salinity measurements to distinguish variations in fluid composition so operators can avoid hydrate formation in the pipeline. Its highly accurate water, gas, and condensate flow measurement reduces the risk of water breakthrough by detecting even the smallest molecules of water coming into the gas flow. The meter performs in ultra-high GVF (99-100%), so operators can depend on this level of precision and accuracy in all phases for the entire operating range of the meter.
Field examples have demonstrated that a hydrate plug (ice that forms in the line) can form in as little as 20 minutes from when water is detected. With the Roxar Subsea Wetgas Meter, highly sensitive, rapid, real-time measurements will alert operators to the issue, so they can take action during this critical window of opportunity.
A System Specifically Designed for Natural Gas Subsea Fields
Increasingly, the oil and gas industry is turning to natural gas resources as technological advances and digitalization unlock new reservoirs previously considered too difficult or costly to tackle. Natural gas is also a lower carbon alternative to coal, playing a key role in lowering CO2 emissions and meeting important environmental impact goals. As the industry moves in this direction, subsea flow meter solutions need to provide highly sensitive and accurate real-time flow measurement for wet gas streams.
Only Emerson has the Roxar Subsea Wetgas Meters to address the specific challenges of natural gas subsea fields. This fit-for-purpose technology can be integrated into any subsea production system, does not require a lot of power, and has an unparalleled 15-year record of accomplishment in some of the most challenging process conditions in the world. Its state-of-the-art salinity measurement system allows for direct measurement of water conductivity in the well which helps operators optimize injection rates of scale and corrosion inhibitors as well as identifying the formation of water breakthroughs.
When it comes to subsea gas applications, operators need the most advanced solution on the market. Precision technologies like the Roxar Subsea Wetgas Meter empower producers to meet the challenges of these reservoirs without compromising safety, sustainability, or productivity of the subsea field.
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