Coriolis flowmeters handle entrained gas at the well head
A Denver, Colorado based oil and gas producer is using Coriolis flowmeters for well head allocation.
Bonanza Creek is an exploration and production company focused on extracting oil and associated liquids-rich natural gas in Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin. The company required an accurate and reliable way to measure how much oil water each well was producing.
Typically, tank gauging -the static quantity assessment of liquid products in bulk storage tanks – is the preferred method for these complicated applications. Although relatively simple and accurate, tank gauging can be time consuming, costly and entails various safety risks.
Bonanza Creek wanted a cost-effective alternative to tank gauging – a way to provide an accurate oil meter at each well head, where the oil flows into a separator that splits the water, oil and gas. In addition, they anticipated there would be gas entrained in the fluid coming out of the separator, so they needed an option that could handle entrained gas.
The producer settled on Krohne’s OPTIMASS Coriolis flowmeters. These include the German company’s innovative Entrained Gas Management feature, which ensures both stable and uninterrupted measurements of oil with high gas content.
“We knew the new technology would be the best way for them to handle entrained gas in this application, and the demonstration showed them clearly how the meter could help,” said Bob Phagan, technical sales representative with ICS, KROHNE’s agent in Colorado, in a statement.
“The OPTIMASS meters were installed on the crude oil leg of the oil/water/gas separator, and the customer compared the tank volume versus the metered volume over a 24 hour period and found only minor differences. These differences were due to the phenomenon known as shrinkage. In conclusion, Bonanza Creek found entrained gas management to be huge benefit to their operations.”
Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Duisburg, Germany, Krohne is a full-service provider for process measuring technology for the measurement of flow, mass flow, level, pressure and temperature as well as analytical tasks. The company has a global presence and employs 3,700 people.
Read the current issue of Fluid Handling International for Krohne’s in depth look at Coriolis flowmeters and entrained gas. Sign up to the magazine here.
