TECH SPOTLIGHT
NEL DEVELOPS NEW FLOW MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE FOR VISCOUS OIL
NEL, the flow measurement R&d specialist, has developed a new method to improve the accuracy of differential pressure meters for high viscosity oil, which will help the oil & gas industry to reduce financial exposure and tackle the challenges involved in its measurement.
Approximately 70 per cent of the world’s remaining oil reserves are classed as ‘heavy oil’, while differential pressure meters account for around 40% of all flowmeters in use worldwide. However, as they were not originally designed to cope with heavy oil applications, differential pressure meters are less frequently used due to current inaccuracies. NEL estimates that these inaccurate measurements could be costing millions of dollars per year, in addition to costs associated with the necessary physical property measurements.
Craig Marshall, Flow Measurement Engineer at NEL, who has undertaken the work as part of his engineering doctorate at Coventry University, said: “As the world produces ever more heavy oil, accurate measurement is critical in order to safely control the production processes and optimise recovery, as well as meet sales and pipeline agreement requirements. It is also essential to support taxation reporting and allocation measurement when operators share pipelines. This method has the potential to benefit multiple industrial sectors where viscous fluids are processed.”
NEL developed the new measurement
approach to meet an urgent industry requirement to address the challenges of more accurately measuring highly viscous flow. It is based on differential pressure technology and removes current performance errors by providing a corrected discharge coefficient in real-time. In addition, the method also provides a measurement of the density and viscosity of the fluid; two key parameters for the calculation of mass or volume flow and pipeline entry criteria. This potentially removes the requirement and associated costs for sampling systems, inline densitometers and inline viscometers, providing a powerful all- in-one measurement solution.
SMD ENHANCES PRYSMIAN’S TRENCHER
SMD-upgraded remotely operated vehicle has completed its first round of projects burying offshore power cables.
The Seamole (previously Excalibur) trenching vehicle was originally built by Tyneside- based subsea engineering specialist Soil Machine Dynamics in 2000 for use in the telecommunications industry.
Now, after an upgrade and modernisation programme, it has been deployed by Prysmian Powerlink Services – a branch of the Prysmian Group – on long interconnector projects and various major offshore windfarms.
After completion of the upgrade Seamole boasts 200kW of increased jetting capability within the limits of the 900kW installed power.
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Innovative engineering approaches means this jetting power can be deployed in high or low pressure jet modes to make Seamole capable of the depth of cable burial required in the offshore power industry. This depth is now achievable in a wide range of seabed strengths including strong cohesive soils. This upgrade builds upon previous improvements including Variable Speed motor control to tune and optimise the trenching tool performance.
Graham Puntis, Managing Director of SMD Services, said: “Building on the quality and integrity of the vehicle’s original specification we were able to complete a number of modifications that have extended Seamole’s service life beyond the 17-year history it already has. The upgrades we have completed enable the vehicle to be deployed in the even more operationally demanding offshore power industry.
“Prysmian Powerlink Services is a long-standing and valued customer of SMD and our respective technical teams worked closely to establish the precise requirements for the upgraded vehicle. I’m delighted this collaboration has seen our customer gain a significant competitive edge meaning it will no longer need to sub-contract the burial of the majority of power cables and can rely instead on its own bespoke vehicle.”
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