Recently there has been an effort to develop new measurement capabilities for ultra-deepwater oil and gas production.rnBeginning in 2005, work began on what were perceived to be the most important gaps in deepwater measurementrntechnology.rnSince October 2008 a consortium of seven operating companies, in partnership with the US Department of Energy (DOE),rnhas addressed six of the most pressing gaps for multiphase flow measurement:rn1. Deepwater fluid samplingrn2. ROV-assisted measurementrn3. HPHT sensor developmentrn4. Virtual flow meter evaluationrn5. Meter fouling effectsrn6. Multiphase system uncertaintyrnThe work was made possible by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), an entity established tornpromote cooperative efforts between industry and the DOE. Key to its success was the active support of a JIP sponsored byrnseven deepwater operating companies: BHP, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Statoil, and Total.rnDue to increasing dependence on deepwater production, these technology developments are of great importance. There is arnneed to improve reservoir recovery from deepwater, possibly yielding tens of millions of barrels of additional reserves, butrnsuch is not practical using traditional periodic well tests.rnOf equal importance is the provision of more accurate and reliable deepwater measurement to ensure that the assessment ofrnroyalties and the allocation of revenues among owners is sufficiently precise and equitable.rnIn light of the Deepwater Horizon incident, however, perhaps the most important applications for these new measurementrntechnologies lie in the realm of safety and the environment. In retrospect, better and more extensive measurement could havernproven extremely beneficial both before and after the accident. What has been accomplished in this project has set the stagernfor future work aimed at providing these kinds of capabilities for future drilling and production systems.rnThe paper and presentation will provide a look at progress that was achieved in closing each of the six gaps addressed in thisrnfirst major RPSEA measurement project, and will discuss new follow-on projects sponsored by RPSEA to address thernremaining deepwater measurement problems.
展开▼
