Research Highlights Details

Development of a Down-hole Flow Metering Mechanism for an Electrical Submersible Pump to Measure Multi-Phase Flow (Water and Oil)

The existing multiphase flow meters, which are in use in oilfields, do not measure multiphase flow rate of water and oil accurately. Highly accurate multiphase flow meters are expensive and need frequent maintenance. In this project funded by Saudi Aramco, the multiphase flow loop at ARC-MST was used to develop a down-hole flow metering mechanism for an electrical submersible pump (ESP) to monitor multiphase flow (water and oil). The objectives of the project were to develop a down-hole flow metering mechanism for an ESP to monitor multi-phase flow and a mathematical model and related multiphase flow rate software. Specifically, the experiments were conducted using the KFUPM multiphase flow loop for different flow rates ranging from 2000 to 13000 bpd, different water-cuts varying from 0 to 100 %, different inclination angles ranging from 40 to 90 degrees, and two oil viscosities in the range of about 2 to 5 cps.