MPM HighPerformanceFlowmeter

Description & Technical Specifications

Main application areas:

• Well testing
Meter can be installed at the test manifold or directly on each well

• Tie-in of new wells/ fields

Meter can be used for sales allocation (between different companies) as
well as production allocation (to the individual wells)

• Subsea allocation
Used when commingling the production from several wells before it’s
brought to the surface. This can be sales or production allocation

• Wet gas type of environment

Good water fraction detection

• MPFM Master Meter

Like in single phase applications, where master meters are used for checking
other MPFM devices with a compact and accurate master MPFM

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 1 of 14

 MPM Flowmeter – Topside & Subsea versions

User benefits and advantages

The measurement performance of the MPM
meter is acceptable for allocation metering
The MPM meter allows faster well testing, e.g.
few hours rather than a day
Provides reliable measurements for
production and reservoir optimisation
Low pressure loss
Unique measurement technology
Multiphase and wetgas flowmeter combined;
covers full GVF range
Unique performance at high watercuts – and
high GVF’s. Capable of measuring oil rates at
high watercuts over full GVF range
Unparalleled measurement sensitivity and
reproducibility proven in several test locations

Enhanced user interface - Meter can be Designed for maximum operational stability
operated remotely
Easy field configuration procedure, with water
conductivity self configuration option

A comprehensive test and qualification program was completed to

qualify the MPM Meter for use in topside and
subsea field applications.

Test reports are available on request.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 2 of 14

Multiphase metering - Real life conditions
Many new oil wells generally have minimal
water and gas production. However as time
progresses the wells often start to produce
water. Pressure reduction and gas breakout in
the well over time also causes more gas flows
at the wellhead and in the multiphase meter.
In wetgas conditions the gas phase is
dominant, and the liquids consist of
relatively small quantities. If at the same
time, the watercut in the small quantity is
high then the oil is even more difficult to
measure at high precision.

To continue and enhance production, many

fields need Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
methods. Common EOR methods include gas
lift, water injection and submersible pumping.
All of these methods impact the well-stream,
and contribute to variations and changes of
the Gas Volume Fraction (GVF) and the
Watercut over time.

In many oil and gas production facilities it is

not unusual for a single phase to dominate,
depending upon the nature of the field, and
the techniques used to develop it. In the
case where one phase predominates, it
means that the flows of the other phases are
small and relatively difficult to measure.
Ref: Lex Scheers, SE Asia conference (March 2005).

Challenges when measuring multiphase & wetgas flow rate

Multiphase meters have 1. Eliminating measurement

been commercially
available over a decade,
and their use is their use is
becoming more common.
Even so, the operational
experience is mixed.
The development of the
MPM Meter was based on a
clearly stated need among
field operators for a high
performance multiphase
meter, with the ability to
deliver more advanced
functions and accurate
measurements on a
consistent basis.
The goal for the MPM Meter
was to develop a solution
with significantly better
operational stability,
measurement accuracy and
reproducibility compared to
available meters.
To achieve these goals,
MPM attacked the
challenges on a broad scale
focusing on:
errors due to annular gas
concentration (in vertical
flow), as exemplified in the
figure to the left
2. Obtain fast repeat
measurements to capture
correctly rapid fluctuations in
the flow (slugs, etc)
3. Ensure more accurate
watercut measurements at
high watercuts and at high
GVF’s to measure flow rates of
oil more precisely
4. Closing the measurement gap;
enable multiphase and
wetgas measurements are
combined in one single meter.
5. Measure water conductivity,
rather than require input from
user; simplify field configuration
and reduce errors

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 3 of 14

MPM Meter – General Description
The MPM Meter is intended for production
monitoring, well testing and allocation
metering purposes, and is tailored for use in
WetGas and MultiPhase flow applications.
Focus during the development phase was to
design a High Performance Meter,
characterized by:
• High operational stability
• Unique sensitivity and reproducibility
• Unparalleled accuracy
The MPM Meter is an in-line and full bore
meter, based on conventional multiphase
metering equipment in combination with
the patented (4 patents + 1 pending)
3DBroadBand™ technology.
The MPM Meter performs measurements
over the full Gas Volume Fraction (GVF)
range, from 0 to 100%.
For GVF’s up to 90-95% GVF, the Meter
typical operates in Multiphase mode.
The MPM Meter is located in the field, and is only connected to power and signal cables.
The MPM Meter does all measurements and calculations locally, and transmits these to a SCADA
system and/or an MPM terminal.
MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07
For GVF’s above 95%, the Meter’s Wetgas
mode should be used.
The hardware is identical; however, the
metrology applied and the associated
software is different for the two modes.
For all GVFs, the Meter covers the full range
of watercuts, from 0 to 100%. One of the
Meters real unique properties is the ability to
measure the watercut equally good at high
watercuts (water continuous flow) and
lower watercuts (oil continuous). As a
consequence, the MPM Meter performs
reliable oil flow rate measurements even at
high watercuts and high GVFs. This has until
now been the perceived a weakness by the
users of all of the multiphase meters on the
market.
The Meter is built with all parts in one unit with
minimum need for final assembly on site. The
electronics are designed and built to survive in
severe and violent conditions and the
transmitters are fixed to the sensor body.
Other key words for the Meters are:
• Compact design
• Simple field configuration
• Water salinity measurement
(option)
• Design pressure of up to 15.000
PSI at up to 250 °C (450 °F)
• Subsea version available ‘07
• Redundancy on all primary
measurements can be
included
Project confidential Page 4 of 14
MPM Meter Measurement Principles
The MPM Meter encompasses several sensors for
different measurements, which are combined in
a multi-modal tomographic measurement
system.
The flow first passes through a Venturi, which is
used to measure the total mass flow rate. MPM
has developed special Venturi models in close
co-operation and on license from its partners.
The Venturi is also used to create radial
symmetrical flow conditions in the 3D
Broadband™ section downstream the Venturi.
The MPM Meter contains a special gamma
densitometer solution, as well as temperature
and pressure transmitters.
An optional probe can be included, for
measurement of the water conductivity, density
and salinity.

3D BroadBand™

The symmetrical flow conditions created by the

Venturi are ideal for high speed tomographic
reconstruction techniques to be used.

The 3D Broadband™ system developed by MPM is a

high-speed radio- frequency (RF) based technique
for measuring the watercut, the composition and
the liquid/gas distribution within the pipe cross
section.

By combining this information with the

measurement from the Venturi, accurate flow rates
of oil, water and gas can be calculated.

The MPM Meter is extremely fast. Averaging of

measured data is very limited, to avid errors due
to non-linearities in the flow.

Capturing rapid fluctuations in the

flow rate

The MPM Meter performs RF measurements in

many different dimensions. At each
dimension, measurements are done at many
frequencies over a broad frequency range,
and combined with gamma ray mass
absorption measurements. Each
measurement frequency in each direction
forms a unique and independent equation
resulting in many thousand equations per
second for accurate determination of the
multiphase cross sectional composition and
distribution.

Flow changes in the longitudinal axis are

captured precisely by doing many
measurements every second, which also
enables flow characteristics like slug intervals
& lengths to be monitored.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 5 of 14

MPM Meter Features
Dual Mode Operation (option)

The MPM Meter is designed to perform accurate flow rate measurements on all type of wells,
throughout their entire life. The MPM Meter can address both multiphase– and wetgas applications;
at oil-, gas- and water continuous flow regimes.

In the multiphase composition GAS

figure to the left are displayed 100
Gas continuous flow
WetGas
some typical well trajectories, (A, B

GVF at actual conditions (%)

GVF Mode
and C) which indicate the need to 80 90 - 95%
have a meter that can handle both A
wetgas- and multiphase flow.
60
In Wetgas mode the MPM Meter’s Oil MultiPhase
sensitivity is used to obtaining 40 continuous B Mode
extremely accurate water fraction flow
measurements. In MultiPhase
20 Water
Mode, the MPM Meter does high C continuous
speed measurements to detect flow
and compensate for variations and OIL 0 WATER
changes in the flow regime. 0 20 40 60 80 100
WaterCut (%)

Oil & water continuous flow

The MPM Meter is able to perform

accurate measurements of the
WLR (watercut) with both oil and
water continuous liquid
emulsions.

The figure shows results from a

large number of tests, covering
water salinities from 0 to 20%,
which were performed to verify
the performance of the watercut
measurement. The watercut was
varied over the full range from 0
to 100%.

For watercuts in the range 30-55%

the emulsion was either oil or
water continuous depending on
the flow conditions. As seen from
the graph, the measurement
performance is equally good in
both oil- and water continuous
flow conditions, and even in the
transition region between oil and
water continuous liquid emulsion.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 6 of 14

 Watercut
Operational Stability Well at Gullfaks

100
Test Separator
90 MPM
During testing and use in the field the MPM
80 75 74 75 74 73 74 74 74 74
73 73 73 73 73 73
Meter has demonstrated superb operational 70
stability, with no hardware or software

Watercut [%]
60
problems. 50

40

The in-built self diagnostics functionality 30

provides a means for the user to verify the 20

performance, and to validate the field 10

0 0 0
configuration data. 0
June 06 Sept 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Dec 06 Dec 06
Date

Liquid Flow Rate

Repeatability Well at Gullfaks

The repeatability of the MPM Meter has 1400

proved to be beyond the level which is 1170
1214
1166
1134
1095 1094 1095
Test Separator
1200 1131 MPM
quantifiable with the available reference 1085 1087 1084
Liquid Flow Rate [Sm3/d]

907 909
1000
instrumentation in a field location. It was 907 910

concluded that for oil and gas rates, the 800

reproducibility was within tenths of a 600

percent, as demonstrated in the graphs to 400

the right. 200

0 0 0
0
June 06 Sept 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Nov 06 Dec 06 Dec 06
Date

Sensitivity

Water Fraction Sensitivity Test

Test at K-Lab - October 2006
The MPM meters sensitivity to small
changes in the composition is shown
0.035 % in the figure to the left, where tiny
MPM
Reference
amounts of water were injected
0.030 % upstream of the MPM Meter at the K-
lab test-facility.
0.025 %
Water Fraction [%]

A constant gas flow rate of 300 m3/h

0.020 % was used, with water injections of

0.015 %
M3/h water fraction
• 0,008 0,0026 %
0.010 %
• 0,043 0,0143 %
• 0,086 0,0287 %
0.005 %

As seen from the graph, the MPM

0.000 %
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Meters can easily detect water
Tme [Minutes]
fraction changes less than 0.0025%
water
From Field test at K-Lab, Oct 06

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 7 of 14

MPM Meter - Installation and Operation
Mechanical installation

The MPM Meter must be installed in a vertical position, downstream a blinded tee. The piping
in between the tee and the MPM Meter must have the same inner diameter as the Meter.
MPM can as an option supply the blind tee and the piping.

Signal interfacing
The MPM Meter’s
communication protocol is
MODBUS v1.1a.

There are two RS-485 serial

ports and one Ethernet port for
interfacing to the MPM Meter.
CanBus can be supplied.

The RS-ports are configured as

MODBUS slaves, with
configurable addresses. They
are high-speed, configurable
for data rates between 1200
bps and 921.6 Kbps.

Modbus over TCP/IP can also

be used on the Ethernet
connection to the Meter. The
database on the MPM terminal
can also be accessed
externally (ODBC).

The MPM terminal is typically a rack mounted PC unit (typical 1-2U) located in safe area. It
hosts the MPM Meter’s Graphical User’s Interface (GUI). The MPM terminal can also serve as
an interface module to the SCADA system. The MPM terminal stores historical data and
contains a web service that can be used to access the meter locally or remotely across the
internet/Intranet. Any PC connected to the same network as the MPM terminal can run the
GUI for the MPM Meter (.NET).

Field configuration

The MPM Meter is fully calibrated in the factory. Only an easy-to-do configuration is required
in the field, involving the following steps:

- Input of representative PVT data

- For topside units – a one point empty pipe calibration (air) of the gamma detector
after installation of the gamma source (since the source is shipped separately
according to international regulations for transportation of gamma sources)

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 8 of 14

The PVT data includes information about the fluid properties, like the oil, gas and water
densities. It also comprises information about the water conductivity, which can be entered
manually by the operator or be measured and calculated by the meter.

Three methods are available for providing oil and gas densities to the MPM Meter:

1. Input of density tables, where oil and gas densities are provided at given pressures
and temperatures. To find the correct densities for given P and T, the MPM Meter will
do a linear interpolation between values in the tables.

2. Continuous input of density values from SCADA system. Configuration data is then
written into specified modbus registers in the MPM Meter.

3. The MPM Meter can be delivered with PVT routines integrated in the meter software.
These routines will continuously calculate the correct densities for the actual flowing
conditions. The input to the PVT routines (molfractions, molweights, etc of
hydrocarbons) must be provided by the operator or SCADA system.

Other Configuration Parameters:

Water conductivity and water density can be specified by the operator or measured by the
MPM Meter (self configuration). For low watercuts (oil continuous flow) a potential erroneous
value for the water conductivity has little influence on the accuracy of the measurements. At
water cuts of 30-40 % and above, where the flow is water continuous flow, specifying a
correct value for the conductivity of the water is of more importance.

The viscosity as f(P,T) of the oil needs to be specified.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 9 of 14

 Water conductivity and density measurement, self-configuration (option)

Conductivity (Salinity) Probe Measurements vs. Water Samples

The MPM Meter measures the K-Lab and Gullfaks A, Oct - Dec 2006

conductivity of the water in water 70

G VF = 5-80%
WLR =50-95%
continuous flow, utilizing the MPM 60

Measured Water Conductivity [mS/cm]

Salinity Probe. The measured water
conductivity is converted to 25 °C 50

and used to calculate the 40

measured water salinity and water
density assuming NaCl salt in the 30

water. 20
Lab Analysis
- 2 mS/cm
+ 2 mS/cm
No field configuration at all is 10
MPM

required for the salinity probe. 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Reference Water Conductivity [mS/cm]
The graph to the right shows the
measured water conductivity by
the MPM Meter compared to the As seen from the graph, all the measurements are within the
water conductivity of the water target band of ± 2 mS/cm.The reproducibility of the water
sample (data from field tests). conductivity measurement was within ± 0.5 mS/cm for all the
wells in the reproducibility tests at Gullfaks (Dec 06) and within ±
0.25 mS/cm for 60% of the tests.

Well testing - Stabilization and test times

In general, there are two types of

stabilization that occurs during a well
test:
1. Stabilization of the well itself. This
could take from a few minutes
up to half an hour.
2. Stabilization of the
measurement device. This is
depending on the device. The
MPM Meter is stable within some
minutes. A test separator
requires 1 to 12 hours to obtain
stable conditions and flush the
separator content

Even if stable conditions are

established, there might be dynamic
effects in the well or the flowlines,
which generate long cyclical
behavior in the flow rates. Slugging
can also occur, which means that
testing should go over a certain
period.

Below is a transcript from a flow

computer for a typical transition As seen from the picture, the test separator takes approximately
between two wells on the test one hour to stabilise the flow rates. The MPM meter on the other
separator at Gullfaks A and the MPM hand gives stable measurements within a few minutes.
Meter.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 10 of 14

Meter User Interface (GUI)1

The Main Page of the user interface consists of a standard MS Windows GUI divided into three
parts, a menu bar at the top of the window, an information area on the left hand side and a
graphics area in the middle. In addition, the status bar at the bottom is used to give some
information about the meter.

The Main Page serves several purposes

• Provide a trend of flow rates, fluid properties and flow condition – as a function of time
• Shows numerical, instantaneous values of flow rates, fluid properties and flow condition.
• Display information of the meter state
• The menu gives access to meter configuration, adding or removing MPM Meters, select
different trend, and look at diagnostics information. In order to alter meter configuration
and adding or removing MPM Meters, the user must have Administrator privileges.

User Interface: (1) Menu, (2) Information area, (3) Graphics area, and (4) status bar

1
Further details are found in the MPM Meter User Manual
MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 11 of 14
 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The MPM Meter comes in different sizes and materials. The Meter sizes have been selected to ensure
consistent and optimum overlap from one size to the other.
The size to be used for a particular application will be selected based upon expected flow rates.
The type of flange connections and their size will be made to satisfy the user requirements.

Pipe size MPM Sensor ID (mm) F53: ASTM A182 F53 (Super Duplex steel)
2 – 3” 2” 50 UNS S32750
3 - 4” 3” 74 UNS S32760
5 - 6” 5” 110 F51: ASTM A182 F51 (Duplex Steel)
7 - 8” 7” 155 F44: ASTM A182 F44 (6Mo Stainless steel)
316: ASTM A182 316L (Standard Stainless)
10-12” 10” 220
14-16” 14” 306

Electrical

• 24 VDC; variations within 18 -30 VDC are accepted.

• Nominal power consumption is 70 watts (topside).

The electronics system is a ruggedized design, consisting of high quality components only. The
complete assembly is tested and qualified according to subsea standards (ISO 13628-4). This
includes testing at severe temperature, vibration and shock loads, as well as ESS tests.

Temperature range

• Ambient operating temperature: -40 °C to +55 °C.

Hazardous area certification

• ATEX certified Eexdeia IIB T5

• EMC certified.

Measurement uncertainty specifications

• Specified in separate data sheet.

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 12 of 14

 MPM Subsea Meter
Key Design Criteria – Subsea Meter

• Provide state of the art high

performance subsea metering

• Maximum reliability and redundancy -

“no/zero” maintenance

• Design for ≥25 year lifetime

• Sour service - NACE compliance

• Mechanical design and qualification in

accordance with ISO 13628 -1,4,6, and
API 17D and API 6A.

• Qualification conducted in co-

operation with DnV in accordance with
their recommended practise RP-A203.

DESIGN VALUES STANDARD METER OPTIONS

Temperature Pressure Water Depth Pressure Water Depth

°F °C Psi feet / m Psi feet / m

Base Design 250 121 10 000 3000 / 1000 15 000 10 000 / 3 500

High Temp 350 177 10 000 3001 / 1000 15 001 11 000 / 3 500

Enhanced Temp 450 232 10 000 3002 / 1000 15 002 12 000 / 3 500

Special features

• Redundant measurement system

• Redundant electronics system and transmitters
• Self diagnostics system applied to measurement and
configuration data
• Monitoring system including sensors for shock, vibration,
humidity, water ingress, internal temperature and pressure
• In-situ verification system
• Remote operation and monitoring
• Materials according to requirements

MPM Subsea Meter Versions OPTIONS

STANDARD METER

Temperature Pressure Water Depth Material Pressure Water Depth

°F °C Psi Feet m Psi Feet m

Base Design 250 121 10 000 3 000 1000 Duplex (1) 15 000 up to 10 000 up to 3 500

High Temp 350 177 10 000 3 000 1000 Duplex (1) 15 000 up to 10 000 up to 3 500

Extreme Temp 450 232 10 000 3 000 1000 Duplex (1) 15 000 up to 10 000 up to 3 500

Note (1): Other materials on request:

Duplex UNS S31803
Super Duplex UNS S31260
Inconel 625 UNS N06625
Inconel 725 UNS N07725
Hastelloy C-22 UNS N06022
Hastelloy C-276 UNS N10276

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 13 of 14

 MPM Flow Laboratory

MPM offers Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), training of field personnel and
operators, and other studies be done in the MPM Flow Laboratory, which is
made to enable developing and testing of flow meters at Field Alike conditions.
It offers a large variety in flow rates and flow regimes, and has highly accurate
reference instrumentation.

The MPM High Performance Meter has been developed by MPM in a

Joint Industry Project supported by six Partner Oil Companies:

For further information, please contact

Multi Phase Meters AS www.mpm-no.com

P.O Box 279 post@mpm-no.com

4066 Stavanger Phone: +(47) 4000 11 50
Norway Fax: +(47) 4000 11 51

MPM Meter – Tech Description - Feb ‘07 Project confidential Page 14 of 14