Systems and methods for volume fraction analysis of production fluids

A method for analyzing a multiphase production fluid, the method comprising:

• supplying an inert gas to a vertically-oriented fluidic separation chamber, the inert gas being lighter than a gaseous phase of the multiphase production fluid;
• supplying at least a portion of the multiphase production fluid to the fluidic separation chamber through a production fluid supply valve;
• stabilizing a pressure of the inert gas in the fluidic separation chamber, as sensed by a separation chamber pressure sensor, as the multiphase production fluid is supplied to the fluidic separation chamber utilizing an inert gas exhaust valve;
• monitoring a growth rate QC of a gaseous phase column of the multiphase production fluid in the fluidic separation chamber, and convert the growth rate QC of the gaseous phase column to a production fluid gas flow rate QG.

A system for calculating an oil/gas volume fraction of a multiphase production fluid, the system comprising

• fluidic piping,
• a production fluid supply valve,
• a fluidic separation chamber,
• an inert gas exhaust valve,
• a separation chamber pressure sensor,
• a fluidic separation detector, and
• a fluidic supply and analysis unit, in which:
• the fluidic piping is configured to supply multiphase production fluid from the production fluid supply valve to the fluidic separation chamber;
• the inert gas exhaust valve is configured to exhaust inert gas from the fluidic separation chamber;
• the separation chamber pressure sensor is configured to provide an indication of gas pressure in the fluidic separation chamber;
• and
• the fluidic supply and analysis unit is in communication with the production fluid supply valve, the inert gas exhaust valve, and the separation chamber pressure sensor, and is configured to
• communicate with the production fluid supply valve to supply a multiphase production fluid to the fluidic separation chamber,
• communicate with the separation chamber pressure sensor and the inert gas exhaust valve to stabilize gas pressure within the fluidic separation chamber,
• transition the fluidic separation chamber to a static state after a complete gaseous phase column and a complete oil phase column are formed within the fluidic separation chamber,
• communicate with the fluidic separation detector to measure the absolute or relative sizes of the complete gaseous phase column and the complete oil phase column;
• and
• calculate an oil/gas volume fraction as a function of the measured sizes of the gaseous phase and oil phase columns in the fluidic separation chamber.

A method for calculating an oil/gas volume fraction of a multiphase production fluid, the method comprising:

• supplying an inert gas to a vertically-oriented fluidic separation chamber, the inert gas being lighter than a gaseous phase of the multiphase production fluid;
• supplying at least a portion of the multiphase production fluid to the fluidic separation chamber through a production fluid supply valve;
• stabilizing a pressure of the inert gas in the fluidic separation chamber, as sensed by a separation chamber pressure sensor, as the multiphase production fluid is supplied to the fluidic separation chamber utilizing an inert gas exhaust valve;
• transitioning the fluidic separation chamber to a static state after a complete gaseous phase column and a complete oil phase column are formed within the fluidic separation chamber;
• measuring the absolute or relative sizes of the complete gaseous phase column and the complete oil phase column;
• and
• calculating an oil/gas volume fraction as a function of the measured sizes of the gaseous phase and oil phase columns in the fluidic separation chamber.