Method and apparatus for testing the outflow from hydrocarbon wells on site
AssigneeChevron Research Company
InventorsKerby S. Aslesen, John R. Bocek, Dennis R. Canfield, Ke-Tien Liu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable instrument for testing at the wellhead continuously, or a stationary instrument for use at a production battery, the outflow of crude hydrocarbons from the well or wells. The invention utilizes a simple relationship of density and thermal coefficients of expansion of the oil and the water, together with improved instrumentation to measure mass flow rate of the crude mixture, to produce accurate continuous readings of oil and water contents in the crude. The invention depends upon state of the art technology both as to the crude handling and the electronics portions of its apparatus.
Claims26
A method of determining amounts of a first component and a second component in a flowing mixture, said first component comprising liquid hydrocarbons, said second component comprising water, comprising the steps of:
- (a) producing mass flow data from said mixture with a mass/density meter operating on the Coriolis principle, said meter equipped with a densitometer;
- (b) measuring density data from said mixture with said densitometer;
- (c) obtaining values of density for said first and second components;
- and
- (d) calculating an amount of said first and said second components in said mixture based on said mass flow data from said mixture, said density data from said mixture, and said density of said first and said second components.
Apparatus for determining amounts of a first component and a second component in a flowing mixture comprising:
- (a) means for producing mass flow data from said mixture with a mass/density meter operating on the Coriolis principle, said meter equipped with a densitometer;
- (b) means for producing density data from said mixture with said densitometer;
- (c) means for obtaining values of density for said first and second components, said first component comprising liquid hydrocarbons, said second component comprising water;
- and
- (d) means for calculating an amount of said first and said second components in said mixture based on said mass flow data from said mixture, said density data from said mixture, and said density of said first and said second components.
Apparatus for determining amounts of oil and water in a crude oil/water mixture comprising:
- (a) a mass/density meter operating on the Coriolis principle to produce mass flow data from the crude oil/water mixture, and having means to produce density data from said oil/water mixture;
- said meter using the same element to measure mass and density;
- and
- (b) a microprocessor programmed to calculate the amounts of the oil and the water in the crude oil/water mixture based on:
- (i) mass data and density data from said meter;
- (ii) a density of the oil;
- and (iii) a density of the water.
A method of determining the amounts of a first and of a second component in a flowing mixture comprising said first and second components, said first and second components being liquids and having different densities, comprising the steps of:
- (a) measuring a mass flow of said mixture;
- (b) determining a density of said mixture;
- (c) obtaining values for the densities of said first and second components;
- (d) measuring a temperature of said mixture;
- (e) obtaining values for the thermal coefficients of expansion of said first and said second components;
- (f) calculating amounts of said first and second components in said mixture based on said measured mass flow rate of said mixture, said density of said mixture, and said first and second component obtained values for their said densities, said step of calculating amounts including the substeps of
- (i) calculating the density of said first and second components at said measured temperature, utilizing said measured temperature and said values for the densities and the thermal coefficients of expansion of said first and second components;
- (ii) calculating a percent of one of said first and second components in said mixture utilizing the measured mixture density and the previously calculated values for the densities of said first and second components;
- (iii) calculating the volume flow rate of the mixture utilizing said measured value of mixture mass flow and mixture density, the substeps of calculating amounts of said first and of said second components utilizing the output of said last-mentioned substeps of calculating the percent of one of said components in said mixture, and the substep of calculating the mixture volume flow rate, and then the substep of temperature correcting the outputs of said last-mentioned two substeps of calculating the first and second component flow rates.
Apparatus for determining amounts of oil and water in a flowing oil-water mixture comprising:
- (a) a mass/density meter operating on the Coriolis principle for producing mass flow data from the oil-water mixture and for producing density data from the oil-water mixture, said mass/density meter using a common element to measure mass flow and density,
- (b) means for connecting the mass/density meter to a microprocessor,
- (c) means for transmitting the mass flow data and the density date to the microprocessor means, said microprocessor means appropriately programmed for calculating the amounts of oil and water in the oil-water mixture based on the mass flow data from the oil-water mixture, the density data from the oil-water mixture, and the actual density of oil and water in the oil-water mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.