Non-Intrusive Measurement of Injection Water in Ecuador
Katronic's non-invasive clamp-on flow meters were recently used in Ecuador to measure injected water in an oil well operated by Orion Oil, one of the leading oil producers in Africa and Latin America.
Clamp-on Flow Measurement for Enhanced Oil Recovery Under High-Pressure Conditions
Katronics’ distribution partner, Directmarket, provided Orion Oil with a KATflow 100 ultrasonic flowmeter to measure the flow of a saline aqueous solution under high flow velocities and high pressure without requiring any modifications to the piping.
In tertiary oil recovery (EOR = Enhanced Oil Recovery), additional quantities of crude oil are extracted from reservoirs beyond what is recovered through primary and secondary recovery. Various methods are used for this purpose. In so-called water flooding, for example, aqueous solutions are forced into the rock under high pressure. If the injection water is additionally thickened with polymers, for instance, a highly viscous solution is created, which helps the oil separate more easily from solids and positively influences its mobility (polymer flooding). The injection water is corrosive, and the integrity of the system must be ensured at all times. Thus, a clamp-on flow meter was the obvious solution for determining the volume of water injected.
Katronic won the bid and was awarded the contract for the project based on its cost-effective proposal, the simple and intuitive device setup, and the Spanish-language menu. The KATflow 100, intended for permanent installation, was supplied with K1L sensors, which were mounted on a 150-mm-diameter (6-inch) pipe with a flow rate of 18,000 hl (15,000 barrels). To improve process control, Directmarket also equipped Orion Oil with a portable, battery-powered KATflow 200.
