Technical Bulletin

MARCH 1998

Page 1 of 5

Framo Subsea Multiphase Flow Meter for Marathons West Brae Field has accumulated 6 months of successful operation
The first Subsea Multiphase Flow Meter in the UK Sector of the North Sea has accumulated more than 6 months of successful operating experience on the West Brae Field. This adds to the successful experience with the only other subsea multiphase meters in operation i.e., the Framo multiphase meters on the East Spar Field in Australia. The West Brae Multiphase Flow Meter is installed in the subsea manifold structure at approx. 100 meters depth where it continuously measures flow rates of oil, water and gas in addition to temperature and pressure from each individual well. Subsea metering is important for Marathon in order to optimise the production from each of the wells since no test line and well test facility are available. West Brae / Sedgwick Development
PRODUCTION WATER INJECTION GAS LIFT SERVICE SEDGWICK 6" PRODUCTION 3" COMBINED SERVICE / GAS LIFT

Fu tu re

P P

Framo Subsea Multiphase Flow Meter

Framo Engineering AS, Sandslisen 40, P.O. Box 174, N-5049 Sandsli, Norway, Telephone + 47 55 92 88 00, Telefax + 47 55 92 89 00/10, E-mail: post@framoeng.no

P P W I
CE T CE EC J VI AE E ER R IN BR T L LA 4" S E AT RA MP W NT TE 6" IO N 6" G AS LI FT BR AE 12 "P RO DU CT IO N A PL F AT O RM

Technical Bulletin March 1998 The West Brae/Sedgwick joint field development operated by Marathon Oil UK Ltd., has been developed using a manifold and well cluster arrangement. The field is tied back to Brae Alpha platform which is 8.5 km from the West Brae manifold. The manifold is configured to take flow from 5 West Brae wells and a connection to Sedgwick Field. It is also configured for 2 water injection wells. We selected a subsea multiphase meter for West Brae to improve well management by on-line well monitoring of one well at a time. This eliminates the requirement for testing the wells by difference through the single production line, says Ian Simm, Subsea Project Engineer on the West Brae Field development. The multiphase meter was installed in the manifold at the manifold fabrication yard. The manifold was installed subsea summer 97, and production started mid October. The multiphase flow meter has been in continuous operation since production start-up, and the multiphase meter has supplied us with valuable production data, says Ian Simm. The West Brae / Sedgwick field is operated by Marathon Oil UK Ltd on behalf of the West Brae group. The group consists of ; Marathon Oil UK Ltd, BG Ltd, BP Exploration Operating Co Ltd, British Borneo Oil & gas Ltd, Kerr McGee Oil (UK) PLC, LL&E (UK) Inc, Sands Oil & Gas Ltd,Talisman Energy. Marathon would like to acknowledge their support for the use of innovative technology.

Page 2 of 5

Subsea meter mounted in subsea manifold

Insert Design
BP, Marathon and Western Mining Corp. selected the FRAMO subsea multiphase meter design which utilises a barrel-style meter with an insert cartridge incorporating all active instruments. The insert is locked into the barrel and equipped with metal seals for full pressure integrity. The receiver barrel with the integrated mixer is permanently installed on the subsea structure and includes no active elements. There are no requirements for straight pipe lengths upstream or downstream of the meter. The receiver barrel also serves as the inlet and outlet housing and functions as a guide and support during installation of the insert cartridge. Data transmission to the surface installation is via a RS-422 Modbus RTU link through the Kvaerner Oilfield Products production control system pod.

Ian Simm, Marathon UKs Subsea Project engineer on the West Brae Field development

Framo Engineering AS, Sandslisen 40, P.O. Box 174, N-5049 Sandsli, Norway, Telephone + 47 55 92 88 00, Telefax + 47 55 92 89 00/10, E-mail: post@framoeng.no

Technical Bulletin March 1998

Page 3 of 5

Accuracy
The subsea multiphase meter at West Brae is measuring the flow rates in accordance to specifications. In the initial phase of the West Brae Field, only one single well was in operation. This well was routed through the subsea meter and compared with the reference system (ultrasonic meter exit West Brae main separation) on the Brae A platform. Curve No 1 shows 12 minutes plot over 72hrs of oil flow rate from the multiphase meter (green line) compared with the readings from the ultrasonic meter (red). The readings of the subsea meter are very stable and data lies on average within 2-3% of the reference system. Curve No 2 shows how stable the multiphase meter oilflow rate (green) is compared to the ultrasonic meter (red) for 1 hour plot over 72 hours. Curve No 3 gives the Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) readings for the multiphase meter (green) and the platforms reference system (red). Based on the curves, the followingcomparison can be given for the GOR readings:
Multiphase meter GOR Standard deviation 229 scf/bbl 0.9 % Ultrasonic meter (JD) 226 scf/bbl 3.5 % Relative deviation 1.4 %

The multiphase meter gives very stable readings with standard deviation of 0.9% and with relative deviation for the GOR of only 3 scf/bbl or 1.4% to the reference system (orifice meter).

Curve No 1

12 minute plot over 72 hours

Reference system (ultrasonic meter)

Multiphase meter

Framo Engineering AS, Sandslisen 40, P.O. Box 174, N-5049 Sandsli, Norway, Telephone + 47 55 92 88 00, Telefax + 47 55 92 89 00/10, E-mail: post@framoeng.no

Technical Bulletin March 1998

Page 4 of 5

Curve No 2 Hourly average plot over 72 hours

Oil flow readings

Reference system (ultrasonic meter)

Multiphase meter

Curve No 3 Gas flow readings

Reference system (orifice meter)

Multiphase meter

Framo Engineering AS, Sandslisen 40, P.O. Box 174, N-5049 Sandsli, Norway, Telephone + 47 55 92 88 00, Telefax + 47 55 92 89 00/10, E-mail: post@framoeng.no

Technical Bulletin March 1998

Page 5 of 5

Operating Conditions
WC at actual condition 0 - 92% GVF at actual condition 60 - 80% Total actual flow rate (liquid and gas) Design pressure Flow regimes Up to 550 m3/h 230 bar All

A dedicated flow computer for the subsea multiphase flow meter is installed at Brae A platform. The flow computer is connected to the host control system, but can also be directly accessed via modem. This allows Framo service engineers access to the system from Norway, if assistance is required. Framo Engineering AS is the market leader in multiphase metering. A total of 26 units have been sold to operators such as Marathon, BP, Texaco, BHP Petroleum, Arco, Ranger Oil, Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Maersk Olie & Gas, Agip, Pemex, Zakum Development Company and Western Mining Corp.

Proven Technology
Retrieval cartridge Clamp Flow mixer

- Multiphase meters in successful operation both subsea and topside world-wide - 3 Subsea Meters and 17 Topside Meters in operation worldwide - 10 Test Applications world-wide - 26 multiphase meter sold

Inlet
Barrel

Particulars
- Require no tuning/calibration against a test separator or reference system - Fully remote calibration available - Independent of flow regime

Venturi meter Gamma fraction meter

- 0-100% Gas Volume Fraction - 0-100% Water Cut - Large flow turndown - Calculations are based on basic physical principles - No intrusive instruments in the flow - Accepted for allocation measurement in accordance with statutory requirements

Outlet
Framo Engineering AS, Sandslisen 40, P.O. Box 174, N-5049 Sandsli, Norway, Telephone + 47 55 92 88 00, Telefax + 47 55 92 89 00/10, E-mail: post@framoeng.no