SureFlo Downhole Flowmeter Solutions
Adding Value to Customers
Our goal at Intelligent Production Systems is to
provide technically advanced, value-adding production
optimization products and services that help operators
accelerate production, increase the ultimate rate of
recovery and reduce the total cost of ownership.
Baker Hughes is continuously evaluating the needs of
our customers for high quality real-time flow data for
the oil and gas industry. We are committed to
developing and manufacturing products that add value
to our customers. Baker Hughes permanent downhole flowmeters yield valuable information to enhance
hydrocarbon recovery by monitoring water production in
order to mitigate the effects of water coning.
Continuous real-time flow data also enables operators
to track the productivity index to help optimize
production. Additionally, permanent downhole
flowmeters help lower well costs by reducing subsea
well test flow lines and reducing or eliminating the
need for subsea or surface flowmeters.
The SureFlo Family of downhole Flowmeters
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| The SureFlo family of downhole flowmeters has been
engineered to accommodate a myriad of well applications and fluid
properties. Product line offerings include the following flowmeters:
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The SureFlo 290 flowmeter
offers a means of downhole flow measurement utilizing strain gauge
technology. Aimed at artificial lift well applications, it enables
production optimization while actively monitoring the erosion threshold
of downhole pumps. This flowmeter can achieve an accuracy of 90% when
used to measure heavy oil flow and is suited for marginal field
applications.
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The SureFlo 298 flowmeter can
achieve a high-accuracy flow measurement of 98% required for production
allocation. The flowmeter features a customized venturi design that can
handle a variety of production rates and fluid properties. Using a
wireline-retrievable venturi sleeve and high-accuracy quartz gauges,
this flowmeter provides the highest available measurement accuracy and
has been approved by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) for well
allocation purposes in the Gulf of Mexico.
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The SureFlo 298EX, the
industry’s first fullbore access downhole electronic flowmeter,
incorporates proprietary, high-resolution quartz gauges. The
unrestricted access enables full production and can achieve a
high-accuracy measurement of 98%.
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| The SureFlo 390 is the first
downhole, electronic multiphase flowmeter utilizing differential pressure
technology. The flowmeter can achieve a high-accuracy measurement of 90%
for gas volume fraction, water cut and bulk rate in a multiphase
environment and improves the accuracy of downhole and zonal allocation.
The SureFlo 390 also reduces costs by eliminating the need for a surface
or subsea multiphase flowmeteter. |
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Experience Where It Counts
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In 1993, Baker Hughes installed its first downhole flow meter in the Wytch
Farm field in the North Sea. In the years that follow, over 250 downhole flowmeters have been installed in various flow conditions, well types and
applications. This range of operational and project experience enables Baker
Hughes to guide its clients in getting more value out of their investment in
downhole flowmeters.ed into each zone. Injector wells utilize two flowmeters for
each zone to measure both gas and water. |
Engineered to the Highest Standards
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Our engineering team is determined to stay at the forefront of our business by
investing heavily in the evolution of our SureFlo flowmeters so they continue to
be beneficial and address the needs of our customers. All flowmeters undergo
rigorous testing on flow loops that simulate actual downhole conditions to
guarantee performance quality. The SureFlo family conforms to the exacting
standards of ISO-5167 from the design process to manufacturing onto tool
operation and software design.
All SureFlo downhole flowmeters meet or exceed the tubing specifications of the
completion design. These products are individually inspected and tested per API
5CT requirements for drift and pressure. Baker Hughes’ 100% quality inspection
policy and process controls further ensure the quality and reliability of each
component produced.
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Safety First
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First and foremost on every
project, Baker Hughes is a responsible corporate citizen committed to the health
and safety of people and the protection of the environment while supplying
products and services in a safe and sustainable manner. |
SureFlo Success
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BHP Billiton selected permanent downhole equipment supplied by Baker Hughes for
production allocation, completion management and pressure transient analysis in
a U.S. Gulf of Mexico field in the Green Canyon area. Two wells were drilled in
the field. Formation pressure and performance data indicated that the wells are
hydrodynamically connected via a large aquifer that provided sufficient pressure
support.
Without permanent flowmeters, allocation of the commingled production from the
field back to the individual wells would require that one well be shut-in while
the other well is tested. The shut-in well’s rate would be estimated by
subtraction from the total flow rate. Additionally, the interrupted production
and associated operational and flow assurance issues were considered very
undesirable. The MMS accepted the use of permanent flow metering as a method for
metering the commingled production. Performance was exceptionally useful in
terms of managing the completions.
The operator’s surveillance methodology had several key objectives, including
defining and measuring completion health indicators at a frequency necessary to
operate at maximum rates with minimal risk of failure or damage to the wells.
The operator also wanted to improve reserve estimate confidence by maximizing
available information from production data and provide reliable production
forecasting of at least one year while minimizing the impact of the program on
production.
As a result of installing Baker Hughes’ permanent downhole flowmeters, the
operator achieved each of its key objectives and improved its reserve estimate
confidence by maximizing available information from production data.
An installation of the SureFlo 290EX on a project in offshore Nigeria
encompasses 32 wells. The intelligent well completion has two production zones
with injector wells to improve recovery from the reservoir. These injector wells
consist of a mix of single and dual zone injection of water or gas. The
applications for the flowmeters on this project include production allocation,
the acquisition of real-time data to update reservoir and production models and
tieback at the subsea manifold.
Flowmeters were incorporated in the completion string due to commingling of flow
at the subsea template. The aim of the producer flowmeter is to allocate
production of each well. All producer wells have a single flowmeter installed
for this purpose. In the injector wells, the flowmeters are able to quantify the
amount of fluid injected into each zone. Injector wells utilize two flowmeters
for each zone to measure both gas and water.
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