How to measure safely, and also as quickly and accurately as possible, the flow of more than 2500 kilometers of oil and gas pipelines on the seabed of the DCS?
The North Sea currently counts over 1,400 oil and gas platforms. Most oil rigs on the Dutch Continental Shelf (DCS) were built between 1980 and 2006, so many platforms are over 30 years of age. And most of the associated pipelines did not have flowmeters built in at the time.
Monitoring and measuring are now the order of the day, because one wants to know how much gas or oil actually is being produced and transported. At the same time environmental legislation sets strict requirements. Shutting down a platform for the installation of a flowmeter is not an option. With the aid of ultrasonic clamp-on measuring techniques, the current volume flow can be made visible quickly and easily. Both for gas and oil.
Safety above everything
Offshore mineral extraction is a continuous process of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Working on an oil rig is tough and not without risks. In case of calamities, the regular emergency services cannot be called upon, so a strict safety policy is of vital importance. This also applies to U-F-M, when we perform flow measurements at an offshore site. We work according to the guidelines of the NOGEPA (Dutch Oil and GAS Exploration and Production Association) and our service engineers have all the required diplomas for which they regularly follow the mandatory safety training.
Non-invasive flow measuring – efficiently and safely
The stainless steel (IP68) sensors of ultrasonic flowmeters are clamped to the outside of the pipe. It is therefore not necessary to break open the pipe and shut down the system. This means that no interruption of your production process is necessary, there is no risk of contamination or leaks in the pipes.
Ultrasonic flowmeters are applied in a wide variety of situations and industries. The external mounting of clamp-on sensors makes this an interesting and inexpensive alternative to in-line flow measurement.
