Exploration & production in the oil & gas industry

The upstream sector of the oil and gas industry is here defined to cover Exploration & Production (E&P). Exploration includes searching for potential crude oil and natural gas fields, including drilling of wells. Production is subsequently operating the wells to produce crude oil and raw natural gas.

Once a well has been drilled and the reinforcement casing has been cemented in place in the borehole, a collection of valves, called a ‘Christmas tree’ is fitted on the top to provide various access points and oil and gas instrumentation connections. Most important are connections to measure and regulate the pressure, and for oil or gas production measurement and control. Other connections are used for well water and CO₂ injection, which might be used to increase the flow and pressure from the reservoir – these lines are usually fitted with pressure and flow measurement instrumentation. Gas lift techniques might also be used later in the life of the well, to reduce the density of the fluids being forced up to the surface.

Oilfield wells produce a multiphase output mixture that consist of oil, water and gas, and oilfield measurement solutions provide flow measurement data on the different phases delivered, to manage each reservoir. Flows from multiple wells are collected, and the phases separated in large separator tanks. To determine the performance of each well, valve arrangements allow flows from individual wells to be selected for diversion to test separators - or alternatively multiphase and wet gas meters are used: both systems determine the proportions of the oil, water and gas flows, plus also a measurement of the water content in the gas. Water that is separated after production – produced water - is then treated to meet the required local environmental standards, for either re-injection into the well or discharge to the environment.

KROHNE offers upstream measurement solutions designed for long term operation under the harsh conditions seen in E&P operations, including single and multiphase flowmeters. These include straight tube Coriolis mass flowmeters with EGM™ (Entrained Gas Management), wet gas Venturi flowmeter systems, state of the art multiphase meters for an oil, gas and water flow measurement solution from a single meter, and high pressure electromagnetic and ultrasonic flowmeters for well water injection.

KROHNE Global Industry Division Oil & Gas

Headquartered in Duisburg, Germany, our Global Industry Division Oil & Gas is dedicated to serving customers in the up-, mid- and downstream oil & gas industry. Our offering extends from elementary process instrumentation up to fully engineered metering systems, and from engineering consultancy during the design phase, through to on-site commissioning and training. With presence in around 100 countries, local support is usually available from just around the corner. This applies whether the application can be covered by standard instrumentation, or is more challenging, where a one-off solution with dedicated process diagnostics is required.