Case study
Efficient, Accurate Gas Well Cleanup in Unmanned,
Environmentally Sensitive Area
Remote monitoring and lighter, safer setup enables ADCO to make confident
production decisions
Challenge
Test a remote gas well in an environmentally
sensitive and operationally challenging field.
Solution
Rely on PhaseTester* portable multiphase
well testing equipment with Vx* multiphase
well testing technology.
Results
Efficiently cleaned up with representative
flow rates and remote monitoring of basic
sediment and water (BS&W), enabling
early routing to production lines, saving
hydrocarbons, and reducing emissions.
“Even in this challenging environment,
the PhaseTester system made
accurate, repeatable measurements
with little or no stabilization time,
so as many as three wells could
be tested per day.”
Ibrahim Al Hammadi
Technical Support Manager
Northeast Bab Asset, ADCO
Alternative to conventional well testing in an environmentally sensitive area
The Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) operates a challenging field offshore
UAE. Cluster A in the field consists of eight wells on a constructed island. The cluster, located in
an environmentally sensitive area, is operated remotely and is normally unmanned. Therefore,
ADCO desired an alternative to conventional well testing.
Performance and benefits unavailable from a conventional test separator
ADCO decided to qualify PhaseTester portable multiphase well testing equipment with
Vx technology in a recently drilled gas well. The PhaseTester equipment was located upstream
of a conventional test separator, and measurements by the two systems were compared.
To seamlessly integrate well test data with the reservoir simulation model, the phase behavior
of the effluent was characterized based on the fluid properties provided by ADCO. The phase
behavior data were then loaded into the fluid identification module of the PhaseTester system.
During the well test, the PhaseTester equipment was operated in an environment with a very high
gas volume fraction (ranging from 93% to 99% overall and from 95% to 98% for most of the flow
period), where pressures ranged from 290 to 680 psi.
Gas well cleaned up successfully and tested accurately
During the well test, the PhaseTester equipment measured the decreasing water cut to 2%,
clearly showing the final phase of well cleanup. The water cut measurement was confirmed
by manual sampling from the PhaseTester sampling port, but the test separator was unable
to provide a good water cut measurement or provide a representative sample.
Further, 90% of the PhaseTester measurements were within 4.5% of the test separator data for
both liquid and gas rates. ADCO expressed a higher level of confidence in the accuracy of the
PhaseTester measurements made with Vx technology than in the conventional test separator
measurements.
Numerous other ADCO objectives were met, and additional benefits were realized compared
with conventional well testing:
■■ Installation and well testing operation safety were improved.
■■ Test lines were eliminated.
■■ Well testing was quicker and more efficient.
■■ Well test data were transmitted in real time from the PhaseTester system to the ADCO
SCADA system.
■■ Accurate BS&W monitoring allowed the well to be switched to production with confidence
that it had been cleaned. Early routing to the production line saved hydrocarbons and
reduced emissions.
Well Testing
Case study: PhaseTester system accurately tests remote offshore gas well, UAE
50

This test was part of a wider campaign to 50

evaluate Vx technology and its applications. 40
This has led ADCO to deploy Vx technology
48
/64-in choke
40 Well shut in overnight
for mobile testing activities, including 30 48
/64-in choke
semipermanent applications to complement Well shut in overnight
BS&W, %
existing permanent testing facilities and for 30
permanent installations where ADCO operates 20
BS&W, % 24
/64-in choke /64-in choke
32
fixed meters for routine testing operations.
20
10 24
/64-in choke /64-in choke
32
More than 800 well tests have been performed
in Northeast Bab field alone, and a recent 10
separator refurbishment campaign used 0
PhaseTester measurements as reference 12:00 16:00 20:00 0:00 4:00 8:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 23:59
to calibrate the upgraded test separators. 0 Time of day
12:00 16:00 20:00 0:00 4:00 8:00 12:00 16:00 20:00 23:59
Time of day
Accurate monitoring of the BSW confirmed that the well had been cleaned and could be switched to production.

100

100
80

80
60
Flow rate Liquid
measurements,
60
Flow%rate 40 Liquid
measurements, Gas
% 40
20 Gas

20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 Measurements variance, %
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ninety percent of the PhaseTester measurements were within 4.5% of the test separator data for both liquid
and gas rates.
Measurements variance, %

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