Differential pressure flowmeters for Kazhakstan

ABB is helping boost oil production in Kazhakstan with the supply of differential pressure flowmeters worth GBP 500,000.

ABB is helping boost oil production in Kazhakstan with the supply of differential pressure flowmeters worth GBP 500,000.

The eight 10in 10,000lb rated venturi flowmeters will monitor the flow of gas around the project pipelines.

The order is part of a sour gas injection project at the mammoth Tengiz oil field on the north east coast of the Caspian Sea.

The sour gas injection project is designed to increase production by 3 million tonnes per year by injecting sour gas back into the reservoir, where it can help maintain the pressure and make it easier to extract the oil.

The $800 million sour gas injection project is the brainchild of Tengizchevroil (TCO), a joint venture in which US oil major ChevronTexaco owns a 50 percent stake.

TCO already produces 13 million tonnes per year from the Tengiz field, but a combination of the sour gas injection project and another initiative are expected to increase total production to between 20 and 23 million tonnes by 2006.

ABB's flowmeters and their associated equipment have had to be specially designed to withstand the arduous local conditions.

The corrosive gas will be at a pressure and temperature of around 690bar(g) and 110C, and the ambient temperature in Tengiz can plummet to as low as -45C.

The venturi meters themselves are made from high-yield carbon steel, specially tested for its ability to withstand impacts in low temperature environments where many materials become brittle.

Each meter was supplied equipped with all the associated valves and differential pressure transmitters.

The valve manifolds were supplied in Inconel 625, with all the wetted sections in Inconel 625 or Hastelloy C.

Venturi meters measure the flow of fluids as they pass through a conical section set into the pipeline.

The pressure difference between the widest and narrowest points of the cone is related to the flowrate.

Venturi meters are particularly useful in applications where a low pressure drop is required, for example, in long pipelines.

All of the flowmeters supplied by ABB were gas calibrated at the Advantica Flow Centre in Durham in line with the new standard ISO5167:2003.

Under ISO5167:2003, flowmeters must be calibrated under conditions which are as near as possible to an installation's actual operating conditions.

ABB can perform in-house wet calibration of all its differential pressure flowmeters to ensure their accuracy meets the standards set down by ISO5167:2003.

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