Customer: | Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited |
Project: | Produced Water Flow Line |
Location: | Montrose Bridge Linked Platform - UK North Sea |
Products: | ABLE SlugMaster Intelligent Flow Meter |
The Montrose oil field is a significant crude oil producing field in the UK sector of the central North Sea, 210 km east of Aberdeen. Production of oil started in 1976 and a major upgrade in 2016 extended the field life to beyond 2030.
The Montrose Area Redevelopment (MAR) is a major capital project that sees the significant modification and expansion of the existing Montrose Area infrastructure, including the development of three new fields – Godwin, Cayley and Shaw. The new bridge-linked platform will be connected to the Montrose Alpha platform – one of the oldest in the North Sea – to provide additional process and plant support facilities. Gross incremental production is expected to peak at up to 40,000 boe per day. Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited (Talisman Sinopec Energy UK Ltd) is the operator with a working interest of 58.97%, and Marubeni Oil & Gas (U.K.) Limited is the sole partner. The topsides was built at Heerema Fabrication Group’s Zwijndrecht yard in the Netherlands from where it sailed out at the end of April 2016. Repsol began talking to ABLE back in 2019 about a problematic Coriolis meter on a produced water line and COVID compromised discussions continued regarding a replacement alternative technology for the next 3 years. The Coriolis meter could not cope with the changing process conditions, reporting spurious results or simply dropping out entirely with no data. After careful consideration and an extensive offshore trial, it was concluded that the ABLE built SlugMaster Intelligent Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meter was the solution. The SlugMaster uses two ultrasonic flow metering technologies and a smart PLC to intelligently select which technology to use, based on the process conditions being measured. Constant metering is achieved regardless of solids and gas contamination. The changeover between the metering technologies is calculated with unique mathematical software, which enables exceptional measurement accuracy. Accurate produced water/oil overboard dump reporting means that the platform satisfies the regulatory authorities and the client board.