Mitigating Allocation and Hydrocarbon Accounting Uncertainty Using More Frequent Flow Test Data

Although the application of multi-phase flow meters has recently increased, the production of individual wells in many fields is still monitored by occasional flow tests using test separators. In the absence of flow measurement data during the time interval between two consecutive flow tests, the flow rates of wells are typically estimated using allocation techniques. As the flow rates, however, do not remain the same over the time between the tests, there is typically a large uncertainty associated with the allocated values. In this research, the effect of the frequency of flow tests on the estimated total production of wells, allocation, and hydrocarbon accounting has been investigated. Allocation calculations have been undertaken for three different cases using actual and simulated production data based on one to four flow tests per month. Allocation errors for each case have subsequently been obtained. The results show that for all the investigated cases, the average allocation error decreased when the number of flow tests per month increased. The sharpest error reduction has been observed when the frequency of the tests increased from one to two times per month. It reduced the allocation error for the three investigated cases by 0.43%, 0.45%, and 1.11% which are equivalent to $18.2M (million), $18.9M, and $46.8M reduction in the yearly cost of the allocation error for the respective cases. The reductions in the allocation error cost for the three cases were $27M, $29M, and $80M, respectively, when the flow tests have been undertaken weekly instead of monthly.