The first subsea multiphase meter to be deployed by Statoil recently began regular operation on Rimfaks in the North Sea.
This field is part of the group's Gullfaks satellites development. The meter on the seabed and a corresponding unit atop the riser at Gullfaks A communicate with a computer on the platform.
The Rimfaks well fitted with the multiphase meter began flowing on 7 February and is currently producing 12,600 barrels of oil per day. It is due to remain on stream until 2015.
The multiphase meters provide operations personnel with a continuous flow of data about the various gas and liquid blends in each well, allowing production to be optimised.
Roughly 30 of the subsea meters, also used in well testing, are due to be installed on Åsgard and the Heidrun and Gullfaks satellites during 1999.
"Åsgard will be the next field to adopt subsea multiphase metering when its first production well comes on stream in the near future," says Ann-Kristin Aasen, operations coordinator for Gullfaks satellites.
"We're going to install another meter on the Gullfaks satellites during May."
Subsea multiphase metering is the outcome of a long-running technology development project headed by Statoil in cooperation with Norsk Hydro, Saga Petroleum and Norwegian suppliers of these devices.