Sand and Erosion Monitoring System

Sand probes

Eroded ball valve

CorrOcean customers have a technological edge

OPTIMISE PRODUCTION AND AVOID EROSION DAMAGE THROUGH RELIABLE SAND EROSION MONITORING
CorrOcean delivers the most sensitive and reliable Sand Erosion System in the industry, with a proven track record from numerous installations. The main features and benefits are: The system responds within minutes to significant sand production allowing action before erosion damage takes place Direct measurement of erosion in pipework The system requires no on-site calibration and is unaffected by slug flow, mechanical noise, electrical noise, variations in flow composition - or operator errors Increased production rates (maximum erosion free production) Combinations of sand/erosion, corrosion, pressure and temperature sensors for increased flexibility and cost savings Simple and rugged installation for subsea and topside applications Direct input to CorrOceans erosion prediciton model - predicts erosion in unmonitored pipework Application for sand monitoring in well appraisal and drilling programmes

Data sheet 180

A Complete Sand Erosion Monitoring System

The Sand Erosion Monitoring system is based on measuring the change in electrical resistance of thin sensing elements which are eroded by sand. The system reads the erosive effect directly and is reliable at all sand production rates and flow regimes. It is highly resistant to acoustic noise from pumps or variable flow. The probe is read by sophisticated electronics adapted to the user environment. Off-line and online systems in various configurations are available. The user data is read by MultiTrend, a combined configuration, data analysis and presentation tool for sand erosion and corrosion monitoring networks. The value of the actual readings may be extended by using the Erosion Prediction model, a software tool for predicting worst case erosion on critical pipe elements such as chokes or bends based on erosion measurements or sand production data from other applications.

System Configuration
Subsea System Configuration
The subsea system offers sand monitoring close to the reservoir, detecting sand production at an early stage and minimizing the damage. For many of the new oil and gas fields with tieback to remote platforms, this becomes the only viable solution to proper sand monitoring. A Subsea System consists of: A compact and rugged Sand Probe Assembly. The probe offers combinations of erosion and corrosion monitoring as well as pressure and temperature measurements
PC

Topside Control Unit

Interface with control system

Subsea Electronic Module (SEM)

Data and power

Signal Conditioning unit (SCU)

Sand probe

Signal Condition Unit for probe control and on-line communication. The communication electronics are fully integrated in the subsea Electronic Module (by others) MultiTrend PC software for storing and graphing data. The data can also be an integrated part of the production control system

Surface System Configuration

A standard system consists of: A Sand Probe in a standard 2 fitting, mechanical or hydraulic SandLog for on-line communication and data storage for optional off-line operation CorrOcean FieldBus installation, for efficient communica-tion and power supply MultiTrend PC software for s t o r i n g and graphing data
DCS

Interface with control system

FLOW

SAND PROBE

SAND PROBE

Industrial PC
ACCESS FITTING

SANDLOG #1

SANDLOG #2

Field Bus Master

SAFE ZONE ZONE 1

System Flexibility
The CorrOcean Sand Erosion Monitoring system offers a unique system flexibility:

Communication Options
Off-line communication - data are retrieved from SandLog and transferred to MultiTrend utilizing a MultiCorr instrument On-line communication - data communication from SandLog via Field Bus Master. Other solutions (e.g. telephone modem) also available Subsea systems interfaced directly with all major subsea control systems

Sand and Erosion Monitoring Combined With Corrosion Monitoring:

Sand Erosion Monitoring and Corrosion Monitoring can Interface with control system SAND FLOW SAND PROBE PROBE be combined at different levels. Industrial PC Combined sand erosion and corrosion probe - read ACCESS FITTING corrosiveness and erosion in a single point. SandLog instrument monitoring one sand erosion probe SANDLOG #3 and one corrosion probe, for reduced instrumentation SANDLOG #1 SANDLOG #2 Field Bus overhead and installation costs. Master SandLog instruments for sand erosion monitoring and ZONE 1 SAFE ZONE CORROSION FLOW PROBE MultiLog instruments for corrosion monitoring combined in the same Field bus system. Build the system on an as-needed basis. ACCESS MultiTrend software handles both sand erosion and corrosion monitoring in FITTING the same program, simplifying reporting and maintenance of the system.
MultiLog #1 MultiLog #2

SANDLOG #4

System Options
Erosion E2

Erosion Prediction Model

CorrOcean has developed a general erosion correlation model. The model is used for predicting metal loss on critical components in a system based on measured erosion on a sand erosion probe. The model can be used in the operations phase (dynamic mode) as described above, but also as an engineering design tool for optimising pipe dimensions, geometry and material selection.
F L OW DIR E CT ION

Erosion E3

Erosion E4

Sand Erosion Probe Erosion Ep

Erosion E1

Erosion E5

Erosion And Corrosion In Well Appraisal And Drilling

CorrOcean offers sand well test services, where both sand production and corrosion is shown during the test. The test shows the dynamic interrelation of well flow, sand erosion and corrosiveness over time, helping to predict possible operational problems. The sand erosion system can also be used to protect mud flow pipework during underbalanced drilling.

Pressure/Temperature Readings
The sand and erosion probe can be integrated with a highly accurate, stable and robust pressure and temperature gauge. This offers both lower cost and complexity for pressure/temperature readings as well as accurate production parameters for the erosion prediction model.

The CorrOcean Group

CorrOcean has 25 years of experience in the corrosion protection business, mainly from the North Sea. With CorrOcean offices in key locations such as Aberdeen, Houston, Rome, Perth and Kuala Lumpur in addition to a highly trained staff in Norway, CorrOcean has the ability to provide a comprehensive support and to provide solutions and ser vice adapted to the clients individual needs. The CorrOcean concept is to combine a scientific approach with practical solutions. CorrOcean has an extensive knowledge about materials and their behavior, monitoring and inspection methods, as well as subsea technology, instrumentation and information technology. We apply this knowledge in state of the art products such as the Sand Erosion Monitoring system.

Minimise Risk - Maximise Production

The figure at right shows a real field application. At the Heidrun field, sand erosion from a problem well was wearing valves and chokes at unacceptable rates. A sand erosion probe was installed and actively used to optimize the production based on a requirement on zero production of erosive particles. The plot shows how choke settings have been adjusted to optimize production for maximum erosion free production.

A Few References
Subsea installation Exxon (Diana) BP (Schiehallion) Conoco (Brittannia) Saga (Vigdis) Topside installation Shell Expro (Brent A, C, D) Norsk Hydro (Njord) BP (Wytch) Statoil (Heidrun) Well testing Shell (ETAP, H1, H3, H4) Shell (Egret H1) Shell (QBH, 101 Water well) Andarko (Water well)

System Literature
Find all pertinent details about CorrOceans Sand and Erosion Monitoring System in the following literature, or contact us at the telephone numbers below, or on e-mail: mail@corrocean.no

Highly sensitive erosion or combination probes - see data sheet 181 or 184 (subsea) Instrumentation - see data sheet 182 or 184 (subsea)

Erosion modelling for predicting maximum erosion see data sheet 183 MultiTrend software - see data sheet 157
CorrOcean, Aberdeen
Tel.: +44 1224 662180

Sand and erosion monitoring in a well testing context - see data sheet 185
Data sheet no. 180 03/99

Combined sand erosion probe with pressure/temperature sensor - see data sheet 186
Loke, Oslo
Tel.: +47 66 77 92 22

CorrOcean, Trondheim
Teglgrden 7485 Trondheim, Norway Tel.: +47 73 82 50 00 Fax: +47 73 82 50 50 e-mail: mail@corrocean.no

CorrOcean, Houston
Tel.: +1 713 266 0941

CorrOcean, Perth
Tel.: +61 8 9388 7255 Tel.: +60 3 261 0412

CorrOcean, Rome
Tel.: +39 06 55 99 746 Tel.: +47 66 98 12 00

Loke, Houston
Tel.: +1 713 218 9998

CorrOcean, Kuala Lumpur Robit Technology, Oslo

Amitec, Aberdeen
Tel.: +44 1224 898282

www.corrocean.com