Determination of flow rates of oil, water and gas in pipelines

This paper describes a multiphase flow meter developed by CSIRO for determining of the flow rates of oil, water and gas in high pressure pipelines, and the results of a trial of this flow meter on an offshore oil platform. Two gamma-ray transmission gauges are mounted about a pipeline carrying the full flow of oil, water and gas. The flow rates are determined by combining single energy gamma-ray transmission measurements which determine the mass per unit area of fluids in the gamma-ray beam as a function of time, dual energy gamma-ray transmission (DUET) which determine the approximate mass fraction of oil in the liquids, cross-correlation of gamma-ray transmission measurements, with one gauge upstream of the other, which determines flow velocity, pressure and temperature measurements, and knowledge of the specific gravities of oil and (salt) water, and solubility of the gas in the liquids, all as a function of pressure and temperature. 3 figs