New Methods for the Prediction of Multiphase Flow through Wellhead Choke in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs

Arash Kamari; James J. Sheng

Abstract

Abstract The wellhead chokes are installed in order to stabilize oil and gas flow rates in production and operation disciplines. Most of the existing empirically derived correlations and predictive models to estimate choke performance have been proposed for oil fields production and operational conditions, and particularly production systems and reservoirs involved with condensation of the gaseous phase still suffer from a detailed consideration on the development of reliable predictive models. Therefore, the new forms of the old multiphase flow rate equations are introduced in this study to predict the performance of wellhead choke in gas-condensate reservoirs. As a first attempt, gas flow rates are predicted as a function of wellhead pressure, condensate to gas ratio, and surface wellhead choke size. As consideration of water cut is vitally important in the production history of wells, a new incorporated parameter viz. water cut ratio has been added to the available input parameters for the prediction of gas flow rate in order to increase the accuracy. Results point out that the both methods proposed in this study are superior to those previously published models available in the literature. A consideration of water cut ratio also improved the accuracy of the prediction of wellhead choke gas flow rates. Keywords: Flow rate, gas-condensate, wellhead, prediction, multiphase flow, choke flow Cite this Article Arash Kamari, Sheng James J. New Methods for the Prediction of Multiphase Flow through Wellhead Choke in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs. Journal of Offshore Structure and Technology. 2017; 4(1): 1–10p.