Systems and methods for continuous measurement of erosion and corrosion in oil and gas facilities
Disclosed are systems and methods for detecting the erosion and corrosion effects of solids during oil and/or gas production. An erosion corrosion detector (BCD) is positioned in fluid communication with a pipe in a production facility such that a sensor element of the BCD contacts at least a partial stream of produced fluid in the pipe. Changes in one or more physical measurement of the BCD and/or changes in pressure drop across the sensor element are monitored over time. The changes are interpreted to identify whether there is loss of materials (e.g., metal) in the production facility, quantify of this loss, and determine the mechanisms through which this loss is occurring. A control system can receive the change in the physical measurement and/or the pressure drop over time as input into a control strategy for controlling a well control valve to control a rate of production of well fluids.
1 . A method for detecting erosion and corrosion in a production facility for producing oil, gas, or both, the method comprising:
positioning an erosion corrosion detector (ECD) in fluid communication with a pipe in the production facility such that a sensor element of the ECD is positioned across an entire cross-section of the pipe to contact a full stream of fluid flowing through the pipe;
measuring a pressure drop across the sensor element over a period of time;
monitoring the pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time to determine whether erosion and corrosion has occurred in portions of the production facility due to solids present in the fluid flowing through the pipe.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the means for measuring the pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time comprises a pressure transducer.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the pressure drop is increasing over the period of time, diverting flow from the pipe at the location of the ECD; removing the ECD or the sensor element; and inspecting the ECD or the sensor element for a presence of solids.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the pressure drop is decreasing over the period of time, diverting flow from the pipe at the location of the ECD, removing the ECD or the sensor element, and inspecting the sensor element for erosion, corrosion, or both.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving the change in the pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time as input into a control system for controlling a well control valve that controls a rate of production of well fluids; and
controlling the well control valve via the control system based at least in part on the change in the pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time.
6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising controlling the well control valve via the control system to increase flow through the well control valve in response to the received change in the pressure drop being below a threshold level of change in pressure drop.
7 . An erosion corrosion detector (ECD) comprising:
a spool piece housing at least one sensor element and configured to place the ECD in fluid communication with a flowline of a production facility for producing oil, gas, or both, such that the at least one sensor element is positioned across an entire cross-section of the flowline to contact a full stream of fluid flowing through the flowline;
the at least one sensor element of the ECD comprising a filament layer having a material construction selected to undergo material loss resulting from contact with solids present within the fluid flowing through the flowline in a manner that can be related to erosion, corrosion, or both of one or more elements of the production facility; and
means for measuring a change in pressure drop across the at least one sensor element of the ECD over a period of time, the measured change in pressure drop being indicative of an erosion condition, a corrosion condition, or both at the one or more elements of the production facility.
8 . The ECD of claim 7 , wherein the at least one sensor element comprises a first sensor element and a second sensor element positioned fluidly in series with the first sensor element, the first sensor element and the second sensor element having different susceptibilities to corrosion and each being positioned across an entire cross-section of the flowline to contact the full stream of fluid flowing through the flowline.
9 . A system for detecting erosion and corrosion in a production facility for producing oil, gas, or both, comprising:
a sensor element positioned across an entire cross-section of a pipe in the production facility such that the sensor element contacts a full stream of fluid flowing through the pipe; and
a means for measuring a change in pressure drop across the sensor element over a period of time;
wherein the change in pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time can be monitored to identify loss of materials in the system due to erosion, corrosion, or a combination thereof.
10 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a bypass pipe to allow fluid flow to bypass the sensor element in the pipe and allow collection and examination of produced solids.
11 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a junior chamber fluidly coupled to the pipe, and
a senior chamber housing actuators that function to allow the sensor element to be placed into the fluid flowing through the pipe, wherein the actuators comprise a first actuator coupled to the sensor element and a second actuator configured to isolate the senior chamber from the junior chamber, wherein the sensor element is configured to be placed in the senior chamber and mechanically lowered into the junior chamber situated across the fluid flow stream, and wherein the sensor element is capable of being removed from the junior chamber into the senior chamber, and isolated for inspection.
12 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a manifold arrangement in which the sensor element is placed in the manifold arrangement such that the flow can be redirected to flow in a reverse direction across the sensor element and thereby remove any solids from the sensor element.
13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the production facility comprises an offshore production facility and the pipe is subsea.
14 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a well control valve; wherein the change in pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time is utilized to control a rate of flow of well fluids.
15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the means for measuring the change in pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time comprises a pressure transducer.
16 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a control system for controlling a well control valve to control a rate of production of well fluids, wherein the control system receives the change in pressure drop across the sensor element over the period of time as input for controlling the well control valve.