Non-invasively Measuring Injection Water in Ecuador

Katronic non-invasive, clamp-on flowmeters have been used in Ecuador to measure injection water (waterflood) in an oil well operated by Orion Oil, a leading oil producer based in Africa and Latin America

Supplied by Katronic’s distributor in Ecuador, Directmarket, the KATflow 100 allowed Orion to measure the high-flow, high-pressure brine flow without any pipeline modification. 

Injection water, or waterflood is an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique used to increase pressure and therefore boost oil production from an oil reservoir. Water, typically brine, is pumped into the reservoir via an injection well under high pressure to improve the rate of oil flow. The injection water is corrosive, and the high pressure means that the integrity of the system is vital. To measure the amount of water pumped in, a clamp-on, non-invasive flowmeter was the obvious solution. 

Katronic equipment was tested against other manufacturers and was chosen for the project because of its cost-effectiveness and straightforward, intuitive set-up and menu system, presented in Spanish for the Ecuadorian market. A Katronic KATflow 100 flowmeter was supplied for a fixed installation along with compact K1L clamp-on transducers to be fitted to the 6-inch pipe, measuring a flow rate up to 15000 barrels per day. Directmarket have also supplied Orion Oil with a battery-powered portable flowmeter, a KATflow 200, for process measurement verification.