TUV SUD NEL, the flow measurement R&D specialist, has invested US$1.8mn in a gravity test separators, as part of the build programme for its new Advanced Multiphase Facility (AMF)
The new separator will test both multiphase and wet gas flows (oil, water and gas) and will ensure sufficient retention time, even at the largest flow rates. Weighing 270 tonnes and operating at pressures up to 150 bar, it will enable flow rates within the AMF that are 20 times greater than the performance of any other test facility.
This will meet the oil and gas industry’s growing demand for flow meter testing that more accurately reflects real-field conditions, to reduce measurement uncertainty and minimise fiscal inaccuracy.
Muir Porter, infrastructure manager leading the installation project, said, “This is a major milestone for us as the test separator is at the heart of the AMF construction project. The next major phase will be to build the complex steel pipework which forms the test loop and feeds into the test separator, and which will deliver a multiphase flow test facility with a range beyond anything currently available on the market.”
The US$20mn AMF is designed to provide a new, best-in-class test facility, and will focus predominantly on the US$65bn-per-annum global subsea sector and wet gas business. It will facilitate company-led industrial projects and product development, hands-on industry training and academic research. Creating at least 17 new jobs, the centre will future proof the delivery of innovative technical services to the oil and gas production market for the next 25 years.
Scottish Enterprise has supported the development of the AMF with US$6.4mn of research and development funding. Alongside the grant from Scottish Enterprise, TUV SUD NEL’s parent company, TÜV SÜD AG, is investing US$14.5mn, which makes the project the largest capital investment to date in the company’s UK business.
