Fiberscopic inspection of pipe provers
American Petroleum Institute (API) standards require the calibration of pipe provers once every five years to establish the known volume. If the prover volume changes during this period, then the calibrated volume and the meter factors obtained will no longer be accurate. Consequently, the actual volumes transferred and the volumes reported as transferred for accounting purposes will be different. Internal coating degradation will result in the producer being credited with less oil than is actually transferred. Approximately 1300 meter factors will be determined by one prover pipe in a year, thus, the economic impact due to coating degradation can be substantial. The use of fiberoptics has provided an improved means for the inspection of a pipe prover's measurement chamber to check coating integrity. In fact, at locations where the coating has ''bubbled'' due to a gas entrainment, subsequent coating sloughing has been documented. Worn coating, scratches, primer and base metal are detectable. In cases where the coating and primer have been removed, the condition of the base metal is easily discernable. The fiberoptic inspection provides a field screening method to determine the need for recalibration when coating degradation has occurred.
- Research Organization:
- Sun Exploration and Production Co.
- OSTI ID:
- 5324363
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-820927-
- Journal Information:
- Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States), Vol. SPE11112; Conference: 57. AIME Society of Petroleum Engineers annual technical conference and exhibition, New Orleans, LA, USA, 26 Sep 1982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
FLOWMETERS
CALIBRATION
INSPECTION
PERFORMANCE
OIL FIELDS
PIPELINES
CORROSION
FIBER OPTICS
FLUID FLOW
PETROLEUM
PRODUCTION
QUALITY CONTROL
SAMPLING
SURFACE COATING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTROL
DEPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METERS
MINERAL RESOURCES
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
022000* - Petroleum- Transport
Handling
& Storage