Litre Meter ships major chemical injection order to China

Litre Meter has shipped six LF05 VFF positive displacement flowmeters to China via a distributor for use in chemical injection applications on an offshore platform.

The Atex-certified rotary piston flow meters are used to measure the flow of a number of chemicals including corrosion inhibitor, demulsifier and scale inhibitor. One meter was calibrated for very low flow at 0.00001-0.00015 cubic meters/hour for fluids with a viscosity of 40 centipoise.

Qinhuangdao oilfield

The VFF meters are fitted to skids on platforms in the Qinhuangdao oilfield located in Bohai Bay 130 km from the Chinese city of Tianjin.

The chemicals are injected at high pressure into pipelines via the skid installed on the well head platform. The chemicals are delivered to the skid through umbilicals from a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel located in the field.

Flow assurance

Measurement of the chemical injection rate is critical because blockages caused by a build up of scale or emulsified sludge can result in a shutdown and the risk of explosion or unintended release of hydrocarbons into the environment.

Blocked pipes may have to be uplifted to remove the blockage, causing costly loss of production. Litre Meter meters assist in maintaining flow assurance and reducing production costs by measuring the flow of chemicals needed to prevent hydrate and sludge formation. Chemicals are expensive which means that their use needs to be carefully monitored.

Accurate chemical injection monitoring is provided by the LF05 Litre Meter flow meters both locally and remotely back to the FPSO control room.

The VFF LF05 flowmeter is suitable for measuring liquids at pressure ratings up to 1035 bar (15,000 psi) and higher and flow rates from 0-30 l/hr. It covers a viscosity range from under 0.8 to above 2000 centipoise (cP).

Constructed in 316 stainless steel with a PVD coated titanium rotor, the meter is of intrinsically safe design and manufactured to operate reliably at temperatures ranging from -40 to 150°C.

Comments

Litre Meter CEO Charles Wemyss commented: “This was an important order for us in terms of entering the China market. The feedback from the customer was very positive.

“Litre Meter’s VFF flowmeter is ideally suited for use in the oil and gas industry and in particular for low flow/high pressure applications.

“Years of experience in chemical injection applications onshore and offshore have confirmed the instrument’s capability to reliably measure fluids under extreme conditions of both temperature and pressure.”

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/product-news/30092014/litre-meter-chemical-injection-order-1539/