Automatic System for Indirect Assessment of Gas Flow in Gas Collection Systems

Gas collection systems are used to collect gas from wells and transport it to complex gas treatment plants. These are flowlines connected to a valve station (VS) directly or via a com-mon collector. Gas moves down flowlines due to its own pressure. Since wells are united in clusters using the same flowline, their operational efficiency depends, among other things, on the mutu-al influence. Therefore, their capacities and flow rates in flow-lines need to be assessed at least approximately. Wells only feature pressure and temperature sensors that make up gas well telemetry systems. Wells are not fitted with flow meters. This article presents an algorithm for the indirect assessment of gas flow in flow lines based on the results of pressure and temperature measurements at the well mouth and the VS input. It is used as the base for the automatic system within the existing APCS and it facilitates flow rate assessment in real-time with an error of up to 4.2%, which is acceptable for the operative control of the gas collection system.