Experimental Investigation of Effect of Flow Conditions on Pressure Drop of Two Phase Oil (D130)-Water Flow in Horizontal and Vertical 6-inch Annulus Pipe

The flow of oil-water in pipes commonly occurs in oil and petroleum industries and is a challenging issue. Clear understanding of the frictional pressure drop (FPD) of oil-water flows in pipes is important for determining size of pumps and pipelines in transportation of oils. An experimental investigation has been conducted for measurement of pressure drop of oil Exxsol (D130)-water two-phase flow in 6 inch diameter horizontal and vertical stainless steel annulus pipe at different flow conditions. Two-phase large scale horizontal & vertical flow loop was used to acquire data for different water cuts and fluid mixture (oil-water) flow rates. Experiments were carried out for different water cuts (WC) ranging from 0-100% and for different inclination angles (0° and 90°). The oil-water flow rates were varied from 2,000 to 12,000 barrels-per-day (BPD). Exxsol mineral oil (D130) and potable water have been used as working fluids. In order to simulate field conditions, the range of liquid flow rates used matches the range of actual flow rates in oil wells. The frictional pressure drop (FPD) has been found to decrease initially (for all flow rates) from WC=0% to WC=20%. Further increase in WC, causes FPD to increase from WC=20% to WC=40%. This is due to phase inversion. For a given WC=40%, for increase in BPD from 6,000 to 8,000, increase in FPD is about 34%. The effect of angle has found to be appreciable. For a given flow rate 8,000 BPD & WC=40%, for increase in angle from 0 to 90°, percentage increase in frictional pressure drop is about 26%. The outcomes of the study will be helpful in mitigating multi-phase flow problems in oil and petroleum industries.