Validation of the LedaFlow software applied to the well flow cases

Abstract

In recent years, there have been rapid advances in the field of transient multiphase simulators due to the fact that they have proven to be accurate and reliable for the vast majority of cases in the oil and gas industry. The primary objective of this study is to validate LedaFlow software, a new transient multiphase simulator under development by Total, ConocoPhillips, SINTEF and KOGT. Two well flow cases were chosen, the cleanup of a gas well and the liquid loading in a gas well due to the fact that they offer valuable information for the production and process team. The possibility of its validation against the field data and well established transient simulator, OLGA, puts LedaFlow further into the development of the reliable CFD tool for the oil and gas industry. In addition, literature review was done for both cases in order to extend the knowledge of existing physical models and valuable experience from the other fields. Prediction of brine flow rates expected during the simulation of the clean-up case was challenging. The availability of the operational data from the operations made it valuable for comparison with the model results and its possible tuning. The challenges for modeling are described and several parameters were tested for sensitivity. As a result, a better match was found by modifying input parameters and setting up, one of them is the gas-liquid friction factor. For the time being, it is not recommended to use LedaFlow to simulate clean up operations due to discrepancies with the field data. Although significant improvements have been required in order to produce satisfactory results. [...]