NEL has announced the completion of the latest upgrade phase of its wet gas test facility – the UK’s only independent commercial test service that can generate wet gas flows using water and oil simultaneously, replicating the challenges faced by industry in key production processes.

The newly upgraded test facility has been designed to more accurately simulate the increased flowrates experienced during production and processing, reducing uncertainty, and minimising operator’s financial exposure.

Operators and meter manufacturers will no longer be forced to use services overseas as NEL can test meters at a wider operating range in the UK. In response to increasing industry demand for testing wet gas flows with simultaneous oil and water loading, the facility can now achieve dry gas flowrates exceeding 2,000 m³ per hour, with simultaneous water and oil injection rates each of 90 m³ per hour. These flowrates in pressures up to 63 bar mean that the facility can better simulate the conditions experienced in the field.

Dr Phil Mark, Group Manager for Testing Services at NEL, says, “This upgrade enables us to meet our customers’ growing demand to test meters in high pressure gas flows, and with water and oil liquid loading simultaneously. The increased flow rates mean that wet gas flow meter manufacturers will be able to test larger meters than they have in the past. The facility will also be of interest to operators that are looking for independent validation and calibration of flow meters before they are installed in the field.”

The Wet Gas Facility upgrade forms part of NEL’s strategic development programme to make it the facility of choice for both vendors and operators, supporting the development and verification of instruments for multiphase and wet gas flows. NEL’s Flow Measurement Facilities in Glasgow are the primary flow measurement standard for the UK, under the UK’s National Measurement System (NMS) – the UK’s national infrastructure of measurement laboratories that deliver world-class measurement science and technology. The NMS provides traceable and accurate standards of measurement for use in industry, academia and government.

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