Apparatus and methods for determining velocity of oil in a flow stream

US6850317B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION · US

Inventors

• Oliver C. Mullins · Ridgefield, US
• Donald C. McKeon · Houston, US
• Felix Chen · Newtown, US
• Xu Wu · Danbury, US
• Elizabeth B. Dussan V · Cambridge, US
• Henning Groenzin · Lexington, US
• Clelia Canuel · Paris, FR

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 23, 2002
• Grant date: Feb 1, 2005
• Expiry date: Apr 13, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/4298
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for measuring oil flow velocity in a well are provided which utilize fluorescence quenching. A marker which quenches the natural fluorescence of crude oil is chosen and injected into the oil flow at a first location. At a second location, the oil flow is subjected to light at a wavelength which will cause oil to naturally fluoresce. The fluorescence signal is detected at the second location by a sensing probe. The time that it takes for the quenching marker to move from the first location to the second location is measured by sensing a decrease in fluorescence due to the quencher. Fluid velocity is determined by dividing the distance between the marker-ejection point and the optical probe position by the time it took the marker to move that distance.