Roxar Downhole Gauge Racks up 21 Years of Uninterrupted Use

21 March 2011

Roxar, a leading international provider of technologies for reservoir management and production optimisation and now part of Fortune 500 giant Emerson, is celebrating the 21st anniversary of its downhole pressure and temperature gauge operating on Statoil’s Gullfaks C production platform in the North Sea.

The gauge was permanently installed downhole in the Gullfaks C reservoir in 1990 and has been transmitting data uninterrupted for over 20 years.

It has remained in the reservoir without maintenance or replacement since installation.

Roxar’s permanent downhole gauge is a monitoring and optimisation instrument that continuously transmits accurate pressure, temperature and flow rate data from the reservoir in real time to local or remote well control facilities.

The firm’s permanent downhole gauge was introduced to the oil and gas market in 1987 in partnership with Lasalle Pressure Data Services Ltd. In 1991 Roxar became the sole owner of the PDMS business and in close cooperation with its customers and Statoil, Roxar has developed the instruments to handle extended periods at extreme reservoir temperatures of up to 225 degree Celsius, while continuing to maintain the very best in accuracy and resolution.



Roxar Engineers Installing a Roxar Subsea Multiphase Meter

Supplying real time data continuously under various flow conditions helps operators to reduce costs by optimising oil recovery, accelerating production and reducing the risk of unplanned shutdowns. The data also reduces safety and environmental risks associated with well interventions.

Statoil’s Gullfaks field lies in block 34/10, approximately 175km northwest of Bergen, and in the northern part of the Norwegian North Sea. Gullfaks C is one of three platforms at the Gullfaks site, which handles oil and gas from the Gimle, Tordis, Vigdis, Visund, Gullfaks and Gullfaks Sor fields.

Gullfaks is the first Statoil operated oil field to use permanent downhole gauges and following its success, Roxar’s has installed more than 1,300 monitoring systems in wells worldwide.

Svenn Haugen, world area director Europe & North Africa of Roxar Flow Measurement, said: “The North Sea's inhospitable climate and great depths requires innovative and cost-effective offshore technology. The longevity of our permanent downhole monitoring system in one of the most challenging environments is an incredible success story for Roxar, Statoil and the industry.

“Roxar has an impressive track-record for permanent gauge installations worldwide and we are very pleased that our very first gauge for Statoil has achieved this project milestone.

“We are continually developing our topside and subsea systems to push the boundaries of well monitoring and control. The next generation of systems are wireless and designed specifically to measure pressure, temperature and multiphase flow from every zone in the well.

“Our latest downhole instrument, which we plan to launch in Houston at OTC 2011 in May, is a major break through in detecting high pressure behind the casing in subsea production wells. It continuously monitors the pressure in the annulus B without having to shutdown oil production, which is costly.”

Norway-based Roxar has 800 staff and 19 offices in 29 countries. It is part of Emerson, a diversified global manufacturing and technology company which enjoyed sales of US$21 billion in 2010 and has over 127,500 employees worldwide.