Assessment of the flow performance of oil pipelines using the operation discipline monitoring data

Abstract

The article presents a method of quantitative assessment of the oil transportation efficiency through the trunk pipelines’ segments, considering the flow performance of the line section. In accordance with the methodology, the assessment of the oil pipelines’ energy performance parameters is performed according to the data recorded by built-in tools of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, including: • efficiency factor of the oil pumping station – according to readings of pressure gauges installed at the pump station inlet and in the discharge header; • control factor of the automated pressure control system (APCS) – according to the readings of the pressure gauges installed in the discharge header and in the pumping station outlet line; • flow performance of the oil pipeline segment – according to the readings of the pressure gauges at the inlet/outlet of the oil pumping station and at the end of the technological segment of the oil pipeline. Using the example of the oil pipeline operation data analysis, it is shown that the proposed comparison criterion, the performance factor of the technological segment, enables to determine all the traditionally used criteria for assessing the actual operating conditions of the trunk oil pipelines, to identify the characteristic features of each mode, to compare the operation parameters of the pipelines with various diameters and designs.