Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (KONGSBERG), has announced the most recent upgrade to LedaFlow® with the 1.5 release of its transient multiphase flow simulator for wells and pipelines.
LedaFlow 1.5 now has the ability to simulate the flow in a concentric annulus including radiation heat transfer from the inner pipe wall, from forced or natural convection in the annulus, and from conduction. The Annulus Module allows gas lift system models in wells to be built where the gas lift is typically conveyed down the annulus to the gas lift valves. This gives Flow Assurance Engineers the ability to optimize oil production by using pre-existing gas. With this key functionality LedaFlow now offers a full solution for engineers to use in all situations.
The new release also offers end users the ability to define initial conditions for static states, useful for establishing the conditions in a well prior to a clean-up simulation. The LedaFlow Initial Conditions Module allows the definition of zones that can be filled with different fluid mixtures calculating the static pressure gradient within each initialisation zone.
Other efficiency-enhancing improvements in LedaFlow 1.5 include a revised True Vertical Depth and Measured Depth capability, making it possible to enter the trajectory using TVD and MD without the need for time-consuming conversions. Enhancements have also been made to the variable burial depth module making it possible to define different burial depths in a single pipe to simplify the configuration of models, saving time and contributing to overall workflow. Properties of the pipe have been rewritten to separate the definitions of a variety of measurements and conditions. This new feature simplifies the construction of models by defining each area separately based on its distance from the start of the pipe, another contribution to improved overall workflow.
In keeping with KONGSBERG’s commitment to leadership in multiphase flow simulation in the oil and gas industry, the release of LedaFlow 1.5 also offers significant speed improvements with the capability to utilize multiple CPU cores. LedaFlow 1.5 speeds up simulations in the slug-capturing solution five times over the 1.2 version, and upgrading it over LedaFlow 1.4.
All new and existing LedaFlow functionality is available as part of the standard license agreement, and is also provided as an upgrade for those with maintenance and support agreements.
“From its initial release, our goal for LedaFlow has been to see the challenges ahead so we can provide flow assurance engineers with solutions to meet the increasing risks in flow-line operations and to improve their overall operations. LedaFlow 1.5 is another big step forward in meeting this goal,” Alick Jamieson, LedaFlow Product Manager.