Effect of Water Cut on Pressure Drop of Oil (D130) -Water Flow in 4″Horizontal Pipe

Abstract

The oil-water flow in pipes is a challenging subject that is rich in physics and practical applications. It is often encountered in many oil and chemical industries. The pressure gradient of two phase flow is still subject of immense research. The present study reports pressure measurements of oil (D130)-water flow in a horizontal 4″ diameter stainless steel pipe at different flow conditions. Experiments were carried out for different water cuts (WC); 0-100%. Inlet oil-water flow rates were varied from 4000 to 8000 barrels-per-day in steps of 2000. It has been found that the frictional pressure drop decreases for WC = 0 - 40 %. With further increase in WC, friction pressure drop increases, this could be due to phase inversion.