Flowmeters market ‘to double’

Multiphase flowmeters claimed a $240 million market in 2011 and are expected to achieve a compounded annual growth rate of 14.5%, which means reaching $472.2 million in 2016. According to Flow Research’s World Market for Multiphase Flowmeters study, most of the revenues will come from multiphase meters while some will be from dual phase meters.

A multiphase flowmeter determines the percentage of gas, water and oil that makes up the fluid as it comes out of an oil or gas well. The meters use other values to determine the flowrate of each fluid, which tells the operator how much of each type of fluid is coming out of the well before the fluids are separated. Multiphase flowmeters also yield information about the condition of the oil or gas well where the drilling occurs.

Of land-based, offshore and subsea flowmeter markets, the study projects the subsea sector will grow most rapidly. The multiphase flowmeter market as a whole is growing faster than the Coriolis and ultrasonic markets, which are the two fastest-growing newtechnology flowmeter markets, according to the study.

Forecast total global shipments of multiphase and dual phase meter shipments in millions of dollars 2011-16.

‘Companies are putting money into developing multiphase meters not so much because the meters do the measurement so well, but because the measurement is so valuable. There is a critical need to be able to accurately measure all the fluids that come out of a well,’ Jesse Yoder, president of Flow Research, says. ‘Only a very small percentage of the world’s million-plus wells are equipped with multiphase flowmeters today – despite a 30-year history of multiphase metering – so there is ample room for market expansion.’

Flow Research found that the fast-growing worldwide market for gas flowmeters totaled $1.3 billion in 2010. Of that, shipments of new-technology gas flowmeters totaled $498 million and are projected to increase with a compound annual growth rate of 10.1% through 2015. Traditional technology gas flowmeters totaled $792 million, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 3.3%. OE