WIKA

Upstream process: Production

After drilling and perhaps hydraulic fracturing a site, it is time to mount a wellhead – with or without a Christmas tree – and bring the hydrocarbons to the surface from deep underground. In most wells today, oil and gas do not rise on their own. The characteristics of each site dictate whether a coiled tubing unit is needed and which of the following pump system and/or artificial lift system are used:

  • Sucker rod pump system
  • Plunger lift system
  • Progressive cavity pump (PCP) system
  • Gas lift system

Well fluid contains mainly oil, gas, and water, and 3-phase separators at the site break down the emulsion into these rough components. The water is recovered and treated before being disposed or being reinjected, while the crude oil and gas are stored and transported (midstream) before further processing and refining (downstream). In the case of hydraulic fracturing, sand and grit make up part of the effluent; these proppants are filtered out before hitting the mechanical or chemical separation stages. Chemical additive tanks are often found on oil fields to treat the effluent for various reasons.

Wellheads, Christmas trees, pumping systems, separators, and tanks rely on a range of measuring instruments for control, safety, and efficiency. At WIKA, we are proud to be the preferred supplier of the pressure gauges, pressure transducers, load cells, thermometers, and level sensors found in production equipment around the world.

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Production tanks

Production tanks
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Flare stack

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3-phase separators

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Progressive cavity pump system

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Wellhead with Christmas tree

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Calibration service

Calibration service
Production
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Well intervention equipment/coiled tubing unit

Practical and versatile, coiled tubing units (CTUs) are a type of well intervention equipment with many applications:

  • Mechanical and chemical sweeps and cleanouts
  • Drilling and milling
  • Cementing
  • Tripping (removing and replacing section of drill string)
  • Fishing (retrieving objects in the wellbore)
  • Hydraulic fracturing and refracturing
  • Initiating or restimulating production

Hydraulic power packs supply the necessary power to control the lifting machinery (crane, gooseneck), unspool the tubing, push it into the wellbore using an injector assembly, and respool the tubing. From the control cabin, operators maneuver the mechanical and pressure control equipment (PCE). Measurement devices on a CTU include pressure and temperature sensors at the hydraulic power unit, force transducers at the injector head, and pressure gauges in the control cabin.


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The following 39 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Wellhead with Christmas tree

A wellhead is the system of stubs, spools, and adaptors from which a casing string is suspended and the crude oil/gas flows. Also known as a tubing head, this equipment serves another important function: to contain the pressurised well fluid (effluent).

An arrangement of valves, fittings, and chokes are typically mounted on top of the wellhead. Called a Christmas tree for the way its various components branch out, this array functions as a complex faucet that allows operators to control and redirect the effluent’s flow to pipes and tanks.

Heavy-duty mechanical pressure gauges monitor the pressure at the casing, tubing, flow line, and other points of the equipment. As for the electronic pressure transmitters and process transmitters used on a Christmas tree, they must be approved as intrinsically safe or explosion-proof so that the production site remains safe.


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The following 21 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Sucker rod pump system

Commonly called pumpjacks, oil horses, or oil derricks, sucker rod pumps dot the landscape in oil-rich areas. The mechanism is simple and effective: A crank, powered by the prime mover (electric motor), moves the lever arm – composed of the walking beam and a horsehead at one end – up and down. A polished sucker rod, attached to the horsehead and threaded through a carrier bar, is inserted through the wellhead and down the length of the tubing. (The deeper the well, the longer this rod string and, thus, the larger the oil horse.) The sucker rod slowly draws up the well fluid, thanks to a system of open-close valves at the end of the rod string and the bottom of the casing string. At the wellhead, the fluid is diverted to a flow line and then piped to a holding tank for later transport.

A pressure gauge at the wellhead and a pressure transmitter at the flow line allow operators to monitor and control the pumped effluent. An inclination sensor on the walking beam tracks the movement and position of the polished rod, while a specially designed load cell at the carrier bar monitors the force that the polished rod experiences during its upstrokes. This information, recorded on dynamometer cards, is utilised for analysing downhole pumping conditions and the efficiency of the sucker rod unit.


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The following 23 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Plunger lift system

Declining production is part of a well’s natural cycle, but several factors can accelerate the falloff. One of these factors is liquid loading. Well fluid is a combination of natural gas and liquid. The gas’s critical flow rate (CFR) is the minimum speed at which it needs to travel in order to lift the liquid fallback. Below the CFR, the well begins to load. If the liquid downhole is not removed, production drops and will eventually stop altogether.

Ideally installed before loading is a serious issue, a plunger lift is an economical solution for vertical wells. The only power this mechanical system requires may come from a small solar panel. Installation begins by placing a bumper spring, using a coil tubing unit, at the bottom of the vertical well tubing; at the top of the wellhead is a lubricator that houses the free-acting plunger. When the electronic controller senses that loading is occurring, it closes the motor valve to stop the flow in the pipe. This action releases the plunger, which falls through the liquid layer (slug) to rest on the bumper. Since the well is now closed, pressure builds inside; when the pressure reaches a pre-determined level, the motor valve reopens. This sudden pressure change lifts the plunger, which pushes the slug up and out of the well. The plunger then returns to the lubricator, triggering the arrival sensor to open the motor valve that allows gas to flow again. The cycle is automatically repeated whenever the controller senses that loading is occurring.

Plunger lift systems rely upon pressure sensors and gauges to detect the quantity of natural gas pressure in the casing and tubing in order to optimise use of the plunger. Given the presence of explosive gas fumes, intrinsically safe or explosive-proof pressure transducers must be used.


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The following 21 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Progressive cavity pump system

Almost all oil and gas wells can use a little boost, especially mature ones whose flow is tapering off. One way to increase productivity in a vertical or deviated well is with a progressive cavity pump (PCP), also known as a progressing cavity pump or a screw pump.

This artificial lifting system consists of a helical-shaped metal rotor (positive space) fitted within an elastomer stator (negative space). The rotor, which is like the internal gear, rotates inside of the stationary stator, which acts like a fixed outer gear. Well fluid enters the suction end and occupies the space between the rotor and the stator. During pump operations, the lobe of the rotor makes contact with the lobe of the stator, creating a sealed cavity with each turn. Thus the fluid is progressively brought up to the surface through the wellhead. Thanks to the cavities, PCP systems can handle viscous oil, sand, and other solid materials common in hydraulic fracturing.

Surface monitoring and control, done with pressure gauges and intrinsically safe or explosion proof pressure transmitters, allow operators to optimise this artificial lift system.


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The following 21 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Gas lift system

Some producing wells experience slow flow due to liquid loading. In a vertical well, a plunger lift can mechanically clear this liquid slug; horizontal wells that are flowing poorly can benefit from a gas-based system of artificial lift.

A gas lift system mimics natural lift by supplementing formation gas with an external source. First, a series of mandrels (hollow cylinders) with valves are installed along the outside of the tubing string at different depths. Then, high-pressure gas from the compressor package is injected downhole into the annulus (space between the inner tubing string and the outer casing string). As this injection gas encounters each mandrel, the cylinder’s valve opens to allow it to enter the tubing; at the same time, the valve before it closes. Once inside, the gas mixes with the liquid slug – reducing its density – and “bubbles” up the well fluid. After this emulsion reaches the surface, the unit separates out the liquid portion, compresses the gas that remains, and injects it down the well again until lift is achieved – at which point any lifted gas is diverted to sales.

A gas lift system comprises inlet (suction) and outlet (discharge) ports, an engine, scrubbers to remove residual moisture from the gas, and compression cylinders. Pressure gauges, pressure transmitters, and resistance thermometers on the scrubbers allow operators to monitor and control the stages of compression. Level gauges indicate the liquid level of oil and water inside a tank, while a magnetic float switch monitors the fluids’ level in these scrubbers.


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The following 31 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

3-phase separators

The three main components of well effluent – water, oil, and natural gas – naturally settle on their own, as water is heavier than oil, which is heavier than gas. What a 3-phase separator does is to expedite and control this process so that the water can be removed from the emulsion and the separated hydrocarbons can be piped to their respective destinations and sold.

There are several types of 3-phase separators, and each has different internal components for separation and interface control. In general, whether in a horizontal or vertical separator, the emulsion enters the tank and hits an inlet diverter; this action breaks the surface tension of the liquid to help release the gas. The liquid portion then settles to the lower half of the tank, where it naturally separates into oil and water. A level controller at this liquid-liquid interface signals a dump valve to release water as needed to maintain the proper interface height. Another level controller tells the oil dump valve when to open and close in order to maintain the proper oil level. Meanwhile, gas rises to the top of the tank, passes through a demister, and exits through the top control valve, which also serves to maintain a constant vessel pressure. One inlet, three outlets.

Level sensors at the oil-water and oil-gas interfaces open and close dump valves. Pressure gauges measure the pressure of the oil as it exits the separator and enters the pipeline, while intrinsically safe or explosion-proof pressure transmitters control the gas-out valve. Bimetal thermometers and RTD sensors allow operators to monitor the temperature within the tank and gas outlet line. Sonic restriction orifices are used to protect the valves during gas depressurisation.


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The following 29 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Chemical additive tanks

Throughout the production stage, chemicals are added downhole, at the wellhead, before or during separation, and in storage vessels. The reasons to treat well fluid and crude oil are many:

  • Inhibit scaling and deposits
  • Demulsify the effluent
  • Reduce foaming
  • Encourage flocculation of oil droplets
  • Prevent corrosion and icing
  • Kill algae, fungi, and bacteria
  • Improve flow of viscous hydrocarbons (paraffin, asphalt, etc.)
  • Reduce drag in pipelines

Chemical additive tanks require a system of level indicators, level sensors, pressure gauges, and pressure transmitters. These heavy-duty instruments help oil and gas producers monitor conditions inside vessels and pipes for efficient operations.


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The following 22 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Production tanks

Production tanks comprise the last stage of the upstream oil and gas process. After the well effluent goes through a 3-phase separator, the main components are piped into massive holding tanks to await either treatment and disposal (for produced water) or sales to midstream companies (for oil and natural gas).

Level measurement is essential in these oil and water storage tanks, monitoring the volume in order to:

  • Determine and manage inventory
  • Calculate transport needs
  • Prevent overflow conditions

Submersible pressure transmitters allow producers to accurately monitor the levels of their sellable resources. Intrinsically safe transducers offer extra protection in hazardous applications, while a stainless steel case with high ingress protection ensures long-term instrument reliability. For extra stability and protection against turbulence and clogging, use a WIKA LevelGuardTM with the submersible pressure sensor.


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The following 13 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Flare stack

During production, the goal is to capture and sell as much of the natural resources as possible. However, for safety and logistical reasons, some of the extracted gas has to be managed in other ways. One method of reducing the excess pressure that occasionally builds up in equipment is through venting, but that creates air pollution. Flaring, which is the controlled combustion of the methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in waste gas, is much more preferable to venting as it destroys ≥98 % of the methane and VOCs before entering the atmosphere.

A flare stack is a relatively simple system. The waste gas stream enters the knockout drum, creating a pressure drop that removes moisture and condensates from the gas; this step is necessary as combusting liquid hydrocarbons creates a dangerous situation for people, equipment, and the environment. The demisted gas then enters the flare header pipe and up the narrow flare stack. At the top is the flare tip with a pilot beneath it to ignite the waste gas.

Gas flare systems require an assortment of sensors to operate safely and efficiently. Level gauges and float switches in knockout drums serve to control and monitor the amount of fluids in the vessels. Thermocouples, thermowells (including ones with the ScrutonWell® design), and temperature transmitters at the base and tip of a flare stack help ensure that the gas and flame are hot enough to completely convert the remaining hydrocarbons into water and CO2. Mass flow measurement with an ultrasonic flow meter is possible even when the gas composition is changing during the operation. The flow meter body can be customised in accordance with the applicable piping class.


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The following 32 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.

Calibration services and calibration technology

Are you looking for suitable calibration equipment for your applications? Get an overview of our wide range of calibrators. Use our calibration service for pressure, temperature, force, flow and electrical measurands as well as SF6 measuring instruments. We calibrate your references and test equipment independently of manufacturers in our ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratories, or directly on your premises. With our global experienced team we are there at your doorstep. In case an instrument fails we are also happy to support with our repair expertise and get your instruments running again.

Installation services

Our qualified personnel supports you with the on-site installation and commissioning of your instrumentation, as well as being a competent and available service partner. This includes supervision, installation, welding work, troubleshooting, repair, analysis & inspection. We are the right contact for both new projects and maintenance measures at shutdowns, as well as in the event of an unplanned interruption. Our global team can for example support you with installing your temperature measuring instruments.

Service for diaphragm seal systems: replacement, repair & optimisation services

With WIKA’s diaphragm seal repair service, the total costs of the diaphragm seal system can be lowered significantly. This service is offered both for WIKA diaphragm seal systems and also for those from other recognised manufacturers. Depending on the application case, the service life of the process transmitter is longer than that of the wetted parts. Therefore, only in rare cases must defective diaphragm seal systems be replaced completely, i.e. including the process transmitter. By re-using the process transmitter, WIKA offers a service package with clear cost savings.

…many more services

With WIKA’s competent and experienced Service Centers we are happy to support with various more services, just as trainings. Please contact the responsible contact in your area.


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Calibration services and calibration technology
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The following 30 products correspond to your selection. You haven't found the product? Please contact us.