Great software for steady state flow simulations
What do you like best?
Pipephase is a great software to be used together with reservoir modelling softwares such as petrel and opendtect, since these softwares predict the behavior of fluids in the subsurface area but not in surface. Pipephase allows for creating the most complex piping networks for oil and gas gathering and distribution. The sensitivity analysis are very precise, even though it uses steady state flowing. Pipephase is designed with a very simple graphic user interface that makes it easy to work with. It has great compatibility with other simsci softwares such as pro/II, and this allows complementing ProII's industrial processes models with pipephase's capability for calculating pressure drops and sensibility.
What do you dislike?
There are three things I dislike about this software the first one is that as other simsci products it is really expensive. Second, the black oil modules that this software provides don't align with lots of precission to extra heavy oil simulations (which is the most common type of oil in our country) and third, the fact that this software doesn't come with a dynamic flow module limits the veracity of the results in our multiphase networks, since it doesn't measure to the full extent the effect that flowing sand may have in the pipelines.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
For someone considering pipephase I can truly recommend it; it is an amazing complement for softwares for 3D reservoir modelling and for industrial processes modelling. Just keep in mind that the simulations rely on steady state flow, so in most complex multiphase simulations it might not be very precise, especially with heavy oil.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
We use pipephase for modelling multiphase pipeline systems in our oil industry. We create pipe networks simulating our integrated oil production facilities (called clusters), flow stations and pipelines in order for measuring the pressure drops caused by sand deposition in our pipelines and for simulating possible changes to attack this problem.
