As production wells across the Middle East grow more complex, with higher gas fractions, fluctuating water cuts, and greater use of gas injection and stimulation, traditional well testing methods are struggling to keep pace. In the UAE, ADNOC’s digital transformation agenda is addressing this challenge through advanced technologies that enhance production allocation, efficiency, and reservoir surveillance. Among them is Hammertech’s AquaField, a patented, self-calibrating multiphase metering technology designed to turn periodic well testing into a continuous digital process.
A new standard in well-level clarity
AquaField enables real-time multiphase measurement directly at the wellhead, giving operators continuous insight into flow behavior and production dynamics. The system’s patented sensing principle is based on high-frequency magnetic-field measurement, ensuring accuracy across varied flow regimes without radioactive sources. Self-calibrating and non-intrusive, AquaField is easy to install and maintain for both onshore and offshore applications. The technology bridges the gap between portable test separators PTS and traditional PVT-dependent multiphase flow meters MPFMs), providing a cost-effective path to digitalisation without sacrificing accuracy. Operators gain faster access to reliable data, fewer mobilisations, and improved visibility into changing well conditions.
Solving Long-Standing Testing Challenges
ADNOC Onshore, like many operators globally, faces limitations with conventional well testing. Manual sampling and reliance on PVT calibration are time-consuming and difficult to sustain in compartmentalised reservoirs or gas-lift wells. High water-cut and emulsion conditions further complicate measurements, creating discrepancies between PTS and MPFM readings and driving allocation uncertainty. According to ADNOC’s internal evaluation, AquaField provides a transformative alternative. It offers flow-regime-independent, full-bore measurement unaffected by emulsions or gas injection influence. Continuous, online reading enables early detection of water breakthrough and supports proactive production and injection management. The system removes dependence on PVT inputs and can integrate seamlessly with ADNOC’s virtual flow-metering systems, aligning with its drive toward digital field automation. ADNOC quantifi ed signifi cant operational gains:
• CAPEX reduction: 40–60 %
• OPEX reduction: 80–90 %
• Improved safety: Rig-less installation and reduced field exposure.
Proven performance in the Gulf and beyond
AquaField has demonstrated strong results in ADNOC’s onshore pilot, achieving close alignment, typically within ±1–2 %, with reference separator data. Following this validation, the technology is being rolled out across ADNOC assets. Its credentials extend further. Saudi Aramco has approved AquaField for use within its digitalisation program, and the system is being deployed across other GCC and global markets. From desert wells to offshore platforms, its robustness and simplicity make it an attractive solution for operators seeking better production insight and efficiency.
Quantifiable Impact: Higher Production and Recovery
Beyond measurement accuracy, AquaField delivers tangible production impact. By replacing campaign-based testing with continuous digital monitoring, operators gain a real-time production profile, reducing test deferment and enabling immediate optimisation of choke settings, lift parameters, and injection rates. This translates directly into a 5–6 % increase in production as wells operate closer to optimum. Equally important, early detection of emulsion flow and water breakthrough allows timely intervention to protect reservoir integrity, driving a 1–2 % increase in recovery factor over field life. ADNOC’s internal evaluation confirmed that these combined effects deliver measurable uplift in both daily output and long-term recovery. AquaField also supports sustainability goals. Its nonradioactive design removes regulatory and safety risks, while replacing PTS units cuts greenhouse-gas emissions by 70–80 % from vehicle mobilisation, generator use, and separator flaring. Fewer site visits further reduce emissions and HSE exposure.
"AquaField was built to simplify complexity. By turning well testing into a continuous, digital process, it helps operators like ADNOC move from reactive sampling to proactive production management."
The Future of Well Testing
As Finn Erik Mohn, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing for Hammertech, notes: “AquaField was built to simplify complexity. By turning well testing into a continuous, digital process, it helps operators like ADNOC move from reactive sampling to proactive production management.” For ADNOC and other regional producers, AquaField marks a decisive step toward continuous, data-driven reservoir management. With validated performance, proven gains in production and recovery, and alignment with the industry’s digital and sustainability goals, the technology is redefining how wells are measured, managed, and optimised.
