| Title | Use of Separator Mass Balance to Ascertain Tracer Flow Measurements, A Case Study for KenGen-Olkaria Production Wells |
|---|---|
| Authors | Felix Kirui |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | tracers, Naphthalene Sulphonates, Sulphur Hexafluoride, mass flow and two-phase flow measurements |
| Abstract | Tracer flow testing (TFT)is the determination of multi-phase flow streams in terms of flow rates in a geothermal reservoir or production wells for both steam and brine flow rates. Analysis of samples is carried out by use of new ultra-specific and sensitive methods which include gas chromatography and UV/fluorescence. Naphthalene Sulphonates (NSA) are used for brine phase and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) for gas phase. TFT flow measurements has been vastly used in Olkaria to determine total mass flows of production wells both before separation and after separation. In Olkaria geothermal field, we have a number of production wells sharing field cyclone separators before steam is directed to the PowerStation. This abstract is intended to present and discuss TFT flow measurements, test results and trends over time for selected production wells that share field cyclone separators and how steam output after separation tallies with production from the wells. |