Smart Oil Well Safety Production Monitoring Application
1. Intelligent Oil Well Production Monitoring
Intelligent well technology is an efficient reservoir production management technology that has emerged in recent years. It conducts production management through real-time monitoring of downhole conditions, real-time data interpretation, and real-time control of downhole inflow control valves (ICVs).
ICV is a remotely controlled downhole flow control valve that enables independent production control of each well section in horizontal wells and multi-lateral wells. It is a key control device in intelligent well systems. The optimized production of intelligent wells is achieved through the regulation of ICVs.
Utilizing the sensitivity of DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) to sound, not only can it monitor the opening/closing process and working status of ICVs in real-time, but it can also obtain real-time inflow rates of each horizontal well section/multi-lateral well through acoustic velocity analysis.
By combining the analysis results of DTS (Distributed Temperature Sensing) and DAS, more accurate and reliable decision support can be provided for real-time production optimization and control of intelligent wells.
2. Monitoring of Artificial Lift Systems
When changes occur in reservoir and fluid properties, the permanently installed DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) system downhole can continuously monitor the dynamic operation of artificial lift systems. This includes the opening and closing of gas lift valves, the formation and flow velocity of slug flow in the wellbore, changes in dynamic liquid level, wear of electric submersible pumps, and pump reversal, etc. By providing real-time understanding and evaluation of the lift system's performance, it offers decision-making information for fault prediction and production optimization.
3. Flow Profile Monitoring
During oil well production, it is crucial for production management to know from which position in the wellbore fluids are produced and what types of fluids are being produced, especially in horizontal wells where different fluids have specific acoustic frequency ranges.
DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) technology can be used to monitor flow profiles. In water injection wells and gas/steam injection wells, DAS technology can also monitor injection profiles of each perforation interval using acoustic signals.
4. Wellbore String Production Restriction Monitoring and Flow Assurance
Wellbore flow assurance is a crucial task in oilfield production, especially during deepwater oil and gas field development. When wax, scale, and hydrates form in the wellbore, it reduces the flow channel, causing noise due to the throttling effect.
DAS technology can qualitatively and quantitatively reveal the formation process and location of solid deposits such as wax, scale, hydrates, and asphaltene, thereby providing a new technical means for production warning.
5. Wellbore Integrity Monitoring
After oil wells are put into production, casing leaks may occur due to poor well construction quality or geological changes. Traditional methods have difficulty accurately locating casing damage, especially when leaks are small.
DAS technology can quickly and accurately locate leaks. In abandoned gas wells, CO2 storage injection wells, and other similar sites.
DAS technology can monitor gas leaks in wellbores, providing a new monitoring method for wellsite safety.
6. Hydraulic Fracturing Monitoring
In 2009, Shell first applied DAS technology in tight gas wells. Subsequently, DAS technology has been widely used for near-wellbore monitoring during and after hydraulic fracturing processes. During fracturing, based on acoustic signals, DAS can monitor processes such as packer setting, ball drop, sleeve movement, and fluid flow outside packers or through perforation holes in real-time;
When DAS is deployed in fracturing wells, by observing the location and intensity of noise, it can help field engineers determine which intervals and perforation holes are sucking in fluids and proppants, and in what quantities;
DAS can display the diversion effect of downhole diverters in real-time during fracturing, which is crucial for decision-making regarding fracturing fluid diversion;
DTS technology has also been used for hydraulic fracturing monitoring, but it faces issues such as slow response time and the thermal conductivity between casing and fiber optic affecting measurement results. Combining DAS technology with DTS technology can more accurately determine the fractured intervals.
7. Sand Production Monitoring
Other functions such as gas-water breakthrough monitoring, Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) monitoring, multiphase flow measurement, and microseismic monitoring, HiFi-DAS has demonstrated excellent performance.
