Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Joseph Eck
Houston, Texas, USA
Ufuoma Ewherido
Jafar Mohammed
Rotimi Ogunlowo
Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited
Lagos, Nigeria
John Ford
Amerada Hess Corporation
Houston, Texas
Leigh Fry
Shell Offshore, Inc.
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Stphane Hiron
Leo Osugo
Sam Simonian
Clamart, France
Tony Oyewole
Lagos, Nigeria
Tony Veneruso
Rosharon, Texas
20
Oilfield Review
Winter 1999/2000
21
22
1/4-in. encased
cable
Metal-to-metal sealed
cable head
Hermetically sealed
welded housing
11010
Dependability
< Schlumberger milestones in permanent monitoring. Incremental improvements in dependabilitythat is, reliable
delivery of high-quality measurementsof permanent gauges are shown qualitatively by the time line below.
Digital pressure,
temperature and self-test
P/T
or
Gland radial
connection
Autoclave axial
connection
Oilfield Review
Data-retrieval and
communications software
Integrated
applications
> A complete permanent monitoring system for measuring pressure, temperature, flow rate and fluid density downhole. Surface sensors measure
flow rate and pressure. A data-retrieval and communications system facilitates data transfer to the office of the end user.
Winter 1999/2000
23
Wellsite
Office
Automatic
dataretrieval
server
Engineering
offices
Data browser
WellWatcher
acquisition unit
V RES
RETPOKILEH
Central storage
Sensors
ASCII files
Central storage
configuration
Archiving
database
Data access library
> Data flow. Measurements are transmitted from the downhole device through the cable to surface. The surface data-acquisition unit can send data by
satellite to engineering offices, where data are stored in a library for easy access.
24
Oilfield Review
Product engineering
Project engineering
> Permanent monitoring system development. From the initial mission profile to failure analysis, collaboration between engineers, field personnel and
operators contributes to continual improvements in permanent monitoring systems.
>
150C
160C
170C
Pressure, psi
10,020
10,015
10,010
10,025
Test cell repairs
-3 psi/year drift
PQG
pressure reading
0 psi/year drift
10,005
1 year
2 years
10,000
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Winter 1999/2000
25
> Torturing tools. By exposing an automobile chassis to repeated mechanical shocks (top), Sir Henry
Royce observed which parts were prone to failure and built better ones for Roll-Royce, beginning
around the turn of the last century. Today, highly specialized testing machines and accelerated test
techniques developed by Schlumberger verify the endurance of downhole equipment against
mechanical shocks (bottom).
26
Oilfield Review
> Permanent downhole gauge database. Careful tracking of each system enables analysis of
gauge performance. Comparison of environmental conditions helps teams prepare to install
gauges in new locations by learning from past experience in similar areas.
100
>
Permanent gauge operating life. Since recordkeeping began in 1987, Schlumberger has installed
more than 700 permanent gauges worldwide.
Analysis of 572 new-generation digital technology
installations made since March 1994, shown by
the purple line, indicates that over 88% of these
PressureWatch Quartz and Sapphire systems
were still operating after 4 years. The lavender
trend line begins at 97% and decreases by 3%
per year, a higher failure rate than that of the
actual data. The photograph shows the production
facilities of the Baldpate field, operated by
Amerada Hess.
90
Survival probability, %
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
Winter 1999/2000
27
>
Accumulated failures, %
Predictable wear-out
(design and environment related)
Random overload
(design related)
Flaws
(manufacturing and installation related)
28
Operational time
Reservoir drainage
Application
Description
Pressure monitoring
Pressure maintenance
Application
Description
Production engineering
> Typical applications of permanent downhole gauge data. Data from downhole
gauges can be used to improve both reservoir drainage and well delivery.
Oilfield Review
Winter 1999/2000
LOUISIANA
TEXAS
Garden Banks
100 miles
160 km
Enchilada
Baldpate
North
Baldpate
> Enchilada field. The Enchilada area includes several blocks in the Garden Banks area offshore
Louisiana, USA. The blocks are 3 miles [4.8 km] long and 3 miles wide.
Gauges in Action
The permanent monitoring applications that follow come from widely separated regions with
different operational challenges and operator
priorities. In each case, the operator might measure the value of permanent monitoring systems
in a variety of ways, such as additional barrels of
oil recovered through more efficient reservoir
drainage or delivery from individual wells, or in
cost savings through decreased well interventions. Appraisal of a deep, sour, high-pressure,
high-temperature (HPHT) discovery in the Middle
East presented numerous operational and interpretation challenges. Unlike the prolific shallow
oil fields nearby, the discovery well produced
anomalously high API gravity oil for the region
from a fractured carbonate reservoir with limited
microporosity. A thick salt layer above the reservoir complicated interpretation and operations.
Nevertheless, the accumulation presented fascinating opportunities to evaluate fracture fairways
below structural spillpoints and hydrocarbon selfsourcing in a kerogen-rich reservoir rock.
Data from the initial discovery well were inadequate to calibrate reservoir simulations or to
plan development. A deep appraisal well, drilled
over the course of a year with mud weights
exceeding 20 pounds per gallon [2.4 g/cm3], provided core, mud log and wireline log data. An
extended well test generated enough data for
engineers to decide how to proceed.
The extremely high formation pressures and
use of kill-weight mud in wellbores meant that
wireline-conveyed pressure measurements were
not possible. Instead, the operator selected a
FloWatcher system to measure pressure, temperature and flow rate continuously. This installation
29
Pressure
Pbhp
Psurface
Time
Pbhp
30
Pressure
>
Psurface
Time
Oilfield Review
LOUISIANA
TEXAS
Enchilada
Garden Banks
100 miles
160 km
Baldpate
North
Baldpate
> Baldpate field location. Baldpate field is located offshore Louisiana in Block 260 of the Garden
Banks area.
Winter 1999/2000
31
Qua Iboe
terminal
Niger Delta
Oso
Mfem
Unam
Ubit
Usari
Enang
Edop
Ekpe
Etim
Iyak
Asabo
Asasa
AFRICA
Oil fields with downhole gauges
0
15 miles
24 km
> Offshore Nigeria. Since 1992, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited has installed permanent downhole
gauges in the 12 offshore fields shown in red-rimmed green. Approximately 95% of the gauges are still
operating today.
32
Oilfield Review
Winter 1999/2000
2150
2100
tmin = 4/00
tmax = 7/00
2050
2000
Pressure, psia
1950
1900
1850
1800
1750
1700
1650
12/98
2/99
4/99
6/99
8/99
10/99
12/99
2/00
4/00
6/00
8/00
> Pressure response in Edop field. In the central fault block, gas injection is increasing
reservoir pressure, as shown in this plot of pressure measured in four different wells
versus time in the Intra Qua Iboe 3 reservoir. Predicted pressures, shown in dashes, were
calculated on the basis of well placement, drainage radius, production rates and expected
gas injection rates. tmin, or April 2000, represents the earliest predicted date when the
reservoir pressure will attain the target pressure (Pmax), while tmax represents the latest
projected date to reach the desired pressure and occurs in July 2000.
33