Downhole multiphase flow sensing methods
First Claim
1. An in-situ system for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a fluid producing well comprising at least one production zone, the system comprising:
- at least one sensor disposed along a tubular body in the production zone of the fluid producing well, each sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of fluid flow within production tubing in that zone;
at least one sensor communications node placed along and affixed to a wall of the tubular body in that production zone, the at least one sensor communications node being in communication with at least one associated sensor and configured to receive signals therefrom;
a topside communications node;
one or more intermediate communications nodes spaced along and attached to the wall of the tubular body, wherein the intermediate communications nodes are configured to transmit signals received from the sensor communications node(s) to the topside communications node, in substantially a node-to-node communications arrangement;
a receiver at a well surface configured to receive signals from the topside communications node; and
a topside data acquisition system structured and arranged to communicate with the topside communications node;
wherein each of the at least one sensors includes a material probe to measure parameters related to material properties with the fluid surrounding the sensor, wherein the material probe is a piezoelectric transducer configured to be excited to propagate acoustic energy along the tubular body;
wherein a composition of the fluid in the tubular body can be determined based on a level of the propagated acoustic energy lost to the fluid in the tubular body.
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Abstract
Provided are systems and methods for in-situ zonal assessment of multiphase fluid flow in one or more production zones of a production well, including for at least one production zone sensing one or more fluid flow parameters via at least one sensor disposed in a production zone; at least one sensor communications node being in electrical communication with an associated sensor, the at least one sensor communications node positioned along a tubular body in the production zone proximate an associated at least one sensor, and receiving signals from the associated at least one sensor; sending the acoustic signals from the at least one sensor communications node to a receiver at a surface via a series of intermediate communications nodes, node-to-node, the signals being indicative of one or more fluid flow parameters, the series of intermediate communications nodes being spaced along the tubular and configured to transmit acoustic waves; assessing one or more fluid flow parameters for the one or more production zones in response to signals received from a topside communications node.
327 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An in-situ system for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a fluid producing well comprising at least one production zone, the system comprising:
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at least one sensor disposed along a tubular body in the production zone of the fluid producing well, each sensor configured to measure a parameter indicative of fluid flow within production tubing in that zone; at least one sensor communications node placed along and affixed to a wall of the tubular body in that production zone, the at least one sensor communications node being in communication with at least one associated sensor and configured to receive signals therefrom; a topside communications node; one or more intermediate communications nodes spaced along and attached to the wall of the tubular body, wherein the intermediate communications nodes are configured to transmit signals received from the sensor communications node(s) to the topside communications node, in substantially a node-to-node communications arrangement; a receiver at a well surface configured to receive signals from the topside communications node; and a topside data acquisition system structured and arranged to communicate with the topside communications node; wherein each of the at least one sensors includes a material probe to measure parameters related to material properties with the fluid surrounding the sensor, wherein the material probe is a piezoelectric transducer configured to be excited to propagate acoustic energy along the tubular body;
wherein a composition of the fluid in the tubular body can be determined based on a level of the propagated acoustic energy lost to the fluid in the tubular body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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20. An in-situ method for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a multi-zone fluid producing well, comprising:
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sensing one or more fluid flow parameters via at least one sensor positioned along a tubular body in at least one production zone of the multi-zone fluid producing well; receiving signals from the at least one sensor with at least one sensor communications node attached to a wall of the tubular body; transmitting the received signals via a transceiver to an intermediate communications node attached to the wall of the tubular body; relaying signals received by the intermediate communications node to an additional intermediate communications node via a transceiver; relaying signals received by the additional intermediate communications node to a topside communications node via a transceiver; assessing a production condition of each production zone in response to signals received from the topside communications node; and optimizing production performance of one or more production zones of the multi-zone fluid producing well; wherein the production condition is a composition of the fluid in the tubular body, and wherein each of the at least one sensors includes a material probe to measure parameters related to material properties with the fluid surrounding the sensor, wherein the material probe is a piezoelectric transducer, and wherein the method further comprises; exciting the piezoelectric transducer to propagate acoustic energy along the tubular body; determining acoustic energy lost to the fluid in the tubular body; and based on a level of acoustic energy loss, determining the composition of the fluid in the tubular body.
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31. An in-situ method for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a multi-zone fluid producing well, comprising:
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sensing one or more fluid flow parameters via at least one sensor positioned along a tubular body in at least one production zone of the multi-zone fluid producing well; receiving signals from the at least one sensor with at least one sensor communications node attached to a wall of the tubular body; transmitting the received signals via a transceiver to an intermediate communications node attached to the wall of the tubular body; relaying signals received by the intermediate communications node to an additional intermediate communications node via a transceiver; relaying signals received by the additional intermediate communications node to a topside communications node via a transceiver; assessing a production condition of each production zone in response to signals received from the topside communications node; and optimizing production performance of one or more production zones of the multi-zone fluid producing well; wherein the production condition is a flow distribution at different depths in the tubular body, each of the at least one sensors comprising a pitot array sensor, the pitot array sensor including a plurality of pitot tubes, each of the pitot tubes being inserted into the tubular body at a different depth from others of the plurality of pitot tubes, and a corresponding plurality of piezoelectric transducers, wherein each of the pitot tubes is in communication with a respective piezoelectric transducer; wherein the method further comprises; using signals sensed by the pitot tubes and communicated to the respective piezoelectric transducers to determine the flow distribution in the tubular body.
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32. An in-situ method for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a multi-zone fluid producing well, comprising:
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sensing one or more fluid flow parameters via at least one sensor positioned along a tubular body in at least one production zone of the multi-zone fluid producing well; receiving signals from the at least one sensor with at least one sensor communications node attached to a wall of the tubular body; transmitting the received signals via a transceiver to an intermediate communications node attached to the wall of the tubular body; relaying signals received by the intermediate communications node to an additional intermediate communications node via a transceiver; relaying signals received by the additional intermediate communications node to a topside communications node via a transceiver; assessing a production condition of each production zone in response to signals received from the topside communications node; and optimizing production performance of one or more production zones of the multi-zone fluid producing well; wherein the production condition is a flow velocity of fluid in the tubular body, and further comprising; sending a first acoustic signal from a first intermediate communications node to a second intermediate communications node, wherein the second intermediate communications node is separated from the first intermediate communications node by a known distance; measuring a first time required for the first signal to pass through fluid in the tubular body from the first intermediate communications node to the second intermediate communications node; sending a second acoustic signal from the second intermediate communications node to the first intermediate communications node; measuring a second time required for the second signal to pass through fluid in the tubular body from the second intermediate communications node to the first intermediate communications node; and using the first time, the second time, and the known distance, determining the flow velocity of the fluid in the tubular body. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. An in-situ method for assessing production conditions of one or more production zones of a multi-zone fluid producing well, comprising:
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sensing one or more fluid flow parameters via at least one sensor positioned along a tubular body in at least one production zone of the multi-zone fluid producing well; receiving signals from the at least one sensor with at least one sensor communications node attached to a wall of the tubular body; transmitting the received signals via a transceiver to an intermediate communications node attached to the wall of the tubular body; relaying signals received by the intermediate communications node to an additional intermediate communications node via a transceiver; relaying signals received by the additional intermediate communications node to a topside communications node via a transceiver; assessing a production condition of each production zone in response to signals received from the topside communications node; and optimizing production performance of one or more production zones of the multi-zone fluid producing well; wherein the production condition comprises a flow rate of the fluid in the tubular body, and wherein each of the at least one sensors includes a flow probe to measure parameters associated with the flow rate of the fluid adjacent the sensor, wherein the flow probe is a piezoelectric noise meter, and wherein the method further comprises; using the piezoelectric noise meter, measuring an intensity of flow noise in the tubular body; and based on a correlation between flow noise and flow rate, determining the flow rate of the fluid in the tubular body.
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Specification