How do you monitor and control reservoir pressure, temperature, and fluid flow using smart wells and sensors?

1 What are smart wells and sensors?

Smart wells and sensors are devices that are installed in the wellbore or the reservoir to measure and transmit real-time data on various parameters, such as pressure, temperature, flow rate, water cut, gas-oil ratio, and saturation. They also allow you to remotely control the flow of fluids from different zones and layers by using valves, chokes, inflow control devices, and outflow control devices. Smart wells and sensors can be integrated with surface facilities, reservoir models, and optimization algorithms to create a closed-loop system that automatically adjusts the production and injection operations.

2 Why use smart wells and sensors?

Smart wells and sensors can offer multiple advantages, such as optimizing the sweep efficiency and drainage area of each zone and layer to enhance reservoir performance and recovery. Additionally, they can reduce operational costs and risks by reducing the need for well interventions, workovers, and artificial lift systems. Moreover, they can improve reservoir management and decision making by providing real-time feedback and diagnosis, allowing dynamic updating and calibration of reservoir models and forecasts.

3 How to design smart wells and sensors?

When designing smart wells and sensors, several factors need to be taken into consideration, such as the reservoir characteristics and well objectives. These include heterogeneity, connectivity, fluid properties, production rate, recovery factor, and economic life. Additionally, well constraints like pressure limits, water cut limits, gas-oil ratio limits, and environmental regulations should be taken into account. Furthermore, the well architecture and completion should be considered - such as horizontal, vertical, multilateral or branched wells with open hole, cased hole, perforated or slotted completions. When selecting the type, number, location and configuration of the sensors and control devices that best suit your design, you must also think about their reliability, accuracy, compatibility and maintainability. Moreover, you need to consider the communication and power systems that connect them.

4 How to operate smart wells and sensors?

Operating smart wells and sensors involves various steps, such as initializing the devices and establishing communication and power links with the surface facilities, testing and calibrating the devices to verify their functionality and performance, monitoring and analyzing the data collected by the devices in comparison to expected values and trends, controlling and adjusting the flow of fluids from different zones and layers through manipulating valves, chokes, inflow control devices, and outflow control devices, as well as evaluating and optimizing production and injection operations using reservoir models, optimization algorithms, and decision support tools.

5 How to troubleshoot smart wells and sensors?

Smart wells and sensors have many advantages, however, they are not immune to malfunctions, failures, or interferences. Common issues include sensor drift, noise, or bias due to calibration errors or environmental changes; sensor failure or loss due to mechanical damage or electrical faults; control device failure or loss due to wear and tear; and communication or power disruption due to signal attenuation. To troubleshoot these problems, you must identify the root cause, isolate the affected device, and apply the correct corrective action. Depending on the severity and frequency of the problem, you may need to repair, replace, reconfigure the device, or perform a well intervention or workover.