The present invention relates generally to operations performed and equipment utilized in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in particular, to tracking use of equipment in wellhead manifolds.
Development and production of fluid from an oilfield requires numerous pieces of piping, tools, and other oil field assets and equipment. Typically, the various types of piping used in the production of fluid from an oil field are iron, or an iron-based composite, and are referred to generically as “iron,” “oilfield iron,” or more correctly “discharge manifold equipment (DME)”. Hereinafter this piping equipment will be referred to as DME. DME and other assets have a limited lifetime for use in well production and degrade during the course of use. In order to account for this degradation, old and/or used DME is typically replaced with new or lesser used DME during the course of a well's production. Accordingly, it is desirable to optimally use and/or reuse DME and dispose of DME that has been overused.
Some specific exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be understood by referring, in part, to the following description and the accompanying drawings.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.
The present invention relates generally to operations performed and equipment utilized in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in particular, to tracking use of DME equipment in wellhead manifolds.
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the specific implementation goals, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure.
The terms “couple” or “couples” as used herein are intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect mechanical or electrical connection via other devices and connections. The term “uphole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the distal end towards the surface, and “downhole” as used herein means along the drillstring or the hole from the surface towards the distal end.
To facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure, the following examples of certain embodiments are given. In no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to horizontal, vertical, deviated, multilateral, u-tube connection, intersection, bypass (drill around a mid-depth stuck fish and back into the well below), or otherwise nonlinear wellbores in any type of subterranean formation. Embodiments may be applicable to injection wells, and production wells, including natural resource production wells such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbons or geothermal wells; as well as borehole construction for river crossing tunneling and other such tunneling boreholes for near surface construction purposes or borehole u-tube pipelines used for the transportation of fluids such as hydrocarbons. Embodiments described below with respect to one implementation are not intended to be limiting.
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The identifier tag 210 may be attached to the exterior of the DME 110 by strapping the identifier tag 210 to the DME 110, embedding the identifier tag 210 in the DME 110 by installing the identifier tag in a hole, depression, or surface location in or on the DME 110, or through any other means for physically connecting the identifier tag 210 with the associated DME 110. In certain embodiments, the identifier tag 210 may be any commercially available RFID chips or tags. In addition, the identifier tag 210 may be embedded using commercially available adhesive to retain the identifier tag 210 within or to the DME 110.
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The central database 150 may store the information encoded in the unique identifier 501, an example of which is shown in
The pumping unit 130 and/or the mobile command center 170 may track the type, pressure, amount, and flow rate of fluid pumped through the pumping unit 130 during the job (hereinafter called “job information”). The pumping unit 130 may send job information to a mobile command center 170 and/or a central database 150. In certain embodiments, the mobile command center 170 may transmit job information to the central database 150 in real-time or in batch mode. The job information may be associated with each DME 110 used in the DME manifold to wellhead 135 during the pump job. The central database 150 may be configured to compute corrosion and erosion calculations for the DME 110 using the job information associated with each DME 110.
Inventory of the DME 110 may be taken by associating the identifier tag 210 to the piece of DME 110 to which the identifier tag 210 may be attached. As each DME 110 is installed in the DME manifold to wellhead section 135, the identifier tag 210 associated with each DME 110 may be scanned and the unique identifier 501 and an installation status may be communicated to a central database 150. In addition, as each DME 110 is removed from the DME manifold to wellhead section 135, the identifier tag 210 associated with each DME 110 may be scanned and the unique identifier 501 and a storage status may be communicated to a central database 150. Thus, the central database 150 may contain an inventory of each DME 110 associated with an identifier tag 210 and the installation status, associated manifold system, date of installation for each tagged DME 110, and/or any other type of information associated with the DME 110 that is desired to be tracked.
As each pumping unit 130 begins operation at the manifold system 120, the unique identifier 501 associated with the pumping unit 130 may be scanned and/or communicated to the central database 150. Job information for each pumping unit 130 may also be communicated to the central database 150. Job information may include the type, pressure, amount, and flow rate of fluid pumped, identification of the manifold, the date and time of job start, the date and time of job finish, and/or any other information desired to track. The central database 150 may associate the job information to each DME 110 listed in the central database 150 as installed at the specific manifold system 120.
The central database 150 may use the job information to track the actual operation time for each DME 110 and/or the total amount of fluid flow through each DME 110. The DME 110 usage information may be accessible by a remote operator through a remote device 160. The central database 150 may perform corrosion and erosion calculations and communicate estimated percentage use and time of replacement information to the remote device 160. As such, an operator using the remote device 160 may track the DME 110 and use the DME 110 corrosion and erosion calculations to determine whether any DME 110 should be replaced and/or plan for the future replacement of DME 110.
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In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method of tracking the use of DME, comprising: providing a DME, attaching an identifier tag to the exterior of the DME, the identifier tag containing a unique identifier, reading the identifier tag with an identifier tag reader, sending the unique identifier to a central database; storing the unique identifier in the central database, providing a pumping unit, associating a pumping unit identifier with the pumping unit, reading the pumping unit identifier with the identifier tag reader, and sending the pumping unit identifier and pumping unit job information to the central database.
Therefore, the present disclosure is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the present disclosure may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. The indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US13/60369 | 9/18/2013 | WO | 00 |