This section is intended to provide background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
Many oil and gas operations involve the deployment of cable downhole in a well, whether the well is a surface or subsea well. The cable may be stored on a reel at a well site or on an offshore platform. The reel is rotated to either unspool and lower the cable into or wind and raise the cable from the well. Such reels may be controlled hydraulically or pneumatically and/or require manual intervention.
For a detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
This disclosure provides methods and systems for electronically controlling the deployment or retrieval of a cable from a reel in an oilfield environment. The methods and systems provided herein can be applied to a variety of cable types, including but not limited to, umbilical cables, wireline cables, fishing wires, and the like. The methods and system provided herein can be used in land-based surface wells as well as offshore subsea operations.
Referring to the figures,
A derrick 112 may also be positioned at the well site 104. However, it should be appreciated that other support structures may also be used. The derrick 112 includes a sheave wheel 114 or other support mechanism for suspending unspooled portions of the cable 108 downhole. Although
In one or more embodiments, the reel 106 of the reel system 100 is pneumatically or hydraulically driven and the control system 110 is an electronic control system in communication with the reel 106 for electronically controlling the reel 106.
For example,
The controller 206 includes one or more processors which receive commands from the control system 202 and send electrical control signals to the control valves 208 and/or the pressure regulators 242. The control valves 208, transducers 210, sensors 212, pressure regulators 242, and the control panel 214 are in electrical communication with the controller 206 to receive or send data and/or commands among these components. For example, the controller 206 decodes the command from the control system 202 to an electrical control signal and supplies the electrical control signal to the control valves 208 and/or the the pressure regulators 242 to control the rotation of the reel 204a-d. The control valves 208 may include solenoid valves and controllably couple a motor (not shown) that drives the reel 204a-d to a pneumatic or hydraulic pressure source (not shown) as further described herein with respect to
The control panels 214 may be located on each reel 204a-d and provide the option of receiving commands via an input device 222 (e.g., a keyboard, touchpad, button, dial, switch, etc.) or displaying the operational status for each reel 204a-d via an output device 224 (e.g., a monitor, screen, printer, digital or analog meter, etc.). The input device 222 may receive user controls for operating the reels 204a-d, and the user controls may include, but are not limited to, “Reel In”, “Reel Out”, “Normal Mode”, or “Tensioning Mode”. As used herein, “Normal Mode” refers to when the reel 204a-d is driven by a variable speed or torque, and “Tensioning Mode” refers to when the reel 204a-d is driven by a constant torque or speed to maintain tension on the cable 108 of
The sensors 212 are operable to provide closed-loop feedback to the control system 202 on the operation of each reel 204a-d, such as measuring a parameter indicative of a reel condition and communicating the parameter to the control system 202. The measurements from the sensors 212 may also be used to monitor the operation of the reels 204a-d from the user interface 226 and/or the control panel 214. The sensor 212 may include at least one of a speed sensor, a strain gauge, a pressure sensor, a load cell, etc. The sensors 212 may monitor various components of the reels 204a-d to measure parameters indicative of a reel condition for closed-loop feedback or monitoring the operation of the reel 204a as described herein. For example, the sensor 212 may monitor the sheave 114 of
The control valves 208A-D are in fluid communication with the pressure source 240 and are used to select the operating mode of the reel 204a either via the control system 202 or the control panel 214 of
Opening the control valve 208B provides pressure to the pressure regulator 242B, which is used to set the “Tensioning Mode” pressure that drives the motor 246 while unspooling the cable 108 of
Opening the control valve 208C sets the motor 246 to the “Reel In” mode to wind the cable 108 on the drum 248. While set in “Reel In” mode, pressure may be output through either the pressure regulator 242A or the pressure regulator 242B to drive the motor 246. Opening the control valve 208D sets the motor 246 to the “Reel Out” mode to unspool the cable 108 on the drum 248. While set in “Reel Out” mode, pressure may be output through either the pressure regulator 242A or the pressure regulator 242B to drive the motor 246.
The pressure regulators 242A, B, and D may be electrically coupled to the controller 206 to allow the control system 202 or the control panel 214 to set the pressure output for the respective pressure regulators 242A, B, and D. The pressure regulators 242A, B, and D may each have an input device, such as a dial or knob, located at the control panel 214 to manually set the pressure output for the respective pressure regulators 242A, B, and D. As discussed herein, the pressure regulator 242A sets the pressure setpoint for “Normal Mode,” whereas the pressure regulator 242B sets the pressure setpoint for “Tensioning Mode.” The pressure regulator 242C is also used to control the pressure supplied from the pressure source 240 and set by either of the pressure regulators 242A and B. As shown, the pressure regulator 242C is in fluid communication with the pressure source 240 and the pressure regulators 242A and B. The pressure regulator 242D may be used to turn the reel 204a on or off to suspend or start reeling operations.
The transducers 210A-C are in fluid communication with the outlets of the pressure regulators 242A-C, respectively, to provide feedback about the output pressure of the pressure regulators 242A-C to the control system 202. The transducer 210A-C may also provide pressure measurements to the control panel 214 and/or the user interface 226 of
Referring to
The user interface 226 may be an additional computer system including a processor 228, an output device 230 (e.g., a monitor, screen, printer, etc.), an input device 232 (e.g., a keyboard, touchpad, mouse, etc.), and a non-transitory machine-readable storage media 234 (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, RAM, a hard drive, a solid state disk, an optical disk, or a combination thereof). However, the user interface 226 may be implemented in a wide variety of forms including, but not limited to, an input device and output device integrated with the computer system 216 for the control system 202, a portable computer or tablet that communicates with the control system 202, and a remote computer in communication with the control system 202 via a wireless link and/or a wired computer network. In embodiments, the control panel 214 is local to the reels 204a-d and the electronic control system 202 is remotely located from the reels 204a-d. The control system 202 is in communication with each reel 204a-d so as to be able to energize the pneumatic control valves 208 that control the supply of pneumatic pressure to the reels 204a-d, thereby rotating the reels 204a-d in either direction or stopping the reels 204a-d.
The control system 202 is in communication with the controller 206 to control operation of multiple reels 204a-d at once, in a synchronized or offset manner The control system 202 may also be operable to control the rotation of the reels 204a-d individually, collectively, synchronously, or according to a programmed protocol. For example, the control system 202, upon receiving a command, can control multiple reels 204a-d to rotate, thereby unspooling multiple cables 108 synchronously. The command may be a single command or multiple commands and may be user commands input from the user interface 226 or automatically generated commands. The control system 202 may also include programmed protocol to control the reels 204a-d. For example, the programmed protocol, when executed, drives several reels 204a-d at separate or different rotational rates or directions. Such a protocol can be executed based on an input to the control system 202 from the user interface 226. A wide variety of protocols for driving one or a plurality of reels 204a-d can be programmed and executed by the control system 202. Execution of such protocols can come from user input to the control system 202 or upon preprogrammed conditions, in which the control system 202 can automatically execute one or more protocols. The control system 202 can also provide status reports of the one or more reels 204a-d to a reel operator, such as displaying on the user interface 226 the reel speed, reel tension, or extension length of the cable 108. The control system 202 can communicate with the reels 204 via a communication network 205, which provides a wireless and/or wired connection. The communication network 205 may include any suitable communication network for control systems such as PROFIBUS or PROFINET.
In one or more embodiments, the reel 106 of the reel system 100 is electrically driven by an electric motor and controlled by the electronic control system 110. For example,
The control panel 314 provides the option of receiving commands via an input device 322 (e.g., a keyboard, touchpad, button, dial, switch, etc.) or displaying the operation status for each reel 304a-d via an output device 324 (e.g., a monitor, screen, printer, digital or analog meter, etc.). The input device 322 may receive user controls, which may include “Reel In”, “Reel Out”, “Normal Mode”, or “Tensioning Mode”, for operating the reel 304a-d as described herein with respect to
The sensors 312 provide closed-loop feedback to the control system 302, such as measuring a parameter indicative of a reel condition and communicating the parameter to the control system 302. As used herein, the parameter indicative of the reel condition may also include at least one of a horsepower of the motor 308 and a frequency of rotation of the motor 308.
The electronic control system 302 may include a user interface 326 to operate the reels 304a-d either remotely or locally at the reel 304a-d, and the electronic control system 302 may also be located remotely or locally at the reel 304a-d. The user interface 326 may be computer system as described herein with respect to
The control system 302 is in communication with the controller 306 to control operation of one or multiple reels 304a-d at once, in a synchronized or offset manner The control system 302 may also be operable to control the rotation of the reels 304a-d individually, collectively, synchronously, or according to a programmed protocol. For example, the control system 302, upon receiving a command, can control multiple reels 304a-d to rotate, thereby unspooling multiple cables 108 synchronously. The command may be a single command or multiple commands and may be user commands input from the user interface 326 or automatically generated commands. The control system 302 may include a programmed protocol to control the reels 304a-d. For example, the programmed protocol, when executed, drives several reels 304a-d at separate or different rotational rates or directions. Such a protocol can be executed based on a single user input to the control system 302 from the user interface 326. A wide variety of protocols for driving one or a plurality of reels 304a-d can be programmed and executed by the control system 302. Execution of such protocols can come from user input to the control system 302 or upon preprogrammed conditions, in which the control system 302 can automatically executes one or more protocols. The control system 302 can also provide status reports of the one or more reels 304a-d to the reel operator, such as displaying, on the user interface 326, the reel speed, reel tension, or extension length of the cable 108. The control system 302 can communicate with the reels 304 via a communication network 305, which provides a wireless and/or wired connection. The communication network 305 may include any suitable communication network for control systems such as PROFIBUS or PROFINET.
Although
This discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features of the embodiments may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not function, unless specifically stated. In the discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. In addition, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a central axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the central axis. The use of “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” and variations of these terms is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to specific details, it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations on the scope of the invention, except to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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62237373 | Oct 2015 | US |