Patent Application
20100063901
The present invention relates generally to oilfield operations, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for providing inventory visibility and on site material control to support services provided at a well site.
The servicing and stimulation of wells is a complex process that involves a series of coordinated operations that begin with the supply by truck of equipment, supplies, fuel, and chemicals to the well head. The equipment is set-up and made ready with proppant and chemicals. After completion of the well services, equipment must then be broken down and made ready for transport to the next pad for service.
On land, stimulation and treatment processes are often performed with mobile equipment that may be in place for a short period of time. Equipment may then be moved by truck(s) from pad to pad as necessary. The movement of equipment and personnel makes it difficult to manage the availability of chemicals, proppants, and equipment as needed. In addition, the supply of materials is often limited by truck capacity to supply well operation sites.
A number of different materials are used during oilfield operations. For instance, a number of liquid chemicals, including crosslinkers, gelling agents, viscosity altering chemicals, pH buffers, modifiers, surfactants, breakers, and stabilizers or dry materials (e.g., proppant materials comprising sands and other particulates with compositions including bauxites, ceramics, glasses, plastics, metals, natural materials such as walnut seed particulates, resin composites, etc.), may be utilized during the oilfield operations. These materials are often stored in storage units at the job site. As the materials are used and the amount of materials available in the storage unit(s) is reduced, it is necessary to replenish the contents of the storage units. Trucks are often used to deliver the requisite materials to the storage units to ensure a constant supply of materials necessary for performing a job.
The current methods of maintaining a constant supply of materials in a storage unit have several disadvantages. First, due to a lack of visibility the real-time understanding of material availability in the storage units is limited. Consequently, it is often necessary to retain a line of trucks ready to deliver the requisite materials to the storage units as soon as the amount of a particular material in a storage unit is below a desired amount. Moreover, many oilfield operations are performed in remote areas. Due to the long period of time necessary for delivering materials to such remote areas, an oilfield operator cannot request the requisite materials as they become depleted and is instead forced to retain a number of trucks containing the requisite supplies to ensure the operations can be performed in a timely manner. Another drawback of the current methods is the inability to monitor and control job site inventories from a remote location.
Additionally, the current methods of maintaining a constant supply of materials are expensive and resource intensive, as an oilfield operator has to take on the expenses and resources associated with maintaining a number of trucks on standby for each job site.
Some specific example 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 example 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 oilfield operations, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for providing inventory visibility and on site material control to support services provided at a well site.
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for communicating inventory information comprising: a mobile storage unit; a load cell coupled to the mobile storage unit, wherein the load cell generates an electric signal representing the amount of materials in the mobile storage unit; and a command center communicatively coupled to the load cell, wherein the command center receives a signal from the load cell representing the amount of materials in the mobile storage unit.
In another exemplary embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method of controlling the inventory at a job site comprising: coupling a mobile storage unit containing a first material to a measurement device; communicating a signal from the measurement device to a command center, wherein the signal represents the amount of the first material in the mobile storage unit; and coordinating delivery of the first material to the mobile storage unit if the signal is less than a threshold value.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system of inventory control comprising: a first job site having a first storage unit containing a first material; wherein a first load cell is coupled to the first storage unit; a second job site having a second storage unit containing a second material; wherein a second load cell is coupled to the second storage unit; and wherein the second job site is located remotely from the first job site; a logistics control center communicatively coupled to the first load cell and the second load cell; and a transportation hub communicatively coupled to the logistics control center.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the description of exemplary embodiments, which follows.
The present invention relates generally to oilfield operations, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses for providing inventory visibility and on site material control to support services provided at a well site.
During oilfield operations in an oilfield system arranged in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the load cells are communicatively coupled to the command center 108 or a RTO center. The load cells may include the software to communicate the on site inventories to the command center 108 for the purpose of servicing the different activities surrounding oilfield operations. In one embodiment, the load cells may be communicatively coupled to the command center 108 or a RTO center through an existing on site satellite communications system. In another exemplary embodiment, the load cells may communicate with the command center 108 or a RTO center through a wireless wide area network. In an embodiment, the load cells may be communicatively coupled to a command center 108 through a wired communications system, and optionally, the command center 108 communicatively coupled to a RTO center by a satellite communications system or a wireless wide area network communications system. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the wireless wide area network may also comprise worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) technology. In another exemplary embodiment, the wireless wide area network may also comprise the wireless physical interface provisions of 3.5 generation (3.5G) wireless communication systems or of 4 generation (4G) wireless communication systems. In yet another exemplary embodiment, once the information from the load cell is received in the command center 108 it may be relayed over the World Wide Web allowing access to inventory information to any authorized user or through any authorized terminal having access to the internet. In one embodiment the authorized terminal may be a computer.
Hence, the command center 108 or RTO center will receive information relating to the existing inventory of materials in the various storage units 102, 104, 124. The logistics personnel with secure internet access may then view this information on the site from anywhere in the world to determine the amount of different materials that may be needed at the site in real-time. Based on that information, the logistics personnel may efficiently utilize the transport providers to deliver the requisite materials to the job site in a timely and efficient manner.
As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the load cells may also be used to control metering rates from the storage units 102, 104, 124 during on site service activities such as cementing, stimulation or acid treatments. In one embodiment, this information may be communicated to the command center 108 or RTO center and used to display and record the amount of materials used during the operations thereby allowing on site billing.
The first job site 200 and the second job site 300 may communicate the information from the load cells 204, 304 to the logistics control center 500 through the communication device 208, 308 in a number of ways. In one exemplary embodiment, the load cells may communicate with the command center 108 through a wireless wide area network. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the wireless wide area network may also comprise worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) technology. In another exemplary embodiment, the wireless wide area network may also comprise the wireless physical interface provisions of 3.5 generation (3.5G) wireless communication systems or of 4 generation (4G) wireless communication systems. In another exemplary embodiment, the load cells may communicate with the command center 108 through a wired communications system. In yet another exemplary embodiment, once the information from the load cell is received in the command center, it may be relayed over the World Wide Web allowing access to inventory information to any authorized user or through any authorized terminal having access to the internet.
The information received at the logistics control center 500 may be represented to the logistics personnel remotely who may then interpret that information and use it to coordinate the activities of the transportation providers to fulfill the material demands of the different job sites 200, 300. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, the information communicated from the load cells may be represented in a number of ways at the logistics control center 500. In one embodiment, the information from the different job sites may be graphically represented as depicted in
The logistics personnel may then use the information received at the logistics control center 500 to coordinate the activities at a transportation hub 400 providing a dynamic distribution model to the job sites. In one embodiment, a number of trucks 402 from the transportation providers may be retained in a standby queue at the transportation hub 400. As depicted in
A communication system similar to that between the job sites 200, 300 and the logistics control center 500 may be used for communication from the logistics control center 500 to the transportation hub 400. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, with the benefit of this disclosure, although the transportation hub 400 and the logistics control center 500 are depicted as distinct locations, the invention is not limited by the location of logistics control center 500. For example, in another exemplary embodiment, the logistics control center 500 may be located within the transportation hub 400. A user interface at the transportation hub 400 may be utilized to guide the operations of the transport providers. The use of a transportation hub 400, and the added inventory visibility helps ensure a more efficient and timely supply of the materials needed at a particular job site.
Once the inventory of a particular material at a particular job site reaches below a threshold level, the logistics personnel at the logistics control center 500 send a signal to the transportation hub 400. The threshold value may be dependent upon the distance between the transportation hub 400 and the job site 200, 300 as the time it would take to deliver the requisite materials to a job site is a function of the distance between the transportation hub 400 and the job site. Based on the signal received at the transportation hub 400 the next truck 402 available in the queue is loaded with the requisite material at the loading point 404 and directed to the particular job site requiring replenishment.
In one exemplary embodiment, a user interface at the transportation hub 400 may be communicatively coupled to the logistics control center 500 to monitor the job performance at a particular job site. In one embodiment, the user interface may comprise a group of color coded lights 406, 408 which may be used to indicate the inventory requirements of the different job sites 200, 300. For instance, a red light in the indicator 406 corresponding to the job site 200 may indicate that the oilfield operations at the site have been canceled and the truck(s) headed to that job site can be unloaded and returned to the queue or redirected to another job site. A yellow light may be used to indicate that the oilfield operations at the particular job site 200 have been delayed and that the truck(s) headed to that job site can remain on standby or redirected to another job site. Finally, a green light may be used to indicate that the oilfield operations at the job site 200 are continuing as planned and that the truck(s) can continue the delivery of materials to that job site.
Although
Therefore, the present invention 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 invention 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 invention. In addition, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee.
