1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to artificially lifted oil wells. More particularly, this invention relates to real-time monitoring and failure prediction of electrical submersible pumps.
2. Description of Related Art
In many oil wells, an artificial lift system is employed to lift fluid (e.g., petroleum) from a subterranean reservoir to a collection point. In many applications, the artificial lift system includes an electrical submersible pump that is positioned within a wellbore. The pump intakes fluid from the wellbore and pumps the fluid upwardly or laterally through the wellbore to the collection point. During extended operation, the components of the electrical submersible pump may be subject to degradation or breakage, which can lead to unwanted well intervention activities such as workovers.
In many applications, the electrical submersible pumps are installed in wells that are offshore, subsea, or in remote areas that are not easily accessible for intervention and workover. In these applications, it would be beneficial to provide operators with the ability to accurately monitor the condition of the electrical submersible pumps and effectively predict failure before it occurs such that equipment can be efficiently mobilized before a pump fails. To this end, systems have been developed that provide real-time data acquisition and monitoring of an electrical submersible pump. These systems enable operators to monitor in real-time the operational characteristics of the pump and intelligently control the operation of the pump. Such operations allow operators to identify changing well conditions as well as changing pump characteristics due to pump wear and instability, and to optimize the performance of the pump system based thereon. Such operations also allow operators to take immediate remedial action if conditions warrant such action.
Disadvantageously, current monitoring systems require experienced operators to monitor and analyze in detail the operating conditions of the pump in order to identify operating conditions that predict if and when failure of the pump system is imminent. Employing such an experienced operator (or providing an inexperienced operator with the necessary amount of training) is difficult to accomplish and costly over the operational lifetime of the pump system.
Thus, there is a need in the art to provide an electrical submersible pump monitoring system that provides a simple and user-friendly mechanism for accurately predicting pump failure and which avoids the difficulties and costs associated with the prior art systems.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electrical submersible pump monitoring system that provides a simple and user-friendly mechanism for accurately predicting pump failure.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a monitoring system which avoids the difficulties and costs associated with the prior art.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a monitoring system in which the failure prediction mechanism can simply and intuitively be updated by the user over the operational lifetime of the electrical submersible pump system, if needed.
In accord with these objects, which will be discussed in detail below, a method of (and corresponding system for) monitoring an electrical submersible pump stores first measurement values associated with a plurality of operating parameters of the electrical submersible pump. The first measurement values include subsets corresponding to operating parameters (e.g., operating amperage, current leakage, current imbalance, motor temperature, pump performance index, discharge pressure, intake pressure, discharge vibration, intake vibration, and motor vibration). Each subset of first measurement values is obtained during downhole operation of the electrical submersible pump over time. Users define a plurality of user-supplied stable operating values corresponding to the operating parameters. A failure prediction value representing likelihood of failure of the electrical submersible pump is generated based upon the first measurement values and the user-supplied stable operating values. The failure prediction value is stored for subsequent output and monitoring of the electrical submersible pump.
In the preferred embodiment, for each operating parameter, the first measurement values are processed to generate a second measurement value characterizing the current condition of the operating parameter, and a third measurement value is calculated as a percentage change of the corresponding second measurement value and the corresponding user-supplied stable value. The failure prediction value is calculated by mapping the third measurement values to weight factor values, scaling the weight factor values by a set of corresponding confidence ratings to generate a set of resultant products, and then adding the resultant products.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the failure prediction value is used to generate one or more graphical user interfaces that are output to the user for monitoring and alarm purposes. Such graphical user interface(s) preferably include at least one of: a display of the failure prediction value itself, at least one visual alarm that is raised in the event that the failure prediction value exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a description of the underlying cause of an alarm condition, and a gauge that visually depicts the failure prediction value.
It will be appreciated that electrical submersible pump (ESP) monitoring methodology (and systems based thereon) provide improved mechanisms for predicting the failure of ESP systems and reporting such predictions to users. Importantly, the predictions are based on the acquisition, collection, and storage of sufficient data on key operating points of the ESP system. The mechanisms also provide a simple and intuitive interface that allows users to modify and update the fault prediction mechanism during the operational lifetime of the ESP system in order to ensure accurate fault prediction over time. Because the simple and intuitive interface does not require extensive training or experience to understand, a wide range of operators can monitor and analyze the operating conditions of the ESP system, which aids in reducing monitoring costs.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for real-time monitoring and failure prediction of electrical submersible pumps. The system and method employ real-time data acquisition and monitoring of the downhole pumping system along with automatic computer-implemented fault prediction. Such fault prediction enables the well operator (or well field manager) to more efficiently and effectively predict failure of the downhole pumping system before it occurs, thereby minimizing the risk of catastrophic failure and the costs associated therewith.
Turning now to
As illustrated, wellbore 13 is lined with a wellbore casing 25 having perforations 27 through which fluid flows between formation 15 and wellbore 13. For example, a hydrocarbon-based fluid may flow from formation 15 through perforations 27 and into wellbore 13 adjacent electrical submersible pumping system 11. Upon entering wellbore 13, pumping system 11 operates to pump the fluid upwardly through tubing 23 to the wellhead 17 and on to a desired collection point.
The electrical submersible pumping system 11 may comprise a wide variety of components depending on the particular application or environment in which it is used. The exemplary electrical submersible pumping system 11 shown in
At least one surface-located ESP control module 31 is provided that interfaces to an external power source and controls the supply of electric power to the ESP motor section 11-5 via power cables 29 therebetween. The power cables 29 (which are typically realized by armored-protected, insulated conductors) extend through the wellhead 17 and downward along the exterior of the tubing 23 in the annular space between the tubing 23 and the casing 25. The ESP control module(s) 31 is capable of selectively turning on and shutting off the supply of power to the ESP motor section 11-5. The ESP control module(s) 31 may also incorporate variable-speed drive functionality that adjusts pump output by varying the operational motor speed of the ESP motor section 11-5. The ESP control module(s) 31 may also include sensors for real-time measurement of various operating parameters of the ESP system 11, such as the power supply voltage, amperage, and possibly current imbalance of the ESP system 11.
The sensor unit 11-6 of the ESP system 11 also includes or interfaces to sensors that provide real-time measurement of various downhole operating parameters of the electrical submersible pumping system 11. In the preferred embodiment, the discharge section 11-1 (or another part of the system adjacent thereto) includes a vibration sensor for real-time measurement of localized vibrations of the discharge section 11-1 as well as a pressure sensor for real-time measurement of localized fluid pressure within or adjacent to the discharge section 11-1. Similarly, the intake section 11-3 (or another part of the system adjacent thereto) includes a vibration sensor for real-time measurement of localized vibrations of the intake section 11-3 as well as a pressure sensor for real-time measurement of localized fluid pressure within or adjacent to the intake section 11-3. Finally, the motor section 11-5 (or another part of the system adjacent thereto) includes a vibration sensor for real-time measurement of localized vibrations of the motor section 11-5, a sensor for real-time measurement of current leakage of the motor, and a temperature sensor for real-time measurement of localized temperature within or adjacent to the motor section 11-5. In the preferred embodiment, the temperature sensor of the sensor unit 11-6 measures motor oil temperature or motor winding temperature. An example of a commercially available sensor unit 11-6 that includes such functionality is the Phoenix Multisensor XT product sold by Schlumberger.
The sensor unit 11-6 also includes downhole communication equipment for telemetry of the measured downhole parameters to a surface-located data acquisition module 33. In the preferred embodiment, telemetry between the sensor unit 11-6 and the surface-located data acquisition module 33 is accomplished by communication of modulated signals over the power cables 29. Alternatively, such telemetry can be accomplished by a wireless radio-frequency data communication link therebetween or any other form of data communication, including communication links employing wires or fiber optic cables.
The ESP control module 31 and the data acquisition module 33 interface to a data communication module 35 that provides two-way data communication to a remote management system 37 over a data communications network 39. The network 39 preferably includes a satellite communication network for data communication to and from the data communication module 35, although other types of data communication networks can be used. The remote management system 37 is preferably realized by one or more programmed computer systems having a central processing unit which is operatively coupled to a memory (e.g., semiconductor memory and non-volatile memory such as one or more hard disk drives) as well as a user input device and an output device. The user input device may comprise a variety of devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, voice-recognition unit, touchscreen, other input devices, or combinations of such devices. The output device may comprise one or more display devices (e.g., display monitor(s) or display screen(s)) and/or one or more audio output devices (e.g., audio speaker system). The remote management system 37 includes data logging functionality, ESP surveillance functionality, ESP control functionality, ESP failure prediction functionality, and presentation logic as described below.
The ESP data logging functionality stores data representing the operating parameter measurements of the electrical submersible pumping system 11 over time. Such operating parameter measurements are generated by the ESP control module 31 and/or collected by the data acquisition module 33 and communicated to the management system 37 via the data communication module 35 and data communications network 39 for real-time monitoring and control. In the illustrative embodiment, the data logging functionality collects and stores data representing at least the following operational parameter measurements over time for each given ESP system:
i) operating voltage (as measured by the ESP control module 31);
ii) operating amperage (as measured by the ESP control module 31);
iii) current imbalance (as measured by the ESP control module 31);
iv) current leakage (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6);
v) motor temperature (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6);
vi) pressure at or near the ESP discharge section (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6);
vii) pressure at or near the ESP intake section (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6);
viii) vibration of the ESP discharge section (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6);
ix) vibration of the ESP intake section (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6); and
x) vibration at or near the ESP motor section (as measured by the sensor unit 11-6).
The ESP surveillance functionality analyzes the operational parameter data collected by the data logging functionality over time to create summaries (e.g., episodic summaries and other trend curves) and reports that assist in evaluating the performance of a given ESP system. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ESP surveillance functionality measures trended parameters including a pump performance index (PPI) that is calculated based upon the difference between the operational lift performance of the ESP system (derived from the real-time operational parameter data of the ESP system) and factory tested lift performance of the ESP system. The ESP surveillance functionality also cooperates with the presentation logic to generate graphical user interfaces that enable users to view the operational parameters stored by the data logging functionality as well as the summaries and reports based thereon for monitoring and alarm purposes (
The ESP control functionality cooperates with the presentation logic to generate graphical user interfaces that enable users to request predetermined control operations (e.g., turn ESP motor on, turn ESP motor off, adjust ESP motor speed) for particular ESP systems managed by the management system 37. Such requests are translated to appropriate commands that are communicated to the desired ESP system via the data communications network 39.
The ESP failure prediction functionality processes the operating parameter data stored by the data logging functionality to generate an index (or score) that represents the likelihood that a particular ESP system 11 will fail (referred to below as a Prediction Failure Index or PFI). The ESP failure prediction functionality also cooperates with the presentation logic to generate one or more graphical user interfaces that display the PFI value and other information based thereon for output to requesting users for monitoring and alarm purposes (e.g.,
Users interface to the presentation logic in order to request, access and display the graphical user interfaces generated by the presentation logic in cooperation with the ESP surveillance functionality, the ESP control functionality, and the ESP failure prediction functionality. In the illustrative embodiment shown, which is typical client-server architecture, the interface between a user and the presentation logic is realized by the execution of a suitable application on one or more client computing devices (one shown as 41) that are coupled to the management system 37 over a data communications network 43. Upon receipt of a requested graphical user interface, the application operates to render and display the graphical user interface on the display device of the client computing device. In alternative embodiments, the request, access, and display of the graphical user interfaces generated by the presentation logic can be realized as part of the management system 37 itself.
In the preferred embodiment, the graphical user interfaces generated by the presentation logic in cooperation with the ESP surveillance functionality, the ESP control functionality, and the ESP failure prediction functionality are realized as web pages (e.g., html documents, a raw text file, an image, or some other type of document). Such web pages are served by a web server module in accordance with user requests directed thereto. The web server module, which is preferably realized as part of the management system 37, receives such user requests over the data communications network 43 from web-browser applications executing on the client computing devices (e.g., client computing device 41). The requested graphical user interface is generated and then returned by the web server module for display at the requesting client computing device.
As shown in detail in block 101A, the percentage change value for the operating current is determined by retrieving the stored operating current measurement for the most recent polling interval (block 105A), which has been collected and stored by the data logging functionality of the management system 37. A stable operating current measurement value is retrieved from data storage (block 111A). This stable operating current measurement value is set by user input (block 119 and the graphical user interface of
% change=[operating current measurement value (block 105A)−stable operating current measurement value (block 111A)]/[stable operating current measurement value (block 111A)].
In block 109A, the percentage change calculated in block 107A is output to the weighting logic 113. Similar operations are performed for the blocks 101B-101I to thereby calculate and output the percentage change of the various operating parameters corresponding thereto. Note that intake pressure typically falls over time. Thus, the percent change for intake pressure is calculated as the percent fall relative to the user-supplied stable intake pressure.
The weighting logic 113 maps the percentage change values supplied thereto to a corresponding set of weight factor values (denoted wfA, wfB . . . wfI). In this manner, the percentage change value for ESP operating current calculated and output in block 101A is mapped to weight factor wfA. The percentage change value for ESP current leakage calculated and output in block 101B is mapped to a weight factor wfB. The percentage change value for the ESP motor temperature calculated and output in block 101C is mapped to a weight factor wfc. The percentage change value for ESP PPI calculated and output in block 101D is mapped to a weight factor wfD. The percentage change value for ESP discharge pressure calculated and output in block 101E is mapped to a weight factor wfE. The percentage change value for ESP intake pressure calculated and output in block 101F is mapped to a weight factor wfF. The percentage change value for ESP discharge vibration calculated and output in block 101G is mapped to a weight factor wfG. The percentage change value for ESP intake vibration calculated and output in block 101H is mapped to a weight factor wfH. Finally, the percentage change value for ESP motor vibration calculated and output in block 101I is mapped to a weight factor wfI.
A table that illustrates an example of such mapping operations is set forth below.
In the preferred embodiment, such mappings are fixed by the design of the weighting logic 113 and cannot be updated by the user. Alternatively, such mappings can be exposed through a graphical user interface that allows for update by the user. Moreover, the mappings shown above are for illustrative purposes only and can readily be modified for different applications as needed.
The weighting logic 113 then calculates a PFI value by scaling each weight factor value wfi by an associated confidence rating (cri) and then totaling the products as follows:
In an exemplary embodiment shown in
The PFI value calculated by the weighting logic 113 is output to block 115, which stores the PFI value in data storage.
In the preferred embodiment, the operations of blocks 101A thru 101I, block 113, and block 115 are performed repeatedly over successive time-sequential polling intervals for each ESP system monitored by the management system 37 in order to provide continuous monitoring of such ESP systems. Preferably, the time duration of the respective polling intervals is set by user input and thus can be dynamically adjusted as dictated by the user. The polling intervals can range from a number of seconds (e.g., every 3600 seconds), a number of hours (e.g., every 6 hours), or a number of days (e.g., daily).
In block 116, the presentation logic of the management system 37 generates one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) based upon the PFI value stored by block 115. In block 117, such graphical user interface(s) are output for display to one or more users. In the preferred embodiment, the graphical user interface(s) generated in block 116 display the PFI value itself (e.g., the value shown in the Total row of the web page display of
In the preferred embodiment, the graphical user interfaces generated by the presentation logic of the management system 37 include at least a predictive failure input view, a field detail view, a system surveillance view and a hydraulic surveillance view as described below in more detail.
The predictive failure input view enables users to set the stable operating parameter values that are used as part of the failure prediction calculations (blocks 119 and 120 of
The field detail view provides an overview of the wells operating in a given oil field and allows for tabular display of wells that have an alarm or alert, prioritized by the importance of the well. An illustrative example of the field detail view is shown in
The system surveillance view provides the user the ability to view streaming data from the respective wellsites as well as episodic data derived from well tests or from fluid level analysis. An illustrative example of the system surveillance view is shown in
The hydraulic surveillance view displays the manual input from users, such as fluid level shots, and provides for analysis of pump performance of a given well. An illustrative example of the hydraulic surveillance view is shown in
Note that the graphical user interfaces generated by the presentation logic of the management system 37 may include other views, such as a view that displays the operating voltage, amperage, and possibly other operating parameters of the ESP system for one or more wells in order to aid the user in analysis of current imbalances and system efficiencies. It is contemplated that such view(s) may include a horizontal gauge that provides a visual indication of the PFI value for the ESP system, and which is described above with respect to
Advantageously, the present invention provides improved mechanisms for predicting the failure of ESP systems and reporting such predictions to users. Importantly, the predictions are based on the acquisition, collection and storage of sufficient data on key operating points of the ESP system. Such mechanisms also provide a simple and intuitive interface that allows users to modify and update the fault prediction mechanism during the operational lifetime of the ESP system in order to ensure accurate fault prediction over time. Because the simple and intuitive interface does not require extensive training or experience to understand, a wide range of operators of varying skill levels can monitor and analyze the operating conditions of the ESP system, which aids in reducing monitoring costs over the operational lifetime of the ESP system.
There have been described and illustrated herein several embodiments of a system and method for real-time monitoring and failure prediction of electrical submersible pumps. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto. Thus, while particular ESP operating parameters and ESP sensor locations have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that other ESP operating parameters and ESP sensor locations can be used as well. In addition, while particular methods and calculations are disclosed for generating data that characterizes the current operating parameters of an ESP system as well as for characterizing the departure of the current operating parameters relative to user-supplied stable values and combining such characterizations to generate a failure predictive index or score, variations on such algorithms and calculations can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, and not by way of limitation, the algorithm might average the operating measurements captured over one or more time intervals in order to characterize the current operating parameters of the ESP. Also, while it is preferred that the data collection, analysis, monitoring, failure prediction, and alerts be performed by a system disposed at a location remote from the wellsite (e.g., a centralized management system), it will be recognized that such functionality can be performed by a system that is located at or near the wellsite. Moreover, while particular configurations have been disclosed in reference to the electrical submersible pump system of the well, it will be appreciated that other configurations could be used as well. For example, the electrical submersible pump system may comprise a single or multiple pumps coupled directly together or disposed at separate locations along the wellbore. In many applications, the electrical submersible pump system comprises one to five pumps. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its scope as claimed.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20070252717 A1 | Nov 2007 | US |