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Collaborating Authors
Ruvalcaba Velarde, Salvador A.
Abstract The objective of this paper is to communicate lessons learned, best practices and process enhancement initiatives identified during an actual implementation of Integral Wellhead Gas Compressor technology. The compressor installation was a technology trial test in a challenging high condensate sandstone environment in a conventional gas field. Several technical lessons learned were identified especially in the areas of liquid handling, produced solids management, as well as downhole well intervention requirements. The methodology was based on collecting and documenting operational challenges and their root causes and corresponding technical solutions as the project progressed. In addition, a benchmarking study was conducted to identify additional areas of improvement to address the root causes of these challenges. Addressing these challenges by implementing the lessons learned highlighted in this paper will ensure expedited project delivery at a reduced cost. Examples of such challenges include unexpected severe liquid slugging, high amounts of solids production, as well as corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) metallurgy requirements. The benchmarking study resulted in the identification of several areas of potential improvement and multiple engineering process enhancement initiatives were recommended. Examples of such initiatives include the utilization of integrated Liquid Handling System (LHS) to mitigate severe liquid slugging and reduce assembly lead-time. In addition, the utilization of surface cyclonic sand filter systems to mitigate solids production. In addition, conducting downhole tubing drift runs to ensure no restrictions are present that can reduce compressor performance along with several other relevant initiatives. In summary, the paper provides a deep dive into several technical operational challenges during the actual implementation of wellhead gas compressor technology in a challenging high condensate sandstone environment. Also, several new initiatives are proposed in this paper with the objective of achieving significant cost savings. It is intended for these initiatives to be adopted as best practices not only to yield cost savings but also to supplement the existing best practice literature in the areas of liquid handling, solid management systems, quality control and well intervention.
Abstract A new remote onshore well site development requires electrical energy to power instrumentation, cathodic protection and communications equipment. Although this equipment is generally not power intensive, it is still a common practice to deploy transmission lines to connect the well site to the electrical grid, no matter how far away it can be. This procedure is usually expensive and time consuming. In this study, we propose a distributed energy generation scheme using a solar photovoltaic (PV) microgrid which can be rapidly deployed and can power one or several well sites. For this purpose, we utilized the microgrid modeling software HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources), which allowed us to develop a techno-economical evaluation as well as an environmental impact study of the initiative. Furthermore, we present the conceptual design of the system, which can be easily scaled to the power requirements of any number of well sites. Using this approach, we show the feasibility of a remote area renewable energy microgrid along with its levelized cost of energy (LCOE). In addition, we show that this method can significantly reduce the reliance on conventional sources of energy, while maintaining the reliability of the system. In summary, this proposal depicts how onshore surface equipment power requirements can be reliably met by using distributed energy generation. The use of renewable energies provides an alternative path which enables energy efficiency optimization while providing a reduction in CO2 emissions through a clean environmental solution.
Abstract This paper presents the impact of using statistical hypothesis testing and data analytics to evaluate the performance of a wet gas multiphase flow meter (WGMPFM) against a test separator reference measurement. This study is part of a field evaluation in a wet gas operational environment. The outcome determines whether to approve or reject the WGMPFM for permanent installations and well testing. The methodology focuses on evaluating and ensuring the reliability of the test separator measurement, given that it is used as the reference against which the WGMPFM is compared for performance. The procedure goes through the use of exploratory data analytics for raw data consolidation, flow stability analysis and data validation. This includes quadratic order linear regression curve fitting of wellhead pressure-flow rates relationship. Furthermore, WGMPFM repeatability evaluation is explained for pseudostable flow in field conditions. In this study, it is shown that using only raw data, a WGMPFM fails a field evaluation against a test separator. However, after employing data analytics for validation of test separator reference values and after using statistical hypothesis testing for evaluating the repeatability of the WGMPFM, it actually performs within specifications. This paper provides a robust methodology for multi-phase flow meter performance evaluation in the field. The focus resides on measurement accuracy, reliability and repeatability, through the use of exploratory data analytics and statistical hypothesis testing. The robustness and reliability of reference measurement data in the field is critical, given that flow conditions and stability cannot be controlled as good as in laboratory flow loop tests. Introduction Test separators are the well testing conventional measurement systems, for which consistent industry standards have been developed to ensure their reliability. However, the flow measurement accuracy and reliability of this equipment is highly sensitive to several factors including: well stability conditions, proper separation control, measurement devices calibration and factor determination, and human intervention. Nevertheless, it is common that the validity of the test separator data is not questioned after it was acquired for comparison purposes. This happens because it is assumed that the procedures followed in the field to ensure the stability and calibration of the reference measurement are comprehensive enough to make the process and metering instrumentation uncertainty negligible. However, in the field, a well cannot be considered as a controllable environment in which the process is in full steady state. A well usually flow under pseudostable conditions, where the process actually fluctuates several percentage points in terms of temperature, pressure, and flow rates. Also, the conventional test separators do not guarantee a near-perfect separation and complete process stability inside the vessel. The meters are calibrated against water and adjusted through rounded factoring values, which lead to uncertainty propagation in the reference. Hence, a test separator cannot be deemed as an unquestionable reference.
- Reservoir Description and Dynamics > Formation Evaluation & Management > Drillstem/well testing (1.00)
- Production and Well Operations > Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring > Downhole and wellsite flow metering (1.00)
- Facilities Design, Construction and Operation > Processing Systems and Design > Separation and treating (1.00)