GB2536710A

GB2536710A - Intervention monitoring system

Info

Publication number: GB2536710A
Application number: GB1505263.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tadeu Ramos Rogerio
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-03-27
Filing date: 2015-03-27
Publication date: 2016-09-28
Also published as: GB201505263D0

Abstract

A method and monitoring system 12 to enable monitoring and/or recording of the movement of objects moving in or out of a hole or wellbore. The system includes sensors located at the wellbore entrance/head 11. The sensors detect parameters of an object 14 moving in and out of the wellbore. An algorithm or model interrogation sunit 21 to identify parameters of the object moving in/out of the well. Preferably the sensors are of the type inductive, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, acoustic, sonic, spectroscopic, radiation, camera. Preferably the object is a drill bit 14, drill string and/or associated drilling equipment, pipe, liner, casing, tubing, coiled tubing, tubing hanger, control line, packer, valve, logging tool. Preferably the parameters are movement, speed, flow, vibration, noise, mass. The system could use the information available to provide a means 22 of informing the user on the state of the operation and/or raise an alarm if the information indicates a deviation from the expected process.

Description

Intervention monitoring system There are many situations in which it is desirable to move objects in or out of a hole or well. This hole or well can be made into the ground and it can be related to for example, water or oil or gas production, geothermal exploration or monitoring. There are many reasons to move objects in or out of a hole or well during drilling, monitoring, lining, completing, stimulating, pressurizing, testing, working over, perforating, logging, cementing, or plugging the hole or well. Examples of objects being moved in or out of the hole or well can include drill bit, drill string and/or associated drilling equipment, pipe, liner, casing, tubing, coiled tubing, tubing hanger, control line, packer, valve, logging tool, wireline logging tool, logging while drilling tool, measuring while drilling tool, testing string, testing equipment, perforating equipment, or associated equipment amongst others.

The operations performed in the hole or well can be complex requiring different types of objects being moved in or out of the hole or well at given times and/or sequence. This may require careful planning and/or management of the operation as well as close communication and/or coordination amongst the personnel involved. There is always the possibility that a mistake is made, for example the wrong object is used, the wrong sequence is used, the wrong direction or speed of movement is used, or wrong timing is used.

The present invention proposes a system to enable monitoring and/or recording of the movement of objects moving in or out of the hole or well. This monitoring or recording can involve parameters such as time of the movement, direction of the movement, speed of the movement, flow, number of objects, dimensions of the object, mass of the object, shape of the object, temperature of the object, vibration of the object, amount of metal, type of metal, number of objects, noise and/or other parameters of the object and/or operation. The present invention also proposes a system to use this monitoring and/or recording to be able to relate the detected information with previously known information of the object and/or the operation performed.

The present invention also proposes that the system could use the information available to provide a means of informing the user on the state of the operation and/or raise an alarm if the information indicates a deviation from the expected process. This would provide a process monitoring system in which a user, either located at the site and/or remote from the hole or well site, would be able to make decisions in respect to the operation. The operation could be, for example, drilling, work over, stimulation, perforation, logging, completing, testing, monitoring, fracturing, plugging, casing, cementing, or any other intervention in a hole or well.

There are a variety of sensors that could be used, including inductive, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, acoustic, sonic, spectroscopic, radiation, distance, position, temperature, force, or deformation sensors. They can take the form of an inductor, electrode, magnet, camera, piezoelectric transducer, microphone, accelerometer, geophone, photodetector, wheel, capstan, probe, laser, LVDT, strain gauge, or the combination of different types of sensors.

The logging of the information can be made against a time stamp that could be provide by global position system (GPS) or any other source of synchronization. Other data could be also be collected from other sources and used in combination with the information from the sensors. This could include temperature, humidity, day light, wind speed, wind direction, meteorological data, power supply, and/or status of any associated equipment related to the operation such as position, speed, weight, force, power, current, voltage, temperature, vibration, noise, flow, or any other relevant parameter.

The use of an inductor to generate a magnetic field and an inductor to detect the change in magnetic field can be used to detect changes of the amount of metal in the sensing system. This could work in a way such that the current induced is related to the distortion of magnetic field around a coil. The distortion is caused by the passage of the object in the sensing system. This could also be used to detect the passage of features of the object, such as dimension or mass variations, which could be used to identify the object or estimate its speed or direction of movement.

The use of acoustic or ultrasonic transducers could be used to detect the distance between the sensor and the object. The use of multiple sensors could provide the shape of the object in question. Sonic imaging and/or eco-graphic techniques could also be used. In a similar way, it would be possible to use light as a probe for measuring distance at different sides of the object. Lasers positioning techniques could be used, as well as imaging techniques. Cameras could be used as sensors providing visual record of the object and/or its movements. Other light spectra, as well as visual, could also be used. Infrared detectors or cameras could also be used to detect temperature information. Doppler effect techniques could also be used to detect seed of movement.

Direct mechanical contact sensors could also be used, such as the use of moving fingers or probes, capstans, wheels, or any other direct contact technique. The probes could be attached to strain gauges or LVDT detectors.

A combination or upper and lower sensors could aid the interpretation of direction and/or speed of movement of an object passing the sensing system. The use of cross-correlation methods could be used to aid the interpretation of the signals and to estimate direction and/or speed of movement. The use of two or more sensors around the circumference of the hole or well could aid the identification and/or estimation rotational movement around the hole or well axis, as well as the position of the object in relation to the hole or well walls and/or its eccentricity.

In the example of monitoring the drilling operation of a well, the present invention could be used to monitor and record the time and movement of any object entering or leaving the well. It would be able to provide the time and speed of tripping the drill pipe in or out of the hole by monitoring the passing of pipe collars through the system and/or the passing of the drill bit and/or associated equipment. The system may be able to identify the type of drill pipe, drill bit and/or associated equipment used, when and/or in which order. An expert in a remote location would be able to monitor the operation and/or provide assistance if required by receiving the information provided by the monitoring system. Alarms could be set to detect the use of wrong or inadequate objects and/or wrong or inadequate sequence, speed, or direction. Similarly, this could be done for other types or operation.

In an embodiment of the invention, it includes a monitoring system comprising one or more sensors placed at the entrance of a hole or well, a computer processing the signals from the sensor, a model and/or algorithm to identify parameters of an object moving either in or out of the well and a means of displaying and/or recording the signals from the sensor and/or the parameters of the object.

The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a block diagram of parts of the system, Figure 2 shows a diagram of sensing system 4 placed at the opening of a hole or well 1 monitoring the movement of an object 2, Figure 3 shows a diagram of a drilling rig to drill a well using the sensing system 12 on the well head 11 under the rig floor 13.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of parts of the system. Sensors can provide information on the nature of the objects passing through the monitoring system. A signal conditioner may be used to interrogate the sensor, condition the signal and/or digitalize the signal. An electronic system or computer would process the data and interpret it according to information in a database and/or user input information. The processed information can then be stored in a logging system for the future and/or used to provide an alert or command to the user. An alert system and/or remote monitoring can be used to send the information to the user using an appropriate medium.

Figure 2 shows a diagram of sensing system 4 placed at the opening of a hole or well 1 monitoring the movement of an object 2. The sensors can be distributed around the sensing system 4 in order to facilitate the detection of different objects, the direction and/or the speed of movement. In this example, the sensors are distribute in rows and columns, where there are upper sensors 5 and lower sensors 6 to help to detect the direction and speed of the movement. The object may have internal or external features 3 that can be detected by the sensors.

Figure 3 shows a diagram of a drilling rig to drill a well using the sensing system 12 on the well head 11 under the rig floor 13. The sensing system is position in a way that any object going in or out of the well has to pass through it. In this example, a drill bit 14 at the end of a bottom hole assembly 15 is attached by a pipe connection 16 to the end of a drill pipe 17 and moved in or out of the well by a winch system 18 attached to the derrick 19. As sensor system cable 20 links the sensor interrogation unit 21. A data cable 22 can then be used to send information to the user or monitoring system.

Claims

Claims 1. A monitoring system comprising: one or more sensors placed at the entrance of a hole or well; and a computer processing the signals from the sensor; and a model and/or algorithm to identify parameters of an object moving either in or out of the well; and a means of displaying and/or recording the signals from the sensor and/or the parameters of the object.
2. A system according to claim 1, in which the system is placed under or at the floor of a drilling or servicing rig or at a well head.
3. A system according to claim 1, in which the senor is an inductive, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, acoustic, sonic, spectroscopic, radiation, distance, position, temperature, force, or deformation sensor.
4. A system according to claim 1, in which the senor is an inductor, electrode, magnet, camera, piezoelectric transducer, microphone, accelerometer, geophone, photodetector, wheel, capstan, probe, laser, LVDT, strain gauge, or the combination of different types of sensors.
5. A system according to claim 1, in which the object being moved in or out of the hole or well is a drill bit, drill string and/or associated drilling equipment, pipe, liner, casing, tubing, coiled tubing, tubing hanger, control line, packer, valve, logging tool, wireline logging tool, logging while drilling tool, measuring while drilling tool, testing string, testing equipment, perforating equipment, or associated equipment.
6. A system according to claim 1, in which the parameters of the object include time of the movement, direction of the movement, speed of the movement, flow, number of objects, dimensions of the object, mass of the object, shape of the object, temperature of the object, vibration of the object, amount of metal, type of metal, number of objects, noise and/or other parameters of the object and/or operation.
7. A system according to claim 1, in which parameters of the object moving either in or out of the hole or well are used to monitor an operation performed in the hole or well.
8. A system according to claim 7, in which the operation is drilling, work over, stimulation, perforation, logging, completing, testing, monitoring, fracturing, plugging, casing, cementing, or any other intervention in a hole or well.
9. A system according to claim 1, in which hole or well is used for water or oil or gas production, geothermal exploration or monitoring.
10. A system according to claim 1, in which the a model and/or algorithm and /or the user of the information is either located at the site and/or remote from the hole or well site.
11. A method of monitoring objects moving in or out of a hole or well where sensors are used to detect parameters of the object and the information on the parameters are logged or displayed in order to aid operations related to the hole or well.
12. A method according to 11, in which the operation is drilling, work over, stimulation, perforation, logging, completing, testing, monitoring, fracturing, plugging, casing, cementing, or any other intervention in a hole or well.
13. A method according toll, in which the logging of the information can be made against a time stamp that could be provide by global position system (GPS) or any other source of synchronization.
14. A method according to 11, in which the information on the parameters is processed using a model and/or algorithm.
15. A method according to 11, in which the information on the parameters are transmitted to another location.
16. A method according to 11, in which the information on the parameters is used to generate an alarm.