Advanced Reservoir Control Systems Paving the Way for Digital Offshore Operations and Analysis

Abstract

Digital offshore operations and analysis rely on the deployment of downhole completion technologies that can produce significant quantities of data. Historically, downhole monitoring technologies, such as fiber optics and permanent downhole gauges, have been a good source of wellbore data for modeling and analysis. Permanent downhole monitoring technologies have benefitted from the advancement of high temperature electronics, reducing overall power consumption, and directly affecting sensor and electronics reliability and longevity. Through the utilization of telemetry schemes for addressability, permanent downhole monitoring technologies have also helped to develop electro-hydraulic and all-electric downhole flow control technologies, by enabling increased wellbore compartmentalization and fast control of multiple wellbore intervals. Advanced reservoir control systems have the ability to integrate to smart and data driven systems. They can be subdivided into extrinsic and intrinsic systems. Intrinsic systems benefit from having integrated monitoring technologies that can be addressed through telemetry schemes, which are also used to control multiple wellbore intervals. Examples of intrinsic systems include intrinsic electro-hydraulic systems and all-electric systems. To date, plenty of testing has been done with these types of intrinsic systems, but this paper highlights the evaluation of an intrinsic electro-hydraulic system. Ultimately, the authors believe that a stepwise approach through the implementation of hybrid-electric digital systems is key to the overall acceptance of all-electric systems. The success and reliability of electro-hydraulic systems will play a significant role in mass acceptance of all-electric systems in the oilfield. Electro-hydraulic systems are a good segway into all electric systems and give operators the chance to utilize some of the existing infrastructure while benefiting from some of the optimizations brought on by the Digital Oilfield.