Autonomous Inflow Control Devices for Density-Based Fluid Choking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Horizontal wells are susceptible to coning, where unwanted fluids like gas and water interfere with oil production, leading to reduced recovery and early well abandonment, and existing autonomous inflow control devices are bulky, lack adjustability, and struggle with fluid differentiation based on viscosity.
Innovation Solution
The system employs autonomous inflow control devices with shiftable elements that automatically adjust their positions based on fluid density, aligning flow openings for desired fluids and misaligning them for unwanted fluids, using density-controlled regions to facilitate the inflow of wanted fluids while restricting unwanted ones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional inflow control devices are used to equalize production influx, then production is prolonged, but they are inadequate in choking back unwanted fluids when coning occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The device changes its flow control parameters automatically by detecting fluid density differences. When unwanted fluids (gas or water) are detected through density variation, the device adjusts its inflow control settings to choke back these fluids, thereby maintaining reliable separation while protecting oil recovery productivity
2Measurement precision
If autonomous inflow control devices adjust based on viscosity contrast, then they can distinguish fluids, but they provide poor performance when wanted and unwanted fluids have comparable viscosities
Solution Approach 1:
The device switches from viscosity-based differentiation to density-based differentiation. By using density as the measurement parameter instead of viscosity, the device achieves accurate fluid discrimination even when wanted and unwanted fluids have comparable viscosities, such as ultra-light oil and water
Solution Approach 2:
The device replaces viscosity-based mechanical sensing with density-based sensing mechanisms. This substitution enables more reliable fluid discrimination by exploiting the fundamental density differences between oil and water/gas, which remain distinct even when viscosities are similar
3Reliability
If existing autonomous inflow control devices are deployed, then unwanted fluids are choked back, but the devices are bulky and lack wellsite adjustability
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates adjustable components that can be configured at wellsite before deployment. The flow control elements and density sensing parameters can be dynamically adjusted during installation to match specific well conditions, providing both reliable fluid separation and wellsite adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed as a modular system with separable components that can be independently adjusted or replaced. This segmentation allows for flexible configuration and adjustment at wellsite while maintaining the core fluid separation functionality
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively controls the inflow of desired fluids while restricting unwanted fluids, enhancing production efficiency and reducing the risk of well abandonment by automatically adapting to fluid density changes.
Implementation Method 1
The shiftable elements automatically shift in their relative positions based on the density of fluid in the autonomous inflow control device
Data Source
AI summary
A technique facilitates the inflow of desired fluids into a downhole well completion while restricting the inflow of undesirable fluids. The technique utilizes at least one autonomous inflow control device which is placed along a well completion to control inflow of fluid from an exterior to an interior of the well completion. The autonomous inflow control device utilizes a plurality of shiftable elements which automatically shift in their relative positions based on the density of fluid in the autonomous inflow control device. This automatic shifting causes the alignment or misalignment of flow openings so as to allow free flow of a desired fluid through the autonomous inflow control device and into the interior of the completion while automatically restricting flow of an undesirable fluid.