ESP Well Control System Predictive Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control systems for ESP lifted wells struggle to optimize production and minimize power consumption while maintaining equipment within operational constraints under varying well conditions, often leading to safety shutdowns and reduced equipment lifetime.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize sensors and predictive numerical models to generate control signals for ESP and other well devices, adjusting operations to maintain optimal conditions and prevent shutdowns by coordinating available controls, such as ESP speed, production choke, and fluid injections, based on real-time measurements and future predictions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing control systems operate ESP lifted wells under varying well conditions, then production continues, but equipment may exceed operational constraints leading to safety shutdowns and reduced equipment lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary actions by predicting future well conditions using numerical models before actual changes occur. It anticipates when operational parameters will exceed constraints and takes preventive control actions to keep the ESP within safe operating limits, thereby avoiding safety shutdowns and extending equipment lifetime while maintaining production.
2Productivity
If control systems adjust ESP operation to optimize production, then oil production increases, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system optimizes the balance between production and power consumption by dynamically adjusting operational parameters such as ESP speed, production choke opening, and fluid injection rates. It uses predictive models to determine the optimal combination of these parameters that maximizes oil production while minimizing power consumption, considering the non-linear relationships between parameters and their effects on production and energy use.
3Productivity
If multiple control devices are coordinated for optimal well operation, then production optimization improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system merges the control of multiple devices (ESP, production choke, fluid injection systems) into a unified predictive control framework. By integrating these controls and using a comprehensive numerical model that considers interactions between all devices, the system achieves optimal production while managing complexity through centralized coordination rather than multiple independent control loops.
Solution Approach 2:
The predictive numerical model acts as an intermediary that processes information from multiple sensors and coordinates control actions across multiple devices. It serves as a mediator that understands the complex interactions between ESP operation, choke settings, and fluid injection, translating these relationships into coordinated control signals that optimize production without requiring direct complex interconnections between all control devices.
4Reliability
If real-time measurements and predictive models are used to generate control signals, then equipment operates within safe parameters, but measurement and control requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system implements comprehensive feedback by continuously measuring well conditions (pressure, temperature, flow rates, equipment parameters) and using this information in predictive numerical models to generate control signals. The system monitors the effects of control actions and adjusts predictions and control signals accordingly, creating a closed-loop feedback system that ensures safe operation while managing the complexity of measurements and controls through intelligent processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating an electrical submersible pump, ESP, lifted well, the method comprising: measuring a characteristic of the well or a characteristic of a device associated with the well; generating a first control signal for instructing a change in the operation of the ESP; generating a second control signal for instructing a change in the operation of a further device associated with the well; wherein a degree of change in each of the first and second control signals is dependent on the outcome of the measuring and on a known effect caused by sending at least one of said first control signal to the ESP or said second control signal to the further device associated with the well; and sending the first control signal to the ESP and the second control signal to the further device associated with the well.