Flowable Sensor Obstruction Detection in Hydrocarbon Wells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting obstructions in hydrocarbon wells are either non-invasive but lacking in detail or invasive but costly, and often ineffective for certain obstructions or downhole conditions, making it difficult to select appropriate cleanout methodologies.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a hydrocarbon well system with a downhole sensor storage structure that releases a flowable sensor into the wellbore fluid to collect data on subsurface properties, which is then queried to determine the presence, location, and extent of obstructions, using a detection structure that can receive and analyze the sensor data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If invasive detection methodologies (coiled tubing, wireline, workover rig) are used to detect obstructions, then detection precision and reliability improve, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the detection function from complex invasive tools and implements it through simple flowable sensors that can be released into the wellbore fluid. The sensors are extracted from the wellbore and analyzed externally, eliminating the need for complex downhole tool deployment while maintaining detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wellbore fluid as an intermediary medium to transport detection information. Instead of using complex mechanical or electrical downhole tools, the flowable sensors utilize the existing wellbore fluid flow to convey obstruction information to the surface, simplifying the detection system architecture.
2Device complexity
If production rate comparison method is used to detect obstructions, then device complexity is minimized, but measurement precision and information quality deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The flowable sensors are self-activating and automatically respond to downhole conditions without requiring external power or complex control systems. The sensors self-regulate their release and operation based on wellbore fluid flow, providing simple yet informative obstruction detection data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical downhole detection tools with a fluid-based sensing system. The flowable sensors utilize fluid dynamics and chemical sensing to detect obstructions, substituting mechanical probe-and-detector systems with a more elegant fluid-mediated detection approach.
3Reliability
If invasive detection tools are deployed to detect obstructions, then detection reliability improves, but loss of time and operational disruption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flowable sensors are pre-loaded into the wellbore fluid or stored in a release mechanism before actual detection is needed. When obstruction detection is required, the sensors are already positioned and ready to be released, eliminating time-consuming tool deployment and retrieval operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent skips the time-consuming steps of deploying, maneuvering, and retrieving complex downhole tools. The flowable sensors are released directly into the wellbore fluid and carried by natural fluid flow to the obstruction zone, rushing through the detection process without mechanical intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
Hydrocarbon wells and methods of probing a subsurface region of the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore, a downhole sensor storage structure, and a detection structure. The wellbore may extend within a subsurface region and between a surface region and a downhole end region. The downhole sensor storage structure is configured to release a flowable sensor into a wellbore fluid that extends within the wellbore, and the flowable sensor may be configured to collect sensor data indicative of at least one property of the subsurface region. The detection structure may be configured to query the flowable sensor to determine the at least one property of the subsurface region. The methods include releasing a flowable sensor, collecting sensor data with the flowable sensor, and querying the flowable sensor.