Injectable Canister Tracer System for Openhole Flow Pattern Monitoring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining flow patterns in oil production wells, especially in barefoot wells, face challenges such as the inability of existing tractors to grip and propel tools through the formation, leading to suboptimal water displacement and reduced oil recovery due to non-conformance issues like short-circuiting, and require costly and logistically difficult equipment.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a canister attached to the well walls with a release mechanism that deploys traceable components into the fluid flow, allowing for remote detection of water inflow patterns without the need for heavy equipment, using either an expandable material or a motor-activated mechanism triggered by contact with the target fluid or a pre-programmed signal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If production logging tools are conveyed on coiled tubing or wireline using a tractor, then flow patterns can be determined in the well, but the tractor cannot grip and propel through the formation in barefoot wells, and heavy equipment causes logistical problems
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the measurement function from complex deployed tools and integrates it into simple canisters that are injected directly into the formation. The canisters contain traceable components and release mechanisms that eliminate the need for tractors, coiled tubing, or wireline deployment systems, thereby solving the deployment difficulty while maintaining measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The canister acts as an intermediary carrier that delivers traceable components into the formation. Instead of deploying complex logging tools through difficult means, the system uses injectable canisters that release traceable components (such as chemicals or particles) into the fluid flow, which then carry information about flow patterns to detection points.
2Ease of operation
If traceable components are released into fluid flow from canisters, then flow patterns can be monitored at the surface with simple equipment, but the release mechanism requires triggering by fluid contact or pre-programmed signals
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism is designed to activate automatically through self-service principles. The canister's release mechanism triggers upon contact with the target fluid (water or hydrocarbon) or through pre-programmed timing signals, eliminating the need for external control systems. This simplifies operation while the internal mechanism handles the complexity of timed or condition-based release.
3Ease of operation
If chemical tracers are used to detect water inflow, then flow patterns can be determined without heavy equipment, but the tracers require detection at the wellhead which may be remote from injection points
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by detecting traceable components at the wellhead and using this information to determine flow patterns. The detection of traceable components (chemicals, particles, or RFID tags) provides feedback about which zones are being affected by water injection, allowing operators to identify non-conformance issues and adjust injection strategies accordingly.
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
Enables efficient monitoring of fluid flow patterns at the surface, reducing logistical and cost issues associated with conventional methods, and allowing for precise determination of water inflow without obstructing the wellbore, thereby improving oil recovery by identifying and addressing non-conformance issues.
Implementation Method 1
The release mechanism comprises an expandable material, said expandable material being placed such that the material forces the traceable component out of the canister when expanding and the triggering mechanism is the contact between a target fluid and the expandable material
Implementation Method 2
The release mechanism comprises a motor which motor when activated forces the traceable component out of the canister
Implementation Method 3
The oil/water-flow then carries the tracer to the surface, where the tracer is detected
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a system and a method for determining flow patterns of fluid in a production well. Especially, the invention relates to a method of determining flow patterns between and into oil production wells drilled in the Earth when flow is improved by water flooding. The system comprises a canister (1) said canister being located in said formation at a subterranean location within or proximate the wellbore, the canister being provided with an exit opening (5), a traceable component (4) being placed in the canister and able to pass through the exit opening and a release mechanism capable of releasing the traceable component when triggered by a triggering mechanism such that the traceable component enters the fluid flowing through the well through the exit opening and is present in the fluid flow in the wellbore. The method comprising the steps of providing a canister in said formation at a subterranean location within or proximate the wellbore said canister holding a traceable component and being provided with an exit opening and monitoring the fluid flow from the wellbore at a location remote from said canister for the presence of traceable component.