Centralized Reservoir Production Optimization via Pump Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pump control systems optimize individual wells independently, leading to competition among pumps and increased energy costs without achieving net production gains in multi-well reservoirs, as they lack the ability to dynamically evaluate and adjust production across the formation as a whole.
Innovation Solution
A centralized system using sensors and a central processing device to monitor and optimize production across multiple wells, applying machine learning algorithms to adjust pump speeds and injection parameters to maximize total production while preventing equipment damage and minimizing energy costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If individual pump control systems are used to maximize each pump's production, then each well's production is optimized independently, but pumps compete with each other leading to increased energy costs and reduced equipment life without achieving net production gains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual pump control systems into a single centralized control system that manages all pumps connected to a common reservoir. This merging allows the system to evaluate and optimize the collective performance of all pumps rather than treating them independently, thereby eliminating harmful competition between pumps and reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining or increasing net production.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized control system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it monitors production from multiple wells, evaluates interdependent performance, optimizes pump operations collectively, and prevents equipment damage. This universal approach allows a single system to achieve what previously required multiple independent systems plus manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between individual optimization and system-wide efficiency.
2Productivity
If individual pump control systems are used to maximize each pump's production, then each well's production is optimized independently, but conflicting systems lead to a cycle of speed changes across pumps reducing equipment life
Solution Approach 1:
By merging individual pump control into a centralized system, the patent eliminates the conflicting speed changes that occur when independent systems compete for reservoir production. The unified system coordinates pump operations to avoid harmful cycles, thereby extending equipment life while maintaining optimized production levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized control system continuously monitors production data from all wells and uses this feedback to adjust pump operations in a coordinated manner. This feedback mechanism prevents the chaotic speed changes that occur with independent control systems, reducing mechanical stress and extending equipment lifespan.
3Productivity
If conventional manual procedures are used to evaluate optimal production settings, then operators can adjust individual pumps based on intuition, but this leads to suboptimal overall performance and increased operational complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized control system automatically evaluates production data and determines optimal pump settings without requiring manual operator intervention. The system serves itself by continuously monitoring, analyzing, and adjusting pump operations based on real-time data, thereby achieving optimal overall formation production while eliminating the complexity of manual evaluation and adjustment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual system of operator evaluation and adjustment with an automated computational system. This substitution eliminates the need for operators to manually assess performance and make adjustments, reducing operational complexity while improving overall production optimization through continuous automated analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
Centrally optimizing production of a reservoir that has a plurality of wells comprises monitoring production of each well in the reservoir using one or more respective sensors at each well. Sensor data indicative of the monitored production of each well from the one or more respective sensors is input to a central processing device for processing to evaluate the production of each well. The production of each well is evaluated to identify opportunities for optimizing production by the plurality of wells in the reservoir. In addition, one or more actions are taken using the central processing device to optimize production by the plurality of wells based on the identified opportunities for optimizing production.