【系列专题】页岩油气复苏：高产量背后的新技术（2）

SAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM HANDLES HIGH FLOW RATES, MAINTAINS EFFICIENCIES

ENERGES Sand Management uses traditional and emerging technologies to provide a full range of de-sanding options. ENERGES uses dual cyclonic sand separators with engineered inserts for second-stage solids separation to create additional fine sand “fall out,” and the sand filter effectively eliminates the carryover to deliver solids-free production. Several tests were conducted on customer sites to measure the effectiveness of the sand management system. Two dual-cyclonic sand separators were used to combat the 100-mesh sand returns. Acoustic monitoring sensors downstream of the second sand separator were registering that 10% to 25% of entering sand was still carrying over. After installation of the sand filter, sand production downstream of the filter registered zero and was confirmed by checking the production separator. In addition to the successful removal of fine sands, choke sizes were increased while maintaining 100% sand removal. This ramp-up in production shows the filter’s ability to handle high flow rates while maintaining de-sanding efficiency. These technologies mitigate production equipment damage from sand and reduce frequent well shut-ins for maintenance, keeping production online.

SOFTWARE ENHANCES WELL COMPRESSION WITH REAL-TIME DATA

Flogistix LP, a gas compressor manufacturer and well optimization service provider to the domestic onshore oil and gas industry, has released its newest software, Flux. Flux provides real-time insight into compressor unit performance and gives companies enhanced transparency. The system also offers the ability to identify longterm trends, ultimately reducing one of the industry’s main production challenges: downtime. With Flux, Flogistix guarantees a run time of 98%, proven through real-time telemetry, run-time statistics and maintenance history. This is accomplished by capturing changes in the state of a compressor and representing these events on a time line with other vital sensor data, providing context and insight to the user. The ability of Flux to capture real-time data and long-term trending makes it a tool for optimization.

PLUNGER LIFT SYSTEM IMPROVES PRODUCTION FOR UNCONVENTIONAL WELLS

Flowco Production Solutions has recently released its plunger lift-assisted gas lift with automation. This new application of existing artificial lift techniques along with advanced automation software algorithms and monitoring has helped reduce operating costs and improve the production of horizontal unconventional oil and gas wells throughout the world. Specifically, North American E&P operators are experiencing huge benefits of commingling gas lift and plunger lift without the high workover costs of any select pump apparatus—considering that gas-lift and plunger lift systems are the only two artificial lift systems that marry well together with long-term benefits in both oil and gas wells. The application of plunger lift-assisted gas lift coupled with automation has allowed the industry to reduce operating costs and extend the life of rapidly declining horizontal unconventional oil and gas wells. This new artificial lift has improved the way a gas-lift installation operates in the life cycle of a rapidly declining shale well. It also allows the operator to maintain the ability to handle high gas-liquid ratios and sand/solids from the well with no problems, unlike other forms of artificial lift. The system is designed to prolong the need for artificial lift conversion to positive displacement pump and reduce the operator’s monthly well costs by optimizing compression. Horizontal wells are not an issue for plunger lift or gas-lift systems as experienced with positive displacement pumps. The deep lift opportunity of Flowco’s applications helps increase profit margins on product sold by reducing operating costs, reducing workover costs for repair and maintenance and increasing production.

ISOLATION TOOLS RECOMMENDED FOR PROTECTING EQUIPMENT AMID HIGH PRESSURE

Never before has oil and gas equipment been subject to such abrasive conditions as found in modern horizontal drilling and multistage fracturing jobs. During these challenging completion operations, surface wellhead equipment needs to be efficiently protected from high-pressure, high-volume conditions. Greene’s Energy Group recommends the application of isolation tools to protect the wellhead equipment from high pressures and abrasive materials as well as protecting personnel operating at surface from unplanned pressure events. Greene’s Guardian Wellhead Protection tools allow operators to fracture directly through the existing wellheads, eliminating the need to kill the well and reducing the possibility of sand and erosion, which causes valves to fail during the operation. There are three different versions of the tool system that seal off in tubing, casing or the wellhead. The Tree Savers use hydraulic cylinders to insert the main mandrel of the tool through the tree and wellhead bore and sealoff in the tubing inside diameter (ID). The Casing Savers use hydraulic cylinders to insert the main mandrel through the tree, wellhead bore and seal-off in the casing ID. The Stage Tools use a hydraulic single screw to insert the main mandrel through the tree and seal-off in the wellhead bore. The average installation or removal time is 30 minutes, and the use of wellhead protection technology can eliminate costly repairs to conventional rental fracturing trees.

SERVICE SYSTEMS HELP FIND PIPE DAMAGES, OFFER EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS

Halliburton provides time-saving analysis through new technologies. Accurate diagnostics are critical to help keep projects on budget and on time. The Acoustic Conformance Xaminer (ACX) and Electromagnetic Pipe XaminerV (EPX V) services help operators quickly find a leak’s location and describe the extent of the damaged pipe that needs fixing. Halliburton created the flow imaging tool ACX, which locates and images flows behind pipe(s) and is primarily used for flow assurance, well integrity and well leaks. The tool can map fluid flow around the wellbore, including in between annuli and throughout the completion. Well leaks are very costly to production returns, including the cost of locating and repairing them. There are several operational techniques for narrowing down a leak’s location. However, these can be time-consuming and might not fully explain what is occurring. When corrosion is a problem, the EPX V pipe inspection tool quantifies metal loss in one to five concentric strings of pipe in a wellbore using accurate high-definition (HD) frequency technology. The tool helps customers examine the whole well in one trip and assess pipe condition. The EPX V operates by inducing HD frequency electromagnetic energy into the surrounding pipe, which propagates through the concentric well strings with no wellbore fluid influences. The interaction with the metal of the pipe returns signals to the tool, yielding information about the state of metal loss in each pipe.