US 12,241,345 B2
Automated system for managing annular gas in a production well
Agustin Gambaretto, Houston, TX (US); and Attilio Pisoni, Houston, TX (US)
Assigned to Schlumberger Technology Corporation, Sugar Land, TX (US)
Appl. No. 18/263,903
Filed by Schlumberger Technology Corporation, Sugar Land, TX (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 3, 2022, PCT No. PCT/US2022/070497
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 2, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/170330, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 11, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/199,940, filed on Feb. 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0117719 A1, Apr. 11, 2024
Int. Cl. E21B 43/12 (2006.01); E21B 34/02 (2006.01); E21B 47/06 (2012.01)
CPC E21B 43/121 (2013.01) [E21B 34/02 (2013.01); E21B 47/06 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An automated system for managing gas in an annulus of a production well at a well site, the automated system comprising:
an electrically-controlled valve fluidly coupled to the annulus of the production well, wherein the valve is located at the surface at the well site;
at least one well sensor configured to measure operational characteristics of the production well at the surface; and
a gateway device, located at the well site and operably coupled to the valve and the at least one well sensor, wherein the gateway device is configured to collect first sensor data communicated from the at least one well sensor, and process the first sensor data in autonomous control operations that automatically generate and issue commands that are communicated from the gateway device to the valve to regulate an outflow of accumulated gas from the annulus of the production well over time,
wherein the production well employs an artificial lift system (ALS) to lift fluids through the production well to the surface with at least one ALS sensor that measures operational characteristics of the ALS, and the gateway device is operably coupled to the at least one ALS sensor, wherein the gateway device is configured to collect second sensor data communicated from the at least one ALS sensor, and process both the first sensor data and the second sensor data in the autonomous control operations that automatically generate and issue commands that are communicated from the gateway device to the valve to regulate the outflow of accumulated gas from the annulus of the production well over time, and
wherein the gateway device is further configured to execute a computational model that calculates a virtual flow rate of produced fluid based on the first sensor data and the second sensor data, and the gateway device is further configured to communicate the virtual flow rate of produced fluid as calculated by the gateway device over time to a remote system.