Patent ID: 8312320
Filing Date: 2012-11-13
Classification: E21B,G01V

Abstract:
1. An apparatus to manage post-drilling operation data acquisition, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of permanent downhole monitoring system (PDHMS) surface units each comprising: a receiver transmitter unit (RTU) in communication with the serial interface of each of the plurality of PDHMS surface units and including a controller configured to collect the continuous real-time data stream of process data collected by each of the plurality of PDHMS surface units, to detect a downstream communication link failure downstream of the RTU, to communicate with each of the plurality of PDHMS surface units to cause the PDHMS surface units to store recovery data during the downstream communication link failure, and to detect an existence of a communication failure in a RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link between one of the plurality of PDHMS surface units and the RTU when so occurring defining a RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link failure, to determine a time of failure of the RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link, to report the RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link failure, and to determine a time of restoration of the failed RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link defining a RTU-PDHMS surface unit communication link restoration; a network interface; and a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system comprising a SCADA host server in communication with the broadband interface of each of the plurality of PDHMS surface units and in communication with the RTU via the network interface and including a controller configured to monitor communications between each of the PDHMS surface units and associated RTU and between the RTU and the SCADA system to define a plurality of upstream communication links, to determine an existence of a communication failure in one of the upstream communication links when so occurring, to determine a time of failure of the failed upstream communication link, to determine a time of restoration of the failed upstream communication link responsive to restoration of communications over the failed upstream communication link, and upon restoration of communications over the failed upstream communication link, to capture real-time process data comprising the process data captured real-time by each of the plurality of the PDHMS surface units and to retrieve process data relating to the recovery data previously captured and stored by one or more of the PDHMS surface units and not delivered due to the communication failure of the respective failed upstream communication link.