Abstract:
A wellbore data acquisition and communication system includes a mobile communication and computing device. the device includes at least a data input device, a geodetic position signal receiver and a data communication device. The system includes a remote database having stored thereon information related to specific wellbores. The database is configured to receive the geodetic position of the mobile device and communicate back to the mobile device at least one of previously recorded information pertaining to a specific wellbore and data input fields pertaining to the specific wellbore.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/378,085 filed on Aug. 30, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The invention relates generally to the field of systems and devices used to read gauges configured to measured fluids produced from wellbores drilled through subsurface rock formations. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and devices for automatically identifying information in a remote database associated with the geodetic location of the gauges and allocating new gauge readings to the appropriate records in the remote database. 
         [0005]    2. Background Art 
         [0006]    There are currently systems available that use mobile computing devices to gather and manage oil and gas production information. There exists a need for an improved data gathering and management system that improves the speed and quality of information gathering. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    A wellbore data acquisition and communication system includes a mobile communication and computing device. The device includes at least a data input device, a geodetic position signal receiver and a data communication device. The system includes a remote database having stored thereon information related to specific wellbores. The database is configured to receive the geodetic position of the mobile device and communicate back to the mobile device at least one of previously recorded information pertaining to a specific wellbore and data input fields pertaining to the specific wellbore. 
         [0008]    Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an example of a remote device used to acquire gauge readings and allocate the reading to correct locations in a remote database. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , a mobile communication and computing device  12  (e.g., one sold under the trademark IPHONE which is a registered trademark of Apple Corporation, Cupertino, Calif., although the invention is not limited to such specific device) may have programmed thereon a set of instructions to enable the user (pumper  10 ) working proximate one or more producing wellbores to record data related, for example, to the amount of fluid produced by particular wellbores between the most recent prior reading of production gauges and readings made at the time the pumper  10  is present to read the gauges again. The gauges (not shown separately) may include, without limitation, pressure, oil volume, water volume and natural gas volume. The gauge readings may be made by use of the device&#39;s  12  internal camera, or may use a local communication protocol, e.g., Bluetooth, or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“IEEE”) wireless communication standards 802.11(b), 802.11(g) or 802.11(n) to interrogate gauges having such wireless communication devices connected thereto, and to record information therefrom on the mobile device  12 . 
         [0011]    The mobile device  12  typically includes a geodetic location signal receiver (e.g., 
         [0012]    GPS). The geodetic location of the device  12  may be transmitted to the well operator&#39;s remote database  18 . The geodetic position of the device  12  will cause the database  18  to identify which wellbore is being interrogated and to transmit such wellbore information back to the mobile device  12  for use by the pumper  10 . Once the proper wellbore information is located in the database  18 , the proper data reading form to input tank levels, production information, etc. will be communicated to the mobile communication device  12 . Identification of the specific wellbore using the geodetic position information may be used to identify information gathered from the pumper&#39;s  10  previous visit to that particular wellbore so that any new information that is entered can be compared ( 14  in  FIG. 1 ) with what was input during the previous visit. Comparison of present information may prove helpful for quality control of the information entered by the pumper  10  both at the existing time of the information entry and at information entered at any previous time. For example, the mobile device  12  may be programmed to generate graphs that provide a view of selected information over a selected time period to help the pumper  10  determine quality of the input data or any anomalies therein. 
         [0013]    The mobile device  12  is typically equipped with an optical camera (not shown separately). The optical camera may be used to obtain images of tags such as nameplates on the well equipment, bar codes, etc., to locate and identify the specific wellbore. Such alternative wellbore identification information may be communicated to the database  18 , which will then transmit the proper data input forms and other information for the identified wellbore as described above to the mobile device  12 . In some situations, geodetic location information (e.g., GPS) alone may not provide enough resolution to identify the particular wellbore, or may not be available due to terrain limitations, so that using geodetic position information is not practical to cause the database  18  to locate the proper form or previous data or charts. The camera may be used to read a bar code or other type of tag in order to quickly identify the wellbore so that the database  18  can transmit the appropriate forms and prior data entered at that location to the mobile device  12 . 
         [0014]    The mobile computing device  12  will also typically include a Bluetooth transceiver (not shown separately) and may include a transceiver using one of the IEEE 802.11 communications protocols described above. Such transceiver may be used to automatically synchronize data obtained from the mobile device  12  to a larger, more powerful computing and storage device  16 , e.g., a laptop or notebook computer, located, for example, in the pumper&#39;s vehicle or truck. Including the Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 standard transceiver would allow recently input field data to be immediately synchronized with data on the laptop or notebook computer  16 . Data stored on the laptop or notebook machine  16  may be transmitted to the oil company remote database (see  18  in  FIG. 1 ) when the laptop or notebook machine  16  has access to a communication link such as satellite or an Internet connection (e.g., wireless broadband or an IEEE 802.11 “hot spot”). This may improve quality control of data input in the field. It should also be noted that in certain cases the mobile device  12  itself may have Internet connectivity from time to time and such synchronization of data between the mobile device  12 , laptop or notebook computer  16  and remote database  18  may be performed simultaneously. 
         [0015]    The mobile device  12  optical camera may also be used to record maintenance related information. In some situations, an image of a maintenance problem can quickly convey important information to a supervisor at a remote location, or the image may be transmitted to the remote database  18  where an administrator  22  or other database system operator may obtain access to similar images in an image database  20  to help the user to quickly identify the problem. One feature of the present system is to allow camera images to be associated with charts, data tables and graphs that are linked with a specific well or location. The images may, as with all the other data recorded over time, be used to identify visually observable deterioration in wellbore and associated production components, so that a repair or maintenance time may be extrapolated and/or scheduled. 
         [0016]    The mobile device  12  also typically includes an audio (voice) recorder (not shown separately). The user (pumper  10 ) may make statements to be recorded to keep a voice record of maintenance issues. In some situations, it is not practical to write down information or to input alphanumerical data into the mobile device  12 . An important feature of the present system is to be able to record the voice of the pumper  10  and have that audio file associated with the specific well or location. The voice record of any irregularities in the wellbore and associated equipment may then be accurately communicated to supervisory or other remotely located personnel, e.g., the administrator  22 , for evaluation and recommendation of remedial action as indicated by the voice record and/or images transmitted to the image database  20 . 
         [0017]    In one example implementation, visual displays of gauges to be interrogated by the mobile device  12  may be converted to rolling number displays to enable the pumper  10  to input information. Currently, the most typical gauge output devices are pointers set to a background scale, which the pumper  10  is required to read by visually interpolating the pointer position with respect to the scale. In the present example, such pointers may be substituted by rolling number displays, which do not require visual interpolation. The use of a rolling number display enables quicker and more accurate input of data. As has been previously stated, gauges may also be used that generate a digital signal readable by the Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 protocol transceiver, or may generate a barcode or similar output that may be optically input and interpreted by the mobile device  12 . 
         [0018]    A mobile device and remote database system according to the various aspects of the invention may enable more accurate recording of production and other wellbore data and more timely communication of such data to a remote location, such as the wellbore operator&#39;s offices or headquarters such that evaluation by supervisory or expert personnel may be made. 
         [0019]    While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.