Field Trial of Cloud-Connected Wireless Completion System
Authors: Feder Judy 
Published: December 2019

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper SPE 192940, “Development and Field Trial of the World’s First Cloud-Connected Wireless Intelligent Completion System,” by Annabel Green, SPE, and Paul Lynch, SPE, Tendeka, and Bjarne Bugten, Equinor, prepared for the 2018 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, 12–14 November.

The effectiveness of intelligent completions for production optimization and improvement of reservoir management is well established, yet the use of the technology remains limited to high-value, single-bore wells. The cost and complexity of these solutions, coupled with limitations in well types, interval quantity, and system-interface quality, have prevented broader application. This paper describes the development and field trials of a cloud-connected, wireless intelligent completion system that enables long-term monitoring and interval control to enhance production management by connecting the user wirelessly from the desktop to downhole inflow-control valves (ICVs).

Introduction

One reason for the high expense of intelligent completion technology is the need for a wire or tubes to control and power downhole equipment such as sliding sleeves. An intelligent completion that communicates wirelessly within the wellbore provides dual benefits in completion operations and production management, and eliminates the requirement for control lines. The all-electric technology also provides greater scope for digital well management and integration with surface systems (Fig. 1).

A slimline ICV has been developed that provides infinitely variable choking capability and multiple integrated sensors. Qualification has been completed to the operator’s existing standard for interval control valves adapted and augmented to reflect the differences between the wireless solution and conventional technology.

Several field installations have been performed with the system, two of which are detailed in the complete paper. In the first of these two, operations were performed with local-only access to surface data. The project demonstrated the ability to communicate effectively but highlighted some mechanical limitations in the tool itself. After design improvements, a second installation was performed, which also included a surface management system with wireless interpretation software and cloud connectivity.

The system described in the paper has been proven to provide robust communication using pressure pulses within the flowing wellstream to provide operating instructions to the ICV, and for the ICV to operate as instructed and communicate effectively to the wellhead. Data from the system have been digitally managed and remotely accessed, demonstrating the ability to change tool settings remotely.

Integrating a semiduplex pressure-pulse system, which operates in compressive fluid environments to provide direct communication between a downhole device and wellhead, provides a low-energy communication method compatible with extended-service-life completion tools. The system has been demonstrated with ICV technology in both multiphase and gas environments. In field trials, this has been integrated with an intelligent system, effectively deploying what the authors describe as the world’s first cloud-connected wireless intelligent completion.

Excessive water production is a challenge for the production system and does not create value. In this wireless system, the valve is a key element to control the inflow into the well. By measuring and controlling the inflow, shutting off water-producing zones and increasing the production of hydrocarbons is possible.