Implementation of Autonomous Inflow Control and the Effect on Carbon Intensity

Elseth, Geir; Martiniussen, Ingvild Berg; Halvorsen, Martin; Årland, Kristine; Wesenberg, Margrete Hånes; Nogueira, Elysio Mendes; Erlandsen, Sigurd Myge

doi:10.2118/210379-ms

Cited by 4 publications

References 16 publications

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Autonomous Inflow Control Valve for Medium-Light Oil and Its Effective Performance

Langaas

Gisholt

Bjerke

et al. 2023

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Summary Many horizontal oil wells will after a time start producing unwanted fluids. Autonomous inflow control valves may help to choke these unwanted fluids and consequently improve carbon efficiency. This paper publishes new experimental data describing how an autonomous inflow control valve manages medium-light oil (6 cp), water, and gas at reservoir conditions. A further objective is to evaluate how this valve might impact well performance under various conditions. To verify the single- and multiphase flow behavior of the valve, extensive flow loop experiments were performed. Initial testing was done in a model fluid laboratory, while a more extensive test was performed at reservoir conditions (i.e., with formation water, reservoir oil, and hydrocarbon gas at the given reservoir temperature and pressure). To explore and understand the impact of this valve for various reservoir scenarios, a simple conceptual reservoir model with realistic boundary conditions was used. At various differential pressures, the single-phase oil, water, and gas rates were measured. Performance at varying water and gas fractions was measured to get an improved understanding and knowledge of multiphase flow occurring in a well. The results show clearly that the valve will choke gas and water effectively, both at single-phase and multiphase flow conditions. The reservoir and model fluid evaluations show consistent results. The valve shows roughly a monotonic decreasing total rate with decreasing oil fraction, implying that the valve will always prioritize sections with the largest oil fraction. A mathematical model match of the valve performance is possible via the 10-parameter extended autonomous inflow control device (AICD) equation that enables practical evaluation of the valve in industry-standard reservoir simulators. Various scenarios are explored with a conceptual reservoir model, and the autonomous inflow control valve shows its capacity to reduce water production and enable a more gradual and controlled increase in gas/oil ratio for most scenarios. The autonomous inflow control valve shows its largest potential to reduce unwanted fluids and increase oil recovery when used in segmented reservoirs. In cases with uncertain aquifer and/or gas cap strength, or large variation in effective permeability, the valve will make an infill well more robust as it autonomously adapts to reality, chokes unwanted fluids, and consequently enables more carbon-efficient reservoir management.

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Autonomous Inflow Control Valve for Medium-Light Oil and Its Effective Performance

Langaas

Gisholt

Bjerke

et al. 2023

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Delivering NET ZERO– A Case Study of Minimized Carbon Intensity Production Using Autonomous Inflow Control Technologies from a Remote Location in the Peruvian Amazon

Moradi

García²,

Amado³

et al. 2023

Day 4 Thu, June 08, 2023

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Growing energy demand heightened by climate change challenges has seen the oil and gas industry tightly embrace smarter and more sustainable technologies. The motivation is to quickly grasp net-zero targets, while safely optimising oil-gas production. By its nature, the industry has the ingenuity to eliminate unnecessary carbon emissions. However, traditional development plans relied on the use of wells with minimal or no emphasis on the well completion in terms of optimum deliverability. This would produce a mixture of oil and excessive unwanted fluids such as water and/or gas which requires costly energy-intensive processes. Although the process has been optimized to some extent and often re-injects these unwanted fluids back to the reservoir, there has been not enough attention to the environmental impacts as these repetitive treatment processes of the fluids results in discharging excessive and unnecessary Greenhouse Gas (GHG) into the atmosphere. The issue is now widely recognized to be one of the industry challenges in its drive toward net-zero energy delivery. A case study of a heavy crude oil field with a strong water drive, located in a natural reserve in the Marañon basin of the Peruvian Amazon is presented. Here, the implementation of autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs) technology, through a knowledge management process, has made it possible to significantly reduce the volumes of water produced, which are reinjected again, thus generating significant savings in fluid lifting, treatment and energy consumption associated with the operations in this field. The study introduces a workflow that uses a publicly available GHG footprint estimator to evaluate the carbon intensity of different oil and gas field development plans. The estimator predicts the amount of GHG emitted from any individual operation, process and treatment involved in a field development from exploration to delivery at the gate of a refinery. Having this calculation enables the operators to recognize the major GHG emitter operations and optimise the process toward net zero using new technologies, methods and/or workflows. The workflow has then been applied to the field located in the Peruvian Amazon to illustrate the significant impact of flow control technologies on the reduction of GHG emissions and achieving net-zero targets. For example, the amounts of carbon intensity, GHG emission and energy consumption from the field have been estimated to been reduced by up to 56%, 64% and 78% respectively with AICD completions compared to a case of non-AICD completion such as stand-alone screen (SAS) was installed in the wells instead. This study provides the engineers with a workflow to quantify the impacts of the use of new technologies especially flow control devices. It also illustrates the significant role of flow control technologies in achieving net-zero production.

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Performance and Modelling of a Density-Based Autonomous Inflow Control Device

Corona,

Greci,

Novelen

et al. 2024

Day 1 Wed, April 17, 2024

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Autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs) are used to improve reservoir influx and restrict unwanted fluids for higher oil recovery. A new AICD has been developed to restrict water based on the density of downhole fluids. This is particularly useful in reservoirs where the oil and water have similar viscosities. This paper presents full scale flow performance results at reservoir conditions and modelling to predict the impact of this Density-AICD in well completions under various scenarios. The Density-AICD is equipped with a novel Centrifugal Fluid Selector that magnifies subtle differences in buoyant forces and makes it orientation independent. The switching mechanism will autonomously adjust the choke to reduce the flow rate when changing from oil to water. A full-scale flow loop test was completed using a Norwegian oil crude sample and water at downhole conditions. The experiments evaluated the performance of the tool over different pressure differentials with single phase and multiphase fluid mixtures. To explore the impact of this device, a simple conceptual reservoir model was constructed. The flow performance test results demonstrated that the tool produces oil at high flow rates and chokes water effectively. Two different nozzles sizes were tested proving the expected ratios of oil to water. It also confirmed the switching capability of the device to independently open and close based on the density contrast of the fluids. The multiphase testing showed the reversibility of the device and the water cut level necessary to close and open the device across a range of differential pressures. The approximate behavior of this Density-AICD was implemented in an industry standard reservoir simulator. The model used realistic reservoir conditions from a Norwegian sub-sea development. The study shows that the Density-AICD can significantly decrease tail-end water production and further increase oil recovery across most reservoir scenarios. The Density-AICD's self-adjusting feature simplifies and addresses uncertainties in the reservoir to restrict water, enhance oil recovery, optimize reservoir management, reduce water treatment costs at surface and contribute to reduced carbon intensity. This paper publishes new flow performance test data for the Density-AICD using a Norwegian crude oil sample at representative downhole conditions. The conceptual reservoir modelling indicates a possible step-change autonomous inflow control technology that enables more carbon-efficient reservoir management.

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Implementation of Autonomous Inflow Control and the Effect on Carbon Intensity

Cited by 4 publications

References 16 publications

Autonomous Inflow Control Valve for Medium-Light Oil and Its Effective Performance

Autonomous Inflow Control Valve for Medium-Light Oil and Its Effective Performance

Delivering NET ZERO– A Case Study of Minimized Carbon Intensity Production Using Autonomous Inflow Control Technologies from a Remote Location in the Peruvian Amazon

Performance and Modelling of a Density-Based Autonomous Inflow Control Device

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