IOT Technology Demonstration in ADNOC Onshore Fields. Real Time Monitoring at a Minimum Cost

Abstract

In brownfields, controlling well integrity is critical in maintaining production and ensuring safety of the personnel and infrastructures. Equally important is optimizing and allocating production in wells by closely following wellhead upstream pressures (and temperatures). In the current situation, field crews have to move from well to well. This method is time consuming, exposes personnel to driving hazards and potentially dangerous areas. In addition, human reading of manual pressure gauges can result in large discrepancy in the reported values. Together with the low frequency of manual readings, this method does not allow for pro-active well intervention and can result in higher downtime in case of well tripping. Deploying remote monitoring with classical telemetry in fields with limited telecommunication infrastructure is costly and complex. Low Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), a public wireless network technology developed in 2009, changes the situation. It enables low power compact battery sensors with up to 10 km radio range. This performance is sufficient to connect, in one go, most onshore wells without power nor connectivity. This paper describes a pilot project to evaluate the adequacy of this technology in ADNOC Onshore fields. The objective is to assess performance of LoRaWAN deployed Sensors along four metrics: deployment time, deployment cost, Base station radio coverage and data availability. The pilot uses a plug-in ATEX- certified Wireless Pressure and Temperature (P&T) sensors developed by the vendor SRETT, commercial LoRaWAN Base stations, and proprietary software to provide remote access to the data via cloud data storage and web based application. For this pilot, four Base stations were deployed in two giant oil fields collecting data from four well heads each equipped with two sensors (P&T). This combination allowed testing wireless link quality over eight radio paths, some with terrain obstacles between Sensors and Base stations. The complete system was fully tested and validated at the shop prior to field deployment. Performances during the deployment was evaluated, and Sensor behaviors were monitored over a three-month period. In the current environment, maintaining a high HSE standard on aging infrastructure must be made at a controlled cost. LoRaWAN IoT remote monitoring technology is cost effective and efficient to deploy. Once deployed, it will enable preventative safe detection of wells with potential issues, improved accuracy and understanding of production events and lead to a reduction of potential adverse situations thanks to an optimized intervention strategy.