# US 11,905,825 B2 · Downhole 3-phase flow measurement using speed of sound above and below the bubble-point pressure > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,905,825 B2 - Document ID: US11905825B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/660,753 - Filed: 2022-04-26 - Published: 2023-10-26 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2022-04-26 - Assignees: Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC - Applicants: Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC - Inventors: Omer Haldun Unalmis - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11905825B2 ## CPC - E21B 47/107: using acoustic means - E21B 47/10: Locating fluid leaks, intrusions or movements - G01F 1/66: by measuring frequency, phase shift or propagation time of electromagnetic or other waves, e.g. using ultrasonic flowmeters - G01F 1/661: using light - G01F 1/666: {by detecting noise and sounds generated by the flowing fluid} - G01F 1/668: {Compensating or correcting for variations in velocity of sound} - G01F 1/74: Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid - G01N 29/024: by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves - G01N 33/2823: {Raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures} - G01N 2291/02433: Gases in liquids, e.g. bubbles, foams - G01N 2291/02809: Concentration of a compound, e.g. measured by a surface mass change - E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS - G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) ## Abstract Methods and apparatus for hydrocarbon monitoring are provided. An example method (e.g., performed by a monitoring system) includes receiving one or more first downhole measurements including a first speed of sound (SoS) measurement of a flowing fluid at a first location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location is greater than a bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid; receiving one or more second downhole measurements including a second SoS measurement of the flowing fluid at a second location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location is less than the bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid and wherein the flowing fluid is a 3-phase fluid mixture at the second location; and calculating one or more phase flow rates of the 3-phase fluid mixture, based on the first SoS measurement, the second SoS measurement, and a measurement of a bulk velocity of the flowing fluid. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of hydrocarbon monitoring, comprising: receiving one or more first downhole measurements including a first speed of sound (SoS) measurement of a flowing fluid at a first location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location is greater than a bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid; receiving one or more second downhole measurements including a second SoS measurement of the flowing fluid at a second location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location is less than the bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid and wherein the flowing fluid is a 3-phase fluid mixture at the second location, wherein at least one of the one or more first downhole measurements or the one or more second downhole measurements is received from a downhole sensor; and calculating one or more phase flow rates of the 3-phase fluid mixture, based on the first SoS measurement, the second SoS measurement, and a measurement of a bulk velocity of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a first inline phase fraction of the flowing fluid at the first location based on the one or more first downhole measurements. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the first inline phase fraction is a water-in-liquid ratio (WLR). ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein: the one or more first downhole measurements further comprise a temperature of the flowing fluid at the first location and a pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location; and determining the first inline phase fraction of the flowing fluid at the first location is based on the first SoS measurement, the temperature of the flowing fluid at the first location, the pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location, and single-phase properties of components of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein determining the first inline phase fraction comprises: calculating a speed of sound (SoS) in an infinite medium based on the Wood and Korteweg-Lamb equations and the first downhole measurements; and determining the first inline phase fraction based on the SoS in the infinite medium, the one or more first downhole measurements, and single-phase properties of components of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second downhole measurements further comprise a temperature of the flowing fluid at the second location, a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location, and the measurement of the bulk velocity of the flowing fluid at the second location. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining a first inline phase fraction of the flowing fluid at the first location based on the one or more first downhole measurements; and determining an inline liquid volume fraction (LVF) of the flowing fluid, based on (a) the first inline phase fraction or a second inline phase fraction, (b) the one or more second downhole measurements, and (c) single-phase properties of components of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein determining the LVF of the flowing fluid is based on the first inline phase fraction. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising determining the second inline phase fraction based on the first inline phase fraction, the temperatures of the flowing fluid at the first and second locations, and the pressures of the flowing fluid at the first and second locations, wherein determining the LVF of the flowing fluid is based on the second inline phase fraction. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein determining the inline LVF comprises: calculating a speed of sound (SoS) in an infinite medium based on the Wood and Korteweg-Lamb equations and the second downhole measurements; and determining the inline LVF based on the SoS in the infinite medium, the one or more second downhole measurements, and the single-phase properties of components of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising determining the single-phase properties of components of the flowing fluid based on an analysis of a bottomhole fluid sample. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the first location and the second location are a same location; receiving the one or more first downhole measurements comprises receiving the one or more first downhole measurements at a first time when the pressure is greater than the bubble-point pressure; and receiving the one or more second downhole measurements comprises receiving the one or more second downhole measurements at a second time when the pressure is less than the bubble-point pressure, the second time being different from the first time. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first downhole measurements or the one or more second downhole measurements is received from an optical flowmeter as the downhole sensor. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first downhole measurements or the one or more second downhole measurements is received from a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) coil as the downhole sensor. ### Claim 15 A processing system for hydrocarbon monitoring, the processing system being configured to: receive one or more first downhole measurements including a first speed of sound (SoS) measurement of a flowing fluid at a first location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location is greater than a bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid; receive one or more second downhole measurements including a second SoS measurement of the flowing fluid at a second location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location is less than the bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid and wherein the flowing fluid is a 3-phase fluid mixture at the second location, wherein at least one of the one or more first downhole measurements or the one or more second downhole measurements is received from a downhole sensor; and calculate one or more phase flow rates of the 3-phase fluid mixture, based on the first SoS measurement, the second SoS measurement, and a measurement of a bulk velocity of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 16 A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processing system to perform operations for hydrocarbon monitoring, the operations comprising: receiving one or more first downhole measurements including a first speed of sound (SoS) measurement of a flowing fluid at a first location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the first location is greater than a bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid; receiving one or more second downhole measurements including a second SoS measurement of the flowing fluid at a second location, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location is less than the bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid and wherein the flowing fluid is a 3-phase fluid mixture at the second location, wherein at least one of the one or more first downhole measurements or the one or more second downhole measurements is received from a downhole sensor; and calculating one or more phase flow rates of the 3-phase fluid mixture, based on the first SoS measurement, the second SoS measurement, and a measurement of a bulk velocity of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 17 A method of modifying a hydrocarbon monitoring system comprising an optical flowmeter disposed at a first location in a well and a processing system, wherein a pressure of a flowing fluid at the first location is less than a bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid and wherein the flowing fluid is a 3-phase fluid mixture at the first location, the method comprising: introducing a sensor into the well such that the sensor is disposed at a second location in the well, wherein a pressure of the flowing fluid at the second location is greater than the bubble-point pressure of the flowing fluid; and configuring the processing system to calculate one or more phase flow rates of the 3-phase fluid mixture, based on a first speed of sound (SoS) measurement of the flowing fluid at the first location received from the optical flowmeter, a second SoS measurement of the flowing fluid at the second location received from the sensor, and a measurement of a bulk velocity of the flowing fluid. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor comprises an optical waveguide of a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein introducing the sensor comprises introducing the optical waveguide of the DAS system on a same optical waveguide communicatively coupled to the optical flowmeter. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein the optical waveguide comprises a DAS coil or a DAS line; and wherein introducing the sensor comprises disposing the DAS coil or the DAS line at the second location. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein introducing the sensor comprises introducing a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) waveguide into the well, separate from a waveguide communicatively coupled to the optical flowmeter. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein configuring the processing system further comprises configuring the processing system to calculate the one or more phase flow rates based on measurements of pressure and temperature of the flowing fluid at the second location.