Method of monitoring service operations of a service vehicle at a well site

#1. Field of the Invention

#The invention generally pertains to service vehicles used in performing work at a well site, and more specifically to a method of monitoring the vehicle's service operations.

#2. Description of Related Art

#FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method of monitoring a service vehicle's operations at a first well site according to some embodiments of the invention.

#FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but showing the service vehicle as a pumping truck pumping fluid at a second well site.

#FIG. 3 is a stored data record of digital values that reflect the pumping operations of a vehicle at multiple well sites.

#FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of the present invention and disclose a service vehicle 10 for servicing a first well 12 at a first well site 14 and a second well 16 at a second well site 18. The two well sites 14 and 18 may be quite remote from one another (e.g., miles apart) and may both be miles apart from a main office 20. Wells 12 and 16 each include a string of tubing 22 disposed within a string of casing 24. Under normal operation, petroleum, water, gas or other ground-source fluid passes through openings in casing 24 to enter an annulus 26 between the inner wall of casing 24 and the outer wall of tubing 22. From annulus 26, the fluid is then pumped or otherwise forced upward through the interior of tubing 22, so the fluid can be extracted at ground level for later use or processing.

#As shown in the present drawings, the service vehicle 10 is shown as a pump truck used for pumping fluids into the well, and may represent any fluid-pumping vehicle, examples of which include, but are not limited to, a tanker truck, a fluid pumping truck, a kill truck, a chemical truck, a treating truck, and a hot oil truck. However, it should be understood that while the operations of a pump truck are illustrated in detail in this application so as to clarify the nature of the present invention, service vehicle 10 can be any appropriately equipped service vehicle. Other examples include, but are not limited to, chemical tank trucks or trailers, cement trucks or trailers, hot-oiler tank trucks or trailers, or portable work-over service rigs having hoists to remove and install well components. All of these examples of service vehicles and similar vehicles are generically represented by service vehicle 10. The operations of these various service vehicles are well known to those of skill in the art of well servicing operations.

#In one embodiment in which a pump truck is used to facilitate certain operations of servicing a well, an end cap 28 may be temporarily installed at the upper end of tubing 22. With tubing 22 capped and an annular seal 30 installed between tubing 22 and casing 24, a servicing fluid can be forced through annulus 26 and/or tubing 22. A pump 32 on vehicle 10 can force the servicing fluid into the well via an annulus valve 34 which communicates with annulus 26 or a tubing valve 36 which communicates with tubing 22.