System, method, and computer readable medium for calculating well flow rates produced with electrical submersible pumps
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorLawrence Camilleri
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system, method, and computer readable medium for calculating well flow rates produced with electrical submersible pumps using measured voltage, current, frequency and pressure data. An efficiency to flow rate ratio is calculated from the voltage, current, and pressure data. The efficiency to flow rate ratio is used to obtain a non-dimensional flow rate. The flow rate through the electrical submersible pump is calculated from the non-dimensional flow rate.
Claims18
A method of determining a flow rate through an electric submersible pump (ESP), the method comprising:
- supplying electricity to the ESP with a surface switchgear;
- receiving, with a processor, an intake pressure from a first pressure gauge downhole of the ESP and a discharge pressure from a second pressure gauge;
- receiving, with the processor, a voltage and a current;
- receiving, with the processor, at least one static value;
- calculating, with the processor, a flow rate through the ESP by:
- calculating an efficiency to flow rate ratio by applying the received voltage and currents to a power equilibrium equation;
- obtaining a non-dimensional flow rate by applying the calculated efficiency to flow rate ratio to the static data;
- calculating the flow rate from the non-dimensional flow rate;
- and
- creating a log of calculated flow rates.
A system for monitoring the flow of liquid in a well, the system comprising:
- an electric submersible pump (ESP) positioned within a well completion;
- a surface switchgear electrically coupled to the ESP, wherein the surface switchgear provides the electricity to drive the ESP;
- an intake pressure gauge coupled to the ESP, the intake pressure gauge measures an intake pressure downhole of the ESP;
- a discharge pressure gauge coupled to the ESP, the discharge pressure gauge measures a discharge pressure uphole of the ESP;
- a volt meter coupled to the surface switchgear, the volt meter measures a voltage of the motor;
- an ammeter coupled to the surface switchgear, the ammeter measures a current of the motor;
- a frequency transducer that measures a frequency of the surface switchgear;
- and
- a processor that executes computer readable code stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, that upon execution causes the processor to receive the measured intake pressure, discharge pressure, voltage, current, and frequency, and the processor calculates a flow rate through the ESP by applying the received values to a power equilibrium equation based upon the ESP;
- wherein the surface switchgear is a variable speed drive (VSD);
- and the computer readable code further causes the processor to calculate an efficiency to flow rate ratio using the power equilibrium equation;
- wherein the computer readable code further causes the processor to obtain a non-dimension flow rate by applying the efficiency to flow rate ratio to a function relating efficiency to flow rate ratio to non-dimensional flow rate.
A non-transitory computer readable medium programmed with computer readable code that upon execution by a processor causes the processor to:
- periodically receive a voltage, a current, and a frequency;
- periodically receive an intake pressure and a discharge pressure;
- calculate an efficiency to flow rat ratio by applying the received voltage, current, frequency intake pressure, and discharge pressure to a non-dimensionalized power equilibrium equation;
- obtain a non-dimensional flow rate by relating the efficiency to flow rate ratio to a received pump characteristic;
- calculate a flow rate from the non-dimensional flow rate;
- repeat the calculation of the flow rate when a voltage, current, frequency, intake pressure, or discharge pressure is received;
- and
- create a log of all of the calculated values correlated to the flow rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.