Interstate Oil and Gas Commission May 21-23, 2006 Billings, MT Jim Barnes NETL Project Manager U.S. DOE Marginal Expense Oil Well Wireless Surveillance

Interstate Oil and Gas Commission May 21-23, 2006

Billings, MT

Jim BarnesNETL Project Manager

U.S. DOE

Marginal Expense Oil Well Wireless Surveillance (MEOWS)

J. Barnes – April 2006

Technology Development with Independents Program

Program Goals: Find solutions for production problems experienced by

small independents Provide support for untried or unfamiliar technologies Slow well abandonment rate to preserve industry

infrastructure Use field demonstrations to broaden information

exchange and applications Program Benefits:

Maintain current domestic production levels Curtail premature loss of domestic production due to

fluctuating economic conditions Increase ultimate recovery in known fields using

advanced technologies


Estimated Independent Operatorsin Various PTTC Regions


Our Economy Runs On Oil

• Total U.S. Energy Consumption is 100.4 Quadrillion Btu (2004). Oil is the largest source of U.S. energy (41%).

TransportationNeeds

Total U.S. Energy Consumption


Domestic Reserves

IOGCC 2005 Marginal Oil and Marginal Gas Report

397,000 marginal wells in US Marginal wells produce 311 million barrels of

oil per year (<10 bopd per well average) Marginal wells are candidates for improved

well monitoring Reduction of well downtime through more

effective monitoring could improve production by 5% to 10%


Develop a Wireless Marginal Expense Oil Well Surveillance (MEOWS) System

Operator: Vaquero Energy/The Hunter Living TrustSanta Barbara, California

Project Location: Edison Field, Kern County, California

Background: The field’s 225 marginal wells all operate

on time clocks and produce into common flow lines Cost effective well production and efficiency monitoring is

difficult to accomplish Frequent manual inspection of systems at each well site is

uneconomic Individual well test units or gathering system production

manifolds are cost prohibitive Conventional remote well monitoring systems are expensive


Operator and Contractor

Vaquero Energy (formerly Hunter Living Trust) Donald G. Nelson - P.O. Box 308, Edison, CA 93220

(661)363-7240

Field test - Edison Field, Kern County CA

Petrolects, LLC Dr. Mason M. Medizade – 128 Twin Ridge Drive San

Luis Obispo, CA 93405 (805)543-1010 Dr. John R. Ridgely


Phase IVibration Sensing

Reduced electrical costs Increased oil production Reduce surveillance costs Sensor units installed on four wells


MEOWS Components

Involved proprietary flow sensor Programmable transmitting unit Base Receiver Receiving antenna Base station computer Interpretative software


Phase I Successes

Field testing demonstrated that acceleration sensors were able to detect well performance anomalies

Low power spread-spectrum radio transmitters from the sensors were successful, sending signals over one-half mile from the well site to a computer

Modifications, testing and up-grading was continued in Phase II


Phase I Benefits

Monitoring pumping unit vibrations allowed deviations from the desirable pump off condition to be identified early and corrected

production was restored in timely fashion

power waste was reduced

equipment damage was reduced


MEOWS

Goals Monitor system

performance and production

Real time data from rod-pumped wells

Improve efficiency Prevent marginal wells

from being shut-in


Phase II

Evaluation of sensor placement Evaluate use of solar cell to eliminate batteries Extended use radio transmitters Developed low cost radio receiver connected

to “smart” computer Develop Well Performance Surveillance Unit

(WPSU) Real-time functionality High reliability, low maintenance Low cost to manufacture and install


Microcontroller and Radio Modem Circuits


Field Test of Well Performance Surveillance Unit (WPSU)


Base Station Antenna and Radio Modem


Phase II Benefits

Increased oil production

Reduced well servicing costs

Reduced electricity costs

Reduced well testing costs

Reduced manual surveillance costs

Low cost – less than $1,000 per unit


Conclusions

A low cost, real time wireless surveillance system has been successfully designed and field tested

The heart of the unit is the proprietary flow sensor. Self-contained Well Performance Surveillance Unit (WPSU)

Hardware systems were designed and tested

Software was designed to convert signals for flow sensor

High frequency radio systems were designed

Three surveillance units were installed in the Edison field


Radio Transmitter and Water Meter

Vaquero developed wireless water meter

Low gas-liquid-ratio wells have more accurate results

Meters tested have pressure limits of 150 psi

Meters are not designed for cyclic steam application

Meters worked in field tests under normal oilfield conditions


First Highly Efficient Hybrid CT RigBuilt and Operating on U.S. Soil


Microhole Program’s Goal Greater Domestic Oil Resource Recovery

407 billion barrels not economically recoverable with current technology 218 billion barrels from shallow development alone

Conservative recovery estimate = 10 years of OPEC imports offset


Future MHT Applications?Enabling Extended-Reach Drilling and Environmental Access via Pad Drilling


Enabling Extended Reach Drilling and Environmental Access via Pad Drilling

www.netl.doe.gov

Documents

Interstate Oil and Gas Commission May 21-23, 2006 Billings, MT Jim Barnes NETL Project Manager U.S. DOE Marginal Expense Oil Well Wireless Surveillance