Analyzing Multiphase Flow in Horizontal and Deviated Wells

Oilfield Review Interactive, Number 4

Production logging determines where gas, oil and water enter a wellbore and measures the flow rate and relative percentage volume, or holdup, of each phase. In horizontal and high-angle wells, the phases often stratify, so conventional logging techniques using a fullbore spinner do not capture the details of multiphase flow. A new tool has been designed for high-angle wells that can analyze multiphase flow across a complete wellbore. This article describes the Flow Scanner tool and its successful application in the Gulf of Suez and the North Sea.
John Baldauff Trevor Runge Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company Cairo, Egypt John Cadenhead Ahmadi, Kuwait Marian Faur Clamart, France Njl Grnnerd Hydro Bergen, Norway Samuel Harvey Atyrau, Kazakhstan Cholid Mas Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Rob North Beijing, China
Dispersed bubble flow Annular flow Plug flow Slug flow

Logging Wellbore Flow Operators obtain production logs to analyze dynamic well performance and assess the productivity or injectivity of different zones. Production logging also helps diagnose problem wells or monitor the results of a stimulation or completion operation. Most production logging tools were originally developed for use in vertical or near-vertical wells. The single, centered spinner measured flow across only about half of the cross section. Sensors that determined phase and other fluid properties were often several meters away from the spinner. In high-angle and horizontal wells, the phases often stratify, but can also exhibit slug flow or other complex behaviors (below). A conventional production-logging toolstring gives an incomplete picture of such wellbore flow. Laboratory tests show significant deviation from
Stratified flow Wavy stratified flow

Gary Oddie Cambridge, England Executive Editor Mark Andersen Graphics Design Tracy Evans Productions Web Design Hieu Do
> Types of flow. The flow regime present at a given wellbore location depends on borehole deviation; the proportion of each phase present; relative density differences, surface tension and viscosity of each phase; and average velocity. Stratified flow occurs in horizontal wells when two or more phases are separated by gravity. Wavy stratified flow is a result of interference between two stratified phases traveling at different velocities. Plug flow results from large bubbles of one phase becoming entrained in another phase. Slug flow is similar to plug flow, but the entrained bubbles are larger. Dispersed bubble flow occurs when small bubbles of one phase are uniformly distributed in another phase. Annular flow is characteristic of gas flowing at high velocities in the center of a borehole with liquid flow confined to a thin film on the wellbore walls, although small bubbles of liquid may flow in the gas stream.

For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Karim Al-Sayed, Tripoli, Libya; Mark Brandie and Jinglu Wang, Aberdeen; Roopa Gir, Houston; Martin Isaacs, Sugar Land, Texas, USA; and Dominique Sabina, Clamart, France. FloView, Flow Scanner, GHOST (Gas Holdup Optical Sensor Tool), MaxTRAC, NODAL, PIPESIM, PLA (Production Log Advisor), PS Platform and RSTPro (Reservoir Saturation Tool) are marks of Schlumberger. 2007 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.

90

Water holdup =

Time in short circuit Total time Time

Connector Probe-holding bracket Ground electrode (for oil continuous phases) Ceramic insulator Conductive tip Flow 88 Gas holdup = Time above threshold Total time Time Threshold

92

> Laboratory flow-loop tests. Video clips show complex flow in a laboratory flow loop tilted at angles of 90, 92, 88 and 40 (not shown here).

stratified horizontal flow when a flow loop is tilted as little as 2 from horizontal (above). At a 40 angle, some of the water phase flows backward and recirculates. Because no wellbore is truly horizontal for any significant distance, flow regimes can vary dramatically over the 100-ft [30-m] or greater length of a conventional production logging toolstring. The stratified or complex flow typical in high-angle wells could not be evaluated by a fullbore spinner, which measures an average velocity of the fluid flowing in its path. The Flow Scanner horizontal and deviated well production logging tool has new design features to measure the complexities of flow in highly deviated wells.1 The tool has five minispinners and six pairs of probes to determine the phases and their positions across a wellbore diameter. These measurements are contained within a more compact, 16-ft [4.9-m] long sonde. This new tool reports velocity and phase holdup in real time. Sensing Fluid Phase and Velocity The new Flow Scanner tool relies on three types of devices for fluid phase and velocity measurements: minispinners, electrical probes and optical probes (above right). The minispinner is a new spinner design. Its 1-in. [2.54-cm] diameter provides a localized velocity measurement. One spinner is mounted on the tool body that rests on the bottom of a wellbore, and four others are on an articulating arm that spans the wellbore diameter.

Flow Water Oil Gas

> Electrical and optical probes. FloView electrical probes (top) discriminate between hydrocarbons and water based on resistivity. GHOST probes (bottom) discriminate gas from water or oil based on optical reflectivity. The small tips of both probes make them sensitive to very small bubbles.

Specialized design and finely engineered bearings give the spinners a high accuracy when spinning in either direction. They respond to flow in gas, oil or water. A low-frequency electrical probe for water holdup measurement has been used reliably in Schlumberger production logging tools for several years. The probe tip senses the electrical impedance of the fluid touching it. Thus, each of the six FloView holdup measurement probes distinguish water, which is low-impedance, from high-impedance oil and gas. The final critical component is the GHOST Gas Holdup Optical Sensor Tool, another technology Schlumberger has used for several years.2 This device is sensitive to a fluid's index of refraction. Gas, having a low refractive index, is much more reflective than either oil or water. Five GHOST probes are paired with the FloView probes. The electrical probe measures the presence of water and the optical probe measures the presence of gas; the oil phase is determined by difference for each probe pair. Both types of probe have small tips that measure tiny droplets of fluid.

1. Baldauff J, Runge T, Cadenhead J, Faur M, Marcus R, Mas C, North R and Oddie G: Profiling and Quantifying Complex Multiphase Flow, Oilfield Review 16, no. 3 (Autumn 2004): 413. 2. Thron B, Vu-Hoang D, Rezgui F, Catala G, McKeon D and Silipigno L: Improved Determination of Gas Holdup Using Optical Fiber Sensors, Transactions of the 41st SPWLA Annual Logging Symposium, Dallas, June 47, 2000, paper GG.

Measurements Span a Wellbore The Flow Scanner sonde deploys eccentrically so that one minispinner and one set of electrical and optical probes remain on the low side of a wellbore (below left). The other four minispinners are mounted on the leading strut of an articulating arm, and five pairs of probes are mounted on its trailing strut, effectively flanking the minispinners (below right). The probes at the upper and lower sides of the wellbore can obtain measurements even if only small volumes of a phase are present in those locations. The tool deploys in a compact configuration of 1.668-in. [42.9-mm] diameter. The articulating arm can span any wellbore diameter from 2.875 to 9 in. [73.0 to 228.6 mm]. The Flow Scanner sonde is combinable with the PS Platform new-generation production services platform, and it can be conveyed

by wireline, coiled tubing, or tractor. The optimal conveyance method depends on the specific wellbore configuration. With the arm extended, the tool can log moving up or down a borehole. The close proximity of measuring elements on the tool ensures that the fluid profile is relevant to a given location in the borehole. If the profile must be determined with even greater accuracy, the tool can scan across the wellbore at a station. The articulating arm opens slowly, precisely locating fluid interfaces as the probes pass through them. Measurements from the five spinners, 12 phase probes, caliper and a relative-bearing device on the toolstring can be transmitted to surface in real time. Analysis can be performed immediately both in scanning mode and in logging mode, allowing decisions to be made while the tool is in place.

Minispinner cartridge with integrated one-wire detector

Optical GHOST probe

> Comparison of a fullbore spinner and the Flow Scanner tool. A fullbore spinner measures
average phase velocity in the center of a wellbore (right). In contrast, the Flow Scanner tool measures velocity at five points across the diameter of a wellbore (left).

Electrical FloView probe

> Flow Scanner spinner and probe configuration. The Flow Scanner tool incorporates 17 sensors. Its articulating arm has four 1-in. diameter minispinners mounted on the front strut and five each of the GHOST optical probe and the FloView electrical probe mounted on the back strut. An additional minispinner and one pair of probes are mounted on the tool body. The one-inch diameter of the minispinner allows it to sample a small portion of the flow. It is able to measure low or high rates of fluid flow moving either forward or backward with respect to the tool.

Interpreting Flow Flow Scanner data can be processed in real time, so that critical decisions concerning wellbore flow can be made immediately. The interpretation process starts with readings from the six pairs of optical and electrical probes to determine phase profiles of gas and water holdup. The oil-holdup profile is deduced from those of gas and water. Phase interfaces are defined as the regions where the flow is locally multiphase. Phase velocities are obtained from minispinner rotation rates. Visualization software can use an automated calibration routine based on theoretical parameters (below). This automated method converts minispinner rotation to phase velocity in a single pass of the tool. Velocity is multiplied by holdup to determine flow rate for each phase. More accurate phase velocities can be obtained by processing data obtained from multiple passes with the tool moving at different speeds (right).

10

rps

10

Cable speed, ft/min 100 80 60 30 30 60 80 120

250 ft

300 ft

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Spinner rate, rps 0

10

150 100

Positive rotation Negative rotation Cable speed, ft/min 50 0 50 100 150

> Interpretation software for profiling flow. The Flow Scanner monitor box software shows the wellbore orientation, spin rate for each minispinner, and the phase determination from the phase probes of the Flow Scanner tool. The Flow Scanner inflow profiler software provides a holdup profile, with gas (red) and water (blue) phase measurements as data points and a smooth profile through the data. The oil profile (green) is obtained by difference.

> Calibrating Flow Scanner minispinners. Flow Scanner results can be analyzed in real time using standard parameters for measurements in oil, water and gas. These parameters can be refined for specific well conditions by analyzing multiple passes over the same interval, taken at different cable speeds (top). The average spinner rate over this interval is plotted against the cable speed to obtain a best-fit line for positive and negative rotation directions (bottom). A separate correlation based on the best-fit line is made for each minispinner.

Conventional PL Depth, ft 0 Fullbore Spinner Velocity Velocity ft/min 40

Flow Scanner

Conventional PL Gradiomanometer Fluid Density

Flow Scanner

Conventional PL Flow Profile Water Flow Oil Flow

Flow Scanner Flow Profile Water Flow Oil Flow Well Sketch

Velocity Image ft/min 40

Spinner Stations 0 rps 3 -40

Fluid Density g/cm3 1.2 Water-Holdup Image Density Stations 0.9 g/cm3 1.2 0.92 1.0 0.9

X,350

X,400

> Improved results using the Flow Scanner tool in a Gulf of Suez wellbore. In this welbore, a conventional Gulf of Suez well production logging, or PL, tool gave inadequate results. A Flow Scanner tool run over the same interval provided more complete and markedly different results. The perforation locations are shown in red in the well sketch (Track 7). A sixth set of perforations was below the logged interval, where the tools could not reach. As the tool moved downward past the top perforations (at about X,352), the oil flow rate decreased. The conventional production log (Track 5) did not show increased oil production from this set of perforations, but the Flow Scanner probes (Track 6) clearly show increased oil saturation. Both tools detected water entering at the third set of perforations (X,384 to X,392). Water also enters from the fourth set of perforations (X,405 to X,425). The oil flow gradually decreases through this set, which is not shown in the conventional log. The conventional production log was interpreted to show that all oil production came from the sixth set of perforations, below the logged interval shown here. The Flow Scanner result correctly indicated that the upper two sets of perforations were producing clean oil. Since there were measurements across the wellbore diameter, the Flow Scanner data also show that flow in this deviated wellbore is more rapid along the top, which is on the right-hand side of the velocity track (Track 2). The water-holdup track (Track 4) shows that oil is flowing in that part of the well.

Case Studies Oil fields of the Gulf of Suez offer a variety of challenges for production logging measurements. This mature producing region contains about 100 platforms in 45 fields with more than 300 producing wells and 100 water injectors.3 These aging reservoirs produce viscous oils at high water cuts. Many have deviated to horizontal completions. The Flow Scanner tool is ideal for interpreting the resulting complicated flow regimes. In a North Sea well, Hydro sought to determine whether oil production came from a main wellbore or a lateral connected by a Y-junction. The company determined flow contributions using a Flow Scanner sonde conveyed by downhole tractors. Logging a High-Angle Well Production began in 1978 from a Gulf of Suez field. In 1996, the operator initiated a waterflood program to provide pressure maintenance for the limited aquifer influx. The field is now approaching its economic limit, so the operator uses production logs to help maximize oil recovery by locating areas for water shutoff (WSO). This field has a

faulted, dipping, anticlinal structure characterized by homogeneous, well-connected sands. The reservoir permeability generally increases with depth, ranging from 200 mD at the top to 1,000 mD at the base. A gas lift well under consideration for possible WSO had an inclination of 37 and produced through six perforated intervals. Well tests in late 2003 indicated a total production rate of 2,058 bbl/d [327 m3/d] with 97% water cut. A conventional production logging survey was run to evaluate individual interval contributions and to identify sources of water production, but it yielded ambiguous results. It suggested that all oil entered below the logged section. The operator deployed a Flow Scanner tool to provide a quantitative flow analysis. The Flow Scanner minispinner and FloView holdup data indicated complex flow patterns along the wellbore that the conventional spinner survey could not resolve. Several areas of recirculating water appear on the low side of the borehole in the velocity images. In addition, the FloView data demonstrated that oil was flowing in a small part of the cross section along the upper side of the wellbore. In contrast to the conventional log, Flow Scanner logs indicated oil flowing from several sets of perforations in the logged interval (above).

3. Borling DC, Powers BS and Ramadan N: Water Shut-off Case History Using Through Tubing Bridge Plugs; October Field, Nubia Formation, Gulf of Suez, Egypt, paper SPE 36213, presented at the 7th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 1316, 1996.

Based on these new results, a workover operation was planned to optimize oil production. Engineers wanted to isolate the high watercut zones in the bottom of the well. Using PLA Production Log Advisor software, they evaluated results of setting plugs in the interval between X,375 and X,400 (below). A sealing shale at about X,400

offered isolation from other producing intervals in the reservoir. The operator set the plug between perforations at that same location. A ninefold increase in oil production and a payback in less than a week demonstrated the effectiveness of the Flow Scanner tool.

Depth, ft

Gamma Ray

Initial Water Rate

Initial Oil Rate

Temperature and Pressure

Initial Flow Profile Water Oil Gas

Predicted Flow Profile Water Oil Gas Estimated Water Flow 0 bbl/d 4,000 Estimated Liquid Flow 0 bbl/d 4,000 Estimated Total Flow 0 bbl/d 4,000

Well Sketch

Water Gamma Ray API 100 0.0

Oil

bbl/d 2,500 0.0

bbl/d

Well Temperature Initial Water Flow 249 deg F 250 0 bbl/d 4,000 Well Pressure Initial Liquid Flow 1,625 psi 2,497 0 bbl/d 4,000 Workover Pressure Initial Total Flow bbl/d 4,000 100 1,625 psi 2,497 0

X,350

< Prediction software for well remediation. Analysts use PLA Production Log Advisor software to predict the outcome of proposed remedial operations. PLA software uses log input to define zonal reservoir parameters, such as the gamma ray (top, Track 1), water and oil flow rates (Tracks 2 and 3), and temperature and wellbore pressure (Track 4). The initial flow profile combines the oil and water flow data (Track 5). The log data are passed to the PIPESIM module of the NODAL production system analysis package, which creates a model to match the measured rates and pressures as closely as possible (bottom). In this case from the Gulf of Suez, isolation provided by a bridge plug in the wellbore worked in conjunction with the tight spot indicated by the gamma ray log at about X,395 ft. This location for a bridge plug had the best result in the PLA analysis, predicting an improvement in oil flow rate from 82 bbl/d [13 m3/d] to 609 bbl/d [97 m3/d], while the water flow rate increased only from 2,031 to 2,447 bbl/d [323 to 389 m3/d]. After the plug was set in the field and rates were optimized, the oil and water rates were 556 and 2,532 bbl/d [88 and 403 m3/d], respectively. The online animation allows the viewer to test setting a plug in several locations.

X,400

PLA Production Log Advisor

Production log interpretation

PIPESIM NODAL analysis

Production results

Flow Profile 0 bbl/d 5,000 X,300

Water Flow

Oil Flow

Holdup

Measured depth, ft

Y,500

Velocity -120 ft/min 100

Velocity TVD Z,442 Z,400 Perforations Oil/water contact Fullbore spinner rps X,300 -4 6

Holdup TVD Z,442 Z,400

X,500

X,600

X,700

X,800

X,900

Y,000

Y,100

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Measured depth, ft

> Determining flow in a horizontal wellbore. These Flow Scanner holdup and velocity images from a Gulf of Suez horizontal well indicate one of the up passes at 50 ft/min [15.3 m/min] (middle, above well trajectory). The velocity profile shows little activity until Y,120, where velocity increases on the low side of the hole, and water appears in the holdup image. Although most of the velocity is attributed to the water on the low side, the holdup levels also indicate some oil flowing at this point. The conventional fullbore spinner indicates a slight uphill flow in this interval, possibly attributed to reverse recirculation of the oil being carried down the wellbore and then circulating back uphill. The Flow Scanner flow profile (top) results from the combination of the velocity and holdup profiles. The most significant oil entry from the perforations at about Y,100 is missed by the conventional production logging tool (bottom).

Avoiding Water in a Horizontal Well A field in the Gulf of Suez experienced reservoir pressure decline from an initial pressure of 2,600 psi [17.9 MPa] to as low as about 1,100 psi [7.6 MPa] in some wells.4 The 120-ft [37-m] column of highviscosity oil is sandwiched between a gas cap and a fairly active aquifer. Wells here frequently experience gas and water coning. Tests revealed that water cut ranged from 70% to 98%. Since the cost of a typical well intervention is US $250,000, minimizing unnecessary or ineffective operations was vital. The field includes horizontal wells with large-bore completions and multiphaseflow regimes, complicating the determination of flow profiles. The operator planned an intervention in a nearly horizontal, J-shaped well. The well trajectory has a low point beyond the heel of the well, and then the well path rises gradually. Perforated zones are beyond the heel of the well.

The operator needed to accurately assess water cut and to locate oil and water entry points. Using electric-line coiled tubing, engineers ran both a Flow Scanner tool and a PS Platform production services logging string for comparison (above). They conducted up and down passes at three different running speeds. An RSTPro Reservoir Saturation Tool was also run with the Flow Scanner sonde to determine oil/water and gas/oil contacts. The fullbore spinner failed to detect the main producing zone. The Flow Scanner data indicated that most of the oil came from the rising portion of the horizontal section. The perforations at greater true vertical depth (TVD) produce most of the water. The RSTPro measurement confirmed that the perforations at greatest TVD were at or below the oil/water contact. Based on these results, the lower zones were shut off and reperforated above the heel of the well in a zone about 800 to 1,000 ft [244 to 305 m] shallower than previous perforations at about 70 deviation. The gross oil rate increased from 300 bbl/d [48 m3/d] to 500 bbl/d [79 m3/d]. The increased production paid for interventions in two other wells.

4. Baldauff et al, reference 1.

Y,300

Y,500

Production Logging with Tractor Conveyance Hydro ran a production log in a North Sea well that had a lateral connecting to the main wellbore at a Y-junction.5 The Brage field, which lies about 125 km [78 miles] west of Bergen, Norway, in the North Sea, is mature and has produced about 85% of its estimated recoverable reserves. Both laterals produce, but there are no perforations above the junction. The log was designed to determine whether one lateral could be shut off to decrease the water cut.

Conveyance-planning software indicted that a system with three MaxTRAC downhole well tractor units could safely convey the toolstring, including the Flow Scanner sonde, into the Y-junction and beyond (below). The tubular inside diameter (ID) above the junction was 7.74 in., and the entries into the upper and lower laterals were 3.437-in. ID.

> Conveying into a Y-junction. A 11116-in. toolstring including a Flow Scanner sonde (green) and three MaxTRAC units (red) was successfully conveyed into a Y-junction. The two back tractors conveyed the toolstring through the 7.74-in. tubular to the junction (1). As the toolstring approached the Y-connector, the Flow Scanner sonde was lowered to the bottom of the horizontal wellbore (2). The Y-connector shoulder guided the sonde into the lower 3.437-in. lateral at the junction, followed by the first tractor, still in a retracted state (3). The middle tractor was retracted and the front one enabled (4). The first and last tractors alternated as drive units to convey the middle tractor into the lateral (5). The last tractor was retracted, and the first and second tractors pulled the toolstring into the lateraL (6). Once all tractor sections were inside the lateral, the first one retracted, and the job continued with the second and third tractors providing the motive force (7). Spacers between the tractors were required for rigging up the string. Other parts of the logging toolstring are not shown for simplicity. In this figure, the vertical scale is exaggerated.

5. Alden M, Arif F, Billingham M, Grnnerd N, Harvey S, Richards ME and West C: Advancing Downhole Conveyance, Oilfield Review 16, no. 3 (Autumn 2004): 3043. Baldauff et al, reference 1.

The MaxTRAC tractor conveyed the string into the lower lateral to a point about 40 m [130 ft] beyond the junction, but before the perforated zone. The logging engineer set the tractor grips against the tubular wall to obtain stationary Flow Scanner data. Even with the well shut in at surface, this stationary log indicated fluid movement. After the well was opened to flow, a second Flow Scanner log showed that only water flowed at this location. Selective inflow performance analysis used pressures and flow rates of the shut-in and flowing logs (left). This analysis showed a 16-bar [232-psi] pressure difference between the two laterals that caused the shut-in crossflow. The tractor arms retracted and the toolstring was pulled out using wireline cable. At a position far above the Y-connection, the tractor grips again set to hold at a station. A Flow Scanner log measured flowing rates and holdup. About 6% of the flow above the junction was oil. Because all of the production into the lower lateral below the Y-junction was water, Hydro shut off that lateral to improve productivity.

> Brage flow evaluation. Production logging results from a Brage well were analyzed
using Flow Scanner inflow profiler software (top). The velocity profile was fairly flat and small amounts of oil were detected at each probe. The electrical FloView holdup measurement probes measured small droplets of oil in the water, as illustrated in the upper right window of the Flow Scanner monitor box software (bottom).

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