Halliburton’s Completion Tools business line, successfully achieved the first installation of the SmartPlex? downhole control system in a six-zone multilateral well. The installation was a joint effort across functional teams within the Intelligent Completions group, and was the first electro-hydraulic system installed by Halliburton in the Middle East. The installation was completed with zero non-productive time and no HSE issues.
The SmartPlex downhole control system enables remote actuation of downhole control devices using electro-hydraulic control lines from the surface. The multi-drop system provides simple and reliable zonal control of up to 12 interval control valves in a single wellbore, using a minimum number of control lines.
Wayne Wallace, strategic business manager for Halliburton Intelligent Completions said, “The SmartPlex system provides our customers with the ability to control an increased number of zones, assisting them to acheive improved reservoir performance and increased ultimate recovery.”
Using the SmartPlex system can also reduce the amount of time needed for actuations, according to Halliburton. In short, Garcia says, the system can actuate a zone in about half an hour because it does not need to pressure up and pressure down at every zone, a process that can take 20 minutes per valve position.
The SmartPlex system is about minimising control lines while increasing zonal control” in dry- tree applications, says Elias Garcia, Halliburton’s global technical advisor for flow control. He sees the system as particularly useful for mature fields, where water production may be a concern, and extended-reach wells, where there are often many zones to stimulate.
The SmartPlex design helps eliminate the complexity of the installation and can remove some capital costs by requiring fewer control lines and connections, Garcia notes. The minimised number of control lines frees up real estate in the tubing hanger for other tools the operator may want to run.
Halliburton introduced the SmartPlex system to address a market need for multi-zone completions to improve reservoir performance and reduce operator costs related to installation and control of the multi-zone solution. The system activates valves significantly faster than competing direct hydraulic control systems. It also offers the ability to selectively open and close different sets of valves, reducing uncertainty and allowing for multi-zone completions with a high degree of reliability. The electro-hydraulic (EH) architecture has numerous advantageous over current electro-mechanical control systems available today. One such advantage is that the EH architecture allows for efficient locomotive force to move an interval control valve under differential pressure. The SmartPlex system was designed mainly for dry tree applications commonly used in land wells, and is suitable for extended reach horizontals with narrow pay zones.
SmartPlex? Downhole Control System
The SmartPlex? downhole control system remotely actuates downhole control devices using electro-hydraulic control lines from surface. This multi-drop system provides simple and reliable zonal control of up to 12 interval control valves in a single wellbore, with a minimum number of the control lines.
Benefits
- Helps reduce cost in multi-valve completions；
- Faster activation time for valves；
- Reduces rig time through greater facilitation of completion installation and retrieval；
- Electro-hydraulic system provides high level of motive power to operate ICVs；
- Allows the ICVs to be closed in a single step；
- Provides the ability to move the ICV from closed to any choking position in a single step。
The SmartPlex? downhole control system is an electro-hydraulic multi-drop system that provides simple and reliable zonal control of multiple valves in a single wellbore with a minimum number of control lines. The SmartPlex downhole control system uses two hydraulic and one electric line from the surface to remotely and selectively actuate multiple downhole flow control devices such as interval control valves (ICV). This makes a large number of tubing hanger penetrations unnecessary and reduces operational complexity and risk.
Features
? Three control lines for up to 12 downhole devices or four control lines for up to 24 downhole devices
? Minimal use of only passive and no active electrical components
? System can remain pressured when operating any of the ICVs in the same direction, significantly decreasing ICV actuation times
? Can be deployed with non-integrated systems and fiber optics
? Supports “fail-as-is” device types
? Independent of tubing or annulus pressure
? Can be used to position ICVs in choking applications
Benefits
? Helps reduce cost in multi-valve completions
? Faster activation time for valves
? Reduces rig time through greater-facilitation of completion installation and retrieval
? Electro-hydraulic system provides high level of motive power to operate ICVs
? In alignment with all of our ICVs, the system allows the ICV to be closed in a single step
? Provides the ability to move the ICV from closed to any choking position in a single step
Application
The SmartPlex downhole control system is applicable for any dry tree multi-zone completion requiring more than two valves. When compared to the Direct Hydraulics system, the SmartPlex system not only helps reduce the overall cost of an intelligent completion, but also reduces the complexity involved by minimizing the number of control lines required.
The SmartPlex system is ideally suited for long horizontal, compartmentalized completions (as deep as 30,000 ft), either cased or open hole, where selective control of each interval is desired.
Typically this can be advantageous for selective stimulation control in tight gas applications or in combination with a choking ICV for drawdown optimization in production applications.
Operation
The SmartPlex system is a design that uses a simple passive electrical switching method. Each valve is coupled with a SmartPlex actuator module which allows selective and remote control of each valve. Control lines consisting of one electrical and two hydraulic lines run from surface and are networked to each SmartPlex module.
A signal down the electrical line switches a solenoid at a desired module, allowing hydraulic communication between the surface control unit and the valve. By regulating the fluid volume in combination with a time-domain control method, valves can be incrementally positioned (choking) to allow for advanced reservoir management.
Qualification and Field Testing
The SmartPlex control system has successfully passed extensive inhouse deep well simulation testing. The tool has been cycled more than 10,000 times at high temperatures and pressures. A nine valve system integration test with 15,000-ft control line has also been successfully conducted.
The SmartPlex control system has been successfully deployed and field trialed in a multi-zone completion. Thanks to this system, the operator can now achieve maximum reservoir control from multiple laterals with minimum system complexity.
石油圈
