New IIoT-Enabled Artificial Lift Optimization Software Helps Pump Up Operators

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Industry Trends
ARC has been blogging for a few years now on how IIoT-enabled solutions can provide real business value to upstream oil & gas companies; the need for leveraging such solutions has never been greater now that operators, independent E&P firms, and other industry stakeholders struggle to operate and produce in the new “lower for longer” normal oil price environment. An area of great potential lies with artificial lift and solutions and services which are designed to optimize artificial lift in order to increase production, increase pump uptime and improve profitability.

Energy producers seeking to maximize production from proven reserves now have access to next-generation artificial lift optimization solutions from Emerson.

The Dynamic Lift Optimization (DLO) software allows producers to extract greater value from existing assets and reduce field decline rates by ensuring a field or platform is producing at maximum efficiency given current production constraints. Using the DLO software, a typical site operating multiple wells can experience a 10% production improvement because it responds immediately to changes in the field operation, continually reallocating available lift resources.

DLO software can impact the industry at a critical time. Oil & gas producers seek to maximize the productivity of existing wells and offset the natural decrease in production from an oil well over time. As decline rates increase and wells produce less oil, oil producers are forced to find alternative methods to meet production targets, preferably without the added cost of drilling new wells.

DLO software dynamically adjusts lift gas flows or electric submersible pump (ESP) speed based on the most recent well test curves. Once configured, the application optimally allocates the available lifting power to the wells to maximize production, at the same time adjusting to changing conditions such as wells coming on or off or compressor trips. By contrast, traditional gas lift adjustments are typically handled manually and infrequently, resulting in missed opportunities and lower field performance.

Earlier versions of the software have helped oil and gas producers generate millions of dollars per year in increased production throughout the last decade. The new version is easier to implement and comes IIoT-ready allowing cloud-based infrastructure. The new graphical user interface enables production engineers to safely and securely access crucial field optimization data from any location with an internet connection.

In addition to a new user-friendly web interface, the DLO software now uses the OSIsoft PI System – a highly scalable open data infrastructure and historian that provides a common data architecture from the plant floor to the enterprise level – making information available wherever needed for better business decisions.

Since DLO utilizes well test curves to determine how to allocate lift resources, it’s important that these curves are updated as the well declines. For maximum benefit, oil producers have the option of pairing DLO technology with Emerson’s integrated well testing solution, which allows for more frequent updating of well curves – information that is fed to DLO software to ensure field production is continuously maximized.

The integrated well testing solution consists of a multi-port flow selector, a 3-phase flow meter and a full-featured remote terminal unit that is delivered as pre-engineered and fabricated on a skid. This improves the quality and frequency of well test data with a significantly reduced footprint and weight as compared to a traditional test separator and manifold. Each skid can handle up to seven wells, significantly eliminating piping, valves and vessels. The 3-phase flow meter provides instantaneous readings for the oil, gas and water from that well, eliminating the settling time required for a traditional test separator. The well test schedule can be programmed in advance and can occur without manual intervention, eliminating the need for an operator to manually line up valves.

Together, DLO software and integrated well testing solutions offer producers enhanced capabilities for gathering real-time data from the field, automating the well test procedures and closed-loop optimization of lift rates based on current field conditions and operating constraints. This solution automatically allocates available lift resources, where they have the most potential to drive additional profit.

ARC believes that in light of this “new normal”, operators and independent E&P firms can no longer give lip service to embracing automation and IIoT-enabled solutions in order to extract, produce and market hydrocarbons in this “lower for longer” (some might say “forever”) world in which lowering cost per boe is de facto for long-term survival.

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