Third Generation Production Logging Technologies Enhance Inflow Profilingin Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Reservoirs

摘要

This paper discusses the effectiveness of the third-generation(Gen3)Production Logging Tool(PLT)technology which incorporates the use of co-located digital sensors for simultaneous acquisition of flowdata.Case studies are provided which demonstrate that this technology is a step-change in the applicationof digitalization to a down-hole sensor platform which provides the most accurate characterization of theflow condition at each depth surveyed.The resulting data allows for much improved processing which isalso described.The probabilistic interpretive model used in the processing has been updated to incorporatethis and future developments in PLT architecture.Planning,execution,and analysis of data for the wells is described in detail.Due to the significantlyshorter configuration of Gen3 tools,safety at the wellsite is enhanced by allowing for a much-simplifiedsurface rig-up.One well was logged in surface readout(SRO)mode while data in the other two wererecorded in the downhole tool's memory for retrieval at the surface at the end of operations.This flexibilityin logging modes optimizes operations by addressing the needs of the operation teams.Three Deepwater Gulf of Mexico producers logged with the Gen3 PLT are described.In each case,a clear path forward is provided for optimal management of the reservoirs through effective productionmanagement.The first generation(Gen1)of PLT provided a single discrete measurement for each sensor alongthe tool assembly's length,resulting in long tool assemblies and measurements taken at different pointsalong the flow path.This approach had several drawbacks:long toolstrings,point sensors only provideda measurement at a single point in the cross-section of the flow,and measurements were not acquiredsimultaneously at each depth logged.The second generation(Gen2)of PLT was an improvement as sensorswere arranged as an array enabling multiple measurements to be made at a single depth but were still longand not all were optimally arranged to capture data in the path of flow.The Gen3 PLT is one-tenth thelength of the Gen1 versions and roughly one-third of the shortest Gen2 tools.Digitization allows for directmeasurement of flow conditions and rapid interpretation of results.In multi-phase flow and deviated wells,the co-location of sensors in a spatial geometry provides the optimal information with which to create afully accurate picture of the downhole flow.