Twm Echometer

SPE 67273 Total Well Management II
A.L. Podio, University of Texas at Austin; J. N. McCoy, Dieter Becker, Lynn Rowlan and Bill Drake, Echometer Company
Copyright 2001, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc. This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Production and Operations Symposium held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 24–27 March 2001. This paper was selected for presentation by an SPEProgram Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented atSPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations maynot be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.

determine the well’s performance so the production rate can be maximized and the operating expenses minimized. Field experience undertaking such analysis in numerous wells has resulted inthe development of a procedure: Total Well Management (or TWM) that insures that good results are obtained with the minimum of effort. Operation of artificial lift wells using the concept of TWM results in a more complete understanding of the performance of a given well. Implementation of this concept can result in significant reductions in operating costs and increased oil production as shown byresults of numerous operators in a variety of operating conditions. While this production optimization procedure is broad, the analysis and optimization concept is divided into different sections that include beam pumped wells, electrical submersible pumped wells, progressive cavity pumped wells, plunger lift wells, gas lift wells and other types of artificial lift. The different types of analysesare discussed separately. Such procedure is greatly facilitated by the use of a fully integrated portable instrument that includes all the necessary sensors, precision analog to digital electronics, computer hardware and software components. This allows immediate analysis of the well performance at the well site. The alternative is to use separate conventional fluid level, dynamometer and powerinstruments for data acquisition and then combine the results of each test using various application programs. One of the cost-effective advantages of an integrated analysis system is that the well data is entered only once into a data file that all of the programs use to determine well performance. Well Productivity and Inflow Performance Most operators desire that wells be produced at or neartheir maximum production rate. The maximum production rate (potential) of a well is obtained when the producing bottom hole pressure (PBHP) is low compared to the static bottom hole pressure (SBHP). A well may be producing at 20%, 50% or 80% of the maximum flow rate depending on the ratio between the PBHP and the SBHP. If sufficient size equipment exists on the well, the PBHP should be less than 10%of the SBHP to insure maximum production. Most producing and static bottom hole pressures and analyses are obtained from surface measurements by acoustically measuring the distance

Abstract The need of oilfield operators to verify that wells are being produced at their optimum capacity and in a cost effective manner is always present. To reduce operating costs, increase oil production and...