Evaluating multiphase fluid flow in a wellbore using temperature and pressure measurements

Abstract

A system, method and program product for analyzing multiphase flow in a wellbore. A system is provided that includes: an input system for receiving pressure and temperature readings from a pair of sensors located in the wellbore; a computation system that utilizes a flow analysis model to generate a set of wellbore fluid properties, wherein the set of wellbore fluid properties includes at least one of: a fluid mixture value, a phase velocity value, a flow rate, a mixture density, a mixture viscosity, a fluid holdup, and a slip velocity; and a system for outputting the wellbore fluid properties.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This disclosure relates to evaluating fluid flow in an oil or gas well, and more particularly relates to a system and method of evaluating multiphase fluid flow in a wellbore using temperature and pressure measurements.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Reliable and accurate downhole temperature and pressure measurements have been available in the petroleum industry for the past several years. Permanent downhole pressure monitoring equipment has now been installed in a number of producing basins around the world, with successful measurement operations exceeding five or more years at this time. Downhole permanent temperature measurements have also become more common, with both conventional or fiber optic thermal measurements currently available for most reservoir conditions. While continuous pressure and temperature readings provide an important part of understanding oil and gas production, quantitative information must typically be obtained using other type...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]An advantage of this invention is the implementation of a quantitative evaluation methodology for characterizing the temperature, pressure, wellbore fluid mixture density and viscosity, and fluid holdup distributions in a wellbore using the temperature and pressure distributions in the well. This is achieved by the development and use of a comprehensive multiphase capillary flow analysis model. The results provide a reliable, accurate, and continuous characterization of the wellbore fluid flow properties such as pressure, temperature, mixture density, mixture viscosity, fluid phase holdup distributions, and completed zone inflow / outflow contributions.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, the known art does not provide a solution to obtain continuous or real-time quantitative measurements and evaluations using downhole pressure and temperature readings obtained from a plurality of sensors in the wellbore.

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