Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells
This paper presents a novel acoustic wave-based method for the detection of leakage in downhole tubing of offshore gas wells. The localization model is developed on the basis of analyzing the propagation model of leakage acoustic waves and the critical factors in localization. The proposed method is...
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/12/3454 |
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doaj-588fef8732fd45298246254afb48363b2020-11-24T21:28:04ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-12-011112345410.3390/en11123454en11123454Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas WellsDi Liu0Jianchun Fan1Shengnan Wu2College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, ChinaThis paper presents a novel acoustic wave-based method for the detection of leakage in downhole tubing of offshore gas wells. The localization model is developed on the basis of analyzing the propagation model of leakage acoustic waves and the critical factors in localization. The proposed method is validated using experimental laboratory investigations that are conducted to locate tubing leakage by setting five holes at different positions on the tubing wall. A detection system is developed for the leakage acoustic waves in the tubing-casing annulus, where one acoustic sensor is installed at the annulus top. Laboratory experimental results show that the depth of downhole leakage can be effectively located by using the proposed localization model. The localization errors are kept at a very low level, and are mainly generated from extracting the characteristic time and calculating annular acoustic velocity. A case study focusing on an offshore gas well is presented to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, and to demonstrate that the proposed model can locate the liquid level and leakage points under field conditions. The test can be performed without interrupting the production of gas wells.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/12/3454gas welltubing leakageleak localizationacoustic wavescharacteristic timeautocorrelation analysis |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Di Liu Jianchun Fan Shengnan Wu |
spellingShingle |
Di Liu Jianchun Fan Shengnan Wu Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells Energies gas well tubing leakage leak localization acoustic waves characteristic time autocorrelation analysis |
author_facet |
Di Liu Jianchun Fan Shengnan Wu |
author_sort |
Di Liu |
title |
Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells |
title_short |
Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells |
title_full |
Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells |
title_fullStr |
Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells |
title_full_unstemmed |
Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells |
title_sort |
acoustic wave-based method of locating tubing leakage for offshore gas wells |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Energies |
issn |
1996-1073 |
publishDate |
2018-12-01 |
description |
This paper presents a novel acoustic wave-based method for the detection of leakage in downhole tubing of offshore gas wells. The localization model is developed on the basis of analyzing the propagation model of leakage acoustic waves and the critical factors in localization. The proposed method is validated using experimental laboratory investigations that are conducted to locate tubing leakage by setting five holes at different positions on the tubing wall. A detection system is developed for the leakage acoustic waves in the tubing-casing annulus, where one acoustic sensor is installed at the annulus top. Laboratory experimental results show that the depth of downhole leakage can be effectively located by using the proposed localization model. The localization errors are kept at a very low level, and are mainly generated from extracting the characteristic time and calculating annular acoustic velocity. A case study focusing on an offshore gas well is presented to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, and to demonstrate that the proposed model can locate the liquid level and leakage points under field conditions. The test can be performed without interrupting the production of gas wells. |
topic |
gas well tubing leakage leak localization acoustic waves characteristic time autocorrelation analysis |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/12/3454 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT diliu acousticwavebasedmethodoflocatingtubingleakageforoffshoregaswells AT jianchunfan acousticwavebasedmethodoflocatingtubingleakageforoffshoregaswells AT shengnanwu acousticwavebasedmethodoflocatingtubingleakageforoffshoregaswells |
_version_ |
1725971759272820736 |