EP0945589A1 - Managing method for a hydrocarbon production facility - Google Patents

Abstract

The installation has a collection reservoir and a downstream hydrocarbon treatment unit, with detectors measuring physical properties representing their operation. Each well (1) is controlled using parameters and data for that well. The control parameters are automatically modified as a function of at least one of the physical properties measured and data covering operation of all the wells. At least one well is activated by gas injection and the installation includes a reservoir of gas under pressure to activate this well, with a detector of a physical property representing its operation. The physical property is compared to a very high preset threshold, and if the value is greater than the threshold value, at least one control parameter is modified for at least one individual gas-activated well to increase the gas consumption and reduce the pressure to a value below the threshold. The physical property measured is the reservoir pressure. The gas consumption is increased by starting up a gas-activated well which is stopped, or increasing the gas flow into at least one gas-activated well in operation. The well to be increased is chosen according to a priority rating and is the one with the highest priority given the operation of each well. Alternatively, the value of the physical property is reduced by reducing hydrocarbon production by stopping or reducing operation of a well, choosing the well according to a priority rating. If the physical property is less than the threshold, hydrocarbon flow can be increased by starting a well or increasing flow from a well in operation according to a priority rating.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a method of driving a installation for producing hydrocarbons in the form of oil and gas, comprising several wells, a network of gas under pressure to activate the wells, a network collector of hydrocarbons produced and a downstream processing unit for hydrocarbons produced.

It finds its application in the exploitation of deposits of oil on land or at sea.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

• le mode éruptif,
• le mode activé par injection de gaz,
• le mode activé par un dispositif de pompage immergé.

The exploitation of wells is generally done according to three modes:

• eruptive mode,
• the mode activated by gas injection,
• the mode activated by a submerged pumping device.

Whatever their mode of exploitation, all oil wells include a production column that connects the bottom of the well located at the level of the hydrocarbon tank, with a well head located at its upper part.

The production column defines with the casing forming the wall of the well, an annular space.

At the upper part of the well, the production column is connected to a pipeline fitted with a flow sensor for the hydrocarbons produced and a nozzle oil outlet which adjusts the flow of hydrocarbons produced.

A known procedure for driving such a well operated according to the mode Eruptive consists in controlling the flow of hydrocarbons produced by this well to a setpoint or to control the position of the oil outlet nozzle to a value opening setpoint.

A well operated in the mode activated by injecting gas from a pressurized gas network, additionally includes an annular insulation joint at its lower end, gas injection valves arranged at intervals optimized along the production column, a gas injection pipe in the annular space provided with a nozzle for adjusting the flow rate of injected gas.

The gas injected has the effect of lightening the hydrocarbons which circulate in the production column which facilitates their ascent to the wellhead.

A procedure for driving a well operated in the mode activated by gas injection is described in document FR 2 672 936. This procedure consists of acting simultaneously on the oil outlet nozzle and on the adjustment nozzle of the gas flow injected to regulate the flow of hydrocarbons produced according to the value of physical quantities measured by sensors, such as pressure and the temperature of the hydrocarbons upstream of the oil outlet nozzle, the pressure in the annular space or the flow of gas injected into the well.

A well operated in the mode activated by a pumping device submerged includes like wells exploited according to the other two modes, a pipeline fitted with an oil outlet connected to the upper part of the production column, plus another pipe connected to the upper part of the annular space, equipped with a gas ventilation nozzle. This duse allows regulate the ventilation gas flow, i.e. extract the excess gas from the well free under the thermodynamic conditions of the well bottom.

Such a well further comprises, at the bottom a submerged pump, driven by an electric motor powered by a frequency converter, which allows raise the hydrocarbons from the bottom of the well to the wellhead by the column of production.

A procedure for driving a well operated in the mode activated by a submerged pumping device is described in French patent application no. 98 01782 of 13.02.1998. This procedure consists in adjusting the oil flow produced to act simultaneously on the oil outlet and gas ventilation faults and on the speed of the electric motor, as a function of the pressures upstream of the two due to the intensity absorbed by the electric motor and physical quantities indicators of well production such as downhole pressure, temperature or the oil outlet flow rate from the well.

Each of these control procedures acts according to one or more several physical quantities specific to the controlled well. They don't hold account of the operating state of the other wells, nor of the behavior of the network of activation gas common to all wells activated by gas injection, such as that resulting from a gas deficit following a drop in availability or an excess consumption, or the behavior of the hydrocarbon collection network products, or the behavior of the downstream processing unit, which are common to all the wells.

Another procedure implemented for the management of an exploited well according to the mode activated by gas injection, known as the procedure dynamic gas allocation, limits the effect of disturbances on the injection gas network pressure. This procedure consists in allocating a debit of activation gas at each well, calculated according to the activation gas available in the network and the gas sensitivity of each well.

• elle ne tient pas compte de l'état de fonctionnement des puits et donc des besoins spécifiques à chaque état,
• elle ne tient pas compte de l'état qui résulte d'une modification du débit de gaz alloué et donc du nouveau besoin réel.

This dynamic gas allocation procedure has two drawbacks:

• it does not take into account the operating state of the wells and therefore the needs specific to each state,
• it does not take into account the state which results from a modification of the allocated gas flow rate and therefore from the new real need.

These drawbacks can make this procedure inoperative, in particular during the well start-up phases.

Thus disturbances on the hydrocarbon collecting network such a circuit congestion, a variation in the quantity of injection gas available, an excessive rise of a liquid level in a separator flask, a pressure rise in a circuit leads to safety trips installations and therefore production stoppages.

A functioning incident on a well can, through common installations, creating disturbances on part or all of other wells and cause a total shutdown of the installations.

During such incidents, especially during the safety phases or restart, the equipment is subject to mechanical stress, very strong thermal and hydraulic conditions which can damage them and in all cases reduce their lifespan.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is precisely to remedy these disadvantages in proposing a method of operating a production of hydrocarbons in the form of oil and gas, comprising several wells, a network for collecting the hydrocarbons produced, a downstream unit for processing hydrocarbons produced, method which takes into account the operating states of all wells and the evolution of physical quantities representative of the operation of the various elements of the installation.

The method of the invention also makes it possible to conduct an installation of production of hydrocarbons additionally comprising an activation gas network of wells activated by gas injection.

The method of the invention is applicable both for starting and stop the wells only to drive them after start-up.

Thanks to the invention of production stoppages linked to disturbances in the activation gas network, on the collector network of hydrocarbons produced and on downstream processing unit can be avoided and production kept at its level optimal safely.

To this end, the invention proposes a method of operating an installation production of hydrocarbons in the form of oil and gas, comprising several well, a collection network of hydrocarbons produced, a downstream processing unit hydrocarbons produced, said network and said downstream unit comprising sensors measurements of physical quantities representative of their operation, each well being controlled according to an individual procedure using parameters of modifiable control and data representative of the operating status of the single well controlled, the method being characterized in that it consists in modifying automatically the control parameters used by the individual procedure control of each well, according to at least one of the physical quantities measured data representative of the operating states of all well.

According to another characteristic of the invention, at least one of the wells being activated by gas injection, the installation additionally comprising a gas network under activation pressure of said well, fitted with a quantity measurement sensor representative of its operating state, it consists in comparing the value of said physical quantity at a very high predetermined threshold, and in the case where said value is greater than said threshold to modify at least one parameter of the individual procedure for checking at least one well activated by gas injection, to initiate at least one action to increase gas consumption of activation so as to bring back the measured pressure of the network of activation gas at a value lower than that of the very high predetermined threshold.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the physical quantity measured is the pressure of the activation gas network of the wells activated by injection gas.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of increasing the consumption of activation gas consists in starting at least one activated well by injection of gas at a standstill.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of increasing the consumption of activation gas consists in increasing the flow rate of injected gas in at least one well activated by gas injection, during production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the actions of increasing of the activation gas consumption of the wells activated by gas injection are assigned a predetermined execution priority rank and the action initiated to increasing the consumption of activation gas is the highest priority action given the operating condition of each well.

According to another characteristic of the invention, at least one of the wells being activated by gas injection, the installation additionally comprising a gas network under activation pressure of said well, fitted with a quantity measurement sensor representative of its functioning, it consists in comparing the value of said physical quantity at a predetermined high threshold, and in the case where said value is less than said threshold to modify at least one parameter of the procedure individual control of at least one well activated by gas injection, to initiate the minus an action to decrease the consumption of activation gas so to reduce the measured pressure of the activation gas network to a value higher than that of the predetermined high threshold.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the physical quantity measured is the pressure of the activation gas network of the wells activated by injection gas.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of reducing the consumption of activation gas consists in stopping at least one well activated by gas injection during production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of reducing the consumption of activation gas consists in reducing the flow rate of gas injected into at least one well activated by gas injection, during production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the actions of reducing the consumption of activation gas from the wells activated by gas injection are assigned a predetermined execution priority rank and the action initiated to reducing the consumption of activation gas is the highest priority action given the operating condition of each well.

According to another characteristic, the invention consists in comparing the value of a physical quantity measured at a very high predetermined threshold, and in the case where the value of said physical quantity is greater than said threshold to be modified at at least one parameter of the individual control procedure for at least one well, to initiate at least one action to decrease the production of hydrocarbons so as to reduce the value of the physical quantity measured to a value lower than that of the very high predetermined threshold.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of reducing the Hydrocarbon production involves shutting down a well during production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of reducing the Hydrocarbon production consists of reducing the production of a well being production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the actions of reducing hydrocarbon production is assigned a priority of execution priority predetermined and the action initiated to decrease the production of hydrocarbons is the highest priority action taking into account the operating state of each of the well.

According to another characteristic, the invention consists in comparing the value of a physical quantity measured at a predetermined high threshold, and in the case where the value of said physical quantity is less than said threshold to be modified at least one parameter of the individual control procedure for at least one well, to initiate at least one action to increase the production of hydrocarbons so as to reduce the value of the physical quantity measured to a value greater than that of the predetermined high threshold.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of increasing hydrocarbon production consists of increasing the production of hydrocarbons a well in production.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the action of increasing Hydrocarbon production consists of starting a shutdown well.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the actions of increasing of hydrocarbon production are assigned a priority of execution priority predetermined and the action initiated to increase the production of hydrocarbons is the highest priority action taking into account the operating state of each of the well.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In general, the method of the invention is used for operate an oil and gas production facility comprising several wells, a pressurized activation gas network, a network collector of hydrocarbons produced, a downstream processing unit for hydrocarbons produced.

• un puits 1 éruptif, c'est à dire un puits pour l'exploitation d'un réservoir dont la pression naturelle des hydrocarbures est suffisante pour assurer la remontée des hydrocarbures depuis le fond jusqu'à la tête de puits par l'intermédiaire d'une colonne 2 de production, à laquelle est raccordée une canalisation 3 de sortie d'huile munie d'une duse 4 qui permet de régler le débit des hydrocarbures et d'un capteur 52 de mesure du dit débit.
• un puits 5 exploité selon le mode activé par injection de gaz qui comprend, une colonne 7 de production prolongée à sa partie supérieure par une canalisation 9 équipée d'une duse 11 de sortie d'huile, des vannes 13 d'injection de gaz disposées à des intervalles optimisés le long de la colonne 7 de production, une conduite 15 d'injection de gaz dans l'espace 17 annulaire défini par la colonne 7 de production et le tubage 19 formant la paroi du puits, munie d'une duse 21 de réglage du débit de gaz injecté, à son extrémité inférieure un joint 23 d'isolation annulaire et un capteur 47 en amont de la duse 21 de réglage du débit de gaz injecté,
• un puits 6 exploité selon le mode activé par injection de gaz qui comprend, une colonne 8 de production prolongée à sa partie supérieure par une canalisation 10 équipée d'une duse 12 de sortie d'huile, des vannes 14 d'injection de gaz disposées à des intervalles optimisés le long de la colonne 8 de production, une conduite 16 d'injection de gaz dans l'espace 18 annulaire défini par la colonne 7 de production et le tubage 20 formant la paroi du puits, munie d'une duse 22 de réglage du débit de gaz injecté, à son extrémité inférieure un joint 24 d'isolation annulaire et un capteur 48 de mesure du débit de gaz injecté placé en amont de la duse 22 de réglage du débit de gaz injecté,
• un puits 25 exploité selon le mode activé par un dispositif de pompage immergé qui comprend une colonne 26 de production prolongée à sa partie supérieure par une canalisation 27 équipée d'une duse 28 de sortie d'huile, une canalisation 29 reliée à la partie supérieure de l'espace 30 annulaire équipée d'une duse 31 de ventilation de gaz, au fond, une pompe 32 immergée, entraínée par un moteur 33 électrique alimenté par un variateur 34 de fréquence, qui permet de remonter les hydrocarbures du fond de puits vers la tête de puits par l'intermédiaire de la colonne 26 de production, un capteur 46 de mesure de la pression en amont de la duse 28 de sortie d'huile et un capteur 51 de mesure de la pression en amont de la duse 31.
• un réseau 35 de gaz sous pression alimentant les canalisations 15 et 16 reliées aux espaces 17 et 18 annulaires des puits 5 et 6 activés par injection de gaz, la pression de ce réseau étant mesurée par le capteur 36,
• un réseau 37 collecteur des hydrocarbures produits auquel sont raccordés les canalisations 3, 9, 10 et 27 de sortie des hydrocarbures de chaque puits,
• une unité 38 aval de traitement des hydrocarbures produits alimentée par le réseau 37 collecteur d'hydrocarbures, qui comporte un ballon 39 de séparation des hydrocarbures produits en huile et en gaz, dont le niveau d'huile est mesuré par un capteur 40 et la pression par un capteur 49, l'huile séparée contenant de l'eau remontée du fond de puits en même temps que les hydrocarbures. Le gaz résultant de la séparation des hydrocarbures alimente d'une part un ballon 41 placé à l'aspiration d'un compresseur 42 qui comprime le gaz pour l'injecter dans le réseau 35 de gaz et d'autre part une canalisation 43 d'évacuation du gaz produit. L'huile en fond du ballon 39 séparateur est reprise par une pompe qui refoule dans une canalisation 45 d'évacuation de l'huile produite.

Figure 1 shows the main elements of an example hydrocarbon production installation which includes:

• an eruptive well 1, that is to say a well for the exploitation of a reservoir of which the natural pressure of the hydrocarbons is sufficient to ensure the ascent of the hydrocarbons from the bottom to the well head by means of a production column 2, to which is connected an oil outlet pipe 3 provided with a nozzle 4 which makes it possible to adjust the flow rate of the hydrocarbons and a sensor 52 for measuring said flow rate.
• a well 5 operated according to the mode activated by gas injection which comprises, a production column 7 extended at its upper part by a pipe 9 equipped with an oil outlet nozzle 11, gas injection valves 13 arranged at optimized intervals along the production column 7, a pipe 15 for injecting gas into the annular space 17 defined by the production column 7 and the casing 19 forming the wall of the well, provided with a nozzle 21 for adjusting the flow rate of injected gas, at its lower end a seal 23 of annular insulation and a sensor 47 upstream of the nozzle 21 for adjusting the flow rate of injected gas,
• a well 6 operated according to the mode activated by gas injection which comprises, a production column 8 extended at its upper part by a pipe 10 equipped with a nozzle 12 for oil outlet, valves 14 for gas injection arranged at optimized intervals along the production column 8, a pipe 16 for injecting gas into the annular space 18 defined by the production column 7 and the casing 20 forming the wall of the well, provided with a nozzle 22 adjusting the flow rate of injected gas, at its lower end a seal 24 of annular insulation and a sensor 48 for measuring the flow rate of injected gas placed upstream of the nozzle 22 for adjusting the flow rate of injected gas,
• a well 25 operated in the mode activated by a submerged pumping device which comprises a production column 26 extended at its upper part by a line 27 fitted with an oil outlet nozzle 28, a line 29 connected to the upper part of the annular space 30 equipped with a gas ventilation nozzle 31, at the bottom, a submerged pump 32, driven by an electric motor 33 powered by a frequency converter 34, which makes it possible to raise the hydrocarbons from the well bottom to the wellhead via the production column 26, a sensor 46 for measuring the pressure upstream of the oil outlet nozzle 28 and a sensor 51 for measuring the pressure upstream from the nozzle 31.
• a network 35 of pressurized gas supplying the pipes 15 and 16 connected to the annular spaces 17 and 18 of the wells 5 and 6 activated by gas injection, the pressure of this network being measured by the sensor 36,
• a network 37 collector of the hydrocarbons produced to which the pipes 3, 9, 10 and 27 of the hydrocarbon outlet of each well are connected,
• a downstream unit 38 for processing the hydrocarbons produced supplied by the network 37 hydrocarbon collector, which comprises a balloon 39 for separating the hydrocarbons produced in oil and in gas, the oil level of which is measured by a sensor 40 and the pressure by a sensor 49, the separated oil containing water raised from the bottom of the well at the same time as the hydrocarbons. The gas resulting from the separation of the hydrocarbons feeds on the one hand a balloon 41 placed at the suction of a compressor 42 which compresses the gas to inject it into the gas network 35 and on the other hand a pipe 43 of evacuation of the product gas. The oil at the bottom of the separator flask 39 is taken up by a pump which discharges into a pipe 45 for discharging the oil produced.

The device also includes, not shown in FIG. 1, means for securing the installation.

• un automate 60 , pour le contrôle du puits 1 exploité selon le mode éruptif qui reçoit le signal émis par le capteur 52 et agit sur la duse 4 de sortie d'huile. La procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 1 comporte un séquence de démarrage qui consiste, à partir de l'état arrêté-prêt à démarrer, à ouvrir progressivement la duse 4 pour obtenir un débit d'huile produite prédéterminé correspondant au régime minimal de production de ce puits.
  Après une phase démarrage, pour passer en régime de production, la procédure individuelle de contrôle de ce puits 25 consiste à asservir le débit d'hydrocarbures produits mesuré au moyen du capteur 52 à une valeur de consigne mémorisée dans l'automate 60 sous forme d'un paramètre de contrôle, par action sur la duse 4 de sortie d'huile.
• un automate 61 pour le contrôle du puits 25 activé par un dispositif de pompage immergé qui reçoit les signaux délivrés par les capteurs 46 et 51 de pression en amont de la duse 28 de sortie d'huile et de la duse 31 de ventilation de gaz et un signal représentatif de la fréquence du courant électrique délivré par le variateur 34 de fréquence et agit sur les duses 28 de sortie d'huile et 31 de ventilation de gaz et sur la fréquence du variateur 34 de fréquence.
  La procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 25, comporte une séquence de démarrage qui consiste, à partir d'un état arrêté-prêt à démarrer à augmenter progressivement la vitesse du moteur 33 en agissant sur la fréquence du variateur 34 et à agir sur les duses 28 et 31 pour amener le puits à un régime minimal de production correspondant à un débit d'huile produite prédéterminé dont la valeur est mémorisée dans l'automate 61 sous forme d'un paramètre de contrôle modifiable.
  Après une phase démarrage, la procédure individuelle de contrôle de ce puits 25 pour atteindre un régime de production consiste :
  • à augmenter la vitesse du moteur 33 jusqu'à une valeur objectif mémorisée sous forme de paramètre de contrôle dans l'automate 61,
  • à ouvrir la duse 28 de sortie de l'huile jusqu'à une valeur calculée en fonction de la valeur objectif de la vitesse du moteur 33,
  • à agir sur la duse 31 pour ventilation de gaz pour maintenir la pression en amont de ladite duse à une valeur calculée en fonction de la valeur objectif de la vitesse du moteur 33,
• un automate 62 pour le contrôle du puits 5 activé par injection de gaz qui reçoit des signaux délivrés par le capteur 47 de débit de gaz injecté et agit sur les duses 11 de sortie d'huile et 21 d'injection de gaz.
  La procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 5 consiste, à partir d'un état arrêté-prêt à démarrer, à agir sur les duses 11 de sortie d'huile et 21 d'injection de gaz selon une séquence prédéterminée pour atteindre un régime minimal de production. Partant de ce régime minimal de production la procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 5 pour passer à un régime de production, consiste à asservir la position de la duse 11 de sortie d'huile à une valeur prédéterminée et à agir sur la duse 21 d'injection de gaz pour asservir le débit de gaz d'injection à une valeur de consigne mémorisée dans l'automate 62 sous forme d'un paramètre de contrôle.
• un automate 63 pour le contrôle du puits 6 activé par injection de gaz qui reçoit des signaux délivrés par le capteur 48 de débit de sortie d'huile et agit sur les duses 12 de sortie d'huile et 22 d'injection de gaz.
  La procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 6 consiste, à partir d'un état arrêté-prêt à démarrer à agir sur les duses 12 de sortie d'huile et 22 d'injection de gaz selon une séquence prédéterminée pour atteindre un régime minimal de production. Partant de ce régime minimal de production la procédure de contrôle individuelle de ce puits 6 consiste à asservir la position de la duse 12 de sortie d'huile à une valeur prédéterminée et à agir sur la duse 22 d'injection de gaz pour asservir le débit de gaz d'injection à une valeur de consigne mémorisée dans l'automate 63 sous forme d'un paramètre de contrôle.
• un automate 64 superviseur relié aux automates 60, 61, 62 et 63 de contrôle de chacun des puits 1, 5, 6 et 25, qui reçoit les signaux délivrés par :
  • le capteur 36 de pression dans le réseau 35 de gaz d'injection,
  • le capteur 40 de mesure de niveau dans le ballon 39 de séparation des hydrocarbures en huile et gaz,
  • le capteur 49 de mesure de pression dans le ballon 39 de séparation des hydrocarbures en huile et gaz,
  • le capteur 53 de pression dans la canalisation 45 d'évacuation de l'huile produite.

FIG. 2 represents a device for implementing the method of the invention which comprises:

• an automaton 60, for controlling the well 1 operated according to the eruptive mode which receives the signal emitted by the sensor 52 and acts on the oil outlet nozzle 4. The procedure for individual control of this well 1 includes a start-up sequence which consists, starting from the stopped-ready to start state, of gradually opening the nozzle 4 to obtain a predetermined flow of oil produced corresponding to the minimum production speed from this well.
  After a start-up phase, to switch to production mode, the individual control procedure for this well 25 consists in slaving the flow rate of produced hydrocarbons measured by means of the sensor 52 to a reference value stored in the automaton 60 in the form of '' a control parameter, by action on the oil outlet nozzle 4.
• an automaton 61 for controlling the well 25 activated by a submerged pumping device which receives the signals delivered by the pressure sensors 46 and 51 upstream of the oil outlet nozzle 28 and the gas ventilation nozzle 31 and a signal representative of the frequency of the electric current delivered by the frequency converter 34 and acts on the oil outlet and gas ventilation faults 28 and on the frequency of the frequency converter 34.
  The procedure for the individual control of this well 25 includes a starting sequence which consists, starting from a stopped-ready state to start, gradually increasing the speed of the motor 33 by acting on the frequency of the variator 34 and acting on the 28 and 31 to bring the well to a minimum production speed corresponding to a predetermined flow of oil produced, the value of which is stored in the machine 61 in the form of a modifiable control parameter.
  After a start-up phase, the individual control procedure for this well 25 to achieve a production regime consists of:
  • increasing the speed of the motor 33 to an objective value stored in the form of a control parameter in the automatic device 61,
  • to open the oil outlet nozzle 28 to a value calculated as a function of the objective value of the speed of the engine 33,
  • acting on the nozzle 31 for gas ventilation to maintain the pressure upstream of said nozzle at a value calculated as a function of the objective value of the speed of the engine 33,
• an automaton 62 for controlling the well 5 activated by gas injection which receives signals delivered by the sensor 47 for the flow rate of injected gas and acts on the nozzles 11 of oil outlet and 21 of gas injection.
  The procedure for individual control of this well 5 consists, from a stopped-ready to start state, to act on the oil outlet and oil injection faults 11 according to a predetermined sequence to reach a minimum speed of production. Starting from this minimum production regime, the procedure for individual control of this well 5 in order to pass to a production regime, consists in controlling the position of the oil outlet nozzle 11 to a predetermined value and acting on the nozzle 21 d injection of gas to control the flow of injection gas to a set value stored in the controller 62 in the form of a control parameter.
• an automaton 63 for controlling the well 6 activated by gas injection which receives signals delivered by the sensor 48 of the oil outlet flow rate and acts on the oil outlet and the gas injection nozzles 12.
  The individual control procedure for this well 6 consists, starting from a stopped-ready state to start acting on the oil outlet and gas injection nozzles 12 according to a predetermined sequence to reach a minimum speed of production. Starting from this minimum production regime, the individual control procedure for this well 6 consists in controlling the position of the oil outlet nozzle 12 to a predetermined value and acting on the gas injection nozzle 22 to control the flow rate. injection gas at a setpoint stored in the PLC 63 in the form of a control parameter.
• a supervisor automaton 64 connected to the automatons 60, 61, 62 and 63 for controlling each of the wells 1, 5, 6 and 25, which receives the signals delivered by:
  • the pressure sensor 36 in the injection gas network 35,
  • the level measurement sensor 40 in the balloon 39 for separating hydrocarbons into oil and gas,
  • the sensor 49 for measuring the pressure in the balloon 39 for separating hydrocarbons into oil and gas,
  • the pressure sensor 53 in the pipe 45 for discharging the oil produced.

• un programme correspondant à la procédure de contrôle individuelle de chaque puits,
• des paramètres de contrôle individuel de chaque puits tels que les valeurs de consignes de débits d'huile pour tout type de puits, les valeurs de consignes des débits de gaz injecté pour les puits activés par injection de gaz, les valeurs de consignes de débit de gaz de ventilation pour les puits activés par pompage.
• des données représentatives de l'état de fonctionnement de chaque puits qu'il contrôle, qui sont les suivants :
  • indisponible,
  • arrêté-prêt à démarrer,
  • en démarrage,
  • en régime minimal de production,
  • en régime de production.
• des paramètres de contrôle individuel de chaque puits dont les valeurs sont interprétées par la procédure de contrôle individuelle comme des ordres de changements d'état,

Each control machine 60, 61 and 62 is provided with a memory which contains:

• a program corresponding to the individual control procedure for each well,
• parameters for individual control of each well such as the set values for oil flow rates for all types of wells, the set values for injected gas flows for wells activated by gas injection, the set flow values for ventilation gas for wells activated by pumping.
• data representative of the operating state of each well that it controls, which are as follows:
  • unavailable,
  • stopped-ready to start,
  • at startup,
  • in minimum production regime,
  • in production.
• individual control parameters for each well, the values of which are interpreted by the individual control procedure as orders for changes of state,

The supervisor PLC 64 is provided with a memory which contains a program for the implementation of the method of conducting the installation of production of hydrocarbons.

• de connaítre l'état de fonctionnement de chaque puits,
• de connaítre les valeurs des paramètres de contrôle utilisés par les procédures de contrôle de chaque puits,
• de modifier les valeurs des paramètres de contrôle,

The controllers 60, 61, 62 and 63 for individual control of each well and the supervisor controller 64 are provided with bidirectional communication means, not shown, which allow the controller 64 via the electrical connections 65, 66, 67, and 68:

• to know the operating state of each well,
• to know the values of the control parameters used by the control procedures for each well,
• to modify the values of the control parameters,

PLCs 61 to 64 are also connected to the implementation system installation security which informs them of the security features of the the installation and therefore the unavailability of these elements, including wells.

According to a first embodiment of the method of the invention the supervisor automaton 64 compares the pressure of the injection gas network 35 measured by the sensor 36, at a predetermined high threshold.

If this pressure is lower than the value of this threshold, the PLC 64 does not act not.

If this pressure exceeds the value of this threshold, the supervisor PLC 64 gives orders, in the form of changes to control parameters to automatons 62 and 63 for controlling wells 5 and 6 activated by gas injection, for increase the flow rate of gas injected and therefore lower the pressure of the gas injection network 35.

For this, the supervisor PLC 64 reads from the memory of PLC 62, thanks to the two-way communication means, the operating state of the well 5. If this state indicates that well 5 is in production mode, that is to say that it produces hydrocarbons at a rate controlled by the control procedure individual well 5. To increase the gas flow injected the automat 64 supervisor increases the gas flow setpoint stored in the PLC 62 in the form of a control parameter.

The supervisor PLC 64 repeats this operation until the pressure in the activation gas network 35 falls below the value of the high threshold. If after a predetermined experimental time the pressure is always higher than the high threshold, the supervision 64 controller executes a sequence of similar operations to increase the production of well 6 activated by injection gas.

If one of the two wells 5 or 6 activated by gas injection is not in production, i.e. if it is in the stopped-ready to start state, to increase the throughput of injected gas, the supervisory automaton 64 checks that this well is not unavailable and gives a start command by modifying the status parameter corresponding in the control automaton of this well.

Actions on the oil outlet and gas ventilation faults for increase the flow rates of hydrocarbons produced by each well, initiated either by increase in setpoint values either by starting a shutdown well, are performed by each PLC 62 and 63 according to the individual control procedure from each well 5 and 6.

Thus an excessive increase in the pressure in the network which could trigger a partial lockout of the installation and lead to a production reduction is avoided. Simultaneously the production of hydrocarbons by the wells activated by gas injection is maximized.

According to a second mode of implementation of the invention, the priority ranks are assigned on the one hand to actions of increasing production, that is to say actions to start up and to put into operation the production of wells and on the other hand, actions to reduce production, that is to say actions to put the minimum production system into operation and to shut down. These priority rank assignments are stored in the supervisor PLC 64 in the form of tables such as the following tables T1 and T2: Well Priority of actions to increase production Numbers Type Reference fig. 1 and 2 Start-up Production start-up 1 E 1 1 2 2 AGL 5 4 6 3 AGL 6 5 7 4 APP 25 3 0 Well Priority of actions to reduce production Numbers Type Reference fig. 1 and 2 Minimum production regime Stop 1 E 1 3 5 2 AGL 5 2 4 3 AGL 6 1 3 4 APP 25 0 6

In tables T1 and T2 the most priority operation is the one whose rank is the weakest, so the operation of rank i has higher priority than the operation of rank i + j, where j> 1 and priority rank 0 means that the corresponding state does not exist for the type of well to which it is assigned.

In the well type column, E means that the well is of eruptive type, AGL that it is of the type activated by gas injection and APP that it is activated by pumping.

The supervisor automaton 64 also contains in memory tables of the possible transitions, between the various initial and final states of the wells, which have the following structure:

The installation having been started according to a known starting procedure, the state of the wells is as follows: Well No. Well states (stored in the individual control machines for each well) 1 Minimum production regime 2 Stopped-ready to start 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 Unavailable

According to the second embodiment of the invention, the automaton 64 supervisor constantly compares the value of the pressure in the pipeline 45, measured by the sensor 53, at a high threshold P1 and at a very high threshold P2, P1 and P2 being predetermined according to the characteristics of the installation. When the value of the pressure in line 45 is between P1 and P2 the PLC 64 does not initiate any action.

When the value of the pressure in line 45 is less than the threshold P1, the supervisor PLC 64 searches the table T1 for the action the highest priority in increasing hydrocarbon production. In our example given that the action of rank 1 is already carried out, the most priority is that of rank 2 which corresponds to the setting in production mode of the well n ° 1. According to TABLE T4 the only possibility of reaching this state is from the state minimum production regime. The supervisor PLC 64 thanks to the means of communication with PLC 60, checks that the state of well # 1 is in working order production minimum and if this is the case as in our example (TABLE T5), gives, via the means of communication, to the automaton 60, the order to change well 1 to "production speed" state and the value of the flow rate setpoint oil to respect.

This order is interpreted by the individual well 1 control procedure which gives the oil flow setpoint the value transmitted by the PLC 64 and updates the data representative of the state of well 1.

The state of the wells is as follows: Well No. Well States 1 Production regime 2 Stopped-ready to start 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 Unavailable

After expiry of an experimentally defined time delay for give the requested action time to execute, the PLC 64 supervisor again compares the value of the pressure in the pipe 45 with the thresholds P1 and P2. If the value of the pressure in the pipe 45 is less than the threshold P1, the supervisor PLC 64 searches in table T1 for the action of increasing highest priority hydrocarbon production. In our example considering that actions of ranks 1 and 2 have already been carried out, the action with the highest priority is that of rank 3 which corresponds to the start of well n ° 4, whose operating state is "unavailable".

Well # 4 cannot therefore be started and the action of rank 3 cannot not be realized.

The supervisor PLC 64 searches in table T1 for the action highest priority possible increase in hydrocarbon production, which is that of rank 4 which corresponds to the start of well n ° 2. This well being of the type activated by gas injection, the PLC 64 also checks the availability of gas in the injection gas network 35, checking that the pressure measured by the sensor 36 is higher than the nominal operating value of this network 35 established in according to the characteristics of the elements of the installation.

This being the case in our example, the supervisor PLC 64 gives to the machine 62 orders to switch the well into start-up mode.

This order is interpreted by the individual well 2 control procedure which initiates the start-up sequence for this well.

The operating state of the wells is as follows: Well No. Well States 1 production regime 2 starter regime 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 Unavailable

If the gas availability condition had not been satisfied the automaton 64 would have looked for the highest priority possible increase in production taking into account the operating condition of the wells.

We now consider that well 4 has been made available and that it is in the "stopped-ready to start" state.

The operating state of the wells is as follows: Well No. Well States 1 production regime 2 starter regime 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 Stopped-ready to start

The supervisor PLC 64 compares the value of the pressure in the line 45 at threshold P1 and P2. If the value of the pressure in the pipe 45 is less than the threshold P1, the supervisor PLC 64 searches in the table T1 the most priority action to increase hydrocarbon production, which is that of rank 3 corresponding to the transition to start-up mode of well No. 4. The supervisor automaton 64 gives, via the communication means, to the local automatic control unit 61 for well 4, the order to pass well 4 to startup state. This order is interpreted by the individual control procedure from well 4 which initiates the start sequence.

The operating state of the wells is then as follows: Well No. Well States 1 Production regime 2 Start-up regime 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 Start-up regime

If the value of the pressure in line 45 becomes greater than threshold P2, the supervisor PLC 64 searches in table T2 for the reduction action highest priority hydrocarbon production. In our example the most priority is that of rank 1 which corresponds to the partial load shedding of well n ° 3, this since the well is in the stopped-ready to start state, this action cannot be carried out.

The supervisor PLC 64 searches for the next highest priority action which is that of row 2 which corresponds to the partial load shedding of well n ° 2. Well # 2 being in starting regime this action is not feasible. PLC supervisor 64 search for the next highest priority action which is that of rank 3 which corresponds partial load shedding of well no. 1. The supervisor PLC 64 gives by via communication means, to the individual control machine 60 from well 1, the order to pass well 1 to the state corresponding to the minimum speed of production. This order is interpreted by the individual control procedure of the well 1 which acts accordingly.

The operating state of the wells is then as follows: Well No. Well States 1 Minimum production regime 2 Start-up regime 3 Stopped-ready to start 4 starter regime

According to the same procedure as that which has just been described, the 64 supervisor simultaneously compares the pressure in the separator tank 39, measured by sensor 49, with two high and very high thresholds respectively P3 and P4. If this pressure exceeds the P4 threshold, it initiates actions to decrease the oil production according to the priorities assigned to these actions, taking into account operating states of the wells. If this pressure is below threshold P3 PLC 64 initiates actions to increase oil production as a function priorities assigned to these actions taking into account the operating states Wells.

According to the procedure described previously, the supervision 64 controller simultaneously compares the level of liquid in the separator flask 39, measured by means of the sensor 40, with two high and very high thresholds P5 and P6 respectively. Yes this pressure exceeds the P6 threshold it initiates actions to decrease production of oil according to the priorities assigned to these actions taking into account the states operating wells. If this pressure is below threshold P5, the PLC 64 initiates actions to increase oil production according to priorities allocated to these actions, taking into account the operating states of the wells.

Thus thanks to the invention, any operating anomaly, such as engorgement downstream of line 45 or an overproduction of upstream oil which results in an increase in the pressure in line 45 drives automatically a series of actions to decrease production which have the effect to quickly reduce the pressure in line 45 below the value of P2 threshold and thus prevent it from reaching a triggering threshold security which generally leads to a shutdown of the installation. Actions for decrease production being prioritized and executed taking into account the operating status of the wells is optimally managed.

In addition, thanks to the invention, the production of oil is maintained at its value. maximum which corresponds to a value of the pressure in the pipe 45 included between thresholds P1 and P2, respecting the operating constraints of the tank safely separator.

The invention is not limited to the operation of an installation such as that described above which has four wells, an injection gas network, a network collector of hydrocarbons produced and a downstream treatment installation. She also applies to the operation of an installation comprising several tens of wells, several injection gas networks, several collecting networks hydrocarbons and several downstream processing units.

Claims (19)

Method of operating a hydrocarbon production facility under oil and gas form, comprising several wells, a collection network of hydrocarbons produced, a downstream hydrocarbon processing unit products, said network and said downstream unit comprising measurement sensors physical quantities representative of their operation, each well being controlled according to an individual procedure using parameters of modifiable control and data representative of the operating state of the only well tested, the method being characterized in that it consists in automatically modify the control parameters used by the procedure individual control of each well, according to at least one of the measured physical quantities and data representative of the states of operation of all wells. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that at least one of the wells being activated by gas injection, the installation additionally comprising a network of gas under activation pressure of said well, fitted with a sensor for measuring a physical quantity representative of its operating state, it consists of compare the value of said physical quantity to a very high threshold predetermined, and in the case where said value is greater than said threshold to be modified at least one parameter of the individual control procedure of at least one well activated by gas injection, to initiate at least one increase action the consumption of activation gas so as to reduce the pressure measured from the activation gas network at a value lower than that of the threshold very high predetermined. Method according to claim 2 characterized in that the physical quantity measured is the pressure of the activation gas network of the wells activated by gas injection. Method according to claim 2 or 3 characterized in that the action increase in consumption of activation gas consists of starting at minus one well activated by gas injection at a standstill. Method according to claim 2 or 3 characterized in that the action increase in activation gas consumption consists in increasing the gas flow injected into at least one well activated by gas injection, in progress of production. Method according to one of claims 2 to 5 characterized in that the actions increase in the consumption of activation gas from wells activated by gas injection are assigned a predetermined execution priority rank and the action initiated to increase the consumption of activation gas is the action higher priority given the operating state of each well. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that at least one of the wells being activated by gas injection, the installation additionally comprising a network of gas under activation pressure of said well, fitted with a sensor for measuring a physical quantity representative of its functioning, it consists of compare the value of said physical quantity with a predetermined high threshold, and in the event that said value is less than said threshold to be modified at least one parameter of the individual control procedure for at least one well activated by gas injection, to initiate at least one action to decrease the consumption of activation gas so as to reduce the measured pressure of the activation gas network at a value higher than that of the high threshold predetermined. Method according to claim 7 characterized in that the physical quantity measured is the pressure of the activation gas network of the wells activated by gas injection. Method according to claim 7 or 8 characterized in that the action of reduction in the consumption of activation gas consists in stopping at least a well activated by gas injection during production. Method according to claim 7 or 8 characterized in that the action of reducing the consumption of activation gas consists in reducing the flow rate gas injected into at least one well activated by gas injection, during production. Method according to one of claims 7 to 10 characterized in that the actions to reduce the consumption of activation gas from activated wells by gas injection are assigned a priority of execution priority predetermined and the action initiated to reduce gas consumption activation is the highest priority given the operating state from each of the wells. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that it consists in comparing the value of a physical quantity measured at a very high predetermined threshold, and in the case where the value of said physical quantity is greater than said threshold at modify at least one parameter of the individual control procedure minus one well, to initiate at least one action to decrease production of hydrocarbons so as to reduce the value of the physical quantity measured at a value lower than that of the very high predetermined threshold. Method according to claim 12 characterized in that the action of decreasing of hydrocarbon production consists in stopping a well in the process of production. Method according to claim 12 characterized in that the action of decreasing of hydrocarbon production consists of reducing the production of a well by production course. Method according to one of claims 12 to 14 characterized in that the actions to reduce hydrocarbon production are assigned a rank of predetermined execution priority and the action initiated to decrease production is the highest priority given the state of operation of each well. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that it consists in comparing the value of a physical quantity measured at a predetermined high threshold, and in the case where the value of said physical quantity is less than said threshold at modify at least one parameter of the individual control procedure minus one well, to initiate at least one action to increase production of hydrocarbons so as to reduce the value of the physical quantity measured at a value higher than that of the predetermined high threshold. Method according to claim 16 characterized in that the action of increasing hydrocarbon production is to increase the hydrocarbon production from a well during production. Method according to claim 16 characterized in that the action increase in hydrocarbon production consists in starting a well at the stop. Method according to one of claims 16 to 18 characterized in that the actions to increase hydrocarbon production are affected by rank of predetermined execution priority and the action initiated to increase the production of hydrocarbons is the highest priority given the state of operation of each well.

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