In 2019, Aker BP ASA, SLB and Stimwell Services established a Well Intervention and Stimulation Alliance to accelerate and boost oil production. When it was noticed that oil production declined due to sand accumulation, the alliance partners worked together to help recover well productivity. This would require a coiled tubing (CT) intervention to clean up sand in the wellbore and increase the production safely and efficiently.
Offshore CT intervention is a complex operation that requires careful planning and close attention. During CT execution, it is important to monitor the injection and production flow rates at the surface to make sure that the flow from the well is balanced. Extensive sand production during CT intervention can introduce a significant risk for the CT to become stuck in the borehole.
To increase the efficiency of the CT intervention, SLB recommended using a flowmeter equipped with Vx technology. In addition to the standard flowback equipment, the Vx technology helps integrate real-time multiphase metering and solids measurement capabilities. The technology uses a combination of low-energy gamma radiation fraction measurements, along with a fluid dynamics model to determine flow rates of individual fluid phases without separation. As a result, the flowmeter measurements helped to
Such measurements helped ensure that the CT intervention was balanced with minimal fluid losses into the formation.
Thanks to high-frequency measurements, the produced solids were detected instantly and measured at the surface by the flowmeter operating in solids mode. The performed solids rate measurements were in total agreement with the sand intensity measured by the acoustic sand detector. Due to the volume of solids produced to the surface, acoustic detector measurements were off the scale at times.
The flow rate and solids production rate measurements provided by the Vx technology were key to optimizing the CT intervention work and reducing the risk of the CT becoming stuck in the hole.
