SCADA Blog

Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways

Jim Cahill — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:30:55 GMT

As instrumentation and control system, also known as Operational Technology (OT) incorporate wireless and other classic Informational Technology (IT) components, the worlds of OT and IT continue to merge.

For control and automation specialists, it means things like servers, converters and gateways become part of the learning path.

Emerson’s Craig Abbott had a great LinkedIn post, Servers, Converters and Gateways! Oh My!, which I somehow missed when he published it last summer (or winter from his vantage in Australia). I’ll excerpt a few of his thoughts and invite you to read the full post.

It is important to understand that the gateways do not simply translate the messages. For the most part, WirelessHART data from the field is stored in the gateway and data requests are performed on the stored data. Read requests are not passed through to the field. In the case of a write, the write is applied to the internal data and then an update is sent to the field as a WirelessHART message. HART/IP is the exception here as HART messages need to be sent to the transmitters. All HART messages are converted into WirelessHART equivalents and passed through to the field with responses converted back to HART/IP and passed back to the requestor.

With the Gateway in place, there is no WirelessHART on your IT network, and no Modbus, Ethernet/IP or OPC on your wireless field network. Data requests seem to be converted from the Ethernet Media to the Wireless Media, but they are not, and at a protocol level, there is a lot more management and protocol translation going on.

A Terminal Server is completely at the other end of the scale. Terminal Servers are pure media converters with little or no message management. A Terminal Server captures data arriving at the serial port, wraps it up into an Ethernet packet and delivers the data to a remote location untouched. That last single word is important – untouched. The Terminal Server does no conversion nor translation, it simply delivers data in its raw form. When two Terminal Servers are linked to each other across a network, in what is termed a “Back to Back” configuration, serial data arriving at one end will pop out of the other, and vice versa. Serial cables have a limit of only a few metres in length and are subject to interference in the form of electrical noise. Carrying the data packets over network cables can remove these limitations.

Read Craig’s full post for more on the role of Device Servers, serial protocols and how he and his team solved a challenge connecting Ethernet to a serial protocol. The worlds of OT and IT continue to grow ever closer.

You can connect and interact with other networking experts in the Wireless and SCADA groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways

Jim Cahill — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:30:55 GMT

For control and automation specialists, it means things like servers, converters and gateways become part of the learning path.

It is important to understand that the gateways do not simply translate the messages. For the most part, WirelessHART data from the field is stored in the gateway and data requests are performed on the stored data. Read requests are not passed through to the field. In the case of a write, the write is applied to the internal data and then an update is sent to the field as a WirelessHART message. HART/IP is the exception here as HART messages need to be sent to the transmitters. All HART messages are converted into WirelessHART equivalents and passed through to the field with responses converted back to HART/IP and passed back to the requestor.

With the Gateway in place, there is no WirelessHART on your IT network, and no Modbus, Ethernet/IP or OPC on your wireless field network. Data requests seem to be converted from the Ethernet Media to the Wireless Media, but they are not, and at a protocol level, there is a lot more management and protocol translation going on.

A Terminal Server is completely at the other end of the scale. Terminal Servers are pure media converters with little or no message management. A Terminal Server captures data arriving at the serial port, wraps it up into an Ethernet packet and delivers the data to a remote location untouched. That last single word is important – untouched. The Terminal Server does no conversion nor translation, it simply delivers data in its raw form. When two Terminal Servers are linked to each other across a network, in what is termed a “Back to Back” configuration, serial data arriving at one end will pop out of the other, and vice versa. Serial cables have a limit of only a few metres in length and are subject to interference in the form of electrical noise. Carrying the data packets over network cables can remove these limitations.

You can connect and interact with other networking experts in the Wireless and SCADA groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways

Jim Cahill — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:30:55 GMT

For control and automation specialists, it means things like servers, converters and gateways become part of the learning path.

It is important to understand that the gateways do not simply translate the messages. For the most part, WirelessHART data from the field is stored in the gateway and data requests are performed on the stored data. Read requests are not passed through to the field. In the case of a write, the write is applied to the internal data and then an update is sent to the field as a WirelessHART message. HART/IP is the exception here as HART messages need to be sent to the transmitters. All HART messages are converted into WirelessHART equivalents and passed through to the field with responses converted back to HART/IP and passed back to the requestor.

With the Gateway in place, there is no WirelessHART on your IT network, and no Modbus, Ethernet/IP or OPC on your wireless field network. Data requests seem to be converted from the Ethernet Media to the Wireless Media, but they are not, and at a protocol level, there is a lot more management and protocol translation going on.

A Terminal Server is completely at the other end of the scale. Terminal Servers are pure media converters with little or no message management. A Terminal Server captures data arriving at the serial port, wraps it up into an Ethernet packet and delivers the data to a remote location untouched. That last single word is important – untouched. The Terminal Server does no conversion nor translation, it simply delivers data in its raw form. When two Terminal Servers are linked to each other across a network, in what is termed a “Back to Back” configuration, serial data arriving at one end will pop out of the other, and vice versa. Serial cables have a limit of only a few metres in length and are subject to interference in the form of electrical noise. Carrying the data packets over network cables can remove these limitations.

You can connect and interact with other networking experts in the Wireless and SCADA groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Understanding Servers, Converters and Gateways appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog.

Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations

Jim Cahill — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 17:28:02 GMT

Across the upstream and downstream oil & gas supply chain, storage terminals play a vital role. Efficiently managing many operations including product transfers, blend operations, fiscal measurements and inventories can mean the difference in profitability & loss.

In an Tank Storage magazine article, Enhancing Terminal Business Performance, Emerson’s Aaron Boettcher, describes the role of terminal management systems in safe, reliable and efficient operations.

Aaron opens noting the historical role of terminal management systems:

…managing the loading operations and efficiently moving trucks through the facility in an automated way.

Modern terminal management systems not only help manage these loading operations, but also:

…provide a single integrated platform to manage the entire terminal business process: bringing in customer orders, executing the loading operation, charging for services, managing inventory, and billing activity back to the customer.

Traditionally the commercial side of managing terminals has been separate from the operational side. By integrating these functions, terminal customers can:

…log onto the portal and place or modify orders, achieve complete visibility to outstanding orders in real time, and visualise easy-to-use KPIs associated with their account and activity at the terminal.

From an efficiency standpoint, benefits include:

…a reduction of overall incoming customer communications traffic via phone, fax or email; and ultimately improved customer satisfaction due to enhanced availability of accurate transactional information.

Major efficiency gains can be made in loading and unloading operations:

Customer order data is managed centrally and provides the permissive information to automatically validate trucks and driver information at arrival. Flexible integration to commonly used card readers and other biometric or RFID devices ensures that driver validation is automatic and performed quickly and efficiently based on the regulatory requirements of the local market.

…

Once the load or unload is completed, the transaction is automatically archived to the terminal management system for inventory accounting, and customers and the terminal operator can be automatically notified (either by email or by accessing the integrated web portal) that the loading activity has been completed.

Aaron notes that that modern terminal management systems, such as TerminalManager, also integrate contractual agreements and other charges, and provide a single source for customer-related information.

Read the article for more on how these systems provide additional capabilities to shorten the end-of-month closing cycle, better manage inventories and automate invoicing. Aaron concludes:

Today’s modern, integrated terminal management systems give terminal operators the tools they need to reach new levels of business performance, customer satisfaction, and overall profitability, all in a single integrated platform for management of the entire terminal business process.

Visit the Storage Terminal area of the Emerson website for more on optimizing tank farm and terminal operations.

The post Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations

Jim Cahill — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 17:28:02 GMT

Aaron opens noting the historical role of terminal management systems:

…managing the loading operations and efficiently moving trucks through the facility in an automated way.

Modern terminal management systems not only help manage these loading operations, but also:

…provide a single integrated platform to manage the entire terminal business process: bringing in customer orders, executing the loading operation, charging for services, managing inventory, and billing activity back to the customer.

Traditionally the commercial side of managing terminals has been separate from the operational side. By integrating these functions, terminal customers can:

…log onto the portal and place or modify orders, achieve complete visibility to outstanding orders in real time, and visualise easy-to-use KPIs associated with their account and activity at the terminal.

From an efficiency standpoint, benefits include:

…a reduction of overall incoming customer communications traffic via phone, fax or email; and ultimately improved customer satisfaction due to enhanced availability of accurate transactional information.

Major efficiency gains can be made in loading and unloading operations:

Customer order data is managed centrally and provides the permissive information to automatically validate trucks and driver information at arrival. Flexible integration to commonly used card readers and other biometric or RFID devices ensures that driver validation is automatic and performed quickly and efficiently based on the regulatory requirements of the local market.

…

Once the load or unload is completed, the transaction is automatically archived to the terminal management system for inventory accounting, and customers and the terminal operator can be automatically notified (either by email or by accessing the integrated web portal) that the loading activity has been completed.

Read the article for more on how these systems provide additional capabilities to shorten the end-of-month closing cycle, better manage inventories and automate invoicing. Aaron concludes:

Today’s modern, integrated terminal management systems give terminal operators the tools they need to reach new levels of business performance, customer satisfaction, and overall profitability, all in a single integrated platform for management of the entire terminal business process.

Visit the Storage Terminal area of the Emerson website for more on optimizing tank farm and terminal operations.

The post Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations

Jim Cahill — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 17:28:02 GMT

Aaron opens noting the historical role of terminal management systems:

…managing the loading operations and efficiently moving trucks through the facility in an automated way.

Modern terminal management systems not only help manage these loading operations, but also:

…provide a single integrated platform to manage the entire terminal business process: bringing in customer orders, executing the loading operation, charging for services, managing inventory, and billing activity back to the customer.

Traditionally the commercial side of managing terminals has been separate from the operational side. By integrating these functions, terminal customers can:

…log onto the portal and place or modify orders, achieve complete visibility to outstanding orders in real time, and visualise easy-to-use KPIs associated with their account and activity at the terminal.

From an efficiency standpoint, benefits include:

…a reduction of overall incoming customer communications traffic via phone, fax or email; and ultimately improved customer satisfaction due to enhanced availability of accurate transactional information.

Major efficiency gains can be made in loading and unloading operations:

Customer order data is managed centrally and provides the permissive information to automatically validate trucks and driver information at arrival. Flexible integration to commonly used card readers and other biometric or RFID devices ensures that driver validation is automatic and performed quickly and efficiently based on the regulatory requirements of the local market.

…

Once the load or unload is completed, the transaction is automatically archived to the terminal management system for inventory accounting, and customers and the terminal operator can be automatically notified (either by email or by accessing the integrated web portal) that the loading activity has been completed.

Read the article for more on how these systems provide additional capabilities to shorten the end-of-month closing cycle, better manage inventories and automate invoicing. Aaron concludes:

Today’s modern, integrated terminal management systems give terminal operators the tools they need to reach new levels of business performance, customer satisfaction, and overall profitability, all in a single integrated platform for management of the entire terminal business process.

Visit the Storage Terminal area of the Emerson website for more on optimizing tank farm and terminal operations.

The post Optimizing Storage Terminal Operations appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog.

Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines

Jim Cahill — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 14:39:09 GMT

At the Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, an oil and gas producer shared a story of automating natural gas wells and pipelines with renewable power sources.

The presenter opened describing some of the choices for renewable energy including solar panels and wind turbines. Based the latitude of the production fields, there was barely enough sunlight for the solar panels to collect and created electrical energy. They were also challenged with average winds speeds of only 4 meters/second. This was not enough wind on a consistent basis.

Of the two, the solar panels were a better option since they collected 90%+ of the energy in tests they conducted.

The architecture of the SCADA system is a ControlWave Express remote terminal unit (RTU) connected to the solar panel and battery bank collecting data from pressure and temperature transmitters. 75 watt solar panels were used to charge the battery banks. On some other installations with larger RTUs required, 400 watt solar panels were used.

For the natural gas pipelines, more I/O parameters were collected. These I/O were not only for monitoring, but for control in actuating valves along the pipeline. Data was transmitted on a real-time basis through radios to central facilities. The 20-watt radio was turned on a periodic basis to batch transmit data collected in the RTU.

One issue was snow covering the panels. Panels were mounted vertically to avoid snow accumulation. Even at this mounting angle, they could capture enough solar energy to recharge the battery banks. Energy use had to be carefully monitored and minimized so the batteries would not discharge fully in times of lack of sunlight.

You can connect and interact with other SCADA and RTU experts in the SCADA group in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines

Jim Cahill — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 14:39:09 GMT

At the Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, an oil and gas producer shared a story of automating natural gas wells and pipelines with renewable power sources.

Of the two, the solar panels were a better option since they collected 90%+ of the energy in tests they conducted.

You can connect and interact with other SCADA and RTU experts in the SCADA group in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines

Jim Cahill — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 14:39:09 GMT

At the Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, an oil and gas producer shared a story of automating natural gas wells and pipelines with renewable power sources.

Of the two, the solar panels were a better option since they collected 90%+ of the energy in tests they conducted.

You can connect and interact with other SCADA and RTU experts in the SCADA group in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Renewable Energy Powering Gas Wells and Pipelines appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog.

Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty

Jim Cahill — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 18:08:22 GMT

Author: Michael Machuca

Management of well pad inventory, allocation and custody transfers encompasses multiple operations that contribute to overall production management uncertainty. The accumulated measurement errors and variability in operations within a storage system can quickly add up to a significant level of uncertainty. Higher levels of uncertainty reduce the prospect for timely insight into problematic field operations that quickly translate into added lease operation costs and/or lost revenue.

Much of the uncertainty reported by many oil and gas operators is the result of inaccuracies of manual tank gauging and reliance on manual haul ticketing practices which introduces errors, adds to operating costs and delays production accounting. One operator recently reported that their shale field with over 3,000 hauls per month had an estimated annual losses and exposure of over $19,000,000. A second operator stated that their total unaccounted production uncertainty was ±15%.

In order to reduce these high levels of uncertainty, many oil and gas operators are deploying tank management software and remote operation control technology to automate operations to manage and minimize production uncertainty. It allows the automated integration of truck hauling operations and reporting, well production measurements, level-based gross volume inventory and custody transfer measurements. Integrating the various monitoring, control and operation components as system with turnkey tank management software reduced uncertainty to ±1% after 60 days. The primary contributors to this improvement were:

Increased accuracy in level-based gross volume inventory including shrinkage
Timely pay / check haul verifications using flow and level measurement
Reduced cost of transportation and salt water disposal

The Tank Manager software application allows producers to record liquid production and hauling using accurate level and/or flow measurements. Producers can receive confirmation of each haul ticket by introducing an audit trail that records all pertinent data. Now, all liquid is accurately accounted for with precise measurement and tracking to enhance their bottom line. The Tank Manager applications operates on the ROC800-Series remote operations controllers to record data from each haul. Security is available to limit driver access and for tracking haul volumes.

When a haul is completed, Tank Manager creates an electronic haul ticket that includes driver, ID, haul volume, corrected haul volume, and hauled time and date. Throughout the entire process, all of the time-stamped data is recorded into the ROC. The production company’s SCADA system can easily retrieve this data, which allows the producer to collect completed haul data quite possibly before the trucker leaves the location.

Tank Manager:

Ensures precise measurement of delivered quantities
Reduces uncertainty
Enhances revenue
Puts control back into the producer’s hands
Reduces field personnel time associated with verifying post-haul inventories at site
Minimizes manual data entry of hauling activity by office personnel

The application of tank management software can reduce unaccounted for production losses (proven from 15% down to 1%) and reduce lease operating expenses—while enhancing safety and community relations by reducing unnecessary truck traffic.

From Jim: For more, visit the Produced Fluids Management section of the Emerson website. You can also connect and interact with other oil & gas experts in the Oil & Gas group in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty

Jim Cahill — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 18:08:22 GMT

Author: Michael Machuca

Increased accuracy in level-based gross volume inventory including shrinkage
Timely pay / check haul verifications using flow and level measurement
Reduced cost of transportation and salt water disposal

Tank Manager:

Ensures precise measurement of delivered quantities
Reduces uncertainty
Enhances revenue
Puts control back into the producer’s hands
Reduces field personnel time associated with verifying post-haul inventories at site
Minimizes manual data entry of hauling activity by office personnel

The post Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty

Jim Cahill — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 18:08:22 GMT

Author: Michael Machuca

Increased accuracy in level-based gross volume inventory including shrinkage
Timely pay / check haul verifications using flow and level measurement
Reduced cost of transportation and salt water disposal

Tank Manager:

Ensures precise measurement of delivered quantities
Reduces uncertainty
Enhances revenue
Puts control back into the producer’s hands
Reduces field personnel time associated with verifying post-haul inventories at site
Minimizes manual data entry of hauling activity by office personnel

From Jim: If you’ll be joining us at the October 24-28 Emerson Exchange conference in Austin, Texas, make sure to sign up for the Produced Fluids Management and Well Optimization educational short course. You can also connect and interact with other oil & gas production and supervisory control and data acquisition experts in the Oil & Gas and SCADA groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Reducing Unaccounted Oil and Gas Production Uncertainty appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog.

Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management

Jim Cahill — Tue, 24 May 2016 15:07:42 GMT

According the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. remains the largest oil & gas producer:

[tweet https://twitter.com/EIAgov/status/734716618228535297 ]

Shale oil and gas production has significantly helped secure this leadership position since 2012. The downside of shale oil & gas production are the rapid decline rates for the producing wells.

In a World Oil article, Accelerated production improves shale well economics, Emerson’s Al Majek and Terry Cox teamed with Experitec‘s Gene Little and Southwestern Energy‘s Josh Jolly and Teo Baughn to share how to improve the management of the free-flow cycle of gas by applying well automation.

One way to recover the costs of drilling and completing the wells is to operate the well in a mode:

…known as Extended Annular Flow (EAF)…, initial production is through both casing ports, enabling the well to produce at higher rates than through the tubing alone. During this period, which can last several months, rental equipment, as well as additional supervision, is required.

The authors described an alternate method, casing flow management, which is based on:

…controlling flow from one port of the casing, to obtain an effect similar to using EAF during the entirety of the well’s free-flowing lifecycle phase.

This is accomplished by installing:

…a tubing bypass line with an automated valve, under the control of a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). All equipment is mounted, to facilitate easy removal at a point in the freeflow phase, determined by the operator.

Southwestern Energy [hyperlink added]:

…selected the Emerson FloBoss series of flow computer controllers. Completing the package meant supplying enclosures, a solar power system, choke, actuator and customized programming. Experitec, Inc., a process control equipment and instrumentation company, provided the final integrated solution.

The casing flowrate:

…is controlled by the Control RTU via a PID (proportional integral-derivative) loop. The set point is calculated by the unit for a value approximating 50% of the critical flowrate.

This critical flowrate:

…indicates the minimum rate of flow from the well, to lift liquids out of the wellbore. Flow at less than critical velocity allows water to collect in the well, eventually curtailing production.

The authors explain that it is desirable to operate the casing below the critical flowrate and the tubing above it. The PID loop will begin to close the casing choke if the tubing flow rate drops below the critical rate. For their control strategy, there is also:

…an override, based upon time. The casing choke is shut in completely between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., each day, to build up the casing pressure and increase the subsequent tubing flowrate. This helps clear the wellbore of any accumulated liquids or sand.

By applying this casing flow management control strategy:

…the sales rate increases to around 2.773 MMscfd. The incremental production over the tubing flow mode is 555,000 scfd, approximately 25% more than the previous sales rate.

From a project cost standpoint, the:

…cost per well reduces with a greater number of wells per pad, due to the sharing of the RTU system between the wells. Even with the most-expensive single-well version, project payout falls easily within a 30-day period.

The authors conclude:

The revenue reduction, resulting from early deployment of casing flow management, is more than compensated by eliminating the additional EAF expenses.

The casing flow management system has now become the preferred choice from the start of operations.

Read the article for more on the flow calculations used, control strategy, field results and overall economic benefits.

You can also connect and interact with other RTU and oil & gas experts in the SCADA and Oil & Gas groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management

Jim Cahill — Tue, 24 May 2016 15:07:42 GMT

According the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. remains the largest oil & gas producer:

[tweet https://twitter.com/EIAgov/status/734716618228535297 ]

Shale oil and gas production has significantly helped secure this leadership position since 2012. The downside of shale oil & gas production are the rapid decline rates for the producing wells.

One way to recover the costs of drilling and completing the wells is to operate the well in a mode:

…known as Extended Annular Flow (EAF)…, initial production is through both casing ports, enabling the well to produce at higher rates than through the tubing alone. During this period, which can last several months, rental equipment, as well as additional supervision, is required.

The authors described an alternate method, casing flow management, which is based on:

…controlling flow from one port of the casing, to obtain an effect similar to using EAF during the entirety of the well’s free-flowing lifecycle phase.

This is accomplished by installing:

…a tubing bypass line with an automated valve, under the control of a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). All equipment is mounted, to facilitate easy removal at a point in the freeflow phase, determined by the operator.

Southwestern Energy [hyperlink added]:

…selected the Emerson FloBoss series of flow computer controllers. Completing the package meant supplying enclosures, a solar power system, choke, actuator and customized programming. Experitec, Inc., a process control equipment and instrumentation company, provided the final integrated solution.

The casing flowrate:

…is controlled by the Control RTU via a PID (proportional integral-derivative) loop. The set point is calculated by the unit for a value approximating 50% of the critical flowrate.

This critical flowrate:

…indicates the minimum rate of flow from the well, to lift liquids out of the wellbore. Flow at less than critical velocity allows water to collect in the well, eventually curtailing production.

…an override, based upon time. The casing choke is shut in completely between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., each day, to build up the casing pressure and increase the subsequent tubing flowrate. This helps clear the wellbore of any accumulated liquids or sand.

By applying this casing flow management control strategy:

…the sales rate increases to around 2.773 MMscfd. The incremental production over the tubing flow mode is 555,000 scfd, approximately 25% more than the previous sales rate.

From a project cost standpoint, the:

…cost per well reduces with a greater number of wells per pad, due to the sharing of the RTU system between the wells. Even with the most-expensive single-well version, project payout falls easily within a 30-day period.

The authors conclude:

The revenue reduction, resulting from early deployment of casing flow management, is more than compensated by eliminating the additional EAF expenses.

The casing flow management system has now become the preferred choice from the start of operations.

Read the article for more on the flow calculations used, control strategy, field results and overall economic benefits.

You can also connect and interact with other RTU and oil & gas experts in the SCADA and Oil & Gas groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.

Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management

Jim Cahill — Tue, 24 May 2016 15:07:00 GMT

According the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. remains the largest oil & gas producer:

Today in #Energy: U.S. remains largest producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons https://t.co/A9m92F9CnW pic.twitter.com/5WLl14gwne
— EIA (@EIAgov) May 23, 2016

Shale oil and gas production has significantly helped secure this leadership position since 2012. The downside of shale oil & gas production are the rapid decline rates for the producing wells.

One way to recover the costs of drilling and completing the wells is to operate the well in a mode:

…known as Extended Annular Flow (EAF)…, initial production is through both casing ports, enabling the well to produce at higher rates than through the tubing alone. During this period, which can last several months, rental equipment, as well as additional supervision, is required.

The authors described an alternate method, casing flow management, which is based on:

…controlling flow from one port of the casing, to obtain an effect similar to using EAF during the entirety of the well’s free-flowing lifecycle phase.

This is accomplished by installing:

…a tubing bypass line with an automated valve, under the control of a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). All equipment is mounted, to facilitate easy removal at a point in the freeflow phase, determined by the operator.

Southwestern Energy [hyperlink added]:

…selected the Emerson FloBoss series of flow computer controllers. Completing the package meant supplying enclosures, a solar power system, choke, actuator and customized programming. Experitec, Inc., a process control equipment and instrumentation company, provided the final integrated solution.

The casing flowrate:

…is controlled by the Control RTU via a PID (proportional integral-derivative) loop. The set point is calculated by the unit for a value approximating 50% of the critical flowrate.

This critical flowrate:

…indicates the minimum rate of flow from the well, to lift liquids out of the wellbore. Flow at less than critical velocity allows water to collect in the well, eventually curtailing production.

…an override, based upon time. The casing choke is shut in completely between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., each day, to build up the casing pressure and increase the subsequent tubing flowrate. This helps clear the wellbore of any accumulated liquids or sand.

By applying this casing flow management control strategy:

…the sales rate increases to around 2.773 MMscfd. The incremental production over the tubing flow mode is 555,000 scfd, approximately 25% more than the previous sales rate.

From a project cost standpoint, the:

…cost per well reduces with a greater number of wells per pad, due to the sharing of the RTU system between the wells. Even with the most-expensive single-well version, project payout falls easily within a 30-day period.

The authors conclude:

The revenue reduction, resulting from early deployment of casing flow management, is more than compensated by eliminating the additional EAF expenses.

The casing flow management system has now become the preferred choice from the start of operations.

Read the article for more on the flow calculations used, control strategy, field results and overall economic benefits.

You can also connect and interact with other RTU and oil & gas experts in the SCADA and Oil & Gas groups in the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

The post Improving Gas Well Economics via Casing Flow Management appeared first on the Emerson Process Experts blog.

SCADA Blog

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