Economics of a Computerized Oilfield Control System

Abstract

Abstract The economic aspects of the online, programmable computer for supervisory control of producing operations are discussed. The material presented reflects the performance and economics of a pilot supervisory control installation that has been supervising and controlling producing operations for one year in two widely separated fields in southeastern New Mexico. Expansion of this pilot supervisory system is necessary to obtain an actual payout, but the performance of the pilot project does provide a reliable basis for predicting the economics of full scale computer controlled producing operations. Introduction A pilot installation to evaluate a supervisory, monitoring and control system for properties operated in southeastern New Mexico by Continental Oil Co. was installed in Oct., 1964. The pilot project included 56 wells in two fields to be controlled from the district office in Hobbs, N. M. Results of the pilot project would serve to evaluate the economics of expanding the system to include three additional areas and 326 additional wells in a full scale operation, with possible future expansion to a total of 600 to 700 wells. The pilot installation and three additional areas to be included in the full scale project are shown in Fig. 1.This supervisory control system is similar in concept to an earlier system installed during 1962 in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming by the Rocky Mountain Region of Conoco. The pilot project has been sufficiently complex to prove equipment capability and performance, but limited enough to keep installation costs within reason should results indicate the total project to be economically unattractive leases in the Hobbs and El Mar fields of New Mexico comprise this two-field pilot project. These areas are separated by approximately 56 air miles (Fig. 1). The Hobbs field, located two miles from the central supervisory in the city of Hobbs, consists of three leases with 14 flowing or pumping wells producing 5 1 8 BOPD into one central tank battery. The El Mar field includes three leases with 42 pumping or flowing wells producing 700 BOPD into a central tank battery. The objective of the pilot program was to determine if a significant portion of the pumper functions could be performed by the supervisory system while maintaining producing efficiency at a level equal to or greater than before. It was recognized that not all of the pumper duties could be performed by computer control but that almost all of the check-and-see type routine could be surveyed by the system. The majority of pumper time involves travel and inspection duties; therefore, it was estimated that approximately 50 per cent of his assignments could be supervised by the control system. JPT P. 48ˆ