Experimental Investigations of Offshore Sand Production Monitoring Based on the Analysis of Vibration in Response to Weak Shocks

Abstract

Sand production is a problem that is often encountered in unconventional oil and gas exploitation and that is difficult to effectively solve. Accurate online monitoring of sand production is one of the keys to ensuring the safety and long-term production of oil wells as well as efficient production throughout the life cycle of production wells. This paper proposes a method for monitoring sand production in offshore oil wells that is based on the vibration response characteristics of sand-carrying fluid flow impinging on the pipe wall. This method uses acceleration sensors to obtain the weak vibration response characteristics of sand particles impinging on the pipe wall on a two-dimensional time-frequency plane. The time-frequency parameters are further optimized, and the ability to identify weakly excited vibration signals of sand particles in the fluid stream is enhanced. The difference between the impact response of the sand particles and the impact response of the fluid flow to the pipe wall is identified, and corresponding indoor verification experiments are carried out. Under different sand contents, particle sizes, and flow rates (sand content 0-2‰, sand particle size 96-212 μm, and flow velocity 1-3 m/s), the impact response frequency of sand particles to the pipe wall exhibits good consistency. The characteristic frequency band of sand impacting the pipe wall is 30-50 kHz. A statistical method is used to establish the response law of the noise signal of the fluid. Based on this knowledge, a real-time calculation model of sand production in offshore oil wells is constructed, and the effectiveness of this model is verified. Finally, a field test is carried out with a self-developed sand production signal dynamic time-frequency response software system on 4 wells of an oil production platform in the Bohai Sea. This system can effectively distinguish sand-producing wells from non-sand-producing wells. The dynamic time-frequency response, field test results, and actual laboratory results are consistent, verifying the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper and further providing a theory for improving the effectiveness of the sand production monitoring method under complex multiphase flow conditions. This study also provides technical guidance for the industrial application of sand production monitoring devices in offshore oil wells.