DAS-UFSC R&D Efforts for the oil industry

Brazil-Norway R&D workshop

Agustinho PlucenioLaboratory for Smart Fields Automation

Department of Automation and Systems EngineeringFederal University of Santa Catarina

Rio de Janeiro, May 26, 2011

Topics

Who we are PRH-ANP Program –

PRH34 Research Projects LACI INPetro Ongoing R&D Project NTNU Cooperation

DAS-UFSC R&D Efforts for the oil industry

Who we are

Who we are

The Federal University ofSanta Catarina

• Located in Florianopolis(pop. 600,000)• 25,000 undergraduates• 3,500 graduates• ≃ 2,000 faculty members

Who we are

Department of Automation and Systems Engineeringhttp://www.das.ufsc.br/das/index.php

24 faculty members 360 undergraduates (1st of its kind in Brazil) 40 M.Eng. students 50 Ph.D. students

Research areas at DAS-UFSC

Control theory and applications

Linear and nonlinear control Discrete event systems Predictive control Robotics

Industrial informatics Real-time embedded systems Industrial networks

General computing Fault tolerance Secure network systems Algorithms

Optimization

Oil &Gas R&D Evolution

Program PRH-ANP34

2001

2006

20092010

1 R&D Project with Petrobras-CENPES

Construction Distilation column

Multiphase Flow Lab Construction (CNPQ)

2004

2 R&D Project with Petrobras-CENPES3 R&D Project

with Petrobras-CENPES

LACI Project with Petrobras-CENPES

2008

NW Control Lab(CNPQ)

The Program PRH34

Program financed by the National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Bio fuels for Human Resources Development

with the themeAutomation and Control for the Oil and Gas Industry.

PRH-34 is formed by members of the Department of Automation and Systems, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering.

Main objective:To complement the education of engineers at the under-graduate and graduate levels in the area of automation, control and instrumentation to work in the petroleum industry.

Chem. Eng.

C&A Eng.

Mech. Eng.

Ex PRH34 students

Some of PRH34 researches Automation and Control of wells with elevation by gas-lift, Optimization of gas-lift operations, Drilling bit wear prediction using neural networks,Oscillation control using switched systems applied to severe slug control, Variable Structure Control for the suppression of oscillations in oil well drilling systems, ARMAX and NARMAX model identification of oil wells operating by gas-lift, Model Predictive Control for nonlinear systems, Low cost water fraction meter based on micro-wave, Multiphase flow meter based on online partial separators, Development of New Drilling control techniques based on the theory ofnon-smooth dynamical systems, Nonlinear Model Predictive Control applied to a water injection developmentproject, Gas-lift optimization with constraints on transportation and handlingfacilities of produced fluids,

Research projects

Development of control algorithms for artificial lift methods (Petrobras-CENPES) (2006-2009)

Multiphase Flow meter for heavy oil phase 1 (CNPQ-CTPetro) (2008-2010)

LACI – Laboratory for the Automation of Intelligent oilfields (Petrobras-CENPES) (2008-2011)

Advanced control systems and production real time optimization (Petrobras-CENPES) (2010-2013)

Intelligent agents for distributed control of complex system (Petrobras-CENPES) (2009-2010)

Development of Control Algorithms for artificial lift methods-Petrobras CENPES-(2006-2009)

One feature of the project is the utilization of Programmable Logic Computers connected with the well simulators and running the control algorithms (HIL concept).

Objective: To develop solutions for the automation of oil wells that optimize production using online surface and down hole measurements.

Some developments:

For continuous gas lift: Use of different WPC models pwf steady state detection via MPA Automatic procedure via MPA for model parameter update Automatic procedure for gas re-allocation due to:• gas flow rate availability• well model changes• well put in forced operation• separation capacity constraints

Introduction of control and optimization algorithms in LAPLACE and MPA Automatic procedures to re-start gas lift wells Study of a a solution based on NMPC

WPC - Well Production Curve

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Pwf steady state detection

Optimization algorithms

Control strategies and algorithms

GLoptim

Main Laplace screen

Screen for variables configuration

Automatic GL Well restarting

During the project 3 approaches were studied for automatically re-starting gas lift wells with:

Classical control algorithms Switching Control Fuzzy Logic

GL Control with NMPCControl of gas lift wells with NMPC optimize gas allocation stabilize GLM pressure minimizes wellhead flow rate oscillations during gas lift flow rate changesGLM Setup

GL Hammerstein dynamic model

Sucker rod pump with down hole pressure measurements

Sucker rod pump well

Developments: Development of a dynamic simulator Development of control strategies using down hole pressure measurements Fault detection techniques using down hole measurements

Controller strategy

Conventional fluid pound level detection used to update Down hole pressure set-point

Fault detection

Fault patterns

a) Normal operationb) Leak in the standing valvec )Leak on the traveling valved) Fluid pound

PCA approach

Multiphase Flow Laboratory LEEM (CTPetro-CNPQ) (2008-2010)

Main objective: To initiate research onlow cost measurement techniques formultiphase flow for heavy oil.

LEEM

Other objectives:

installation of a multiphase flow laboratory for teaching purpose,

to study sensors for water in oil content, flow-rate measurements of gas flow, gas-liquid flow,

to test techniques for the control of severe slug flow,

to study new separationtechniques.

Water cut meter using MW cavity ressonator

Prototype being developed in the LEEM

Inline liquid-gas separator

Low volume 3 Phase partial separation multiphase flowmeter

Gas

Oil-water

Control system

In line gas-liquid separator

Water cut meterLiquid flow-rate measurement

Gas flow-rate measurement

Second stage separator

Gas treatment (scrubber-compression, etc.)

Output values of oil, water and gas flow-rates

Level measurement

LACI-Laboratory for intelligent oilfield automation-Petrobras CENPES – (2008-2011)

Motivation:What is needed to develop and test reliable, catastrophic failure proof automation systems to control remote offshore production facilities like unmanned platforms?Is simulation enough?To build a laboratory to test automation and control of production facilities including oil wells is similar to what was done in the airplane industry with the construction of Wind Tunnels.

LACI objectives

The facility should be designed for testing optimization algorithms, fault detection and control algorithms conceived to a remote operation scenario.It should allow: To test new down hole instruments To test fault detection (real induced fault) To test new control and automation surface instruments To test constraint handling like gas injection flow rate, leaks, etc.

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LACI Well design

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Formation static pressure controlled

Fluid level controlled to simulate different depletion levels

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Gravel pack permeability tests

Gravel with 4 grain sizes were investigated:• Gravel 1: 0,59mm a 1,00mm• Gravel 2: 0,71mm a 1,41mm• Gravel 3: 1,00mm a 2,00mm• Gravel 4: 2,00mm a 3,36mm.

Dynamic behavior of LACI simulated with OLGA™

Simulations with OLGA™ confirm expected dynamic behavior

LACI wells setup

The wellheads are installed inside a pit

INPetro – UFSC Petroleum, Gas and Energy Institute

Created by Research groups from Mechanical , Automation and Systems and Chemical Engineering with financing of Petrobras.

Main characteristics: 8800 m2 >35 MR$

Main building (light Labs)

Heavy Labs

20 Laboratoriesinstrumentation, Computational visionOptical sensorsCorrosion,Combustion.Multiphase flow,Automation,Inteligent sensors,Robotics,Etc.

LACI Pipeline tests,Robotic weldingLaser welding soldagem a laser , Multidisciplinary projectsA pool for development and testing technology for underwater welding with robots.

INPetro – UFSC Petroleum, Gas and Energy Institute

Localization in Florianopolis Island

INPetro in the Sapiens Park – art. view

INPetro – art. view

Inpetro - Construction status May 06,2011

Main building outside view

Main building inside view

Advanced control systems and production real time optimization (Petrobras-CENPES)(2010-2013)

Research Goals:Develop systems for real-time optimization, control andautomation of production units and oil fields.

Areas to develop

Modeling Control strategies Optimization Fault detection

Simplified dynamic models

GL - density wave behavior

GL - heading behavior

Local controllers

Local controller

Without control

With control applied

Local controller-Density wave control

Optimization modeling and algorithms

Research goals

Models for mathematical optimization of equipment and production processes Efficient algorithms for real-time optimal operation Frameworks for system-wide optimization

Optimization modeling and algorithms

Current research topics

Piecewise-linear models foroptimal lift-gas allocationand separator alignment Piecewise-linear models ofmultidimensional functionsfor pressure constraints Models for compressor allocation and scheduling

Reservoir recovery enhacement with NMPC

Using simulators SENSOR ™ and ECLIPSE™

Our initial strategy is to use the knowledge existent in the simulator to build the dynamic representation of the process variables as function of the manipulated variables.Challenge: Is the solution the global optimum?

UFSC-NTNU cooperation

Prof. Dr. Ricardo Rabelo, Chief of the Automation and Systems Engineering Department-DAS UFSC talks minutes before signing an academic cooperation term with NTNU .

Since 2007 researchers of DAS-UFSC, NTNU and Petrobras-CENPES have had academic meetings in congress and workshops.

COPPE-UFRJ - February 18/2011.

Brazilian Congress of R&D in Oil and Gas Florianópolis, October 9-13, 2011

Takk Thank you Obrigado