Method of producing hydrocarbons through a smart well

Abstract

A method is disclosed for producing hydrocarbons through an instrumented smart well containing a well tubular ( 6,29 - 32 ) and an assembly of power, DTS and/or other sensing and/or signal transmission cables ( 13,40 - 44 ) comprising at least one power and/or signal transmission cable, which is bonded along at least part of its length to an outer surface of the well tubular ( 6,29 - 32 ) by an adhesive, which preferably is reusable and/or has a thermal conductive of at least 3 W/mK or at most 0.2 W/mK.

1 . A method of producing hydrocarbons through a smart well containing a well tubular and a power, sensing and/or signal transmission cable assembly comprising:
 providing in the well at least one power, sensing and/or signal transmission cable that is bonded by a reusable adhesive along at least part of its length to an outer surface of the well tubular; and   producing hydrocarbons from the well.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the power, sensing and/or signal transmission cable assembly is encapsulated in a protective layer that is bonded along at least part of its length to the well tubular by an adhesive that has a thermal conductivity of at least 3 W/mK or at most 0.2 W/mK. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the assembly comprises a plurality of power, sensing and/or signal transmission cables that are encapsulated in a common protective layer with an outer substantially flat side which is bonded along at least part of its length to the well tubular. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the protective layer is configured as a substantially flat hollow strip with an outer surface having a pair of substantially flat opposite sides with a larger width than other sides of the strip. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the protective layer is furthermore at selected intervals attached to the outer surface of the well tubular by releasable and/or elastic straps, such that one of the flat sides is pressed against the well tubular. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the well tubular is radially expanded after insertion into the wellbore and one of the substantially flat sides of the protective layer is along at least part of its length bonded to the outer surface of the well tubular by a reusable adhesive, which is detached from the outer surface of the well tubular during the expansion process and which is induced to re-bond to the outer surface of the well tubular after the expansion process. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the well tubular is radially expanded such that one of the flat sides of the protective layer is pressed against along at least part of its length against the outer surface of the expanded tubing and an opposite flat side is pressed along at least part of its length against the inner surface of the surrounding wellbore or well casing and/or against the inner surface of at least one elastic strap. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the tubing is expanded by pushing an expansion cone therethrough and a reusable bonding agent is used, wherein the bonding agent is detached from the tubing during the expansion process and bonds itself again against the expanded tubing. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the power, sensing and/or signal transmission cable assembly comprises at least one electrical power cable and at least one fiber optical sensing and/or signal transmission cable. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the power, sensing and/or signal transmission cable assembly comprises a plurality of electrical power cables and a plurality of fiber optical sensing and/or transmission cables and the assembly extends between at least two nodes that are longitudinally spaced along the length of the length of the cable assembly, which nodes comprise switches for switching power and/or optical signal transmission to another power and/or optical cable if a cable is damaged or for another reason. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein at or near at least one node a wireless power and/or signal transmission device is arranged which is configured to transmit wireless power and/or signals to one or more electrical devices and/or sensors arranged downhole in the well tubular and/or in the space between the tubing and the surrounding wellbore or well casing, and/or in the formation surrounding the wellbore, and/or in a branch wellbore that is connected to the wellbore in which the tubing is arranged. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein at least one wireless electrical transmission device that is connected to one of the electrical cables is an inductive coupler that is arranged in the vicinity of an inductive coupler that is connected to the downhole electrical device and/or sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein at least one wireless electrical transmission device that is connected to one of the fiber optical signal transmission cables is an electromagnetic transmitter and/or receiver which is configured to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals to and/or from one or more downhole sensors. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein one or more downhole electrical devices comprise an electrical motor or generator that is connected to a downhole valve or pump and one or more downhole sensors consists of a sensor for monitoring downhole pressure, seismic vibrations, temperature, the composition of the produced well fluids and/or movement of fluid in the formation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein:
 at least the downhole sensor is a fiber optical Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) cable which is bonded by an adhesive having a high thermal conductivity to the well tubular   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein an insulating layer is applied to the outer surface of the fiber optical DTS cable, which layer is bonded to the well tubular to reduce thermal conduction through the fiber optical DTS cable and provide a measure of the temperature of the tubular to which the fiber is bonded and/or the fluids contained within the tubular. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the adhesive has a sufficiently low thermal conductivity to enable accurate temperature measurement within an annular space surrounding the well tubular to which the fiber optical DTS cable is bonded; and the fiber optical DTS cable is used to monitor the temperature of fluids flowing into the well and/or through the well tubular. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the adhesive has a sufficiently low thermal conductivity to enable accurate temperature measurement within an annular space surrounding the well tubular to which the fiber optical DTS cable is bonded; and the well tubular comprises an inner well tubular, which is surrounded by an outer well tubular through which tubulars well effluents are produced and an assembly of power and/or signal transmission cables is encapsulated in a relatively flat encapsulation which is bonded to the outer surface of the inner well tubular, which strip comprises one fiber optical DTS cable that is configured to monitor the temperature of the wall of the inner well tubular and another fiber optical DTS cable that is configured to monitor the temperature of the well effluents flowing through the annular space between the inner and outer well tubular to obtain temperature traces of the fluxes of well effluents flowing through the interiors of the inner and outer well tubulars.