Wired and Wireless Downhole Telemetry Using Production Tubing

Abstract

A system for downhole telemetry employs a series of communications nodes spaced along a tubular body such as a pipe in a wellbore. The nodes allow for hybrid wired-and-wireless communication between one or more sensors residing at the level of a subsurface formation, and a receiver at the surface. The communications nodes employ electro-acoustic transducers that provide for node-to-node communication partially up a wellbore, and then high speed data transmission using a wire for the remaining distance up to the surface. A method of transmitting data in a wellbore uses a plurality of data transmission nodes situated along a tubular body to deliver wireless signals partially up the wellbore, and then wired signals the remaining distance.

1 . A method of transmitting data along a wellbore up to a surface, comprising:
 placing one or more downhole sensors along the wellbore proximate a depth of a subsurface formation;   generating signals at the downhole sensors that are indicative of one or more subsurface conditions;   providing one or more sensor communications nodes along the wellbore, each sensor communications node configured to process signals generated by a downhole sensor, and transmit those signals as acoustic signals;   providing a receiver at a surface;   providing a production tubing in the wellbore, the production tubing having a communications wire placed substantially along its length;   securing at least one receiver communications node onto the production tubing proximate the subsurface formation, wherein the receiver communications node is configured to receive acoustic signals across a fluid medium within the wellbore from at least one of the sensor communications nodes, and transmit those signals via the communications wire to the receiver; and   processing signals received by the receiver for analysis of the one or more subsurface conditions.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface is an earth surface. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface is a water surface. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensors are (i) pressure sensors, (ii) temperature sensors, (iii) induction logs, (iv) gamma ray logs, (v) formation density sensors, (vi) sonic velocity sensors, (vii) vibration sensors, (viii) resistivity sensors, (ix) flow meters, (x) microphones, (xi) geophones, (xii) strain gauges, or (xiii) combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each of the sensor communications nodes comprises:
 a housing having a sealed bore, with the housing being fabricated from a material having a resonance frequency that is within the frequency band used for the acoustic signals;   an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver residing within the bore for transmitting signals from the sensor as acoustic signals; and   an independent power source residing within the bore providing power to the transceiver.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each of the one or more downhole sensors resides within the housing of a corresponding sensor communications node. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each of the one or more downhole sensors resides adjacent the housing of a corresponding sensor communications node, and is in electrical communication with the corresponding electro-acoustic transducer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 running a production tubing into the wellbore comprises threadedly coupling joints of pipe together end-to-end, and lowering the joints of pipe into the wellbore; and   the communications wire is an insulated electrical wire or a fiber optic cable that is secured to an outer diameter of the production tubing along the joints of pipe, extending from the receiver down to the one or more receiver communications nodes.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 each of the sensor communications nodes further comprises at least one clamp for radially attaching the communications node onto an outer surface of a subsurface pipe;   the subsurface pipe represents a joint of casing, a joint of liner, or a base pipe of a joint of sand screen; and   the step of providing two or more sensor communications nodes along the wellbore comprises clamping the communications nodes to an outer surface of the subsurface pipe.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one clamp comprises:
 a first arcuate section;   a second arcuate section;   a hinge for pivotally connecting the first and second arcuate sections; and   a fastening mechanism for securing the first and second arcuate sections around an outer surface of the subsurface pipe.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 each of the one or more sensor communications nodes communicates wirelessly with a corresponding receiver communications node; and   each of the at least one receiver communications node receives acoustic signals from the corresponding sensor communications nodes, and transmits those signals to the receiver via the communications wire.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 each of the one or more sensor communications nodes is configured to transmit acoustic signals up to a next sensor communications node, node-to-node, using the subsurface pipe as a carrier medium, with a last sensor communications node transmitting acoustic signals representing the one or more subsurface conditions to a single receiver communications node; and   the at least one receiver communications node comprises the single receiver communications node.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the electro-acoustic transceivers in the one or more sensor communications nodes receive acoustic waves at a first frequency, and re-transmit the acoustic waves at a second different frequency; and   the electro-acoustic transceivers listen for the acoustic waves generated at the first frequency for a longer time than the time for which the acoustic waves were generated at the first frequency by a previous communications node.   
     
     
         14 . A downhole acoustic telemetry system, comprising:
 one or more downhole sensors residing along a wellbore proximate a depth of a subsurface formation, each of the downhole sensors configured to sense a subsurface condition and send a signal indicative of that subsurface condition;   one or more sensor communications nodes also residing along the wellbore proximate a depth of the subsurface formation, wherein each of the sensor communications nodes comprises:
 a housing having a sealed bore, with the housing being fabricated from a material having a resonance frequency that is within the frequency band used for the acoustic signals; 
 an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver residing within the bore for transmitting signals from the sensor as acoustic signals, and 
 an independent power source residing within the bore providing power to the transceiver; 
   a receiver residing proximate a surface;   a string of production tubing within the wellbore, the wellbore comprising a fluid medium within the wellbore;   a communications wire placed substantially along a length of the string of production tubing; and   at least one receiver communications node secured to the string of production tubing proximate the subsurface formation, wherein the receiver communications node is configured to receive acoustic signals via the fluid medium from the at least one of the sensor communications nodes, and transmit those signals via the communications wire to the receiver.   
     
     
         15 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 14 , wherein the sensors are (i) pressure sensors, (ii) temperature sensors, (iii) induction logs, (iv) gamma ray logs, (v) formation density sensors, (vi) sonic velocity sensors, (vii) vibration sensors, (viii) resistivity sensors, (ix) flow meters, (x) microphones, (xi) geophones, (xii) strain gauges, or (xiii) combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 15 , wherein each of the one or more downhole sensors resides within the housing of a corresponding sensor communications node. 
     
     
         17 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 15 , wherein each of the one or more downhole sensors resides adjacent the housing of a corresponding sensor communications node, and is in electrical communication with the corresponding electro-acoustic transducer. 
     
     
         18 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the production tubing comprises a plurality of joints of pipe threadedly coupled together end-to-end; and   the communications wire is an insulated electrical wire or a fiber optic cable that is secured to an outer diameter of the production tubing along the joints of pipe.   
     
     
         19 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 18 , wherein:
 each of the sensor communications nodes further comprises at least one clamp;   the subsurface pipe represents a joint of casing, a joint of liner, or a base pipe within a joint of sand screen; and   each of the two or more sensor communications nodes is clamped onto an outer surface of the subsurface pipe.   
     
     
         20 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 19 , wherein the at least one clamp comprises:
 a first arcuate section;   a second arcuate section;   a hinge for pivotally connecting the first and second arcuate sections; and   a fastening mechanism for securing the first and second arcuate sections around an outer surface of the subsurface pipe.   
     
     
         21 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 20 , wherein:
 the housing of each of the sensor communications nodes comprises a first end and a second opposite end; and   the at least one clamp comprises a first clamp secured at the first end of the housing, and a second clamp secured at the second end of the housing.   
     
     
         22 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 21 , wherein:
 each of the communications nodes further comprises a first shoe at the first end of the housing and a second shoe at the second end of the housing;   the first shoe and the second shoe each comprises:
 a beveled edge designed to face away from the tubular body, 
 a flat surface designed to face towards the tubular body, and 
 a shoulder providing a clearance between the flat surface and the tubular body configured to receive a clamp. 
   
     
     
         23 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 19 , wherein:
 each of the one or more sensor communications nodes is configured to wirelessly communicate with a corresponding receiver communications node; and   the receiver communications nodes are configured to receive acoustic signals from the corresponding sensor communications nodes, and transmit those signals to the surface via the communications wire.   
     
     
         24 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 19 , wherein:
 each of the one or more sensor communications nodes is configured to transmit acoustic signals up to a next sensor communications node, node-to-node, using the subsurface pipe as a carrier medium, with a last sensor communications node transmitting acoustic signals representing the one or more subsurface conditions to a single receiver communications node;   the at least one receiver communications node comprises the single receiver communications node; and   the single receiver communications node is configured to receive acoustic signals from the corresponding sensor communications nodes, and transmit those signals to the surface via the communications wire.   
     
     
         25 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 24 , wherein:
 the electro-acoustic transceivers in the one sensor communications nodes receive acoustic waves at a first frequency, and re-transmit the acoustic waves at a second different frequency; and   the electro-acoustic transceivers listen for the acoustic waves generated at the first frequency for a longer time than the time for which the acoustic waves were generated at the first frequency by a previous communications node.   
     
     
         26 . The acoustic telemetry system of  claim 24 , wherein a frequency band for the acoustic wave transmission by the transceivers operates from 50 kHz to 500 kHz. 
     
     
         27 . A method of activating a sliding sleeve in a wellbore, comprising:
 placing a sliding sleeve along a tubular body within the wellbore, the sliding sleeve residing proximate a depth of a subsurface formation;   providing a production tubing in the wellbore, the production tubing having a communications wire placed substantially along its length;   securing a receiver communications node onto the production tubing proximate the subsurface formation, wherein the receiver communications node is configured to receive electrical signals from a surface, and transmit those signals as acoustic signals via a fluid medium in the wellbore;   providing a series of acoustic communications nodes along the wellbore down to the sliding sleeve, the sensor communications nodes being configured to receive an acoustic signal transmitted from the receiver communications node via the fluid medium, and transmit that acoustic signal down to the sliding sleeve, node-to-node, with each acoustic communications node comprising:
 a housing having a sealed bore, with the housing being fabricated from a material having a resonance frequency that is within the frequency band used for the acoustic signal; 
 an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver residing within the bore for transmitting signals from the receiver communications node as acoustic signals, and 
 an independent power source residing within the bore providing power to the transceiver; and 
   sending a signal from the surface, through the receiver communications node, through the series of acoustic communications nodes, and to the sliding sleeve, thereby activating the sliding sleeve and changing a flow of production fluids into the production tubing.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the surface is an earth surface. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the surface is a water surface. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the tubular body is a joint of casing or a joint of liner. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the sliding sleeve is powered by a downhole battery. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein activating the sliding sleeve comprises (i) partially closing the sliding sleeve, thereby reducing a flow of production fluids into the production tubing, (ii) completely closing the sliding sleeve, thereby shutting off a flow of production fluids into the production tubing, (iii) partially opening the sliding sleeve, thereby increasing a flow of production fluids into the production tubing, or (iv) opening the sliding sleeve, thereby exposing the production tubing to the flow of production fluids. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein:
 the series of acoustic communications nodes comprises at least five acoustic communications nodes; and   the acoustic communications nodes are spaced apart at one node per joint of pipe.