Acoustic Wave-Based Method of Locating Tubing Leakage for Offshore Gas Wells

Di Liu, Jianchun Fan and Shengnan Wu
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Di Liu: College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Jianchun Fan: College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Shengnan Wu: College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: This paper presents a novel acoustic wave-based method for the detection of leakage in downhole tubing of offshore gas wells. The localization model is developed on the basis of analyzing the propagation model of leakage acoustic waves and the critical factors in localization. The proposed method is validated using experimental laboratory investigations that are conducted to locate tubing leakage by setting five holes at different positions on the tubing wall. A detection system is developed for the leakage acoustic waves in the tubing-casing annulus, where one acoustic sensor is installed at the annulus top. Laboratory experimental results show that the depth of downhole leakage can be effectively located by using the proposed localization model. The localization errors are kept at a very low level, and are mainly generated from extracting the characteristic time and calculating annular acoustic velocity. A case study focusing on an offshore gas well is presented to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, and to demonstrate that the proposed model can locate the liquid level and leakage points under field conditions. The test can be performed without interrupting the production of gas wells.

Keywords: gas well; tubing leakage; leak localization; acoustic waves; characteristic time; autocorrelation analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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