Importance of Pressure Monitoring in Natural Gas Wells
When natural gas is depleted, wells may refill with fluid from the surrounding strata due to shifts in geological formations and temperature changes, causing the pressure to rise. This can lead to accidents such as gas leaks and explosions, highlighting the crucial importance of proper pressure management. Therefore, it was traditionally necessary to visually check the pressure gauge attached to the wellhead equipment and operate the valve to manage the pressure. However, wells on offshore platforms are typically reached by a dedicated workboat or helicopter, which increases monitoring costs. In addition, depending on the weather, it may not be possible to reach sites.
Challenges
Monitoring Cost Reduction
Monitoring through operator round is costly, even if it is just to confirm that the pressure is normal, so we had no choice but to consider introducing a monitoring system. However, monitoring pressure using wired sensors requires installation of communication and power cables, resulting in significant construction costs. On the other hand, conducting remote monitoring presented the challenge of building a long-distance wireless communication infrastructure across the ocean.
Wireless Solution for Industrial IoT, Sushi Sensor
LoRaWAN® with Excellent Long-Range and Low-Power Communication
Sushi Sensor uses LoRaWAN, a wireless communication standard known as LPWA, which excels in long-range and low-power communication. It enables wireless communication over approximately 1 km even in areas with poor signal conditions, and even longer distances in areas with good wireless communication environments.
Being battery-powered, it does not require installation of wiring, making setup easy.
Hardware with Excellent Environmental Durability
Sushi Sensor has a rugged design built for use in harsh environments.
It complies with IP66/67 dustproof and waterproof standards and has been issued with explosion-proof certification, allowing it to be installed in areas where flammable gases are handled.
Improved Monitoring Frequency
The Sushi Sensor wireless pressure sensor can collect data at intervals ranging from one minute to three days.
It can monitor pressure more frequently than traditional operator rounds.
Benefits
An oil and gas company owns hundreds of offshore wells, and the monitoring costs of operator rounds, conducted once every few weeks, had become a significant burden.
In response, Yokogawa proposed the "Industrial IoT Wireless Solution, Sushi Sensor," enabling wireless communication from a wireless pressure sensor installed at the wellhead equipment to a gateway located approximately 4 km* away. This significantly reduced the cost of pressure monitoring, making it possible to monitor more frequently than before.
Currently, the company has shifted to operations where they receive an alert when the pressure exceeds the threshold and operate the valve as necessary. The reduction in the number of rounds carried out at offshore platforms has also contributed to increased worker safety.
* The maximum communication distance varies depending on wireless communication environment
Christmas tree of the wellhead equipment
It is so called because the shape of the top resembles a Christmas tree.
Example of System Configuration
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