Integrated pressure barrier-related completion system for gas-lift wells

Abstract

A gas-lift system comprises a surface and sub-surface pressure barrier system, a plurality of surface sensors and sub-surface sensors, and an automated gas-lift manager. The plurality of surface sensors are coupled to the surface pressure barrier system and the plurality of sub-surface sensors are coupled to the sub-surface pressure barrier system. The automated gas-lift manager is coupled to the surface pressure barrier system, the sub-surface pressure barrier system, the plurality of surface sensors, and the plurality of sub-surface sensors, wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to monitor and control the surface pressure barrier system and the sub-surface pressure barrier system based on data received from the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A gas-lift system for a well having production tubing configured to convey production fluids to a surface location, the gas-lift system comprising:
 a surface pressure barrier system comprising:
 a gas pump configured to pump a gas into an annulus of the well, 
 a surface annular safety valve located within a wellhead of the well and configured to close to prevent the production fluids from migrating through an annulus of the wellhead, and 
 a surface actuation system coupled to and configured to actuate the gas pump and the surface annular safety valve; 
   a sub-surface pressure barrier system comprising:
 a downhole gas injection valve configured to actuate to allow or prevent the gas from entering the production tubing to mix with the production fluids to lower a density of the production fluids, 
 a sub-surface safety valve configured to close the production tubing to prevent the production fluids from flowing to the wellhead, and 
 a sub-surface actuation system coupled to and configured to actuate the downhole gas injection valve and the sub-surface safety valve; 
   a plurality of surface sensors coupled to the surface pressure barrier system;   a plurality of sub-surface sensors coupled to the sub-surface pressure barrier system; and   an automated gas-lift manager coupled to the surface pressure barrier system, the sub-surface pressure barrier system, the plurality of surface sensors, and the plurality of sub-surface sensors, wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to monitor and control the surface pressure barrier system and the sub-surface pressure barrier system based on data received from the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors.   
     
     
         2 . The gas-lift system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors comprise valve position sensors coupled to the surface annular safety valve, the downhole gas injection valve, and the sub-surface safety valve. 
     
     
         3 . The gas-lift system of  claim 2 , wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to monitor and control the gas-lift system by detecting a position of the surface annular safety valve, the downhole gas injection valve, and the sub-surface safety valve using data from to the valve position sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The gas-lift system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors comprise pressure and temperature sensors. 
     
     
         5 . The gas-lift system of  claim 4 , wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to detect an incident based on data received from the pressure and temperature sensors. 
     
     
         6 . The gas-lift system of  claim 5 , wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to send a command to the gas-lift system to shut down operations based on detection of the incident. 
     
     
         7 . The gas-lift system of  claim 6 , wherein the command is sent to the surface actuation system or the sub-surface actuation system to close or shut down the gas pump, the surface annular safety valve, or the sub-surface safety valve. 
     
     
         8 . The gas-lift system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors comprise an atmospheric gas concentration sensor located at the surface location and the automated gas-lift manager is configured to detect an incident based on data received from the atmospheric gas concentration sensor. 
     
     
         9 . The gas-lift system of  claim 8 , wherein the automated gas-lift manager is configured to send a command to the gas-lift system to shut down operations based on detection of the incident. 
     
     
         10 . The gas-lift system of  claim 9 , wherein the command is sent to the surface actuation system or the sub-surface actuation system to close or shut down the gas pump, the surface annular safety valve, or the sub-surface safety valve. 
     
     
         11 . A method for a gas-lift system for a well having production tubing configured to convey production fluids to a surface location, the method comprising:
 pumping a gas from the surface location into an annulus of the well using a gas pump;   opening a downhole gas injection valve to allow the gas to enter the production tubing from the annulus of the well;   mixing the gas with the production fluids to lower a density of the production fluids and allow the production fluids to flow to the surface location using the production tubing;   monitoring the gas-lift system using a plurality of surface sensors coupled to a surface pressure barrier system and a plurality of sub-surface sensors coupled to a sub-surface pressure barrier system, wherein data is sent from the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors to an automated gas-lift manager;   detecting, using the automated gas-lift manager, an incident in the gas-lift system using the data from the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors; and   sending a command signal from the automated gas-lift manager to a surface actuation system in the surface pressure barrier system or to a sub-surface actuation system in the sub-surface pressure barrier system to perform one or more functionalities based on the detection of the incident, the functionalities comprising:
 turning off the gas pump, using the surface actuation system, to prevent the gas from being pumped into the well, 
 closing a surface annular safety valve, using the surface actuation system, to prevent the production fluids from migrating through an annulus of a wellhead capping the well, and 
 closing a sub-surface safety valve, using the sub-surface actuation system, to prevent the production fluids from flowing to the wellhead. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors comprise valve position sensors coupled to the surface annular safety valve, the downhole gas injection valve, and the sub-surface safety valve. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein monitoring the gas-lift system further comprises detecting a position of the surface annular safety valve, the downhole gas injection valve, and the sub-surface safety valve using data from the valve position sensors. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors and the plurality of sub-surface sensors comprise pressure and temperature sensors. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein detecting the incident further comprises detecting a spike in temperature or a spike in pressure using data from the pressure and temperature sensors. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein sending the command signal from the automated gas-lift manager further comprises diagnosing the incident using locations associated with the data received from the pressure and temperature sensors. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein sending the command signal from the automated gas-lift manager further comprises determining which functionality to perform based on the diagnosis of the incident. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of surface sensors comprise an atmospheric gas concentration sensor located at the surface location. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein detecting the incident further comprises detecting an increase in a concentration of gas using the atmospheric gas concentration sensor. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein sending the command signal from the automated gas-lift manager further comprises determining which functionality to perform based on the detection of the increase in the concentration of the gas.