Patent · US Expired

Method for determining well productivity using automatic downtime data

US5871047A · kind A · utility

32Cited by
3References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 12, 1997
Grant dateFeb 16, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 12, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
  • CPC primaryE21B47/00
  • WIPO fieldCivil engineering
  • WIPO sectorOther fields

Abstract

A method is presented to estimate the productivity index, PI, and the well condition, s, of a pumping well utilizing the knowledge of pump runtime versus downtime. Runtime and downtime may be constantly and automatically recorded and transmitted to a central location. A model runtime is computed assuming the two unknowns, PI and s. The model is then compared with the actual runtime data. A nonlinear optimization technique is used to search for the unknown parameters such that the differences between the measured data and the numerically simulated data are minimized in a least-squares fashion. The proposed estimation procedure is an economical and accurate method for monitoring the behavior of a well resevoir system during runtime.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.