Remote monitoring of wellheads via ultrasonic sensor

Objectives

A HotSense™ ultrasonic sensor has been successfully deployed with a CALIPERAY wireless system and a field communication kit to monitor erosion rates in a remote upstream Shell facility as an alternative to manual inspection with x-ray RT profiling.

Shell's objectives were:

• Maximising well productivity, based on known erosion rates
• Increasing safety, reduced site activity and exposure to x-ray
• Reducing costs by automating data collection remotely

Solution

• HotSense™ sensors were connected to a Mistras WirelessHART CALIPERAY™ ultrasonic monitoring system to make automated, accurate, precise and reliable thickness measurements.
• The system is intrinsically safe certified for use in FM Class 1 Div 1 and ATEX and IECEx Zone 0 applications.
• HotSense™ sensors were attached to the NPS 2” pipes using the non-intrusive clamp deployment system during live operation of the well.
• A Field Communication Kit was installed based on a WirelessHART gateway, power supply and cellular modem to provide direct data transfer to a remote server.
• Advanced software for wall thickness data analysis and graphical visualisation (WAMP) was installed on the server for data collection and analysis.
• Measurements collected from the UT system over a 6-month period were successfully validated against RT profile images.

Outcome

• Thickness measurements were automatically collected and uploaded via the cellular enabled field deployment kit.
• Frequent, consistent and high-quality wall thickness data collection enabled the customer to maximise well productivity and increase safety.
• The measurement was validated as an upper operating threshold, risk mitigation strategy compared to the costly alternative (RT profiling).
• Process and production engineers have desktop access to integrity data from the remote site allowing production optimisation and profitable decisions based on measurable data.
• Reduced inspection costs avoiding travel and eliminating hot work permits.
• Continuous monitoring from remote and hazardous locations delivered reduced exposure of staff to hazardous environments.