Experimental Research on Oil–Water Flow Imaging in Near-Horizontal Well Using Single-Probe Multi-Position Measurement Fluid Imager

Abstract

To obtain local flow velocity and holdup for oil–water in a near-horizontal well, array probes were adopted in the cross section of the wellbore. In this study, a fluid flow imaging logging tool called the single-probe multi-position measurement fluid imager (SPFI) was developed, which consisted of only a single turbine flowmeter and a single capacitance holdup probe. Most importantly, it could collect local velocity and holdup information at different locations along the vertical direction of the wellbore diameter. Firstly, in the large-diameter multi-phase flow simulation test loop, the instrument was placed at five different positions along the wellbore cross section to perform simulated measurements in different wellbore deviation angles and oil–water flowrates. Secondly, the experiment data was analyzed, and the experiment flow pattern chart, instrument response coefficient, and rule of the instrument response were obtained. At the same time, the calculation methods of local holdup and local velocity were derived. Thirdly, by combining the interpolation algorithm, velocity imaging and holdup imaging were implemented, and the stratified flow model was used to calculate the flowrate of each phase. Finally, this study provides technology support for production profile data interpretation using the fluid flow imaging tool for oil–water in a near-horizontal well.