Sensor Ball: An Autonomous Untethered Logging Platform

Abstract Downhole conditions of oil and gas reservoirs change with time. Monitoring this change is critical to enhance hydrocarbon recovery from the reservoir. Conventionally, downhole measurements of physical and chemical properties of downhole formation fluids are taken using wireline logging or using permanent downhole sensors. Wireline logging is a complex operation that requires several miles of wireline cable, a winch, a crane and a specialized crew that knows how to operate this equipment [1]. In addition, a blowout preventer, a lubricator and a specialized crew to install and operate are needed. The complexity and cost of wireline operations makes it difficult to acquire reservoir data frequently. The other alternative for gathering downhole data more frequently is installing permanent sensors or optical fibers in the well [2-3]. However, due to the harsh downhole conditions, these sensors need to be extremely reliable and continuously maintained. Moreover, surface data acquisition systems for these sensors increase their cost significantly and reduces their applicability to every well. Both methods have their own limitations and there is a need for more practical and less expensive oil field instruments for well logging. Engineering small, inexpensive and robust logging instruments has its own challenges. Solving these challenges has been the main focus area of Sensors Development Team at Aramco Research Center in Houston. This paper describes one of the concept ideas that was successfully engineered and tested in our facility and successfully deployed and retrieved in the field in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with our EXPEC ARC and Northern Area Production Engineering and Well Services Divisions in Saudi Arabia.