Trial and Assessment of Downhole Intelligent Water Injector

Water flooding was the key method for oil recovery in China, so far the technology of downhole water injection had been updated to the fourth generation, enhancing the efficacy of this measurement significantly. While the period of water injection usually last at least 2–3 years, the downhole environmental was harsh, posing serious threat to the integrity of downhole injector, particularly to the intelligent type which integrated mechanical and electrical devices in a compacted area. In this paper, the plan aimed at trialing the intelligent injector was developed based on its actual working conditions, assessment method was constructed to ensure the long term effectiveness of this tool, and finally relevant standards were dratted based on previous work. The results indicated that there were three key modules, the motor, the nozzle and the electric circuit respectively, relevant tests included the properties of motor and nozzle, aging of the electric circuit. As for the whole system, it had to pass the test of sealing and vibration, as for the field operation, assembly procedures and rational ratings were required to make sure zero accidents over 3 years operation. All the targets were quantified in the paper based on the feedback information of field trials. The paper prescribed the failure cause of downhole intelligent injector, the trial strategy based the prescription was summarized, the assembly standard was also drafted, efforts were made form a holistic view and the outcome did prove its value in ensuing the integrity of intelligent injector, making it a paradigm for downhole tool quality control tactics.