Instrumentation of sucker-rod pumping systems in a large scale thermal pilot was an essential requirement for steam-injection projects. The manuscript focuses on the setup of a real-time smart alarming suite, and the benefits realized in terms of identifying surface and downhole equipment issues and wells requiring critical actions. Two levels of alarms have been set after reviewing well performance with well-surveillance and field-development teams using real time data gathered through a SCADA system for each parameter for each well individually. The capability in the real-time smart alarming system to set both warning and critical alarm criteria for minimum and maximum values allowed deeper supervision of abnormal conditions, highlighting assets in need of preventive actions. The pre-configured controller alarms have been integrated with software smart alarms to be available in one screen in real time, to immediately take the necessary actions. The alarm system identified wells with: Surface equipment problems related to load cell and position sensor issuesDown hole equipment issues related to standing and travelling leaksSurface network issues related to flow line pressure increases due to back pressure The presence of such an alarm system prevented major issues that sucker rod pump systems typically experience in terms of high load exerted on the gearbox, high stress applied on rods/sinker bars, and forces applied on surface unit structure. The implementation of such a preventive approach reduced the amount of well trips and downtime, avoiding unwanted incidents, reducing the response action time and unnecessary workover costs Setting limits for essential parameters that are being reviewed in a fixed period helped in identifying wells far from critical zones to be addressed as candidates for further investigation for production/asset optimization. The real-time intelligent alarming and smart notification system is considered the backbone for production optimization and asset management in the oil and gas industry. Achieving such a level of effective surveillance/alarming allowed better asset management, prevented equipment failures, prolonged equipment life time, and reduced unnecessary costs. Successful deployment of the smart field approach in the North Large Scale Thermal Pilot for sucker rod lifted pumps helped in utilizing the performance of the equipment, increased oil production and assured smooth operational activities.

The demand for digital oil field solutions in artificially lifted wells is higher than ever, especially for wells producing heavy oil with high sand content and gas. A real-time supervisory control and data acquisition solution has been applied in a large-scale thermal pilot for 28 instrumented sucker rod pumping wells in North Kuwait. This paper focuses on the advantages of real-time data acquisition for identifying production-optimization candidates, improving pump performance, and minimizing down time when using intelligent alarms and an analysis engine. Real-time surveillance provided a huge amount of information to be analyzed and discussed by well surveillance and field development teams to determine required actions based on individual well performance. Controller alarms and intelligent configurable alarms in one screen enabled early detection of unexpected/unwanted well behavior, re-investigating well potential, and taking necessary actions. The challenge was to handle heavy oil, sand, and gas production, maintain all wells at optimum running conditions before and after steam injections, and take into consideration the effect that injections would have on nearby wells. Recording in the database a "tracking item" for each well event enabled review and evaluation of the wells and creation of optimization reports. The daily, 24-hour surveillance of the wells resulted in observing common problems/issues on almost all wells and other individual issues for specific wells. The following are examples of problems identified in early stages: Detected wells with gas interference before they reached gas lockDetected wells with high flowline pressure before flowline blockage resulted from sand productionDetected wells with standing valve and/or traveling valve leak—resulting from sand production—before the pump stuck The availability of such a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system helped in guiding the operations team to further investigate only specific items from the field side to confirm the findings. The ability to remotely control the wells and remotely change configuration of the variable speed drive parameters enabled instant implementation and continuous production optimization. The powerful SCADA solution enabled creating short- and long-term plans and monitoring the behavior of wells while the implementation phase was executed. For the first time in South Ratqa in North Kuwait, the smart field approach was implemented in a thermal pilot using sucker rod pumps; and the results will be used as a reference for the upcoming projects in this area. Real-time monitoring and data storage in a single database with an analysis engine provided fully automated surveillance and the capability of remotely controlling and applying required actions for production optimization.

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