US Patent:
20020112860, Aug 22, 2002
Inventors:
Jeffery McDaniel - Houston TX, US
Assignee:
Baker Hughes Incorporated - Houston TX
International Classification:
E21B023/00
E21B043/00
US Classification:
166/381000, 166/065100, 340/853300
Abstract:
The present invention provides a production well control system for controlling multiple downhole devices individually, or as a group, based upon user command or real time downhole parameters. In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a surface control unit, a downhole control module and an interface unit are provided for selectively controlling multiple downhole devices and transmitting real time data to the surface. An important feature of this invention is the ability to access the multiple devices (e.g., valves) individually, or as a group arranged in a distributed scheme. The number of downhole devices that can be controlled by this apparatus is only limited by the data address sizes, the power delivery capacity or the power consumption requirements. Another embodiment of the invention provides downhole sensors and a control module to automatically control the downhole devices based upon a sensed downhole parameter or event.
