A maintenance provider for oilfield chemical injection systems needed to upgrade from manual, on-site pressure checks to a reliable remote monitoring solution. The system had to withstand the high ambient temperatures of the Permian Basin, cover numerous wells at each site, and provide immediate alerts for pressure spikes to enable proactive service. A solution combining long-range wireless pressure transducers with an industrial IoT gateway provided the necessary performance and data accessibility.
- Application: Remote pressure monitoring of chemical injection manifolds in an oilfield.
- Challenge: High ambient temperatures, a large number of distributed measurement points, and the need for real-time alerts for pressure anomalies.
- Solution: IWPT series wireless pressure transmitters communicating with a cellular IoT Gateway.
- Benefit: Transitioned from inefficient manual checks to a proactive, data-driven maintenance model, improving service quality and operational awareness.
A provider of maintenance services for chemical injection systems across thousands of wells in the oil and gas sector sought to enhance its service offering by moving from traditional, manual monitoring to a modern, automated solution. The existing process involved visually inspecting analog pressure gauges on manifolds at each well site. This method was not only labor-intensive and inefficient for a large-scale operation but also failed to provide the real-time data needed to proactively manage system health. The company specifically wanted to monitor for sudden pressure spikes, which could indicate blockages or other system malfunctions, but the intermittent nature of manual checks made this nearly impossible.
The primary operational challenge was the demanding environment of the Permian Basin, which is characterized by extremely high ambient temperatures. Any deployed instrumentation would need to be robust enough to perform reliably under these harsh conditions. Furthermore, the logistical challenge involved instrumenting numerous wells, sometimes twenty or more, within a radius of approximately 1,500 feet at a single location. A wired solution was deemed impractical and cost-prohibitive due to the distributed nature of the measurement points. The ideal system had to be wireless, capable of handling data from multiple sensors simultaneously, and able to transmit this information from remote locations where cellular service could often be inconsistent.
The proposed solution centered around the IWPT series of industrial wireless pressure transducers paired with a central IoT Gateway. The IWPT transducers were selected for their suitability to the harsh application environment. Constructed with a 316 stainless steel housing and a piezo-resistive ceramic sensor diaphragm, the instruments offer excellent compatibility with the types of liquids and gases used in chemical injection systems. A critical feature for this application is the ambient operating temperature range of -20°C to +50°C, ensuring reliable performance even during the peak heat of the day in the basin. The transducers are powered by a single lithium C-cell battery, which provides up to five years of operational life based on a ten-second transmission update rate, dramatically reducing maintenance overhead and eliminating the need for power infrastructure at each wellhead.
Data from the individual IWPT transducers is transmitted wirelessly to the IoT Gateway. With a line-of-sight range of up to 500 meters, a single gateway can effectively service all the wells on a given pad, simplifying the system architecture. The gateway itself is a powerful data hub, capable of receiving signals from up to 128 wireless transmitters, providing ample scalability for future expansion. To overcome the challenge of variable network coverage in the field, the gateway is equipped with a built-in 2G/3G/4G cellular modem. This ensures that data is reliably sent to a remote cloud-based server using the efficient MQTT protocol, even if it has to fall back to older network standards.
This integrated system directly addressed the customer’s core requirement of detecting pressure spikes. The cloud platform allows for the configuration of automated alarm notifications via SMS or email, alerting technicians to process anomalies in real-time. This enables the service provider to shift from a reactive to a proactive maintenance strategy. The platform also provides access to both live and historical data, with options for graphic trending and playback. This capability allows for in-depth analysis of system performance, helping to identify potential issues before they lead to costly downtime. By replacing outdated analog gauges with this wireless IoT solution, the company could offer a vastly improved level of service, underpinned by data-driven insights and immediate, actionable alerts.
IWPT Wireless Pressure Sensor and IOT Gateway Receiver
- Part Number: IWPTU-GP3K6-00, IoT-Gateway
- Wireless Transmitters: Pressure Sensor
- Process Connection: 1/4 NPT male
- Pressure Ranges (psi): 3600 psi g
- Wireless Receivers: 2G 3G 4G cellular modem