Effective BOP Stump Testing is a critical to eliminating unplanned stack pulls. A significant portion of the industry still uses very loose testing criteria during these tests that can result in components lacking integrity to be deployed.
This article describes how IPT’s patented advanced algorithms called, Trend Analysis were able to identify previously undetectable leaks. We present two examples that demonstrate its ability to identify subtle leaks that alternative digital pressure testing products would not be able to identify during critical BOP Stump tests.
To further enhance the leak detection capability of SureTec, IPT developed the patented Trend Analysis algorithms to eliminate the scenario where a low rate of change in the pressures can have a degrading trend indicative of a small and subtle leak. IPT’s layered and advanced algorithms are customizable and configurable to meet client’s objectives (Figure 1).
SureTec’s Trend Analysis can find small leaks during BOP Stump tests so they can be fixed on the rig to avoid an unplanned BOP stack pull from the seafloor potentially costing millions of dollars. In one example, IPT’s Field Advisors ran a Stump test using SureTec on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Trend Analysis failed the test because the ROC values were not improving. At first, the operator and contractor thought that Trend Analysis needlessly failed the test. After inspecting the BOP, the rig crew found the leak on the Lower Pipe Ram’s outer door face seal (Figure 6).
In another example, an IPT Field Advisor and a subsea engineer (SSE) were witnessing a Stump test using Trend Analysis. When testing the Upper Pipe Ram (UPR) against 7” drillpipe, it became apparent to the Field Advisor that Trend Analysis was not improving, indicating a leak. The SSE was not convinced there was a leak; however, IPT’s Field Advisor was adamant that the UPR had a leak or a valve had been left open. Upon inspection of the BOP, the subsea crew found a leak in the UPR. Parts were flown out the next morning to repair the UPR. After the seals were replaced, the UPR was retested against 7″ and 4.5″ drillpipe and it subsequently passed Trend Analysis.
The results of the tests were gathered by the operator and presented to both parties (Figure 3). According to the major operator, tests performed using SureTec were 20% faster than the competitor’s tests. In addition to faster test validation, IPT provided a high level of integrity assurance using SureTec’s patented algorithms.
Trend Analysis can prevent costly and potentially catastrophic events by detecting leaks during critical pressure tests on BOP components. IPT’s Advanced Leak Detection Algorithms are available in the Standard, Advanced, and Premier tiers of SureTec. Contact us today to learn how our advanced analysis can improve your safety and operational efficiency.
A major operator invited IPT and a competitor to a head-to-head trial on sister drillships in the Gulf of Mexico to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of each participant’s pressure testing application.
IPT was deemed by the operator to be 20% more efficient than its predictive competitor based on field trials.
IPT analyzed the tests using its patented advanced algorithms while the competitor used “predictive” analysis, which is a form of standard decline analysis. The results are presented below after a description of TCLD Analysis.
Thermally Compensated Leak Detection (TCLD) delivers the most efficient and accurate testing in the industry. TCLD is the only analysis available on the market that predicts test results based on real data. This enables IPT to routinely validate tests more efficiently than “predictive” competitors that are validating based on arbitrary coefficients and no data.
TCLD can detect any subtle deviations from expected test results, ensuring even subtle leaks will be detected. This is achieved by comparing the results of similar pressure, volume and temperature systems. These are critical variables that must be accounted for when predicting test results.
The trial took place on two sister drillships with similar BOP design and operating within similar water depth and wellbore design. Both competitors performed a BOP latch-up test and two BOP interval tests. The competitor used a form of predictive decline analysis in the trial while IPT used its patented Advanced Analyses. (Figure 2).
The results of the tests were gathered by the operator and presented to both parties (Figure 3). According to the major operator, tests performed using SureTec were 20% faster than the competitor’s tests. In addition to faster test validation, IPT provided a high level of integrity assurance using SureTec’s patented algorithms.
Be sure that your testing on integrity critical equipment and well barrier elements is accurate and effective with advanced leak detection through IPT SureTec Advanced Leak Detection Analysis! IPT’s Advanced Leak Detection Algorithms are available in the Standard, Advanced, and Premier tiers of SureTec. Contact us today to learn how our advanced analysis can help you.
Most digital pressure testing applications on the market regularly pass leaks due to a lack of advanced data analysis. Operators and contractors should be concerned that digital solutions use standard decline analysis to validate high-pressure tests on critical rig equipment and do not account for thermal effects.
The lack of accurate leak detection on blowout preventers (BOPs), production trees, and well barrier elements increases the risk of process safety incidents, which puts operations at risk of harm to the environment, people, and assets because of increased risk of process safety incidents due to lack of leak-detection on BOPs, production trees and well barrier elements.
Many digital pressure testing alternatives falsely claim to be predictive by using a curve extrapolation for pressure decline analysis. There is no truly predictive product on the market that utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence.
However, one digital pressure testing solution using advanced analysis algorithms has transformed one of the industry’s most consequential assurance activities.
This case study shows how IPT Global’s SureTec® PressureTesting solution, using algorithms, developed with the world’s largest pressure testing database, detected potential leaks that were missed by a competing digital pressure testing vendor for two high-pressure tests. Importantly these tests were during live operations offshore.
Decline analysis uses a percentage of the required test pressure as the criteria to determine the allowable pressure drop over a given period (typically 5 minutes). For example, if a system has a test pressure of 10,000 psi and the vendor selects 0.5% as the Decline criteria, then the acceptable pressure loss is calculated as follows:
Acceptable Pressure Loss = (Criteria x Test Pressure) = 0.005 x 10,000 psi = 50 psi
The same decline criteria and required test pressure were used in high-pressure tests on a cement unit and a low torque valve shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. During the tests, two data points (A and B) were selected five minutes apart by the competitor software. Using the above decline criteria, both tests passed because the respective pressure losses of 49 psi and 48 psi were less than 50 psi.
Using decline criteria alone to validate critical components ignores the thermal effects of pressurization on the system. Pressurization increases the temperature of the system, and the pressure decreases when the system cools during shut in.
It’s the same effect that occurs when car tires lose pressure in the winter. As a result, when the system is shut in to monitor the pressure, part of the pressure drop is due to cooling of the test fluid as the system loses heat to the surroundings. Because of its simplicity, standard digital testing utilizing decline analysis cannot distinguish between pressure loss due to thermal effects and pressure loss due to a potential leak.
Example 1 – Example of competitor digital solution passing a test with pressure loss of 49 psi. This large pressure drop was allowed due to a lack of advanced algorithms, only available through IPT Global’s PressureTesting. PressureTesting removed the thermal influence and identified a leak on the cement unit.
Example 2 – Example of a competitor digital solution passing a test with a pressure loss of 48 psi. This large pressure drop was allowed due to a lack of advanced algorithms, only available through IPT Global’s SureTec PressureTesting solution. PressureTesting removed the thermal influence and identified a leak on the lower torque valve.
To demonstrate that competing digital approaches are inadequate for leak detection, the same tests were analyzed using Global’s PressureTesting solution with a field-tested physics-based advanced analysis. This analysis uses strict criteria to detect a leak with a high level of confidence.
The IPT Global analysis failed the same tests that passed using a competing digital solution. IPT Global technology was able to differentiate thermal influences as the test fluid cooled off during testing.
Accurate leak detection depends on testing methods that go beyond simple curve extrapolation. IPT Global’s PressureTesting solution applies physics-based layered algorithm validation, to confirm the integrity of critical equipment and well barrier elements with objective, repeatable results.
Contact us to learn how PressureTesting’s leak detection capabilities can support your operations.
IPT offers SureTec, the leading software platform for digital pressure testing and integrity assurance throughout the well’s lifecycle. From pre-deployment to P&A, SureTec enables procedural compliance with an easy-to-use tool for designing, planning, testing, and reporting to drive higher levels of operational performance, assurance, and safety. SureTec is the only tool on the market where all relevant workflows are part of one seamless application to ensure the highest levels of performance, transparency, and compliance.
SureTec provides schematic builders to properly depict the design and layout for the BOP, production trees, manifold, and wellbore. Once the schematics are built, test plans are made to comply with required acceptance criteria and process standards.
SureTec can be utilized for all aspects of pressure testing including integrity critical equipment and well barrier elements. Examples of testing include: Blow Out Preventer (BOP) testing, casing tests, well barrier elements, and completions, production, intervention, and plug and abandon tests.
Planning tests accurately without the proper tools results in errors and omissions without time consuming checks and reviews. Even after review, many plans must change somewhat at testing time, which makes assuring all components are tested properly very difficult. SureTec offers its exclusive dynamic coverage capability and pressure path visualizations ensure all required components are tested to the proper pressure and configuration. This coverage capability allows the user to easily assign which sides of valves and which components are to be tested to certain pressures and confirms all will be tested properly prior to pressure testing. Dynamic coverage tracking allows test plans to be modified at test time and automatically communicate coverage status and alerts. This further ensures all required components and barriers are properly validated even when test plans must adapt to changing conditions.
For further assurance, IPT offers Approval Workflow which works in conjunction with Planning and Testing providing cloud-based collaboration, version control, review and approval, and fully auditable records of activity. This eliminates the need to email spreadsheets and other documentation back and forth, ensuring streamlined communications.
SureTec validates integrity critical equipment and well barrier element integrity through multi-dimensional layered algorithms. These algorithms provide objective pass/fail test results and include:
Decline Analysis is the industry standard test validation method. Decline analysis was originally derived from circular chart recorders (CCRs). Basic digital alternatives to the CCRs utilize decline analysis and often tout it as being predictive, based on simple curve extrapolation. IPT recognized this as a major assurance opportunity and sought to develop algorithms that provide higher assurance and efficiency to test validation.
IPT leads the industry in advanced analytics and has developed additional algorithms to validate tests, based on an extensive test database. IPT’s proprietary algorithms allow us to push past industry standards for more assurance with Trend Analysis, Rate of Change Analysis, and TCLD. These additional analyses add extra layers of validation, which improves accuracy and efficiency. TCLD offers critical time savings by comparing tests to an established benchmark test for systems with comparable pressure and volume. If the subsequent tests are exhibiting a pressure rate of change (ROC) comparable to the benchmark test, the high-pressure portion of the test can pass as fast as 7 minutes. Since 2015, TCLD has saved our customers over 11,000 hours of rig time. For increased assurance, IPT’s Trend Analysis can be used with any testing criteria to confirm the pressure ROC is continuously improving. SureTec can also simultaneously test casing with the BOP for additional time savings.
SureTec testing algorithms provide the highest levels of efficiency and assurance to ensure well integrity. Our Inflow Testing criteria offers unmatched assurance by removing subjectivity in test interpretation. IPT has also developed the ability to execute up to four tests simultaneously. This capability is critical for high volume testing operations, such as during completions.
SureTec generates test reports with all relevant information to the operation. Another SureTec exclusive requires any failed test attempts be fully documented for full transparency and to avoid unnecessary regulatory non-conformance. All reports are stored in SureView for easy access to relevant personnel. With comprehensive yet clear test results, these reports are essential in improving communications during operations and handover, as well as useful for regulatory bodies and any internal or external audits.
SureTec provides a range of solutions for your operations. SureTec provides a holistic testing solution with cloud access with IPT’s proprietary algorithms and features including multi-testing and inflow testing. Contact us today to learn how IPT can help solve your pressure testing needs.
IPT’s SureView ties well integrity management, awareness, activities, and information together in a seamless and easy to navigate, web-based and mobile friendly solution. SureView gathers and manages data from all IPT solutions and displays it in specialized views to support testing and monitoring activities. From designing test plans, monitoring BOP performance, streamlining collaboration, to identifying performance opportunities, SureView enables team members around the world to securely view and manage operations in real time.
SureView communicates in real time with IPT’s SureTec application to monitor, archive, and inspect the results of wellbore element (WBE) tests. Personnel can review specific details of each test and identify opportunities to drive performance enhancements through KPIs that are created for tests and rig operations.
Remote View allows personnel to monitor real-time pressure activities from anywhere on any device. If a problem or failure occurs, real-time monitoring reduces communication lag and improves troubleshooting techniques through collaboration.
SureView also offers our BOP Reliability System (BRS) to provide Live Monitoring Dashboards, Event and Alarm Monitoring, and historical data retrieval to ensure BOP Reliability during all phases of BOP operations. BRS, along with the rest of IPT’s ecosystem, provides compliance for 21-day testing in the Gulf of Mexico, and supports our Condition-Based Monitoring initiative.
SureView’s Approval Workflow manages plan versions and allows personnel to review and approve test plans prior to beginning a test. It can also be used to review and approve test results upon successful completion. Personnel have the option to approve or request changes to a test plan or completed report. If any changes are needed, an email alerts users for updating. An audit log of all approved plans, tests, and approval activity is maintained for accurate record keeping and compliance.
Finally, SureView allows for integration with your data lakes and verification management systems through secure, industry-standard interfaces, automating manual processes and increasing your data quality.
Keep all your documentation in one secure location with SureView. Contact us today to learn how IPT can help maximize record keeping efficiency in operations.
Managed Pressure Drilling is a process that uses a closed-loop circulation system for more accurate bottom hole pressure control, resulting in higher drilling efficiency and the prevention of drilling hazards. More operators are turning to IPT to validate the integrity of critical equipment and ensure that the benefits of Managed Pressure Drilling are realized.
In conventional (onshore) drilling, the circulating system operates in a flow path that is open to the atmosphere. To control the well, drilling engineers adjust the mud density and may also use the equivalent circulating density (ECD) to maintain the bottom hole pressure (BHP) within a drilling margin determined by the formation’s pore pressure and fracture pressure (Figure 1). After the mud exits the top of the wellbore, it goes through a flowline to mud-gas separation and solids control equipment before being recirculated in the well. When the pumps are circulating mud in the hole, the BHP is a function of the hydrostatic pressure plus the annular friction pressure of the mud. When the pumps are turned off to make connections, the BHP is controlled solely by the hydrostatic pressure of the mud in the hole.
Drilling using an open circulating system presents challenges to control BHP in deep wells. First, small changes in mud density have a large impact on the hydrostatic pressure. Also, deep wells have high annular friction losses, resulting in large changes in BHP when the pumps are turned off. If the BHP becomes greater than the hydrostatic pressure of the mud, an influx of formation fluids can create a kick. The driller tries to control a kick by adjusting the mud density and shutting in the well to monitor the pressure. Then the driller circulates the kick out of the hole at a slow pump rate. The repeated cycles to kill the well and circulate out the kick significantly increases non-productive time (NPT) and safety risks.
Drilling margins are narrower in deepwater where the overburden pressure of seawater is less than that of rock and the formation strength is lower (Figure 2). As a result, it is standard practice in deepwater to set numerous casing strings at shallow depths to avoid extensive lost circulation.
Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) is a closed circulation system that allows drillers to monitor the wellbore’s annular hydraulic pressure profile more accurately and react in real time to precisely control BHP. The annular hydraulic pressure is maintained slightly above the pore pressure to prevent the influx of formation fluids and also well below the fracture pressure to avoid loss of circulation. Preventing these hazards improves safety and greatly reduces NPT in complex wells by increasing operational drilling efficiencies. MPD makes access to older depleted reservoirs possible and allows operators to drill previously “undrillable” wells. MPD can also reduce the number of casing strings required, thereby reducing trips and saving time, in addition to allowing a well to be completed in a larger hole size.
IPT provides the highest level of Managed Pressure Drilling component integrity assurance with our experienced Industry Experts and our applications, SureTec and SureView.
IPT works closely with operators, rig contractors, and Managed Pressure Drilling contractors to develop strategies that optimize test planning and execution. Typically, Managed Pressure Drilling component validation can be accomplished with relatively few additional tests during commissioning and BOP testing. IPT ensures that the required number, frequency, and types of tests are run to validate component integrity, avoid equipment-related NPT, and comply with local regulatory bodies.
SureTec allows existing BOP schematics to be used or modified for MPD test plans. SureTec’s Schematic Editor validates all connections and component names, making it easier to detect and correct errors compared to using complex rig piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). SureTec’s Plan Editor clearly identifies the test criteria, valve alignment, pressure path, and MPD components that will be validated in each test step.
SureTec uses proprietary algorithms and stringent criteria capable of validating MPD component integrity at low pressure to significantly reduce pressurized time and increase integrity assurance. SureTec’s advanced validation algorithms, such as Thermally Compensated Leak Detection (TCLD) are available in the Advanced and Premier tiers of SureTec.
SureTec generates standardized, detailed planning and test reports with complete documentation of test steps including pressure graphs, analysis charts, schematics, and tested components. IPT’s SureView Portal lets organizations archive and retrieve tests and analyze test results to share best practices and drive performance across teams.
Contact us today to find out how our team and applications can help you design, execute, and optimize your MPD program.
IPT offers operations support with our Industry Experts. Our industry-leading experts partner with clients both on-site and remotely to improve operational efficiency and well integrity. Our team consists of remote assurance and support, Field Advisors, Performance Advisors, and BOP Compliance Surveyors.
Remote assurance and support are available 24/7 for test plan generation and optimization, performance analysis, and remote workflow consulting. Our real-time operations center is easily accessible by email or phone to assist with troubleshooting and answer any questions that might arise during operations. We also provide an extra set of eyes to monitor all testing activities to identify and reduce the chance of misalignments.
Our Field Advisors work in collaboration with the client for on-site test coordination. Our clients enjoy these services, especially to ensure success in high-volume test applications such as completions projects. Advisors provide optimization and efficiency consultation to continuously improve test performance and ensure our testing and monitoring software platform, SureTec, is being utilized to its full potential. Having an advisor onboard delivers an additional layer of assurance to make sure all tests are conducted properly and removes the workload from rig personnel to finalize reports. IPT field personnel also act as champions in health, safety, and environmental leadership to produce the perfect balance of safety and efficiency in well integrity and assurance. They enthusiastically participate in all rig-based safety programs along with an internally shared safety network to emphasize lessons learned and help reduce the chance of incidents.
Performance Advisors provide expert advice to streamline application across operations. Our continuous improvements and testing insights drive process standardization, which leads to increased efficiency and sustainability. We utilize big data to customize performance reports and convert results into actionable outcomes. KPI metrics are generated and tailored for the customer along with after-action reviews to present growth opportunities through applied learning. Our performance advisors also work closely with stakeholders to achieve workflow regimens and continuous improvement by performing after action reviews and streamlining test plans. This collaborative effort drives optimized assurance, performance, and compliance.
BOP Compliance Surveyors provide third-party equipment inspection and auditing by utilizing objective documentation, which allows IPT to provide consistent results to customers. Recommended survey and inspection practices are derived from OEMs, operations and maintenance manuals, regulatory guidance, and API standards. In accordance with all regulatory compliance, our detailed inspection checks the BOP stack, and associated well control equipment and documentation. Surveyors ensure integrity critical equipment compliance and track meaningful equipment data throughout its lifecycle for condition-based maintenance.
IPT’s Industry Experts support your well integrity management program throughout the well’s lifecycle. No matter what level of support you require, IPT has you covered. To learn more about how we can help make your job easier, contact us today!
IPT Global is the industry leader for well integrity testing and monitoring through our preeminent software applications, SureTec and SureView. Before our software applications are released, they go through rigorous automated and manual testing processes to ensure accuracy. IPT understands that efficient and precise pressure testing and monitoring of integrity critical equipment and well barrier elements is vital, so we put our software through the ultimate tests.
Using Ranorex software and virtual machines, our software team has developed a suite of over two hundred automated test cases which are run every night and guarantee that nothing in the software is broken. This tests everything from running a basic pressure record, to the most complicated monitoring and assurance workflow scenarios.
The Quality Assurance Engineering team collaborates with the developers and product owners to write test cases and verify all development changes prior to being built into our software. Once changes have been developed, product owners verify the changes are accurate and complete before revisions are deployed into our applications.
IPT engineers have created a custom library of over four hundred manual test cases which are run through a number of iterations prior to any release deployment of the software. These iterations ensure that the software still performs as intended after changes to the code base.
IPT maintains a comprehensive list of the latest browsers and devices for testing compatibility. We ensure that SureView is responsive across a wide range of mobile devices such as iPhones and Androids. The team uses BrowserStack to test that Apple’s iOS and Safari browser are supported. The verification of text and email notifications from Twilio are also included in the testing.
IPT Global uses sophisticated application programming interface (API) testing tools such as Postman and JMeter to simulate several users working on our SureView product at the same time to guarantee SureView will be available for all users and perform to specifications when there is a significant number of active users.
IPT receives feedback from customers and reviews and prioritizes this feedback every week for potential inclusion in future releases. Any severe bugs are addressed with a high priority by the development team and a root cause analysis is performed if needed.
In addition, IPT conducts quarterly benchmark reviews to assure that our code and product quality standards are being met. IPT has held the ISO 9001 certification for over 7 years and counting.
When you trust IPT with your testing with SureTec or BOP monitoring needs, you are getting a software that has been thoroughly verified by IPT’s Quality Assurance Engineering team and does not contain critical defects. Why risk your Integrity Critical Equipment to another provider or “become the software tester” when you go with a competitor? You can have the peace of mind that your software has been thoroughly tested before it is ever used for your operations with IPT. Do you have any questions about our software testing and assurance? Contact us to learn more.
IPT Global believes that innovative technology is born out of collaboration with subject matter experts and a focus on delivering world-class solutions. Our in-house software development team proudly developes our SureTec® Equipment Health Monitoring technology for BOP and MPD systems. This was a natural segue from our BOP digital pressure testing solution, SureTec PressureTesting.
IPT Global provides holistic BOP integrity management solutions through leading technology that allows for continuous monitoring and robust pressure testing. We support clients with superior first-rate service including 24/7 real-time monitoring, remote and onsite compatibility verification, failure tracking and root cause analysis, along with permitting and planning support.
Our in-house experts and developers craft this technology with a level of quality and excellence beyond our competitors, for future innovation and development ease. Unlike our competition, we have built a scalable and sustainable tool to enhance reliability. IPT Global’s Equipment Health Monitoring solution allows for live data and test streaming through its Monitoring module, trend analysis and through the HealthAnalytics module, and failure tracking and , event, and alarm monitoring with the FaultTree module, and historical data retrieval. These tools aim to ensure BOP reliability during different phases of BOP operations and provide preventive information to operators and engineers.
Equipment Health Monitoring is architected with industry standards and best practices:
Equipment Health Monitoring is engineered to scale:
IPT Global’s Equipment Health Monitoring solution also includes 24/7 monitoring from our Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC), manned by BOP expert who closely monitor your operations data for alerts and other anomalies.
The solution is accessible through a mobile-responsive, web-based visualization tool. Through the Cloud, users can access their information quickly and reliably, with a user interface that is highly customizable and built to meet client specifications.
IPT Global’s SureTec Equipment Health Monitoring solution provides continuous visibility into the condition and performance of critical well control equipment across the full well lifecycle. Contact us today to learn how Equipment Health Monitoring can support your well assurance goals.
Well barriers consist of one or more well barrier elements (WBEs), and the failure of a single WBE can cause the well barrier to fail. If well integrity is compromised by the failure of a well barrier, it can result in loss of production and harm people, the environment, assets, and the operator’s reputation. The lack of validation criteria and the subjective interpretation of test results for critical WBEs are root causes of well integrity issues in the industry. IPT’s software, SureTec, uses proprietary algorithms and stringent criteria to significantly reduce pressurized time for testing WBEs and remove validation subjectivity, saving rig time and reducing risks.
If your organization uses circular chart recorders (CCRs) to verify the integrity of WBEs, a BSEE report cited the following problems associated with using CCRs.
There are several important advantages in going from using CCRs to SureTec for verifying well barrier integrity.
Digital validation with SureTec is more accurate than CCRs and uses transparent and objective criteria for validating pressure tests. SureTec uses proprietary algorithms to provide enhanced analysis for the most rigorous and effective testing in the industry. Our algorithms use transparent criteria that has been validated against a database of over 10,000 successful tests. The subjective interpretation of CCR tests is prone to human error.
SureTec provides a 30% reduction in test time versus CCRs by eliminating subjectivity and unnecessary pressurized time. Due to the accuracy of the testing with SureTec, the need to retest is eliminated. This improves safety by removing unnecessary pressurized time, which puts people, the environment, assets and reputation at risk.
SureTec provides comprehensive test reports to assure reliable handover with complete documentation. SureTec consists of tools that allow users to create custom schematics, visualize pressure paths and compare tests. Tests can be overlayed to show rate of change differences, pressure paths, and barriers throughout each step of a well’s lifecycle.
SureTec reduces costs by decreasing test time and increasing accuracy. This lowers risks, workforce hours, transportation, expenses from incidents, and reputation devaluation.
Our competitors primarily offer a testing method known as “Percent Decline” analysis, which is the minimum requirement by industry regulators. Percent Decline is a simple math calculation that divides the system pressure drop by a fixed time interval (e.g., 30 minutes). The validation criteria are based on a percentage of required test pressure. This means that the validation criteria fluctuate with the test pressure, making this analysis method incapable of consistently detecting a leak or differentiating between a leak and thermal influences on the test fluid.
In general, digital testing solutions are more accurate, safe, and efficient than CCRs; however, the level of integrity assurance they provide depends on their analysis method and validation criteria. Percent Decline offers the lowest level of integrity assurance, so it should not be used alone to validate WBE integrity. SureTec surpasses Percent Decline with “multi-dimensional verification” of WBE integrity using advanced validation algorithms—Rate of Change analysis, Thermally Compensated Leak Detection, and Trend Analysis.
IPT’s pressure Rate of Change (ROC) analysis improves assurance by quantifying pressure stabilization over time. In other words, it determines the instantaneous rate of pressure change and will only pass a test if the pressure ROC is less than strict validation criteria, such as 3 psi/min over 5 minutes. In contrast, CCRs validate pressure tests at approximately 8-12 psi/min over 5 min.
Thermally Compensated Leak Detection (TCLD) uses ROC analysis to create a benchmark profile for each system tested. Then for subsequent test steps with a similar component grouping, test pressure, and type and volume of test fluid pumped, TCLD compares the pressure ROC to the benchmark profile. This allows TCLD to detect the smallest of deviations from the benchmark, similar to facial recognition, and thereby reduce test time with accurate leak detection and component verification.
Trend Analysis increases integrity assurance to the highest level by ensuring that the pressure ROC is improving over the validation interval. It can detect subtle leaks based on a non-improving or constant rate of change in pressure. This level of assurance is particularly applicable for stump testing where it is critically important to detect small leaks before splashing the BOP stack.
ROC, TCLD and Trend Analysis are available in the Advanced and Premier tiers of SureTec. For more information, request our white paper “Advanced Well Integrity Management with SureTec®”.
