Method and apparatus for determining optimal installation of downhole equipment

1 . A method for installing lift equipment within a cased wellbore, the method comprising:

(i) providing a first sensor assembly adapted to measure forces encountered while the first sensor assembly is routed through a cased wellbore, where the first sensor assembly is configured to represent the general geometry of lift equipment that is desired to be installed in the cased wellbore, and where the first sensor assembly is characterized by a size;

(ii) routing the first sensor assembly through at least a portion of the wellbore, where the at least a portion of the wellbore includes a location where installation of the lift equipment is desired;

(iii) measuring and logging forces experienced by the first sensor assembly during said routing the first sensor assembly through at least a portion of the wellbore;

(iv) providing a second sensor assembly adapted to measure forces encountered while the second sensor assembly is routed through a cased wellbore, where the second sensor assembly is configured to represent the general geometry of lift equipment that is desired to be installed in the cased wellbore, where the second sensor assembly is characterized by a size, and where the size of the first sensor assembly is different than the size of the second sensor assembly;

(v) routing the second sensor assembly through at least a portion of the wellbore, where the at least a portion of the wellbore includes a location where installation of the lift equipment is desired;

(vi) measuring and logging forces experienced by the second sensor assembly during said routing the second sensor assembly through at least a portion of the wellbore;

(vii) comparing data obtained from said measuring and logging forces experienced by the first sensor assembly relative to data obtained from said measuring and logging forces experienced by the second sensor assembly, and relative to predetermined force thresholds for desired lift equipment to thereby provide comparison information;

(viii) selecting lift equipment having a desired size and selecting a location for installing the lift equipment within the cased wellbore based upon the comparison information;

(ix) providing lift equipment of the desired size; and

(x) installing the lift equipment;

where the first and second sensor assemblies each include, respectively, wheels and a sensor, where each assembly is adapted to have the wheels contact the cased wellbore while being routed therethrough and transfer forces experienced by the wheels when contacting the cased wellbore to the sensor.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of re-configuring the first sensor assembly to alter the size thereof and thereby provide the second sensor assembly.

3 . The method of claim 1 , where the second sensor assembly is a reconfigured version of the first sensor assembly.

4 . The method of claim 1 , where the first and second sensor assemblies, respectively, operate autonomously during routing through at least a portion of the wellbore.

5 . The method of claim 4 , where the first and second sensor assemblies, respectively, are in communication with a processing unit.

6 . The method of claim 1 , where the first and second sensor assemblies, respectively, include a swivel carriage.

7 . The method of claim 6 , where the swivel carriage of the first and second sensor assemblies swivels 360° about the longitudinal axis of the respective sensor assemblies.

8 . The method of claim 2 , where the wheels are positioned to represent the diameter of the lift equipment, and where said re-configuring includes altering the diameter of the second sensor assembly relative to the first sensor assembly.

9 . A method for determining where to locate downhole lift device in a cased wellbore and positioning the downhole equipment, the method comprising:

(i) providing a cased wellbore including one or more deviations;

(ii) providing a first sensor assembly that is configured to substantially represent the geometry of a first downhole lift device, where the first sensor assembly includes a carriage that swivels, a plurality of wheels, and a strain gauge, where the carriage is adapted to swivel 360 degrees about an axis of the sensor assembly, where the sensor assembly is adapted to traverse the cased wellbore and is configured to contact the cased wellbore at the one or more deviations in a manner that exerts a force on one or more of the plurality of wheels, and where the strain gauge is adapted to measure forces exerted by the cased wellbore at the one or more deviations on one or more of the plurality of wheels;

(iii) conveying the sensor assembly through at least a portion of the cased wellbore;

(iv) measuring, by using the strain gauge, a plurality of forces exerted on the plurality of wheels during traversal thereof through the one or more deviations of the cased wellbore;

(v) based upon data obtained from said step of measuring, providing a second sensor assembly that is configured to have different size than that of the first sensor assembly, where the second sensor assembly includes a carriage that swivels, a plurality of wheels, and a strain gauge, where the carriage is adapted to swivel 360 degrees about an axis of the second sensor assembly, where the second sensor assembly is adapted to traverse the cased wellbore and is configured to contact the cased wellbore at the one or more deviations in a manner that exerts a force on one or more of the plurality of wheels of the second sensor assembly, and where the strain gauge of the second sensor assembly is adapted to measure forces exerted by the cased wellbore at the one or more deviations on one or more of the plurality of wheels of the second sensor assembly;

(vi) conveying the second sensor assembly through at least a portion of the cased wellbore;

(vii) measuring, by using the strain gauge, a plurality of forces exerted on the plurality of wheels of the second sensor assembly during traversal thereof through the one or more deviations of the cased wellbore;

(viii) determining from said plurality of forces obtained from said step of measuring the plurality of forces exerted on the plurality of wheels of the second sensor assembly an optimal location within the cased wellbore for positioning of a downhole lift device;

(ix) determining from said plurality of forces obtained from said step of measuring the plurality of forces exerted on the plurality of wheels of the second sensor assembly an appropriate downhole lift device for positioning within the optimal location within the cased wellbore; and

(x) installing the downhole lift device in the optimal location within the cased wellbore.

10 . The method according to claim 9 , where the downhole lift device is selected from the group consisting of electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), progressive cavity pumps (PCPs), rod pumps, gas lifts, plunger lifts, hydraulic lifts, and foam lifts.