Patents by Inventor Joseph H. Frantz

Joseph H. Frantz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method of delineating naturally fractured intervals in subterranean formations
    Patent number: 5225674
    Abstract: A potassium salt which is soluble either in water or in an oil-based drilling mud is forced via filtrate invasion into permeable subsurface formation zones adjacent a well borehole via an over-balanced drilling mud or completion system. Well logging is then performed in an interval of interest in the formations using natural gamma ray spectrometry. Gamma radiation at an energy of 1.46 MeV from the naturally occurring radioactive potassium isotope .sup.40 K is detected. Gamma radiation levels of the isotope .sup.40 K above normal background readings indicate the presence of permeable formations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1993
    Assignee: Texaco Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph H. Frantz, Alfred Brown, Richard A. Deans