Borehole Or Drilling (e.g., Drill Loading Factor, Drilling Rate, Rate Of Fluid Flow) Patents (Class 73/152.01)
  • Patent number: 11959357
    Abstract: Systems and methods include a computer-implemented method for handling loss circulation zones in wells. A tool is deployed on a work string. The tool includes isolation packers in an un-inflated state and a stinger in a closed position. The tool is run to a target depth along the work string. The isolation packers are inflated, setting the isolation packers in place adjacent to the stinger at the target depth. Circulation ports are opened after the isolation packers are inflated, exposing a diversion flow path. A cement slurry is pumped through the diversion flow path into a loss circulation zone. The circulation ports are closed after the cement slurry is pumped. The work string is disengaged from the stinger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Peter Ido Egbe, Victor Jose Bustamante Rodriguez
  • Patent number: 11952881
    Abstract: The method for drilling includes extending a borehole from a surface location to a borehole end with a drill string having a bottom hole assembly with a drill bit. A surface sensor and a downhole sensor take measurements used to project borehole features, like the borehole end. The measurements are used to project the borehole end so that the drill bit can be steered through the rock formation. The downhole sensor is separated from the bit location by a plurality of segments. The method includes corrections when the measurements at the downhole location are not the measurements at the bit location. As the drill bit travels, the types of corrections change, including applying an initial Kalman filter, a first adjusted Kalman filter, a second adjusted Kalman filter, and a third adjusted Kalman filter, according to the plurality of segments between the downhole sensor and the bit location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Noralis Limited
    Inventors: David Close, George W. Troy
  • Patent number: 11846151
    Abstract: A repairing assembly includes a housing, a packer, and a thermal spray assembly. The housing is attached to a wellbore string disposed within a wellbore with casing. The packer is coupled to the housing. The packer is set on a wall of the wellbore to bound a repair zone defined between the packer and an end of the housing opposite the packer. The housing or the packer includes a fluid channel in fluid communication with the wellbore string or an annulus of the wellbore. The thermal spray assembly is coupled to the housing and sprays a damaged section of the casing with a thermal spray to repair the damaged section. The housing flows an inert gas received from the wellbore string or the annulus of the wellbore and through the fluid channel into the repair zone until an oxygen in the repair zone is substantially removed from the repair zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Guodong Zhan, Jianhui Xu, Abdulwahab Al-Johar, Bodong Li, Timothy E. Moellendick
  • Patent number: 11828161
    Abstract: A first type of coupon holder includes an elongated core that is axially aligned with a coupon holder axis and an external surface that circumscribes the elongated core. The external surface defines coupon mounting surfaces with different radial orientations relative to the coupon holder axis. The coupon mounting surfaces are circumferentially aligned around the elongated core and have geometric centers with the same axial position along the coupon holder axis. A second type of coupon holder includes an elongated support structure that is axially aligned with a coupon holder axis and a coupon holder body positioned to have an end face in a plane transverse to the coupon holder axis. The coupon holder body has a plurality of slots to receive end portions of coupons. The slots are in a circular arrangement around the coupon holder axis and position coupons in parallel to the coupon holder axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Mohammad H. Haque, Rajesh K. Saini
  • Patent number: 11795771
    Abstract: A method of managing an influx encountered during a drilling operation conducted with respect to a wellbore includes drilling a wellbore into a subterranean formation. Drilling the wellbore includes circulating a drilling fluid through a wellbore while operating a drill bit and monitoring one or more parameters associated with the drilling operation for indicia of the influx within the wellbore. The method also includes, upon detecting the indicia of the influx, determining, via an influx management model, an initial influx volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Yan Luo, Adan H. Herrera, Muran Han
  • Patent number: 11739629
    Abstract: A bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a drill string includes a chassis, a plate coupled to the chassis, and a strain gauge coupled to the plate. The strain gauge is used to output a signal associated with a deformation of the plate. The plate and chassis may be included within a collar that experiences strain, and deformation of the collar may be translated to the chassis and the plate. The plate may experience strain in the form of torsional bending, in-plane bending, out-of-plane bending, axial tension or compression. The plate may include or be coupled to an electronics board that has strain gauges to measure different types of strain in isolation from other types of strain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Joachim Sihler, Jonathan Robert Hird
  • Patent number: 11719043
    Abstract: A system for providing support in a downhole motor, the system includes a stator housing including an end, a stator contour within the stator housing, a rotor including a rotor end and lobes configured to engage with the stator contour to eccentrically rotate the rotor, and a radial support extending from the stator contour toward the end of the stator housing, and positioned radially between the rotor end of the rotor and the stator housing to support the rotor and decrease an amount of eccentric rotation of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott W. Powell
  • Patent number: 11709118
    Abstract: A testing apparatus for testing a fluid and a loss control material (LCM) is provided. The testing apparatus includes a testing chamber having an upstream end, a downstream end, a device central axis, and a general flow direction. The testing chamber includes a chamber body having an upstream cap, a downstream cap, a first chamber wall, and a second chamber wall. The first chamber wall has a first diameter and in part defines a first chamber interior, the second chamber wall has a second diameter, the first diameter is less than the second diameter, and both the first chamber wall and the second chamber wall are positioned relative to one another such that an annulus is defined in part in between. The traversal of the fluid and the LCM along the fluid flow path is restricted by a flow restriction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Graham Hitchcock, Michael Anthony Affleck, Christopher Thomas Wrighton
  • Patent number: 11629589
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a ferromagnetic object detection device and a method for detecting a tubing coupling. The ferromagnetic object detection device includes a support tube, a magnetic field generating device and a magnetic detection device. The support tube includes a space penetrating in a first direction; the magnetic field generating device is located on an outer sidewall of the support tube and configured to generate a magnetic field; the magnetic field detection device includes a first magnetic field detection element, a second magnetic field detection element and a third magnetic field detection element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Yantai Jereh Petroleum Equipment & Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Haojie Lin, Xin Wang, Haiping Xing, Feng Gao, Shouzhe Li, Kai Wang, Mingxing Li
  • Patent number: 11623256
    Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling extraction of landfill gas from a landfill via a gas extraction system are provided herein. According to some aspects of the technology, there is provided site-level control methods for globally controlling one or more wells based on one or more characteristics of aggregate landfill gas collected from a plurality of wells at a gas output. According to some aspects of the technology, there is provided well-level control methods for locally controlling a first well based on or more characteristics of landfill gas collected from the first well. According to further aspects of the technology, there is provided hybrid control methods for making adjustments to a respective well based on both site-level and well-level control methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Loci Controls, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Quigley, Ian Martin, Jack Rowbottom, Nicole Neff
  • Patent number: 11514382
    Abstract: The disclosure presents processes and methods for utilizing one or more micro-services to generate a calibration of a factor of a borehole operation or to generate an optimization adjustment to the borehole operation. The micro-services selected for execution can be selected by an optimization workflow, where each type of borehole operation can have its own set of micro-services. The micro-services can be part of one or more computing systems, such as a downhole system, a surface system, a well site controller, a cloud service, a data center service, an edge computing system, other computing systems, or various combinations thereof. Also disclosed is a system for implementing micro-services on one or more computing systems to enable a light weight and fast response, e.g., real-time or near real-time response, to borehole operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Landmark Graphics Corporation
    Inventors: Manish Kumar Mittal, Robello Samuel
  • Patent number: 11359480
    Abstract: To reduce effects of artificial alteration of measured formation pressure downhole, an iterative procedure for accurately measuring formation pressure in drawdown/buildup operations is presently disclosed. During buildup/drawdown operations, pressure measurements are taken by pressure sensors in concentric volumes sealed to the formation. After each buildup operation, pressure in the outer concentric volume is lowered using a pressure sensor therein to a progressively lower pressure until a pattern for the pressure trend stabilizes asymptotically. The true formation pressure is taken after a final buildup operation once pressure measurements stabilize.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Michael Jones, Anthony Herman Van Zuilekom, Mehdi Alipour Kallehbasti
  • Patent number: 11274948
    Abstract: A facade gantry allows for close inspection of a facade using remotely operated cameras, probes, and/or sampling devices. These devices are located in a housing that is positioned in front of a facade by a system of cables, from which it is suspended, that allow for movement in any direction in a plane. Two cables are attached to the housing containing the sensors and tools and are wound onto two separate spools located on the roof at the vertical boundaries of the inspection area. By winding and unwinding these spools, the housing can be raised, lowered, and moved from side to side. The invention further has an optional “shed” located on the ground that protects pedestrians in the case of a suspension system failure. The shed moves to maintain a position directly under the housing. The gantry optionally allows for repair of the facade by using remotely operated repair tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: RevolutioNice Inc.
    Inventors: Sreenivas Raman, Elie Cherbaka, Ryan J. Giovacchini, Brian Jennings, Thomas C. Slater
  • Patent number: 11029444
    Abstract: A system for a drilling rig, a computer-readable medium, and a method for tracking an oilfield tubular. The method includes applying a tag to the oilfield tubular, the tag including a readable tag identifier, determining a physical parameter of the oilfield tubular, storing data representing the physical parameter in association with the tag identifier in a database, reading the tag identifier from the tag applied to the oilfield tubular, prior to deploying the oilfield tubular into a wellbore, and generating a pipe tally comprising data representing a plurality of oilfield tubulars, including the oilfield tubular, connected together and deployed into the wellbore using a drilling rig.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Gokturk Tunc, Shunfeng Zheng, Vishwanathan Parmeshwar
  • Patent number: 10858928
    Abstract: A gauge assembly deployable from a surface system into a subsurface system includes a device housing having a first end, a second end, and an intermediate portion extending therebetween. The intermediate portion includes an outer surface and an inner surface that defines a device receiving zone. A device is arranged in the device receiving zone. The device includes one of a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and a communication device. A control line is connected to the device and extends from the second end of the device housing to the surface system. A guide member is mounted to the first end of the device housing. The guide member includes a tapered end section that promotes deployment into the subsurface system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES, A GE COMPANY, LLC
    Inventors: Jerod Fontenot, Michael Wayne Aymond, John Raggio
  • Patent number: 10816440
    Abstract: This disclosure describes a novel method for predicting or estimating rock mechanical properties from cuttings at a particular depth based on determining the facies, plotting the facies on a ternary diagram with clay, silica and carbonate endpoints, and estimating rock mechanical properties based on comparison to a database of core samples from vertical wells that is also organized by depth and facies. We have shown that datapoints at similar locations on the ternary diagram will have fairly similar rock properties. These rock properties can be used to improve the reliability of a variety of reservoir modeling platforms, which can then be used in designing and implementing completion, stimulation and production plans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
    Inventors: David V. Amendt, Seth Busetti, William R. Morris, Eric Cline, Fabian Duque-Botero, Peter S. D'Onfro, Peter H. Hennings
  • Patent number: 10523495
    Abstract: Unique systems, methods, techniques and apparatuses of an alarm management system are disclosed herein. One exemplary embodiment is a method for monitoring an industrial plant comprising determining a sequence of alarm events for each of a plurality of time intervals including a first alarm event of a plurality of alarm events and a second alarm event of the plurality of alarm events; determining a count of the first alarm events and second alarm events; determining the alarm events exceed a support threshold value; determining a third count of a sub-sequence of the sequences of alarm events including the first alarm event followed by the second alarm event in response to determining the first count and the second count exceeds the support threshold value; determining a ratio using the first count, the second count, and the third count exceeds a display threshold value; and displaying the sub-sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Sam Ade Jacobs, Mithun P. Acharya, Veronika Domova, Marcel Dix, Aldo Dagnino, Jinendra K. Gugaliya, Kaushik Ghosh
  • Patent number: 10455781
    Abstract: A method for controlling surface irrigation comprising: measuring in real time surface water depths and water stream advancing durations of each of measuring points in a first half of a target farmland block, and substituting them into a surface irrigation model, to obtain initial values of soil infiltration parameters, substituting the initial values into the surface irrigation model, to obtain analog values of surface water depths of each of measuring points having water before a preset measuring point when the water stream in the first half of the target farmland block has advanced to the preset measuring point, by using the objective function that average value of the errors of the measured values that are corresponding to it is minimum, reversely solving and optimizing the soil infiltration parameters, and substituting optimized soil infiltration parameters again into the surface irrigation model, and adjusting an irrigation duration according to the prediction result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research
    Inventors: Di Xu, Caili Wu, Meijian Bai, Yinong Li, Fuxiang Li, Yuan Shi
  • Patent number: 10358912
    Abstract: Fluid tube for sealing test in a BOP chamber. The test tube used in the BOP chamber resistance test step has its hollow structure filled internally and totally through a fluid input. The tube obtains an effective sealing due to the filling fluid volume that exhausts the air within it, stopped internally with the couplings of screwed pin threads and a female thread of a plug or test plug, preventing the test fluid into the chamber to leak and enter the hollow structure of the chamber. The supplementary structure anti-distortion system including air absence inside the tube and test tube stoppage the system avoids false pressure into the chamber to the sensors distributed therein, not detecting false leakages, making the BOP resistance analysis against potential oil/gas leakages precise during the probing procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: SLIM DRILLING SERVICOS DE PERFURACAO S.A.
    Inventors: Antonio Sergio Cavalheiro, Leandro Diniz Brandao Rocha, Hamilton Suss Junior, Jose Roberto Scalon Cotello, Ronaldo Soares Eisele, Mario Cesar Pereira Dos Santos
  • Patent number: 10353111
    Abstract: Disclosed systems and methods provide automated log quality monitoring, thereby enabling fast, on-site determination of log quality by logging engineers as well as re-assurance to interpreters faced with geologically-improbable features in the logs. Such uses can provide early detection of logging issues, increase confidence in acquired logs, reduce unnecessary duplication of effort, and improve the reputation of the logging company. In at least some embodiments, log monitoring software applies a comparison function to axially-spaced (and/or azimuthally-spaced) sensors. The comparison function can be, inter alia, cross-correlation, mutual information, mean-square error, and ratio image uniformity, each of which can be determined as a function of a sliding window position to indicate regions wherein the log quality falls below a threshold value. It is not necessary for the log sensors to be of the same type, e.g., resistivity image sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: William C. Sanstrom, Roland E. Chemali
  • Patent number: 10248171
    Abstract: An internal component and external interface arrangement for a cylindrical compact computing system is described that includes at least a structural heat sink having triangular shape disposed within a cylindrical volume defined by a cylindrical housing. A computing engine having a generally triangular shape is described having internal components that include a graphics processing unit (GPU) board, a central processing unit (CPU) board, an input/output (I/O) interface board, an interconnect board, and a power supply unit (PSU).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Brett W. Degner, Caitlin Elizabeth Kalinowski, Richard D. Kosoglow, Joshua D. Banko, David H. Narajowski, Jonathan L. Berk, Michael E. Leclerc, Michael D. McBroom, Asif Iqbal, Paul S. Michelsen, Mark K. Sin, Paul A. Baker, Harold L. Sontag, Wai Ching Yuen, Matthew P. Casebolt, Kevin S. Fetterman, Alexander C. Calkins, Daniel L. McBroom
  • Patent number: 10041853
    Abstract: A leak detection method tests a tubing collar of wellbore tubing. The leak detection method can include the steps of introducing tracer gas under pressure to a tubing collar, introducing water to the tubing collar, detecting the tracer gas from a sample obtained outside the tubing collar, controlling a water system, a gas system, and the gas analysis system, flowing the tracer gas under pressure to the tubing collar and then the water to the tubing collar sequentially and allow the sample to flow to a gas analyzer, initially pressurizing the tubing collar with the tracer gas to a first pressure, pressurized the tracer gas to a second pressure, obtaining the sample from outside the tubing collar, and analyzing the sample for the tracer gas by the gas analyzer, and providing an alert that indicates a leak is present in the tubing collar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Inventor: Trent Lecon Stewart
  • Patent number: 9909948
    Abstract: A leak detection system for testing a tubing collar of wellbore tubing. The leak detection system can have a test unit with a control system for simultaneously controlling a gas system, a water system, a gas analysis system, and a tubing collar testing tool. The tubing collar testing tool is initially pressurized with tracer gas to a first pressure and then pressurized using water to a second pressure. A sample is taken from proximate to the tubing collar while the tubing collar testing tool is at the second pressure, the sample is analyzed for tracer gas, and if tracer gas is present in the sample in ppm of greater than or equal to 1 ppm, then the control system alerts that a leak is present in the tubing collar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Alpha Leak Detection Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Trent Lecon Stewart
  • Patent number: 9086506
    Abstract: Maximum and minimum horizontal stresses, and horizontal to overburden stress ratio, are estimated using radial profiles of shear moduli. Inversion enables estimation of maximum and minimum horizontal stresses using radial profiles of three shear moduli associated with an orthogonal set of axes defined by the three principal stress directions. Differences in the far-field shear moduli are inverted together with two difference equations obtained from the radial profiles of the dipole shear moduli C44 and C55, and borehole stresses in the near-wellbore region. The horizontal to overburden stress ratio is estimated using differences in the compressional, dipole shear, and Stoneley shear slownesses at two depths in the same lithology interval where the formation exhibits azimuthal isotropy in cross-dipole dispersions, implying that horizontal stresses are nearly the same at all azimuths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Bikash K. Sinha
  • Patent number: 9041547
    Abstract: A method of processing downhole measurement data includes: receiving formation measurement data generated by a downhole tool during a logging-while drilling operation over a selected time period; receiving a measured depth corresponding to the selected time period based on data taken at a surface location; receiving tool rotation data generated by measurements of a rotational rate of the downhole tool taken by a downhole sensor during the selected time period; calculating a new depth of the tool as a function of time over the selected time period based on a relationship between the tool rotation data and the measured depth; and correcting an original depth of the measurement data with the new depth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventor: Andreas Hartmann
  • Patent number: 9029155
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods to detect a fluid contamination level of a fluid sample. The method may comprise providing a fluid sample downhole from a subterranean formation, applying a reactant to the fluid sample to create a combined fluid, observing the combined fluid, and determining if contaminants are present within the fluid sample based upon the observing the combined fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew E. Pomerantz, Oliver C. Mullins
  • Patent number: 9000940
    Abstract: An inground isolator and associated method can provide an electrically isolated break in a drill string using electrical insulating members/isolators that are supported by a housing. During drill string operations, the isolators are subject only compressive forces responsive to both extension (pushing) and retraction (pulling) by the drill string. The isolators can be formed from an electrically insulating material such as a ceramic material. An interchangeable inground tool system is described which integrally serves to provide an electrically isolating gap in the drill string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Merlin Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Albert W. Chau, Kenneth J. Theimer
  • Patent number: 8983141
    Abstract: An automated method for texture segmentation (11) of geophysical data volumes, where texture is defined by double-window statistics of data values, the statistics being generated by a smaller pattern window moving around within a larger sampling window (12). A measure of “distance” between two locations is selected based on similarity between the double-window statistics from sampling windows centered at the two locations (13). Clustering of locations is then based on distance proximity (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: ExxonMobile Upstream Research Company
    Inventor: Krishnan Kumaran
  • Patent number: 8928322
    Abstract: A method for determining water saturation in a subsurface formation include determining an invasion depth in the formation from a plurality of measurements made within a wellbore drilled through the formation. The measurements have different lateral depths of investigation into the formation. Carbon and oxygen in the formation are measured at substantially a same longitudinal position as at a position of the determining the invasion depth. The measured carbon and oxygen and the invasion depth are used to determine the water saturation in a substantially uninvaded part of the formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Bernard Montaron
  • Publication number: 20140373616
    Abstract: The invention relates to the correlating of mechanical and geological (e.g. compositional) information from a rock core or a large number of rock cores. A geological facies model may be created correlating mechanical and geological information, and allowing prediction of the mechanical properties of rock with given geological properties, such as composition, porosity, etc.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Inventors: David Victor AMENDT, Seth BUSETTI, Peter S. D'ONFRO, Peter H. HENNINGS
  • Patent number: 8915131
    Abstract: A method of determining the surface level of an area subject to flood, furrow or surface irrigation. The method includes the steps of providing at least one measuring cup positioned below the surface level but within the area and providing a water level sensor within or integrated with the at least one measuring cup. The levels provided by the water level sensor are used to calculate the surface level by determining the inflection point between the rapid increase of the monitored levels when the front of irrigation water passes the water level sensor. A further aspect of the disclosure is the provision of a soil moisture sensor, said sensor comprising an auger adapted to be inserted into the ground with minimum soil disturbance, said auger having means for measuring soil moisture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Rubicon Research Pty Ltd.
    Inventors: David John Aughton, Damien Vernon Pearson
  • Patent number: 8901931
    Abstract: A method for water monitoring about a deviated well is disclosed. The method includes positioning a series of electromagnetic (EM) receivers in a completed deviated wellbore, said receivers being spaced along substantially the length of the well located in a region of a reservoir to be monitored. The method also includes positioning an electromagnetic (EM) source at a first Earth surface location. Then the EM source is activated for a first survey measurement of the reservoir, and an EM field detected at each EM receiver is recorded. The EM source is moved to a second Earth surface location, and activated for a second survey measurement of the reservoir, and an EM field detected at each EM receiver is recorded. From the first and second survey measurements at each of the receivers, an inversion is performed to determine position of water about (and specifically below) the horizontal well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Cengiz Esmersoy
  • Patent number: 8884215
    Abstract: In various embodiments is described a device and method for rapidly analyzing compositions of gases liberated from drilling fluid using spectral absorption analysis. Specifically the invention describes flowing the sample gas thru a closed path gas cell, irradiating the sample gas with a wide band infrared emitter in the 2 to 5 ?m wavelength range, measuring the infrared absorbance spectrum in the range of 2 to 5 ?m using a spectrometer and determining the composition of the gas sample using multivariate analysis of the spectrum. The composition includes the concentration of any one or more, either singularly or in combination, of hydrocarbon gases containing one to eight carbon atoms and carbon dioxide gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Geological Rentals & Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Paul Krupp
  • Publication number: 20140290349
    Abstract: Methods to classify a proppant with respect to functional performance is described and includes measuring a coefficient of restitution for the proppant. Methods to select a proppant, methods to design a proppant, methods to predict proppant performance in a subterranean formation, and methods for providing product specifications for proppants are also described as well as other uses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: Oxane Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Florio, Christopher E. Coker
  • Publication number: 20140290350
    Abstract: A probe assembly for use with a well data acquisition tool includes a probe and a probe guard. The probe includes a body and a tip extending from the body along a longitudinal axis of the tip to a terminal end. The tip defines a length and a surface area along the length and is configured for sensing one or more well characteristics. The probe guard extends about the tip of the probe and leaves a majority of the surface area of the tip exposed to a flow that is angularly offset from the longitudinal axis of the tip of the probe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2012
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Inventor: Pierre Mouget
  • Publication number: 20140230536
    Abstract: A system and method to obtain an acoustic signal from a borehole penetrating the earth are described. The system includes a modulated single frequency incoherent light source to output a modulated light signal. The system also includes two or more optical fibers to split the modulated light signal for transmission to an optical sensor in the borehole, at least one of the two or more optical fibers including a delay, two or more photodetectors to receive respective resultant signals resulting from the two or more optical fibers transmitting the modulated light signal to the optical sensor, and a processor to obtain the acoustic signal based on the resultant signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Roger Glen Duncan, Matthew Thomas Raum
  • Publication number: 20140174168
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for determining an ablation modulus of a mudcake on a wellbore wall. According to various embodiments of the invention, the method includes preparing a mudcake, forming a mudcake assemblage comprising the prepared mudcake, screen, and a filter paper, and submerging and securing the mudcake assemblage in a container filled with a fluid. The fluid includes one of a native fluid and a foreign fluid to the mudcake. The method further includes agitating the fluid for a plurality of time intervals, removing the mudcake assemblage from the container after expiration of each time interval, and drying the mudcake assemblage. Further, the method includes weighing the mudcake assemblage to determine an interval weight for each time interval, and determining the ablation modulus of the mudcake on the wellbore wall by graphically correlating the determined interval weights of the remaining mudcake in the mudcake assemblage as a function of time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Md. Amanullah, Mohammed Al-Arfaj, Adel Al-Ansari
  • Patent number: 8677831
    Abstract: An apparatus (20) and method for characterizing stresses in a formation (10) based on leakoff pressure measured in the formation (10). The method includes determining a line of shear failure (52) as a function of leakoff pressure (LOP) measured in the formation (10), determining a vertical stress (Sv), and determining each of a lower limit (Sh,limit) and an upper limit (SH,limit) as a function of the vertical stress (Sv) and the leakoff pressure (LOP).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventors: Alvin Wing-Ka Chan, Brent Alan Couzens-Schultz
  • Publication number: 20140014331
    Abstract: A method of evaluating a geological formation (20) of non-homogeneous porosity and permeability, particularly in exploration for hydrocarbon fluids, comprising the steps of: (a) inserting a formation evaluation tool (30) into a borehole (10) to a location (10a) within the geological formation (20); (b) setting the formation evaluation tool (30) into position isolating interval(s) of the borehole (10) with a packer arrangement (50) forming portion of the formation evaluation tool (30), for sample evaluation for said interval(s); (c) extracting representative samples of formation fluid from the location within the geological formation (20) for evaluation under downhole conditions using sampling means (32a, 52b, 54b) operative to extract formation fluid samples over a range of porosity and permeability encountered within the geological formation (20); and (d) analysing the formation fluid samples and measuring formation (20) permeability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2012
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicant: CROCKER RESEARCH PTY LTD
    Inventor: Hugh Crocker
  • Patent number: 8630817
    Abstract: Disclosed is a bore measurement unit having an elongate main body with first and second ends. A first adjustment mechanism is disposed near the first end and a second adjustment mechanism is disposed near said second end. The adjustment mechanisms expand or contract, through triangulating arms, to relative diameters, such that when the unit is inserted into a hollow bore it may be centered therein. A measuring portion of the unit measures the internal diameter of the bore. The measuring unit includes at least one sensor and preferably takes more than three readings at each distance of insertion to formulate a best fit circle of the inner bore diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Fraser, Erik A. Lombardo
  • Patent number: 8614578
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to determining the attenuation of an electromagnetic signal passing through a conductive material. An antenna is provided and placed in relatively close proximity to the conductive material. An alternating current is passed through the antenna and the impedance of the antenna is measured. The attenuation is determined using the measured impedance. A single frequency measurement may be made, or multiple measurements using different frequencies may be made. Grouped parameters based on properties of the material and the frequency of the current are used to relate the coil impedance to the attenuation. A current frequency for which the ratio of the antenna's resistive part of the impedance to the angular frequency of the current is substantially insensitive to at least one of the parameters is preferred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Guozhong Gao, H. Frank Morrison, Hong Zhang, Richard A. Rosthal, David Alumbaugh, Cyrille Levesque
  • Patent number: 8607628
    Abstract: A method for determining properties of a formation is described herein. The method includes disposing a well-logging tool in a borehole. The well-logging tool includes a device for varying temperature of the formation and two acoustic logging probes located symmetrically along the well-logging tool length relative to the device for varying temperature of the formation. During the logging tool movement in the borehole, continuous varying of the formation temperature, continuous acoustic logging, and continuous measurement of formation temperature are performed. Dependencies of the measured velocity and attenuation of the Stoneley waves as functions of the measured temperature of the formation are obtained. Based on the obtained dependencies, properties of the formation are determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Marwan Charara, Anton Vladimirovich Parshin, Evgeny Nikolaevich Dyshlyuk, Oleg Mikhailovich Zozulya, Sergey Sergeevich Safonov
  • Patent number: 8606521
    Abstract: A wellbore fluid pressure measurement system includes a densometer adapted to measure a fluid density of a fluid flowing in a tubing system; and a monitoring unit communicably coupled to the densometer. The monitoring unit is adapted to receive a plurality of values representative of the fluid density from the densometer and includes a memory adapted to store the plurality of values representative of the fluid density; and one or more processors operable to execute a fluid pressure measurement module. The module is operable when executed to determine a fluid pressure of the fluid based on at least a portion of the values representative of the fluid density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph A. Beisel, Stanley V. Stephenson
  • Publication number: 20130312510
    Abstract: A system for testing a core sample comprises a non-permeable sleeve configured to be placed over a core sample, a first pair of opposing actuators to apply opposing force to the non-permeable sleeve in a first axis normal to an axis of the core sample, a second pair of opposing actuators to apply opposing force to the non-permeable sleeve in a second axis normal to the axis of the core sample and normal to the first axis, a wellbore pressure reservoir to provide simulated wellbore pressure, and a formation pressure reservoir to provide simulated formation fluid pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2013
    Publication date: November 28, 2013
    Applicant: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Brooks, Dennis Haggerty
  • Patent number: 8594818
    Abstract: A production monitoring system (10) comprises a plurality of injection and production units (80) coupled in operation to sensors (410) for measuring physical processes occurring in operation in the injection and production units (80) and generating corresponding measurement signals (420) for computing hardware (400). The computing hardware (400) is operable to execute software products (300) for processing the signals (420). Moreover, the software products (300) are adapted for the computing hardware (400) to analyze the measurement signals (420) to abstract a parameter representation of the measurement signals (420), and to apply a temporal analysis of the parameters to identify temporally slow processes and temporally fast processes therein, and to employ information representative of the slow processes and fast processes to control a management process for controlling operation of the system (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignee: Production Monitoring AS
    Inventor: Arild Boe
  • Patent number: 8583378
    Abstract: A well passing through a geological formation is fitted with a tube, open at its bottom end, that is filled with a fluid. Another fluid is in the annular space between the tube and the wall of the well, the two fluids exhibiting an interface situated in the annular space. A hydraulic balance of the fluids of the well is disturbed and the trend of certain quantities is measured. These measurements are moreover simulated by computer by using different sets of values for the physical parameters, and efforts are made to estimate the geological formation. A comparison of the measurements with the simulation results makes it possible to identify an optimum set of values for the parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Total SA
    Inventors: Antoine Jacques, Jean-Luc Boutaud De La Combe, Pierre Berest, Benoit Brouard
  • Patent number: 8573048
    Abstract: An apparatus for testing a drilling fluid includes a vessel having a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a pair of opposed impermeable platens disposed within the vessel. The apparatus further includes a test fluid container in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, and a collection container in fluid communication with the fluid outlet. Additionally, the system includes a data acquisition device configured to receive data from at least one of the vessel, the test fluid container, and the collection container. Also, a method for determining sealing characteristics of a drilling fluid includes injecting a test fluid having a fluid loss control material from a test fluid container to a vessel, the vessel having a first impermeable platen and a second impermeable platen with a gap between the two platens. The methods further includes measuring a fracture tip fluid loss through the gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: M-I L.L.C.
    Inventors: Kenneth Slater, Robert P. Schlemmer
  • Patent number: 8577614
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method of normalizing characterization information comprising: defining a plurality of characteristics, for each characteristic defining a set of allowed values and defining a logging interval. The method further comprises: at a plurality of logging intervals, selecting a value from the set of allowed values for a characteristic of the plurality of characteristics, and storing the selected value for the characteristics at the plurality of logging intervals. The present disclosure also provides a system for correlating log information comprising: a core set log data module for storing core set log data information, an electrical log data module for storing electrical log data information, a correlation module for correlating the core set log data information with the electrical log data information, and an input/output module for inputting and displaying the core set log data information the electrical log data information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: Straterra Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Norris, John H. Lake
  • Publication number: 20130269931
    Abstract: An apparatus including a body having a central axis defined therethrough, at least one extendable arm coupled to the body, and a mechanical property tester coupled to the at least one extendable arm, the mechanical property tester configured to penetrate a surface of a borehole and to measure one or more mechanical properties of the surface of the borehole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2013
    Publication date: October 17, 2013
    Inventors: MOHAMMED BADRI, REZA TAHERIAN
  • Patent number: 8556000
    Abstract: Device comprising equipment for measuring parameters of a drilling or coring operation by means of a drillbit fixed to the end of a drill string, measurement equipment (7) being housed in a chamber (5) made in a coupling (1, 18) that is designed to be interposed between two drill string pipes or between the drillbit and a drill string pipe, or to constitute an adapter (18) for a cutting head (15) of the drillbit of a drill string.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Lynx Drilling Tools Limited
    Inventors: Sebastian Desmette, Thomas Richard, Abdelhakim Hahati