Patents Assigned to Baroid Technology
  • Patent number: 5048619
    Abstract: A rotating centralizer and a centralizing bearing assembly are provided in order to maintain a survey instrument assembly at a fixed angular orientation with respect to a core barrel supported by the bottomhole assembly of a rotating drill string and rotationally isolated therefrom. The centralizer comprises a sleeve having an inner bearing surface providing for rotation of the sleeve with respect to a support sub, and outer bearing surfaces located at the ends of four vanes allowing for rotation of the sleeve with respect to the surrounding drill string. The centralizing bearing assembly comprises a hanger sub, an outer sleeve which is a force fit within a hang-off sub of the drill string and an annular roller bearing unit surrounding the hanger sub and engaging the inner surface of the outer sleeve. The roller bearing unit comprises a plurality of tapered roller bearings having inclined axes of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 17, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Leaney, David McRobbie
  • Patent number: 5047635
    Abstract: A downhole probe for use in conditions of high vibration or shock comprises a vibration-sensitive inner unit having a cylindrical outer surface, an outer casing having a cylindrical inner surface within which the inner unit is accommodated, and an intermediate vibration-damping composite sleeve extending between said inner and outer surfaces. The composite sleeve has two coaxial sleeve parts fitting one within the other and consisting of an apertured metal sleeve part and an elastomeric sleeve part having axial ribs which extend through axial slots in the apertured sleeve part. The axial ribs of the elastomeric sleeve part engage the inner surface of the outer casing and inner surfaces of the elastomeric sleeve part engage the outer surface of the inner unit so as to support the inner unit within the outer casing in such a manner as to provide efficient isolation of the inner unit from external vibration and shock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter A. Leaney, Keith Lathan
  • Patent number: 5044198
    Abstract: A method is provided for generating an improved torque-drag model for at least the collar portion of the drill string in a directional oil or gas well. The techniques of the present invention determine the stiffness of incremental portions of the drill string, and uses this information, the borehole clearance, and the borehole trajectory to determine the contact locations between the drill string and the sidewalls of the well. The contact force at these determined locations can be calculated, taking into consideration all significant kinematic, external, and internal forces acting on that incremental portion of the drill string. More acurate torque-drag analysis provided by the improved model of the present invention assists in well planning, prediction, and control, assists in avoiding drilling problems, and reduces total costs for the well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 3, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Hwa-Shan Ho
  • Patent number: 5028341
    Abstract: An additive for well servicing fluids containing a partially hydrolyzed acrylamide for use in downhole environments having a high calcium ion content comprising an alkali metal bicarbonate, a water-soluble carboxylic acid and a copolymer of acrylamide, an acrylic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, the additive being used to formulate aqueous well servicing fluids, particularly drilling fluids, and for a method of treating an aqueous well servicing fluid containing partially hydrolyzed acrylamide to prevent unwanted reactions between calcium ions and the partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Liao
  • Patent number: 5025708
    Abstract: An improved blowout preventor actuator is provided for opening and closing a ram block within a blowout preventor body to control the flow of well fluid. The working or power piston within the actuator cylinder is provided with one or more axially extending cavities each for receiving a locking rod secured at one end to the cylinder head. To prevent inadvertent opening of the ram block, locking segments carried by the power piston repeatedly disengage one locking surface and re-engage an adjacent locking surface on the locking rods as the power piston and ram block secured thereto move to the ram closed position. To unlock the power piston from the locking rods, fluid pressure is applied to an unlocking piston which radially moves the locking segments out of engagement with the locking rods. The locking surfaces on the locking rods extend axially along a length which allows different ram blocks to be substituted for sealing with various diameter tubular members passing through the blowout preventors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 25, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Denzil B. Smith, Melvyn F. Whitby
  • Patent number: 5021170
    Abstract: An invert emulsion drilling fluid comprised of a liquid oleaginous medium, water, an emulsifier and a gellant comprised of sulfonated ethylene/propylene/5-phenyl-2-norbornene terpolymer and an organophilic clay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 4, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas G. Shumate, Louis P. Sokol
  • Patent number: 5012854
    Abstract: The specific embodiment comprises a valve piston mounted on a shaft that is slidably disposed within an aperture in the lower housing of the blowout preventer. The valve piston and shaft may be extended into the central passage of the BOP in an open position through the use of a hydraulic operator assembly. When the valve piston and shaft have been extended into the open position, the wellbore gases enter into the annular space between the shaft and the aperture through the lower housing of the BOP. The wellbore gases are then vented from the aperture through an open vent conduit to the outside of the BOP.The hydraulic operator assembly is spring biased to keep the valve piston and shaft in closed position whenever the hydraulic operator assembly is not activated. The valve piston will therefore automatically close whenever there is a loss of hydraulic control. In normal operation, the hydraulic operator assembly will keep the valve piston and shaft in open position until the wellbore gases have been vented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: John A. Bond
  • Patent number: 5011110
    Abstract: A blowout preventer is provided with an improved sealing assembly for sealing engagement with a pipe extending through the blowout preventer into a well bore. The sealing assembly includes an elastomeric seal and a plurality of circumferentially spaced metal inserts within the seal for substantially minimizing or preventing extrusion of the seal under high fluid pressure. The BOP be reliably used for sealing engagement with pipes of varying diameters. Each insert has a substantially I-shaped configuration with an upper flange, a lower flange, and a rib fixedly interconnecting the flanges. A slot is provided within at least one of the flanges and forms a cavity for receiving a male interconnecting member extending circumferentially from an adjacent one of the inserts, such that the circumferentially spaced inserts are interconnected to minimize extrusion gaps between the inserts and to better enable the sealing assembly to form a positive seal with the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Tri C. Le
  • Patent number: 5009798
    Abstract: Disclosed are heavy brine compositions containing zinc bromide and one or more soluble salts selected from the group consisting of calcium chloride and calcium bromide, preferably having a density in the range from about 14.2 to about 16.0 pounds per gallon, which have a low API fluid loss. Also disclosed is a method of formulating certain heavy brines in which hydroxyethyl cellulose functions as a fluid loss additive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Roy F. House, Lonnie D. Hoover
  • Patent number: 4991438
    Abstract: An accelerometer comprises a housing defining a chamber, a magnetizable fluid within the chamber, an electrically conductive, hollow cylindrical proof mass suspended within the chamber so as to be displaceble from a null position along a displacement axis by an applied force, and a sensing arrangement including electrodes on the inside wall of the chamber for detecting displacement of the proof mass along the displacement axis and for supplying an electrical signal indicative of the applied force. The proof mass is substantially non-magnetic, and magnets are disposed outside the chamber for magnetizing the magnetizable fluid to cause the proof mass to be suspended within the chamber by the fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth S. Evans
  • Patent number: 4987960
    Abstract: A method of determining dilution of a well bore fluid, such as a drilling fluid, comprising preparing a drilling fluid having a known concentration of bromide ion, using the drilling fluid, recovering a sample of the used drilling fluid, determining quantitatively the concentration of bromide ion in the used drilling fluid, comparing the concentration of bromide ion in the sample drilling fluid with the known concentration of bromide ion in the drilling fluid and determining the dilution of the drilling fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Roy K. Darlington
  • Patent number: 4981037
    Abstract: The porosity-effective stress relationship, which is a fuction of lithology, is used to calculate total overburden stress, vertical effective stress, horizontal effective stress and pore pressure using well log data. The log data can be either real time data derived from measurement-while-drilling equipment or open hole wireline logging equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 1, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Phil Holbrook, Homer A. Robertson, Michael L. Hauck
  • Patent number: 4980642
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system, apparatus and methods for determining influx of formation fluids into a well borehole during drilling. The methods of the present invention comprise determining the dielectric constant and/or conductivity of the fluid in the annulus about a drill pipe in a well borehole, comparing the determined dielectric constant and/or conductivity to a reference value and inferring that influx has occurred when the difference between the dielectric constant and/or conductivity and the reference value is greater than a predetermined limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul F. Rodney
  • Patent number: 4976142
    Abstract: A system is provided for measuring both the temperature and pressure of fluid in a borehole utilizing a single small diameter tube extending from the surface to the desired downhole test location in a borehole. Downhole fluid pressure is transmitted through the small diameter tube, while a sheathed thermocouple line extending along the flow path of the tube is used for transmitting downhold fluid temperature information to the surface. A continuous surface read-out of both pressure and temperature is thus possible, and the temperature read-out may be used to both monitor downhole fluid temperature and increase the accuracy of the fluid pressure measurement system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 11, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth L. Perales
  • Patent number: 4974691
    Abstract: A rotating centralizer and a centralizing bearing assembly are provided in order to maintain a survey instrument assembly at a fixed angular orientation with respect to a core barrel supported by the bottomhole assembly of a rotating drill string and rotationally isolated therefrom. The centralizer comprises a sleeve having an inner bearing surface providing for rotation of the sleeve with respect to a support sub, and outer bearing surfaces located at the ends of four vanes allowing for rotation of the sleeve with respect to the surrounding drill string. The centralizing bearing assembly comprises a hanger sub, an outer sleeve which is a force fit within a hang-off sub of the drill string and an annular roller bearing unit surrounding the hanger sub and engaging the inner surface of the outer sleeve. The roller bearing unit comprises a plurality of tapered roller bearings having inclined axes of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 4, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Leaney, David McRobbie
  • Patent number: 4972703
    Abstract: A method is provided for generating an improved torque-drag model for at least the collar portion of the drill string in a directional oil or gas well. The techniques of the present invention determine the stiffness of incremental portions of the drill string, and uses this information, the borehole clearance, and the borehole trajectory to determine the contact locations between the drill string and the sidewalls of the well. The contact force at these determined locations can be calculated, taking into consideration all significant kinemataic, esternal, and internal forces acting on that incremental portion of the drill string. More acurate torque-drag analysis provided by the improved model of the present invention assists in well planning, prediction, and control, assists in avoiding drilling problems, and reduces total costs for the well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Hwa-shan Ho
  • Patent number: 4971709
    Abstract: A method of inhibiting corrosion of ferrous metals by zinc-containing brines by mixing with the brine a particulate metal additive, the metal of the additive having a standard oxidation-reduction potential above 0.5 and below 2.5 volts, the metal additive being present in an amount sufficient to inhibit corrosion of the ferrous metals contacted by the brine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 20, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Tillis, John J. Augsburger
  • Patent number: 4964085
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the caliber of a borehole while drilling utilizes a borehole compensated downhole measuring system in both a compensated and a non-compensated manner. A transmitter of the measuring system generates a signal which is received by at least one spaced receiver with the time/phase relationship of the transmission and reception of the signal at each receiver being indicative of the borehole caliber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 16, 1990
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel F. Coope, John E. Fontenot
  • Patent number: RE33660
    Abstract: A non-rotating drill string is formed from a plurality of independent, cylindrical sections pivotally connected together by a latch mechanism. The adjacent ends are partially beveled such that the sections can bend in a single direction. Means are disclosed for varying the effect of the beveled surfaces, thus controlling the angle of bend for a given one of the sections. A downhole mud motor (PDM) drives the drill bit through the use of a flexible drive shaft running through the center of a metal-lined, neoprene drilling fluid hose which runs through the interior of the independent cylindrical sections. The total curvature of the borehole drilled by the system equals the sum of the angles of bend between the individual sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology
    Inventor: Henk H. Jelsma
  • Patent number: RE33708
    Abstract: .[.When surveying a borehole using an instrument responsive to the earth's magnetic field, a length of non-magnetic drill collar is necessary to house means for measuring the magnetic field in the borehole perpendicular to the direction of the borehole axis. The instrument determines the inclination angle and the highside angle from the gravitation measurements, with these measurements and the magnetic measurements, the azimuth angle is determined. Using the method of this invention a minimum length of non-magnetic material necessary for an accurate measurement may be calculated and used..]. .Iadd.Disclosed are method and apparatus for surveying a borehole including use of a survey instrument for making gravitational measurements from which the inclination and highside angles of the instrument may be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: Baroid Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard F. Roesler