Patents by Inventor Bochao Zhao

Bochao Zhao 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).

  • Publication number: 20240044768
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for estimating hydrocarbon saturation of a hydrocarbon-bearing rock from a measurement for an electrical property a resistivity log and a rock image. The image is segmented to represent either a pore space or solid material in the rock. An image porosity is estimated from the segmented image, and a corrected porosity is determined to account for the sub-resolution porosity missing in the image of the rock. A corrected saturation exponent of the rock is determined from the image porosity and the corrected porosity and is used to estimate the hydrocarbon saturation. A backpropagation-enabled trained model can be used to segment the image. A backpropagation-enabled method can be used to estimate the hydrocarbon saturation using an image selected from a series of 2D projection images, 3D reconstructed images and combinations thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2021
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Inventors: Nishank SAXENA, Faruk ALPAK, Amie HOWS, John FREEMAN, Matthias APPEL, Ronny HOFMANN, Bochao ZHAO
  • Patent number: 11827851
    Abstract: Tracer eluting proppants, such as proppants that have polymeric coatings on them that include tracers, such as a fluorescent dye. The tracer eluting proppants can comprise proppant particles coated with a polymeric coating that can elute tracer under some, but not all conditions. For example, the tracer can be eluted at elevated temperature, pH, and/or salinity conditions, but not elute at lower temperature, pH, and/or salinity conditions. Methods of making and using tracer eluting proppants are also disclosed, including methods for characterizing subterranean reservoirs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Kishore K. Mohanty, Bochao Zhao, Krishna Panthi, Robin Singh
  • Publication number: 20230221236
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for estimating hydrocarbon saturation of a hydrocarbon-bearing rock from a measurement for an electrical property a resistivity log and a rock image. The image is segmented to represent either a pore space or solid material in the rock. An image porosity is estimated from the segmented image, and a corrected porosity is determined to account for the sub-resolution porosity missing in the image of the rock. A corrected saturation exponent of the rock is determined from the image porosity and the corrected porosity and is used to estimate the hydrocarbon saturation. A backpropagation-enabled trained model can be used to segment the image. A backpropagation-enabled method can be used to estimate the hydrocarbon saturation using an image selected from a series of 2D projection images, 3D reconstructed images and combinations thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2021
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventors: Nishank SAXENA, Amie Marie HOWS, John Justin FREEMAN, John Justin FREEMAN, Matthias APPEL, Ronny HOFMANN, Bochao ZHAO
  • Publication number: 20230137288
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for estimating fluid saturation of a hydrocarbon-bearing rock from a rock image. The image is segmented to represent either a pore space or solid material in the rock. An image pore volume is estimated from the segmented image, and a corrected pore volume is determined to account for the sub-resolution pore volume missing in the image of the rock. An image-derived wetting fluid saturation of the rock is estimated using a direct flow simulation on the rock image and corrected for the corrected pore volume. A backpropagation-enabled trained model can be used to segment the image. A backpropagation-enabled method can be used to estimate the fluid saturation using an image selected from a series of 2D projection images, 3D reconstructed images and combinations thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2021
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Inventors: Nishank SAXENA, Faruk Ă–mer ALPAK, Amie Marie HOWS, John Justin FREEMAN, Bochao ZHAO
  • Publication number: 20220017815
    Abstract: Described are tracer eluting proppants, such as proppants that have polymeric coatings on them that include tracers, such as a fluorescent dye. The tracer eluting proppants can comprise proppant particles coated with a polymeric coating that can elute tracer under some, but not all conditions. For example, the tracer can be eluted at elevated temperature, pH, and/or salinity conditions, but not elute at lower temperature, pH, and/or salinity conditions. Methods of making and using tracer eluting proppants are also disclosed, including methods for characterizing subterranean reservoirs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Applicant: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Kishore K. Mohanty, Bochao Zhao, Krishna Panthi, Robin Singh