Patents by Inventor Gary Michael Hoversten

Gary Michael Hoversten 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: 20140239956
    Abstract: A surface electromagnetic survey system and method for detecting a fracture or fracture zone in a rock formation are provided. The system includes an electromagnetic source configured to generate an electromagnetic field in the vicinity of or at a surface of the rock formation. The electromagnetic source includes one or more electric dipole sources that are arranged so as to generate a substantially vertical electric field. The system also includes an electromagnetic receiver associated with the electromagnetic source, the electromagnetic receiver being configured to measure a component of the electromagnetic field at the surface of the rock formation; and a processor configured to convert the measured component of the electromagnetic field measured at the electromagnetic receiver into an electromagnetic field response per unit moment of the electromagnetic source. The electromagnetic field response provides information about characteristics parameters of the fracture or fracture zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Michael Hoversten, David Lee Alumbaugh
  • Publication number: 20140156191
    Abstract: A system and a method for time lapse monitoring of a target feature within a rock formation are provided. The system includes a data weighted electromagnetic source configured to generate an electromagnetic field in vicinity or at a surface of the rock formation; and an electromagnetic receiver configured to measure a component of the electromagnetic field generated by the source. The data weighted electromagnetic source includes a plurality of electromagnetic sources and an electromagnetic field contribution from each electromagnetic source is weighted so as to enhance the component of the electromagnetic field measured by the electromagnetic receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2012
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: Chevron U.S.A Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Michael Hoversten, Vanessa Claire Brown, David Lee Alumbaugh
  • Publication number: 20140067744
    Abstract: A system and a computer implemented method for determining a value of information are described herein. The method includes drawing a plurality of synthetic prior earth models from one or more prior distributions for a plurality of well locations and generate from each prior distribution synthetic data; and drawing a plurality of posterior earth models from a posterior distribution for the plurality of well locations, the posterior distribution being generated through stochastic inversion from the synthetic data and the plurality of posterior models are drawn from each of the plurality of prior earth models. The method further includes calculating a difference or a ratio between a weighted value prior and a weighted value posterior and calculating a sum over a plurality of well locations of the difference or the ratio to obtain the value of information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
    Inventors: Whitney Trainor-Guitton, Gary Michael Hoversten
  • Publication number: 20140067322
    Abstract: A system and a computer implemented method for determining a best well location from a plurality of possible well locations are described herein. The method includes drawing a plurality of earth models from a posterior distribution, wherein the posterior distribution is generated by stochastic inversion of existing data; calculating a well production at a plurality of proposed well locations within an earth model in the plurality of earth models using a relationship between the well production and earth parameters; calculating from the plurality of earth models, cost distributions using the relationship between well cost and the earth parameters; and calculating probability weighted values for the proposed well locations using probabilities from location dependent stochastic inversions as weights.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: Chevron U.S.A. Inc. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    Inventors: Whitney Trainor-Guitton, Gary Michael Hoversten
  • Patent number: 8095345
    Abstract: A computer implemented stochastic inversion method for estimating model parameters of an earth model. In an embodiment, the method utilizes a sampling-based stochastic technique to determine the probability density functions (PDF) of the model parameters that define a boundary-based multi-dimensional model of the subsurface. In some embodiments a sampling technique known as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is utilized. MCMC techniques fall into the class of “importance sampling” techniques, in which the posterior probability distribution is sampled in proportion to the model's ability to fit or match the specified acquisition geometry. In another embodiment, the inversion includes the joint inversion of multiple geophysical data sets. Embodiments of the invention also relate to a computer system configured to perform a method for estimating model parameters for accurate interpretation of the earth's subsurface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Chevron U.S.A. Inc
    Inventor: Gary Michael Hoversten
  • Publication number: 20100185422
    Abstract: A computer implemented stochastic inversion method for estimating model parameters of an earth model. In an embodiment, the method utilizes a sampling-based stochastic technique to determine the probability density functions (PDF) of the model parameters that define a boundary-based multi-dimensional model of the subsurface. In some embodiments a sampling technique known as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is utilized. MCMC techniques fall into the class of “importance sampling” techniques, in which the posterior probability distribution is sampled in proportion to the model's ability to fit or match the specified acquisition geometry. In another embodiment, the inversion includes the joint inversion of multiple geophysical data sets. Embodiments of the invention also relate to a computer system configured to perform a method for estimating model parameters for accurate interpretation of the earth's subsurface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2009
    Publication date: July 22, 2010
    Inventor: Gary Michael Hoversten