Patents by Inventor Kurt Kreso Butula

Kurt Kreso Butula 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).

  • Patent number: 8838427
    Abstract: The method relates to the field of hydraulic fracturing of subsurface formations. A mathematical simulation model of a pressure pulse propagation inside a wellbore and inside a fracture is created. Pressure pulses are sent to the wellbore, and the response of the well to the pressure pulses is registered. Then, a bottom-hole pressure corresponding to each pulse is determined. An average fracture width is derived by using the mathematical simulation model of pressure pulse propagation inside the wellbore and inside the fracture, and a ratio between the simulated average fracture width and the determined bottom-hole pressure is determined. The said ratio is extrapolated to a zero-width point, and the closure pressure is determined as the bottom-hole pressure corresponding to the zero width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Arkadiy Yurievich Segal, Kurt Kreso Butula, Jerome Maniere
  • Publication number: 20110276318
    Abstract: The method relates to the field of hydraulic fracturing of subsurface formations. A mathematical simulation model of a pressure pulse propagation inside a wellbore and inside a fracture is created. Pressure pulses are sent to the wellbore, and the response of the well to the pressure pulses is registered. Then, a bottom-hole pressure corresponding to each pulse is determined. An average fracture width is derived by using the mathematical simulation model of pressure pulse propagation inside the wellbore and inside the fracture, and a ratio between the simulated average fracture width and the determined bottom-hole pressure is determined. The said ratio is extrapolated to a zero-width point, and the closure pressure is determined as the bottom-hole pressure corresponding to the zero width.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2009
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Applicant: Schlimberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Arkady Yurievich Segal, Kurt Kreso Butula, Jerome Maniere