Abstract: A method of micro-fracturing in a well bore to define the stress field and fracture system for the purpose of optimizing subsequent hydraulic fracturing well completion operations. During or subsequent to drilling of the well bore, a down hole imager takes measurements that allow the operator to select appropriate zones of the well bore for optional micro-fracture testing. The micro-fracturing testing is conducted by stopping the flow of drilling mud and expanding one, or preferably two packers incorporated into a micro-fracture module of the drill string. The pressure in the isolated zone between the packers (or below the packer if one packer is used) is pressurized until fracture occurs. The trend in the pressure in the isolated zone of the bore hole is measured during the test to assess information about the fracturing of the bore hole.

Abstract: The current invention is directed toward the use of a downhole computer and downhole storage within a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) downhole subassembly to process data from the response of a plurality of sensors of different classes or one or more sensors of the same class which exhibit different measure points and vertical resolutions. Classes or types of sensors applicable to the invention include, but are not limited to, electromagnetic, acoustic, and nuclear. Sensor measurements are made essentially simultaneously. In combining downhole responses from one or more sensors to obtain parameters of interest, a critical prerequisite is downhole depth correlation and vertical resolution matching of all sensor responses prior to combination.