Patents by Inventor Shankar Sundararaman

Shankar Sundararaman 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: 9243483
    Abstract: Methods for heating a material within a wellbore using nano-particles such as carbon nano-tubes. The material may be a flowable material such as cement, drilling mud, an acidizing fluid, or other material. Generally the methods comprise placing the flowable material in proximity to a radial wall of a wellbore. The methods also include running an energy generator into the wellbore. In one aspect, energizing the nano-particles in the filter cake causes the nano-particles to be activated, and increases a temperature within the flowable material to a temperature that is greater than an initial circulation temperature of the flowable material. Activating the energy generator may also assist in curing the flowable material in situ.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Inventors: Stuart R. Keller, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Patent number: 8977523
    Abstract: Method to estimate severity of downhole vibration for a drill tool assembly, including: identifying a dataset comprising selected drill tool assembly parameters; selecting a reference level of downhole vibration amplitude for the drill tool assembly; identifying a surface drilling parameter and calculating a reference surface vibration attribute for the selected reference level of downhole vibration amplitude; determining a surface parameter vibration attribute derived from at least one surface measurement or observation obtained in a drilling operation, the determined surface parameter vibration attribute corresponding to the identified surface drilling parameter; and estimating a downhole vibration severity indicator by evaluating the determined surface parameter vibration attribute with respect to the identified reference surface vibration attribute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Jeffrey R. Bailey, Damian N. Burch, Lei Wang, Paul E. Pastusek, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Patent number: 8798978
    Abstract: Method to estimate severity of downhole vibration for a wellbore drill tool assembly, comprising: identifying a dataset comprising selected drill tool assembly parameters; selecting a reference downhole vibration index for the drill tool assembly; identifying a surface parameter and calculating a reference surface vibration attribute for the selected reference downhole vibration index; determining a surface vibration attribute derived from at least one surface measurement or observation obtained in a drilling operation, the determined surface vibration attribute corresponding to the identified surface parameter; and estimating a downhole vibration index by evaluating the determined surface vibration attribute with respect to the identified reference surface vibration attribute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Jeffrey R. Bailey, Damian N. Burch, Lei Wang, Paul E. Pastusek, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Patent number: 8589136
    Abstract: Methods and systems of reducing drilling vibrations include generation a vibration performance index using at least one frequency-domain model having a velocity-dependent friction relationship. The vibration performance index may be used to aid in the design or manufacture of a drill tool assembly. Additionally or alternatively, the vibration performance index may inform drilling operations to reduce vibrations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2013
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Erika A. O. Biediger, Shankar Sundararaman, Jeffrey R. Bailey, Vishwas Gupta, Swarupa Soma Bangaru
  • Publication number: 20130213638
    Abstract: Methods for heating a material within a wellbore using nano-particles such as carbon nano-tubes. The material may be a flowable material such as cement, drilling mud, an acidizing fluid, or other material. Generally the methods comprise placing the flowable material in proximity to a radial wall of a wellbore. The methods also include running an energy generator into the wellbore. In one aspect, energizing the nano-particles in the filter cake causes the nano-particles to be activated, and increases a temperature within the flowable material to a temperature that is greater than an initial circulation temperature of the flowable material. Activating the energy generator may also assist in curing the flowable material in situ.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Inventors: Stuart R. Keller, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Patent number: 8214188
    Abstract: A method and apparatus associated with the production of hydrocarbons is disclosed. The method, which relates to modeling and operation of drilling equipment, includes constructing one or more surrogates for at least a portion of a bottom hole assembly (BHA) and calculating performance results from each of the one or more surrogates. The calculated results of the modeling may include one or more vibration performance indices that characterize the BHA vibration performance of the surrogates for operating parameters and boundary conditions, which may be substantially the same as conditions to be used, being used, or previously used in drilling operations. The selected BHA surrogate may then be utilized in a well construction operation and thus associated with the production of hydrocarbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Bailey, Erika A. O. Biediger, Lei Wang, Shankar Sundararaman, Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Vishwas Gupta
  • Publication number: 20120130693
    Abstract: Method to estimate severity of downhole vibration for a drill tool assembly, including: identifying a dataset comprising selected drill tool assembly parameters; selecting a reference level of downhole vibration amplitude for the drill tool assembly; identifying a surface drilling parameter and calculating a reference surface vibration attribute for the selected reference level of downhole vibration amplitude; determining a surface parameter vibration attribute derived from at least one surface measurement or observation obtained in a drilling operation, the determined surface parameter vibration attribute corresponding to the identified surface drilling parameter; and estimating a downhole vibration severity indicator by evaluating the determined surface parameter vibration attribute with respect to the identified reference surface vibration attribute.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Jeffery R. Bailey, Damian N. Burch, Lei Wang, Paul E. Pastusek, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Publication number: 20120123757
    Abstract: Method to estimate severity of downhole vibration for a wellbore drill tool assembly, comprising: identifying a dataset comprising selected drill tool assembly parameters; selecting a reference level of downhole vibration index for the drill tool assembly; identifying a surface drilling parameter and calculating a reference surface vibration attribute for the selected reference level of downhole vibration index; determining a surface parameter vibration attribute derived from at least one surface measurement or observation obtained in a drilling operation, the determined surface parameter vibration attribute corresponding to the identified surface drilling parameter; and estimating a downhole vibration index severity indicator by evaluating the determined surface parameter vibration attribute with respect to the identified reference surface vibration attribute.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Jeffrey R. Bailey, Damian N. Burch, Lei Wang, Paul E. Pastusek, Shankar Sundararaman
  • Publication number: 20110214878
    Abstract: A method and apparatus associated with the production of hydrocarbons is disclosed. The method, which relates to modeling and operation of drilling equipment, includes constructing one or more surrogates for at least a portion of a bottom hole assembly (BHA) and calculating performance results from each of the one or more surrogates. The calculated results of the modeling may include one or more vibration performance indices that characterize the BHA vibration performance of the surrogates for operating parameters and boundary conditions, which may be substantially the same as conditions to be used, being used, or previously used in drilling operations. The selected BHA surrogate may then be utilized in a well construction operation and thus associated with the production of hydrocarbons.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2009
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Bailey, Erika A.O Biediger, Lei Wang, Shankar Sundararaman, Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Vishwas Gupta
  • Publication number: 20110077924
    Abstract: Methods and systems of reducing drilling vibrations include generation a vibration performance index using at least one frequency-domain model having a velocity-dependent friction relationship. The vibration performance index may be used to aid in the design or manufacture of a drill tool assembly. Additionally or alternatively, the vibration performance index may inform drilling operations to reduce vibrations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Inventors: Mehmet Deniz Ertas, Erika A.O. Biediger, Shankar Sundararaman, Jeffrey R. Bailey, Vishwas Gupta, Narasimha-Rao V. Bangaru, Swarupa Soma Bangaru