Patent Application
20150177200
Embodiments are generally related to drilling and/or environmental operations. Embodiments are additionally related to well logging techniques utilized during drilling operations. Embodiments are also related to methods and systems for producing fast and accurate chromatographic readings.
In oil well drilling operations, it has been common in the past to provide a log of the drilling operation that is indicative of the nature of the earth formation through which the drill bit is penetrating. The log enables the drilling operator to ascertain the presence of oil or gas in the formation being drilled and also the location of such oil or gas in the well.
In a majority of prior art mud logging systems, the information recorded at the surface of the well is generally done on a manual basis. All of the measurements and the measuring equipment require constant supervision so a logging operation generally involves significant human resources and time.
Logging techniques generally require the use of gas chromatography to ascertain the presence of different hydrocarbon species in the material being returned. Gas chromatography involves taking samples of gas and passing that gas through special columns filled with materials that allow different gases to flow at different rates. A disadvantage of the prior art chromatographic gas analysis technique results from the fact that chromatographic processes are generally very slow. Such techniques create a bottleneck that requires significant operator time and reduces efficiency.
Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for an improved chromatographic systems and methods for use in oil and gas extraction.
The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the embodiments disclosed and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
It is, therefore, one aspect of the present invention to provide for an improved well logging during drilling.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide for an improved system and method for analyzing the concentrations and amounts of one or more different gases in oil and gas extraction operations.
The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can now be achieved as described herein. A method, system, and apparatus for analyzing the concentrations and amounts of one or more different compounds comprises filling a chromatographic column with at least two packing materials, inserting a mobile phase into the chromatographic column, injecting a sample compound into the chromatographic column, and determining at least one constituent compound in the sample compound as the sample compound elutes through the chromatographic column.
The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the embodiments disclosed herein.
The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least one embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.
A gas chromatograph, such as gas chromatograph system 100, is used to find the amounts of each of the gases present in a sample gas such as sample gas 111. In oil and gas operations, it is common for an oil and gas system to extract unknown samples of compounds, usually gas. These sample gases contain various constituent compounds, most commonly hydrocarbons. It is essential to the oil and gas operation to determine the relative amounts of these hydrocarbons as fast as possible. Gas chromatography is a known method for determining the quantities of hydrocarbon. Gas chromatography generally requires a carrier gas or “mobile phase” to propagate a sample gas through a stationary phase held within tubing. As the gas propagates through the tubing, the sample gas interacts with the stationary phase. This causes the constituent compounds of the sample gas to elute at different times. The retention time for each of the constituent compounds of the sample gas provides an analytic tool for evaluating the constituent make up of the sample gas.
For example, in oil and gas applications, it is important to identify the constituent gases present in samples from a well. Generally, methane will first be measured as a pulse at, for example, recorder 130 as it elutes. This is generally followed by ethane, propane, isobutane, and normal butane in order of ascending molecular weight. As is well known, the chromatograph will measure the first gas to elute from the column which is methane. After the methane is measured, the second gas to be released from the column may be ethane, after it is measured the next will be propane, and so forth to pentane. Stagger packing a column, such as column 120, can drastically reduce the processing time associated with the detection of each species of hydrocarbon.
Referring to
In system 100, a gas supply 105 is used to direct a supply of gas 106, which is commonly configured as a “mobile phase” to the stagger packed column 120. A gas supply 105 can commonly be embodied as a gas tank or gas cylinder. In this case, a carrier gas can be stored at pressure in the gas tank 105. The gas tank can be fitted with reducing valves (not shown) configured to supply gas 106 to the stagger packed column 120 via a network of conduit 107.
Alternatively, gas supply 106 can be embodied as an air generator, which requires some kind of external gas source, and transmits gas 106 to stagger packed column 120 via conduit 107. It should be appreciated that gas 106 can comprise a mobile phase and can be atmospheric gas, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium or any other gas suitable for the specific application. It is common for the mobile phase gas to be selected to be inert or un-reactive. In addition, any combination of pressure controllers, flow controllers, and flow programmers may be necessarily included as needed to supply air to stagger packed column 120 at the required pressure for the desired application.
System 100 also includes an injector 110. In general, injector 110 is used to inject a sample gas 111 into the stagger packed column 120. It is common for injector 110 to inject a volume of sample gas 111 into the stagger packed column 120. That volume may range from 0.5 ml to 5 ml. The injector 110 generally injects sample gas 111 directly into the stagger packed column 120, although the injector may also inject the sample gas 111 into a flash heater (not shown) before it is injected into the stagger packed column 120.
Stagger packed column 120, is configured of a long tubular enclosure or pipe and is commonly kept in an oven 115, along with detector 125, and in some cases injector 110. In a preferred embodiment the stagger packed column 120 is made of stainless steel or glass, but other materials may also be used as necessary. One advantage of stainless steel is that it is better suited to tolerate elevated pressures. Stagger packed column 120 can be straight, u-shaped, or formed as a coil to save space, and may range in lengths.
In addition, stagger packed column 120 is filled with at least one, and preferably 2 or more packing materials as shown in
The supports are coated with a carefully recorded amount of stationary phase 212 and 222. It is important that the coating of the stationary phase be even and homogenous over the support to ensure elution occurs as expected.
Assuming stagger packed column 120 is 64 inches long, 22.6 grams of packing material 230 will be used to fill stagger packed column 120. In
In this example, at 0 PSI stagger packed column 120 will complete the chromatographic process and render a reading via detector 125 and recorder 130 in approximately two and a half minutes.
Likewise,
It should be appreciated that the use of three materials, shown in
The specific type of packing material (i.e. the stationary phase and support or absorbent selected), order of packing materials in the stagger packed column 120, individual mass of each packing material, total mass of packing material, and column length associated with the stagger packed column 120 can be adjusted to fit the desired application to provide the fastest possible reading from system 100. Because the bottleneck in traditional gas chromatograph systems is the time between the injection of a sample in the chromatographic column and the resulting detection after the samples constituent hydrocarbons elute through the column, replacing a traditional chromatographic column with a stagger packed column 120 greatly increase the efficiency of the system.
System 100 includes a detector 125 for detecting the elution of the constituent compounds in the sample gas 111. Detector 125 can be a flame ionization detector, nitrogen phosphorus detector, electron capture detector, or katharometer detector. The detector can be selected according to the requirements of the specific application. The detector 125 can be connected to a recorder 130 that is configured to accept detections from the detector 125 and provide them to a user. The record may be any known recorder including, but not limited to, a computer system as shown in
A block diagram of a computer system 400 that executes programming for implementing the methods and systems disclosed herein is shown in
Computer 410 may include or have access to a computing environment that includes input 416, output 418, and a communication connection 420. The computer may operate in a networked environment using a communication connection to connect to one or more remote computers or devices. The remote computer may include a personal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, a peer device or other common network node, or the like. The remote device may include a detector, recorder, or automation control unit for automatically completing any number of functions associated with system 100. The communication connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) or other networks.
Output 418 is most commonly provided as a computer monitor, but may include any computer output device. Output 418 may also include a data collection apparatus associated with computer system 400. In addition, input 416, which commonly includes a computer keyboard and/or pointing device such as a computer mouse, computer track pad, or the like, allows a user to select and instruct computer system 400. A user interface can be provided using output 418 and input 416. Output 418 may function as a display for displaying data and information for a user and for interactively displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) 430 associated with the data collected by detector 125.
Note that the term “GUI” generally refers to a type of environment that represents programs, files, options, and so forth by means of graphically displayed icons, menus, and dialog boxes on a computer monitor screen. A user can interact with the GUI to select and activate such options by directly touching the screen and/or pointing and clicking with a user input device 416 such as, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and/or with a keyboard. A particular item can function in the same manner to the user in all applications because the GUI provides standard software routines (e.g., module 425) to handle these elements and report the user's actions. The GUI can further be used to display data collected by detector 125 and to automate various functions of system 100, or to implement various steps described below in FIG. 5.
Computer-readable instructions, for example, program module 425, which can be representative of other modules described herein, are stored on a computer-readable medium and are executable by the processing unit 402 of computer 410. Program module 425 may include a computer application. A hard drive, CD-ROM, RAM, Flash Memory, and a USB drive are just some examples of articles including a computer-readable medium.
Block 525 explains that elution will occur in the stagger packed column separating the constituent gasses out of the sample gas. At block 530, a detector is used to detect the constituent gases as they elute. The constituent gases can then be identified using a recorder at block 535 and the method ends at block 540.
Next at step 620, a known quantity of a known sample gas, which includes known constituent compounds can be run through the stagger packed column. It is important to note the retention time for each constituent gas, and include this in the record developed at step 615. This actual retention time for the configuration can then be compared to a desired retention time as shown at step 630. If the actual retention time is less than the desired retention time at step 631, then the stagger packed column 120 can be stagger packed according to this arrangement as shown at step 640. However, if the actual retention time is longer than the desired retention time at step 632, the arrangement of packing materials can be reconfigured as shown at step 635. The reconfigured arrangement of packing materials can then be stagger packed into a stagger packing column at step 610. The process can be iteratively repeated until the actual retention time is lower than the desired retention time, thereby yielding a highly efficient stagger packing arrangement for use in a stagger packed column such as stagger packed column 120.
It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims. For example, a method for analyzing the concentrations and amounts of one or more different compounds comprise filling a chromatographic column with at least two packing materials, inserting a mobile phase into the chromatographic column, injecting a sample compound into the chromatographic column, and determining at least one constituent compound in the sample compound as the sample compound elutes through the chromatographic column.
In another embodiment, the chromatographic column is packed in serial. The method further comprises filling the chromatographic column with an arrangement of at least two packing materials, eluting a known sample compound through the filled chromatographic column to determine if the actual retention time is less than a goal retention time, and then iteratively rearranging the arrangement of the packing materials and eluting the known sample compound through the filled chromatographic column until the actual retention time is less than the goal retention time to define a final arrangement of the at least two packing materials. The chromatographic tube can then be filled according to the final arrangement of the at least two packing materials.
In another embodiment, the method includes rearranging the arrangement of the at least two packing materials by adjusting the number of the at least two packing materials, adjusting the size of the at least two packing materials, adjusting the type of the at least two packing materials, and adjusting the order of the at least two packing materials.
In yet another embodiment, each of said at least two packing materials comprises a support and a stationary phase. Each of the supports for the at least two packing materials comprises at least one of: Celite, fire-brick, coated fire-brick, glass beads, Teflon chips, polymer beads, Chromosorb p, Chromosorb W, Chromosorb G, and Chromosorb S.
In an alternative embodiment, the method can further comprise pumping the mobile phase from a tank to the chromatographic column, holding the sample compound in an injector before it is injected into the chromatographic column, heating the chromatographic column with a heater, detecting the at least one constituent compound with a detector, and recording the detected constituent compound using a recorder. The recorder comprises a computer system.
In another alternative embodiment, a system for analyzing the concentrations and amounts of one or more different compounds comprises a chromatographic column, at least two packing materials disposed in said chromatographic column, a sample compound injected into the chromatographic column in combination with a mobile phase, and a detector configured to determine at least one constituent compound associated with the sample compound. The at least two packing materials are arranged in serial in the chromatographic column.
In another embodiment of the system, each of said at least two packing materials comprise a support and a stationary phase, wherein each of the supports for each of the at least two packing materials comprise at least one of: Celite, fire-brick, coated fire-brick, glass beads, Teflon chips, polymer beads, Chromosorb p, Chromosorb W, Chromosorb G, and Chromosorb S.
The system can further comprise a pressurized tank configured to contain the mobile phase, a conduit for transferring the mobile phase from the tank to the chromatographic column, an injector for injecting the sample compound into the chromatographic column, a heater configured to heat the chromatographic column, and a recorder configured to record a detection signal provided by the detector. The recorder comprises a computer and the sample compound comprises a sample gas.
In yet another embodiment, an apparatus for analyzing the concentrations and amounts of one or more different gases comprises a chromatographic column, at least two packing materials disposed in the chromatographic column, a sample gas injected into the chromatographic column in combination with a mobile phase, and a detector configured to determine at least one constituent compound associated with the sample compound.
The apparatus further comprising a pressurized tank configured to contain the mobile phase, a conduit for transferring the mobile phase from the tank to the chromatographic column, an oil and gas extraction system configured to collect the sample gas, an injector for injecting the sample gas into the chromatographic column, a heater configured to heat the chromatographic column and the injector, and a recorder configured to record a detection signal provided by the detector. The at least two packing materials are arranged in serial in the chromatographic column.
The apparatus further comprises at least two packing materials disposed in the chromatographic column according to a total number of the at least two packing materials, the respective size of the at least two packing materials, the types of the at least two packing materials, and the order of the at least two packing materials.
In another embodiment, each of said at least two packing materials comprises a support and a stationary phase, wherein each of the supports for the at least two packing materials comprise at least one of Celite, fire-brick, coated fire-brick, glass beads, Teflon chips, polymer beads, Chromosorb p, Chromosorb W, Chromosorb G, and Chromosorb S.
In another embodiment, the detector comprises one of a flame ionization detector, a nitrogen phosphorus detector, an electron capture detector, and a katharometer detector. The recorder comprises a computer.
