Patent Application
20240328311
Rock cuttings are small pieces of rock that are chipped away by a drill bit while a well is being drilled. The rock cuttings are transported by the mud stream from the bit to the surface where they may be analyzed. The rock cuttings may be analyzed because they are often the only physical lithological data that are recovered from a well. These data may be used, for example, to develop a reservoir and lithological description, geological correlation and formation identification, etc.
In order to perform a meaningful analysis, it is important that the origin of the rock cuttings, e.g., a certain depth in the well is known. Conventional methods such as collecting the cuttings in a shale shaker may not be applicable under certain circumstances, for example, in underbalanced drilling scenarios using coiled tubing. In such a closed loop system, the cuttings are not accessible. For these and other scenarios, an inline sensing system for analysis of the rock cuttings is necessary or desirable.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In general, in one aspect, embodiments relate to a method for evaluating rock cuttings using RFID tags, the method comprising: injecting a first batch of RFID tags through a drill pipe to a first depth; attaching of at least a subset of the RFID tags to rock cuttings resulting from drilling activity; transporting the rock cuttings uphole; detecting the subset of the RFID tags attached to the rock cuttings, by an RFID sensor; determining well composite data based on the rock cuttings; and labeling the well composite data as being associated with the first depth.
In general, in one aspect, embodiments relate to a system for evaluating rock cuttings using RFID tags, the system comprising: an RFID sensor configured to perform an in-line detection of RFID tags attached to rock cuttings resulting from drilling activity at a first depth; an inline sensor system configured to determine well composite data based on the rock cuttings; and a computing system configured to label the well composite data as being associated with the first depth, based on the in-line detection of the RFID tags.
In general, in one aspect, embodiments relate to an RFID tag for evaluating rock cuttings, the RFID tag comprising: an adhesive and flexible substrate; and carbon nanotubes disposed on the substrate to form a coil for wireless passive radio frequency identification of the RFID tag.
Other aspects and advantages of the claimed subject matter will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.
Specific embodiments of the disclosed technology will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. Like elements in the various figures are denoted by like reference numerals for consistency.
In the following detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description.
Throughout the application, ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third, etc.) may be used as an adjective for an element (i.e., any noun in the application). The use of ordinal numbers is not to imply or create any particular ordering of the elements nor to limit any element to being only a single element unless expressly disclosed, such as using the terms “before”, “after”, “single”, and other such terminology. Rather, the use of ordinal numbers is to distinguish between the elements. By way of an example, a first element is distinct from a second element, and the first element may encompass more than one element and succeed (or precede) the second element in an ordering of elements.
In general, embodiments of the disclosure include systems and methods for evaluating rock cuttings using RFID tags. The RFID tags may attach to the rock cuttings to enable an inline detection and interpretation of the rock cuttings. A detailed description is subsequently provided.
The control system (144) may include one or more programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that include hardware and/or software with functionality to control one or more processes performed by the drilling system (100). Specifically, a programmable logic controller may control valve states, fluid levels, pipe pressures, warning alarms, and/or pressure releases throughout a drilling rig. While one control system is shown in
The wellbore (116) may include a bored hole that extends from the surface into a target zone of the hydrocarbon-bearing formation, such as the reservoir. An upper end of the wellbore (116), terminating at or near the surface, may be referred to as the “up-hole” end of the wellbore (116), and a lower end of the wellbore, terminating in the hydrocarbon-bearing formation, may be referred to as the “down-hole” end of the wellbore (116). The wellbore (116) may facilitate the circulation of drilling fluids during well drilling operations, the flow of hydrocarbon production (“production”) (e.g., oil and gas) from the reservoir to the surface during production operations, the injection of substances (e.g., water) into the hydrocarbon-bearing formation or the reservoir during injection operations, or the communication of monitoring devices (e.g., logging tools) into the hydrocarbon-bearing formation or the reservoir during monitoring operations (e.g., during in situ logging operations).
While
Similar to what is shown in
As the rock cuttings (252) are transported to the surface, they are recorded inline by an RFID sensor (260) based on signals obtained from the RFID tags (254). An RFID sensor (260), installed above-ground may be used to detect the RFID tags (254) inline, as they are passing by the RFID sensor (260) in the drilling mud. Accordingly, rock cuttings (252) to which the RFID tags (254) are attached, may be detected using the RFID sensor (260). Based on the readout by the RFID sensor (260), a depth from which a rock cutting (252) originated may be determined as further discussed below.
An inline sensor system (270) may be used to further evaluate characteristics of the rock cuttings (252). For example, the inline sensor system (270) may include equipment that performs resistivity measurements, ultrasonic measurements, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements, and/or chemical composition measurements. With depth information available based on the signals obtained by the RFID sensor (260), the measurements obtained by the inline sensor system (270) may be correlated with depth in order to provide an enhanced formation evaluation.
A detailed description of an RFID tag (254), and the interrogation of the RFID tag using the RFID sensor (260) is provided below in reference to
In one or more embodiments, the RFID tag provides a wireless passive (or chipless) radio-frequency identification system. The wireless passive strain sensor is formed by a coil formed by the carbon nanotubes (304). The coil may have a particular resonance frequency that is governed by the geometry of the coil. In one embodiment, the carbon nanotubes are arranged in a rectangular form to maximize signal response and resonance. The spacing in the rectangular shaped antenna may be optimized to depending on the desired resonance frequency for the RFID tag identification.
The RFID tag (300) may be read out using an electrical impedance spectroscopy analysis, e.g., performed by the RFID sensor (260) in
An RFID tag (300) as shown in
Using the RFID tag (300) in combination with the RFID sensor (260) and the inline sensor system (270), data may be acquired in real-time or near-real-time, even when the drilling mud is circulating in a closed system. The types of data that is obtained may be governed by the sensing modalities of the inline sensor system (270). The obtained data may be used to facilitate decisions on drilling. For example, the data may allow determination of formation properties including lithology and saturation patterns ahead of the bit for geosteering purposes.
One or more steps in
In Step 402, RFID tags are injected through the drill pipe. The RFID tags may be introduced above-ground. In one or more embodiments, the RFID tags are injected in batches for specific depth intervals. Each batch, specific to a depth interval may include RFID tags with a unique coil geometry (and a resulting unique resonance frequency) in order to enable distinction of rock cuttings from different depth intervals. For example, a first batch of RFID tags may be injected at a first depth, and a second batch of RFID tags may be injected at a second depth. The RFID tags in the first batch have the same first resonance frequency, and the RFID tags in the second batch have the same second reference frequency. The first and the second reference frequencies may be different.
In Step 404, the RFID tags are transported to the drill bit. Transport downhole toward the drill bit may be provided by the flow of the drilling mud.
In Step 406, the RFID tags attach to the rock cuttings. In one or more embodiments, RFID tags attach to the rocks, moving into the interpore structures. This entrapment enables the RFID tags to attach to the rock cuttings such that they may be transported jointly with the rock cuttings. Event though not all RFID tags may necessarily attach to rock cuttings, at least a subset or a majority of the injected RFID tags do get attached to the rock cuttings.
In Step 408, the rock cuttings are transported uphole. Transport uphole toward the drill bit may be provided by the flow of the drilling mud.
In Step 410, the RFID tags, attached to the rock cuttings, are detected by the RFID sensor. The detection may be performed based on the complex impedance specific to the RFID tags. When different RFID tags are present, they may be distinguished based on their resonance frequencies and corresponding complex impedances. The detection, in one or more embodiments, results in an assignment of a specific depth interval to a rock cutting with an attached RFID tag. In one or more embodiments, an automatic characterization is performed based on the RFID tag response to the inline sensing. When a tag is damaged or destroyed (e.g., mechanically deformed), the RFID tag response may no longer correspond to the originally intended response of the RFID tag. A deep learning algorithm may be used to detect and correct errors resulting from such issues.
In Step 412, when the RFID tags are detected, the inline sensor system records and analyzes data of the well composite. For example, resistivity measurements, ultrasonic measurements, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements, and/or chemical composition measurements may be performed by sensors of the inline sensor system.
In Step 414, the data of the well composite are labeled according to depth, based on the RFID tags detected in Step 410. Specifically, with depth information available based on the signals obtained by the RFID sensor, the measurements obtained by the inline sensor system (270) may be correlated with depth in order to provide an enhanced formation evaluation.
In Step 416, based on the results obtained after completion of Step 414, an optimization of possible future injections of RFID tags may be performed. The optimization may be performed in terms of determining the injection quantities of the tags, and the time intervals between which different tags are injected. Furthermore, the RFID tag properties may be changed in terms of size, and format in order to ensure attachment, while minimizing cost. Further, drilling operations may be adjusted.
Embodiments may be implemented on a computer system.
The computer (502) can serve in a role as a client, network component, a server, a database or other persistency, or any other component (or a combination of roles) of a computer system for performing the subject matter described in the instant disclosure. The illustrated computer (502) is communicably coupled with a network (530). In some implementations, one or more components of the computer (502) may be configured to operate within environments, including cloud-computing-based, local, global, or other environment (or a combination of environments).
At a high level, the computer (502) is an electronic computing device operable to receive, transmit, process, store, or manage data and information associated with the described subject matter. According to some implementations, the computer (502) may also include or be communicably coupled with an application server, e-mail server, web server, caching server, streaming data server, business intelligence (BI) server, or other server (or a combination of servers).
The computer (502) can receive requests over network (530) from a client application (for example, executing on another computer (502)) and responding to the received requests by processing the said requests in an appropriate software application. In addition, requests may also be sent to the computer (502) from internal users (for example, from a command console or by other appropriate access method), external or third-parties, other automated applications, as well as any other appropriate entities, individuals, systems, or computers.
Each of the components of the computer (502) can communicate using a system bus (503). In some implementations, any or all of the components of the computer (502), both hardware or software (or a combination of hardware and software), may interface with each other or the interface (504) (or a combination of both) over the system bus (503) using an application programming interface (API) (512) or a service layer (513) (or a combination of the API (512) and service layer (513). The API (512) may include specifications for routines, data structures, and object classes. The API (512) may be either computer-language independent or dependent and refer to a complete interface, a single function, or even a set of APIs. The service layer (513) provides software services to the computer (502) or other components (whether or not illustrated) that are communicably coupled to the computer (502). The functionality of the computer (502) may be accessible for all service consumers using this service layer. Software services, such as those provided by the service layer (513), provide reusable, defined business functionalities through a defined interface. For example, the interface may be software written in JAVA, C++, or other suitable language providing data in extensible markup language (XML) format or other suitable format. While illustrated as an integrated component of the computer (502), alternative implementations may illustrate the API (512) or the service layer (513) as stand-alone components in relation to other components of the computer (502) or other components (whether or not illustrated) that are communicably coupled to the computer (502). Moreover, any or all parts of the API (512) or the service layer (513) may be implemented as child or sub-modules of another software module, enterprise application, or hardware module without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
The computer (502) includes an interface (504). Although illustrated as a single interface (504) in
The computer (502) includes at least one computer processor (505). Although illustrated as a single computer processor (505) in
The computer (502) also includes a memory (506) that holds data for the computer (502) or other components (or a combination of both) that can be connected to the network (530). For example, memory (506) can be a database storing data consistent with this disclosure. Although illustrated as a single memory (506) in
The application (507) is an algorithmic software engine providing functionality according to particular needs, desires, or particular implementations of the computer (502), particularly with respect to functionality described in this disclosure. For example, application (507) can serve as one or more components, modules, applications, etc. Further, although illustrated as a single application (507), the application (507) may be implemented as multiple applications (507) on the computer (502). In addition, although illustrated as integral to the computer (502), in alternative implementations, the application (507) can be external to the computer (502).
There may be any number of computers (502) associated with, or external to, a computer system containing computer (502), each computer (502) communicating over network (530). Further, the term “client,” “user,” and other appropriate terminology may be used interchangeably as appropriate without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Moreover, this disclosure contemplates that many users may use one computer (502), or that one user may use multiple computers (502).
In some embodiments, the computer (502) is implemented as part of a cloud computing system. For example, a cloud computing system may include one or more remote servers along with various other cloud components, such as cloud storage units and edge servers. In particular, a cloud computing system may perform one or more computing operations without direct active management by a user device or local computer system. As such, a cloud computing system may have different functions distributed over multiple locations from a central server, which may be performed using one or more Internet connections. More specifically, a cloud computing system may operate according to one or more service models, such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), mobile “backend” as a service (MBaaS), serverless computing, artificial intelligence (AI) as a service (AIaaS), and/or function as a service (FaaS).
Although only a few example embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the example embodiments without materially departing from this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the following claims.
