Patent Application
20100089143
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to reservoir monitoring and in particular to methods and apparatus for contacting a well wall with one or more sensors.
2. Background Information
Well logging, whether from wireline or drill stem, only provides a very limited amount of information about hydrocarbon reservoirs.
One method for monitoring a reservoir is seismic monitoring. Seismic monitoring can be performed with 3-D surveys. Most 3-D surveys are performed using temporary arrays of surface sources and receivers. However, long-term emplacement of the receivers can significantly lower data acquisition costs. The reliability of the data can also be improved with long term emplacement of receivers. Furthermore, if the receivers are placed in the field early surveys can be conducted on time intervals conducive to reservoir management. Whereas, when temporary receivers are used the surveys are usually conducted based on data acquisition constraints. Therefore, a need exists for a reservoir monitoring apparatus that allows for long term monitoring and that can be configured to detect three dimensional acoustic or seismic wave data.
The following presents a general summary of several aspects of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of at least some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the claims. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a general form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.
Disclosed is an apparatus for monitoring a reservoir. The apparatus may include a tube that can be conveyed into a well penetrating the reservoir. The apparatus may also include an expandable member coupled to the tube. The expandable member may expand upon exposure to a downhole trigger. A sensor may be coupled to the expandable member.
An exemplary method for monitoring a reservoir can include conveying a sensor into a well. The sensors can be disposed on an expandable member. The expandable member can be exposed to a downhole trigger, and the expandable member can expand to move the sensor towards a well wall, upon exposure to the downhole trigger.
For a detailed understanding of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the several non-limiting embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals and wherein:
Referring initially to
In one or more embodiments, the sensor 112 can be a geophone, an accelerometer, or a combination thereof. Accelerometers can measure the three acoustic components of a wave field. The accelerometers can directly measure both compressional and shear waves directly. Accelerometers can detect accelerations, and can be highly sensitive at high frequencies. Accelerometers that have three-component acceleration measurements are commonly available. In one or more embodiments, the sensor 112 can be a geophone with particle velocity detectors, which can provide a three-component velocity measurement. Both geophones and accelerometers can be used to determine the direction of arrival of the incident elastic wave. In another non-limiting embodiment, the sensors can be Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors.
The expandable member 114 can be made from ethylene propylene diene monomer, styrene-butadiene, rubber, natural rubber, ethylene-propylene monomer, ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber, hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, polynorbornene, or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure will recognize that the above list of materials is a non-exhaustive list and other materials can be used to make the expandable member. The expandable member 114 can have a thickness in a compressed condition from about one half of an inch to about one inch, and a thickness in a non-compressed condition from about three quarters of an inch to about two inches. In one or more embodiments, the expandable member 114 can be disposed between the two protrusions 116 and the sensor 112 can be disposed on the portion of the expandable member 114 opposite the tube 110.
In
An expandable member 220 is depicted, in this non-limiting embodiment, filling the volume between the two protrusions 214, as well as coupling the sensor module 210, the sensor 212, or combinations thereof to the tube 216. The expandable member 220 is in a compressed condition. The sensor module 210 can be in communication with a cable 222. The cable 222 can be in communication with an electronic device 224, a recorder 226, or combinations thereof. The electronic device 224 can be a transmitter or can include a transmitter.
The cable 222 can provide some support to the sensor module 210, sensor 212, or combinations thereof. The cable 222 can be encased in steel or another hard stiff material. For example, the cable 222 can be disposed within a steel tube. When the expandable member 220 is in an expanded condition, the sensor module 210 and sensor 212 can be at least partially acoustically decoupled from the tube 216 by the expandable member 220. Partially acoustically decoupled means that the vibrations traveling through the tube 216 to the sensor module 210, the sensor 212, or combinations thereof are dampened. It is possible, that the expandable member 220 can fully insulate the sensor module 210, the sensor 212, or combinations thereof from the vibrations traveling through the tube 216 to the sensor module 210, the sensor 212, or combinations thereof.
One or more packers 326 can be disposed along the tube 312. Additional packers 326 may be disposed along the tube 312. The additional packers 326 can define other production zones and seal off the bottom of the well 316. One or more of the packers 326 may be disposed in the annular region above the producing reservoir to prevent reservoir fluid from flowing in the annular region. Those skilled in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure will recognize that multiple reservoirs may be traversed by a well, and that the arrangement shown in
A portion of the casing 318 can have perforations 330. The perforations 330 can provide fluid communication between the tube 312 and reservoir 314. During production, the annulus 324 usually contains annulus fluid 328. The annulus fluid 328 can be water, liquid hydrocarbons, gas, or combinations thereof.
In the depicted embodiment, sensor modules 310 may have a transmitter 311 that can be in communication with a cable 332. The cable 322 is depicted, in this non-limiting embodiment, connected to a recorder 334. The recorder 334 can include an electronic device 336, which can digitize the signals, or in the alternative as depicted in
The signals 426 sent from the wave source 428 can propagate through a medium, which can be ground or water, and can spread out as they move deeper and can reflect off of reflectors 430. The signals 426 sent back by the reflectors 430, can be received by the sensor modules 418. The signals 426 received by the sensor modules 418 can have noise reduction due to the acoustic decoupling from the tube 410. The noise reduction can result from the vibration damping provided by the expanded expandable member 414. Furthermore, the signals 426 received by the sensor modules 418 can be of high quality and fidelity due to the sensor modules 418 contact with the wall 424 of the well 412. When the sensor modules 418 receive the signals 426 the sensor modules 418 can send information to a recorder 432, the electronic device 434, or combinations thereof. The electronic device 434 can be a transmitter or can include a transmitter. The information can be sent from the modules 418 to the recorder 432 via a cable 436 or by other forms of communication, such as wireless communication.
The housing 602 can have a tubular shape, a square shape, an elliptical shape, or similar shape. An electronic device, such as the electronic device 336 described above and shown in
A reservoir can be monitored in many ways. In most cases it is desirable to at least partially acoustically couple a sensor to a formation. An exemplary method for at least partially acoustically coupling a sensor to a formation is depicted in
The method can also include exposing the expandable member to a downhole trigger. The expandable member can expand upon exposure and move the sensor towards a well wall, at 702. A, non-limiting, example, of how a tube, which can be made of several pieces of tubing threaded together, can be conveyed into a hole can include disposing an expandable member on at least one portion of the tube. Disposing at least one sensor on the expandable member. One or more packers can be disposed along side the tube, and the tube can be placed in the annulus of well hole. The expandable member can contact an annulus fluid. When the expandable member contacts the annulus fluid it can start to expand. The expandable member can expand, which can cause the sensors to at least partially acoustically couple to the formation, such as a well wall. However, it is possible that it can take up to several months for the sensors to at least partially acoustically couple with the formation; for example, it may take several months for the sensor to contact the well wall; of course, the sensors can contact the well walls quicker, depending on the rate of expansion of the expandable member. The sensors can receive and transmit information that will allow for monitoring of the reservoir.
In one or more embodiments, one or more of the sensors can be used to monitor seismic energy. The seismic energy can include p-wave, s-wave, or combinations thereof. Having described above the several aspects of the disclosure, one skilled in the art will appreciate several particular embodiments useful in the monitoring of a reservoir.
The present disclosure is to be taken as illustrative rather than as limiting the scope or nature of the claims below. Numerous modifications and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art after studying the disclosure, including use of equivalent functional and/or structural substitutes for elements described herein, use of equivalent functional couplings for couplings described herein, and/or use of equivalent functional actions.
