Well planning system and method

Abstract

A method for performing oilfield operations for an oilfield having a subterranean formation with an underground reservoir therein, the oilfield being provided with at least one wellsite with oilfield equipment for extracting fluid from the underground reservoir, involving collecting data comprising trajectory and earth properties associated with a planned well for a geoscience application to obtain a geoscience model, invoking a well planning system integrated with the geoscience application, extracting the trajectory and earth properties from the geoscience model to obtain an extracted trajectory and extracted earth properties, determining at least one parameter for the planned well based on the extracted trajectory and the extracted earth properties, and displaying the at least one parameter associated with the planned well within a geological context of the geoscience application to allow refinement of the planned well for efficient fluid extraction from the underground reservoir.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present application contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent application publication with color drawings will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

FIGS. 1A-1D depict a schematic view of an oilfield having subterranean structures containing reservoirs therein, various oilfield operations being performed on the oilfield.

FIGS. 2A-2D are graphical depictions of data collected by the tools of FIGS. 1A-D, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view, partially in cross-section of a drilling operation of an oilfield.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart for using a well planning system (WPS) integrated with a geoscience application.

FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of the output of the WPS in a geological context.

FIGS. 6-11 show examples of displaying risk information in a geological context.

FIG. 12 shows a computer system.

Claims

1. A method for performing oilfield operations for an oilfield having a subterranean formation with an underground reservoir therein, the oilfield being provided with at least one wellsite with oilfield equipment for extracting fluid from the underground reservoir, comprising: collecting data comprising trajectory and earth properties associated with a planned well for a geoscience application to obtain a geoscience model;invoking a well planning system integrated with the geoscience application;extracting the trajectory and earth properties from the geoscience model to obtain an extracted trajectory and extracted earth properties;determining at least one parameter for the planned well based on the extracted trajectory and the extracted earth properties; anddisplaying the at least one parameter associated with the planned well within a geological context of the geoscience application to allow refinement of the planned well for efficient fluid extraction from the underground reservoir.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter is one selected from a group consisting of risk information, a time, and a cost for the planned well.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: computing a well bore geometry and drilling parameters for the planned well based on the extracted trajectory and earth properties.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the time and the cost for the planned well comprise a probabilistic distribution of the time and the cost associated with the planned well.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said risk information comprises one or more ranked risk categories and one or more ranked subcategory risks.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said risk categories are at least one selected from a group consisting of an average individual risk, a subcategory risk, an average subcategory risk, a total risk, an average total risk, a potential risk for each design task, and an actual risk for each design task.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said one or more ranked subcategory risks is at least one selected from a group consisting of gains risks, losses risks, stuck pipe risks, and mechanical risks.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying said risk information comprises plotting said risk information along said trajectory associated with said planned well.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein earth properties comprise at least one selected from said group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein said risk information is displayed within said geological context in at least one selected from the group consisting of three-dimensions and four-dimensions.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting a plurality of risk assessment tasks, wherein each of said plurality of risk assessment tasks is associated with the trajectory and said earth properties.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said plurality of risk assessment tasks is arranged in a system workflow wherein an output of each of said plurality of risk management tasks is used as input to a subsequent risk management task.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said plurality of risk assessment tasks is used to perform said risk calculations.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the trajectory and earth properties are represented in three-dimensions (3D).

15. A graphical user interface (GUI) associated with a geoscience application for performing oilfield operations for an oilfield having a subterranean formation with an underground reservoir therein, the oilfield being provided with at least one wellsite with oilfield equipment for extracting fluid from the underground reservoir, wherein the GUI comprises: a task manager configured to display a plurality of risk assessment tasks for selection, wherein each of said plurality of risk assessment tasks is associated with a trajectory and earth properties used to calculate risk information; anda toolbar configured to display a well planning system for selection, wherein the well planning system is integrated with said geoscience application upon selection,wherein the GUI is configured to display the at least one parameter associated with the planned well within a geological context of the geoscience application to allow refinement of the planned well for efficient fluid extraction from the underground reservoir.

16. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the at least one parameter is one selected from a group consisting of risk information, a time, and a cost for the planned well.

17. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the GUI is further configured to display a well bore geometry and drilling parameters associated with the planned well.

18. The GUI of claim 15, wherein selecting the well planning system displays a configuration dialog box configured to receive the trajectory and said earth properties input by a user.

19. The GUI of claim 15, wherein said earth properties comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

20. The GUT of claim 15, wherein said plurality of risk management tasks is arranged in a system workflow wherein an output of each of said plurality of risk management tasks is used as input to a subsequent risk management task.

21. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the risk information is plotted along the trajectory in at least one selected from the group consisting of a three-dimensional graphical display and a four-dimensional graphical display.

22. The GUI of claim 15, wherein the trajectory and earth properties are represented in three-dimensions (3D).

23. A well planning system for performing oilfield operations for an oilfield having a subterranean formation with an underground reservoir therein, the oilfield being provided with at least one wellsite with oilfield equipment for extracting fluid from the underground reservoir, comprising: an input apparatus configured to extract a trajectory and earth properties associated with the trajectory from a geoscience model in a geoscience application, wherein the trajectory and earth properties are associated with a planned well;a calculation apparatus configured to compute a well bore geometry, drilling parameters, and at least one parameter associated with the planned well using the trajectory and the earth properties; anda display apparatus configured to display the at least one parameter associated with the planned well within a geological context of the geoscience application to allow refinement of the planned well for efficient fluid extraction from the underground reservoir,wherein the well planning is integrated with the geoscience application.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one parameter comprises one selected from a group consisting of risk information, a time, and a cost for the planned well.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the time and cost computed by the well planning system comprises a probabilistic distribution of the time and cost associated with the planned well.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the risk information comprises one or more ranked risk categories and one or more ranked subcategory risks.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein said one or more ranked risk categories is at least one selected from a group consisting of an average individual risk, a subcategory risk, an average subcategory risk, a total risk, an average total risk, a potential risk for each design task, and an actual risk for each design task.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein said one or more subcategory risks is at least one selected from a group consisting of gains risks, losses risks, stuck pipe risks, and mechanical risks.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein displaying the risk information comprises plotting said risk information along the trajectory associated with the planned well.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein earth properties associated with the trajectory comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein the risk information is displayed within said geological context in at least one selected from the group consisting of three-dimensions and four-dimensions.

32. The system of claim 23, wherein the trajectory and earth properties are represented in three-dimensions (3D).

33. A computer usable medium for performing oilfield operations for an oilfield having a subterranean formation with an underground reservoir therein, the oilfield being provided with at least one wellsite with oilfield equipment for extracting fluid from the underground reservoir, wherein the computer usable medium comprises computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer system to: collect data comprising trajectory and earth properties associated with a planned well for a geoscience application to obtain a geoscience model;invoke a well planning system integrated with the geoscience application;extract the trajectory and earth properties from the geoscience model to obtain an extracted trajectory and extracted earth properties;determine at least one parameter for the planned well based on the extracted trajectory and the extracted earth properties; anddisplay the at least one parameter associated with the planned well within a geological context of the geoscience application to allow refinement of the planned well for efficient fluid extraction from the underground reservoir.

34. The computer usable medium of claim 33, wherein the at least one parameter is one selected from a group consisting of risk information, a time, and a cost for the planned well.

35. A method for conceptual well planning, comprising: invoking a risk plugin, wherein said risk plugin is integrated with a geological application;inputting parameters associated with a drilling well into said geological application;performing a plurality of risk calculations using said parameters; anddisplaying a time, a cost, and risk information associated with said drilling well within a geological context of said geological application.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said risk information comprises one or more ranked risk categories and one or more ranked subcategory risks.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said risk categories are one selected from a group consisting of an average individual risk, a subcategory risk, an average subcategory risk, a total risk, an average total risk, a potential risk for each design task, and an actual risk for each design task.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein said one or more ranked subcategory risks is at least one selected from a group consisting of gains risks, losses risks, stuck pipe risks, and mechanical risks.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein parameters associated with said drilling well comprises at least one selected from said group consisting of a trajectory and earth model data.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein displaying said risk information comprises plotting said risk information along said trajectory associated with said drilling well.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein earth model data comprises at least one selected from said group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein said risk information is displayed within said geological context in three-dimensions.

43. The method of claim 35, further comprising: selecting a plurality of risk assessment tasks, wherein each of said plurality of risk assessment tasks is associated with input data.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein said plurality of risk assessment tasks is arranged in a system workflow wherein an output of each of said plurality of risk management tasks is used as input to a subsequent risk management task.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein said plurality of risk assessment tasks is used to perform said risk calculations.

46. A graphical user interface (GUI) associated with a geological application for conceptual well planning, comprising: a task manager configured to display a plurality of risk assessment tasks for selection, wherein each of said plurality of risk assessment tasks is associated with input data used to calculate risk information; anda toolbar configured to display a risk plugin for selection, wherein said selected risk plugin is integrated with said geological application,wherein the GUI is configured to display a time, a cost, and said risk information within a geological context of said geological application as calculated by said selected risk plugin using a selected risk assessment task of said plurality of risk assessment tasks and input data associated with the selected risk assessment task of said plurality of risk assessment tasks.

47. The GUI of claim 46, wherein selecting said risk plugin displays a configuration dialog box configured to receive drilling well parameters.

48. The GUI of claim 47, wherein drilling well parameters comprise at least one selected from a group consisting of a trajectory and earth model data.

49. The GUI of claim 48, wherein earth model data comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

50. The GUI of claim 46, wherein said plurality of risk management tasks is arranged in a system workflow wherein an output of each of said plurality of risk management tasks is used as input to a subsequent risk management task.

51. The GUI of claim 48, wherein said risk information is plotted along said trajectory in a three-dimensional graphical display.

52. A system for conceptual well planning, comprising: an input apparatus configured to receive a plurality of input data associated with a drilling well, said input data including a plurality of input data calculation results;a calculation apparatus configured to compare each calculation result of said plurality of input data calculation results with each logical expression of a plurality of logical expressions, ranking, by said logical expression, said calculation result, and generating a plurality of ranked risk values in response thereto, each of said plurality of ranked risk values representing an input data calculation result ranked by said logical expression as either a high risk or a medium risk or a low risk;a risk apparatus configured to generate a time, a cost, and risk information in response to said plurality of ranked risk values, wherein said risk apparatus is integrated in a geological application; anda display apparatus adapted for displaying said time, said cost, and said risk information within a geological context of said geological application.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein said risk information comprises one or more ranked risk categories and one or more ranked subcategory risks.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein said one or more ranked risk categories is at least one selected from a group consisting of an average individual risk, a subcategory risk, an average subcategory risk, a total risk, an average total risk, a potential risk for each design task, and an actual risk for each design task.

55. The system of claim 53, wherein said one or more subcategory risks is at least one selected from a group consisting of gains risks, losses risks, stuck pipe risks, and mechanical risks.

56. The system of claim 52, wherein input data associated with said drilling well comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of a trajectory and earth model data.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein displaying said risk information comprises plotting said risk information along said trajectory associated with said drilling well.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein earth model data comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of a pore pressure, a fracture gradient, and an unconfined compressive rock strength.

59. The system of claim 52, wherein said risk information is displayed within said geological context in three-dimensions.

60. A computer usable medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer system to: invoke a risk plugin, wherein said risk plugin is integrated with a geological application;input parameters associated with a drilling well into said geological application;perform a plurality of risk calculations using said parameters; anddisplay a time, a cost, and risk information associated with said drilling well within a geological context of said geological application.