EP2992170A1 - Resuming interrupted communication through a wellbore - Google Patents
Resuming interrupted communication through a wellboreInfo
- Publication number
- EP2992170A1 EP2992170A1 EP14792132.4A EP14792132A EP2992170A1 EP 2992170 A1 EP2992170 A1 EP 2992170A1 EP 14792132 A EP14792132 A EP 14792132A EP 2992170 A1 EP2992170 A1 EP 2992170A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- flow rate
- pressure
- drillstring
- drilling
- optimal
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 33
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 183
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 95
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 83
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 34
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000005755 formation reaction Methods 0.000 description 26
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 17
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000005520 cutting process Methods 0.000 description 3
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- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 description 2
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 230000002706 hydrostatic effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000011435 rock Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004088 simulation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 description 1
- 241000965255 Pseudobranchus striatus Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000010267 cellular communication Effects 0.000 description 1
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- 230000000149 penetrating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010223 real-time analysis Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007480 spreading Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B21/00—Methods or apparatus for flushing boreholes, e.g. by use of exhaust air from motor
- E21B21/08—Controlling or monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid, e.g. automatic filling of boreholes, automatic control of bottom pressure
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
- E21B47/06—Measuring temperature or pressure
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
- E21B47/12—Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling
- E21B47/14—Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling using acoustic waves
- E21B47/18—Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling using acoustic waves through the well fluid, e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry
Definitions
- Wells/boreholes are generally drilled into the ground to recover natural deposits of hydrocarbons and other desirable materials trapped in geological formations in the Earth's crust.
- a well/borehole is typically drilled using a drill bit attached to the lower end of a drillstring. The well is drilled so that it penetrates the subsurface formations containing the trapped materials and the materials can be recovered.
- BHA bottom hole assembly
- the BHA includes the drill bit along with sensors, control mechanisms, and the required circuitry.
- a typical BHA includes sensors that measure various properties of the formation and of the fluid that is contained in the formation.
- a BHA may also include sensors that measure the BHA's orientation and position.
- the drilling operations may be controlled by an operator at the surface or operators at a remote operations support center.
- the drill string is rotated at a desired rate by a rotary table, or top drive, at the surface, and the operator controls the weight-on-bit and other operating parameters of the drilling process.
- the mud is a fluid that is pumped from the surface to the drill bit by way of the drill string.
- the mud serves to cool and lubricate the drill bit, and it carries the drill cuttings back to the surface.
- the density of the mud is carefully controlled to maintain the hydrostatic pressure in the borehole at desired levels.
- a "downlink" is a communication from the surface to the BHA. Based on the data collected by the sensors in the BHA, an operator may desire to send a command to the BHA.
- a common command is an instruction for the BHA to change the direction of drilling.
- an "uplink” is a communication from the BHA/downhole sensors/processor to the surface.
- An uplink is typically a transmission of the data collected by the downhole sensors. For example, it is often important for an operator to know the BHA orientation. Thus, the orientation data collected by sensors in the BHA is often transmitted to the surface. Uplink communications are also used to confirm that a downlink command was correctly understood.
- Mud pulse telemetry is a method of sending signals, either downlinks or uplinks, by creating pressure and/or flow rate pulses in the mud. These pulses may be detected by sensors at the receiving location. For example, in a downlink operation, a change in the pressure or the flow rate of the mud being pumped down the drill string may be detected by a sensor in the BHA. The pattern of the pulses, such as the frequency, the phase, and the amplitude, may be detected by the sensors and interpreted so that the command may be understood by the BHA.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,656 comprises a rotary valve or "mud siren" pressure pulse generator which repeatedly interrupts the flow of the drilling fluid, and thus causes varying pressure waves to be generated in the drilling fluid at a carrier frequency that is proportional to the rate of interruption.
- Downhole sensor response data is transmitted to the surface of the earth by modulating the acoustic carrier frequency.
- a related design is that of the oscillating valve, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,253, wherein the rotor oscillates relative to the stator, changing directions every 180 degrees, repeatedly interrupting the flow of the drilling fluid and causing varying pressure waves to be generated.
- a wellbore telemetry system 100 including a downhole measurement while drilling (MWD) tool 34 is incorporated in the drill string 14 near the drill bit 16 for the acquisition and transmission of downhole data or information.
- the MWD tool 34 includes an electronic sensor package 36 and a mudflow wellbore telemetry device 38.
- the mudflow telemetry device 38 can selectively block the passage of the mud 20 through the drill string 14 to cause pressure changes in the mud line 26.
- the wellbore telemetry device 38 can be used to modulate the pressure in the mud 20 to transmit data from the sensor package 36 to the surface 29.
- Modulated changes in pressure are detected by a pressure transducer 40 and a pump piston sensor 42, both of which are coupled to a surface system processor (not shown).
- the surface system processor interprets the modulated changes in pressure to reconstruct the data collected and sent by the sensor package 36.
- the modulation and demodulation of a pressure wave are described in detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,098, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
- the surface system processor may be implemented using any desired combination of hardware and/or software.
- a personal computer platform, workstation platform, etc. may store on a computer readable medium (e.g., a magnetic or optical hard disk, random access memory, etc.) and execute one or more software routines, programs, machine readable code or instructions, etc. to perform the operations described herein.
- the surface system processor may use dedicated hardware or logic such as, for example, application specific integrated circuits, configured programmable logic controllers, discrete logic, analog circuitry, passive electrical components, etc. to perform the functions or operations described herein.
- the surface system processor can be positioned relatively proximate to the drilling rig (i.e., substantially co-located with the drilling rig), some part of or the entire surface system processor may alternatively be located relatively remotely from the rig.
- the surface system processor may be operationally and/or communicatively coupled to the wellbore telemetry component 18 via any combination of one or more wireless or hardwired communication links (not shown).
- Such communication links may include communications via a packet switched network (e.g., the Internet), hardwired telephone lines, cellular communication links and/or other radio frequency based communication links, etc. using any desired communication protocol.
- one or more of the components of the BHA may include one or more processors or processing units (e.g., a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, etc.) to manipulate and/or analyze data collected by the components at a downhole location rather than at the surface.
- processors or processing units e.g., a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, etc.
- Mud pulse systems may use a single modulator, typically consisting of a stator and a rotor.
- the amplitude of the differential pressure signal generated is proportional to the square of the inverse of the flow area. The speed at which the rotor can be moved relative to the stator limits the bandwidth of the signal generated.
- a method for resuming communication through a drilling fluid being used in a borehole for a drilling procedure after an interruption.
- an interruption may comprise adding a section of pipe to a drillstring that is being used in the drilling procedure, where the flow rate of drilling fluid being pumped into the borehole is reduced when the drill pipe section is added to the drillstring causing perturbations in the drilling fluid in the borehole.
- the method to restore communication after an interruption may according to one embodiment comprise measuring a first flow rate of the drilling fluid being pumped into a drillstring during the drilling procedure before adding a section of drill pipe to the drillstring and increasing the flow rate of the drilling fluid pumped into the drillstring above the first flow rate immediately after the section of drill pipe has been added to the drillstring.
- a system for resuming communication through a drilling fluid being used in a borehole for a drilling procedure after an interruption may comprise adding a section of pipe to a drillstring that is being used in the drilling procedure, where the flow rate of drilling fluid is reduced when the drill pipe section is added to the drillstring causing perturbations in the drilling fluid in the borehole.
- the system for resuming communication after an interruption comprising a sensor configured to measuring a flow rate of drilling fluid being pumped into a drillstring during the drilling procedure, and a processor in communication with the sensor and configured to control the pump to increase a flow rate of the drilling fluid pumped into the drillstring above a first flow rate immediately after a section of drill pipe has been added to the drillstring, wherein the first flow rate is a flow rate of the drilling fluid pumped into the drillstring before the section of drill pipe has been added to the drillstring.
- a method for controlling flow rates of drilling mud being pumped into a drillstring during a drilling procedure to drill a borehole from a surface location through an earth formation in order to resume communication through the drilling fluid after an interruption, the method comprising: establishing a range of desired optimal flow rates for pumping the drilling mud into the drillstring, wherein the optimal flow rates are determined so as to keep a bottomhole pressure in the borehole within an optimal operating pressure window having upper and lower pressure bounds;
- a system for controlling flow rates of drilling fluids being pumped into a drillstring during a drilling procedure to drill a borehole from a surface location through an earth formation, the system comprising: a stored range of desired optimal flow rates for pumping the drilling fluids into the drillstring, wherein the optimal flow rates are determined so as to keep a bottomhole pressure in the borehole within an optimal operating pressure window having upper and lower pressure levels, wherein the upper pressure level comprises a pressure below a fracture pressure of the formation being drilled and the lower pressure level comprises a pressure above a pore pressure of the formation one or more pumps configured to pump drilling fluid into the drillstring; and a processor configured to control the one or more pumps, wherein the processor controls the pumps
- the second optimal flow rate is within the range of desired optimal flow rates and may be the same or different to the first optimal flow rate.
- Figure. 1A illustrates a wellbore telemetry system that may be used with some embodiments of the present invention
- Figure IB illustrates an apparatus for resuming interrupted communication down a wellbore, according to one embodiment of the present invention
- Figure 2 illustartes a flow rate transition according to current practice (solid line), and according to a methofd in accordance of the present invention
- Figure 3 shows flow rates through a drill bit versus time for a conventional wellbore procedure and a according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- Figure 4 shows stand-pipe pressures for a conventional wellbore procedure and a according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.
- a first object or step could be termed a second object or step, and, similarly, a second object or step could be termed a first object or step.
- the first object or step, and the second object or step are both objects or steps, respectively, but they are not to be considered the same object or step.
- the term “if may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.
- the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.
- Hydrocarbon drilling operations require a large quantity of downhole data to be collected and transmitted to the surface.
- data may include characteristics of the earth formations surrounding the borehole being drilled, drilling parameters, data relating to the size and configuration of the borehole and/or the like.
- the collection of information relating to conditions downhole is commonly referred to as "logging," can be performed by several methods.
- One of these methods requires sensing devices to be lowered into the borehole on a wireline cable.
- collecting data using sensors suspended on a wireline requires cessation of the drilling process and/or removal of the drilling apparatus from the borehole. This is extremely costly and slows down the drilling process.
- conditions may be changed by the cessation of the drilling procedure and/or removal of the drilling apparatus.
- MWD Measurement- while-drilling
- LWD logging while drilling
- Drilling oil and gas wells may be carried out using a string of drill pipes connected together so as to form a drillstring.
- the drillstring extends from a drive mechanism at the surface, such as a top drive, down to the face of the formation being drilled.
- a drill bit Connected to the lower end of the drillstring is a drill bit that is used to drill through the formation. In the drilling process, the drill bit is rotated in the borehole against the formation. Power is provided to the drill bit either from the top drive via the drillstring or from a downhole motor.
- Drilling fluid often referred to as drilling mud/mud
- drilling mud/mud is pumped down through the drillstring during the drilling process at high pressures and volumes (for example, such pressures may be around 3000 p.s.i. at flow rates of up to 1400 gallons per minute) to emerge through nozzles and/or jets in the drill bit.
- the mud is used, among other things, to remove cuttings produced by the drilling of the formation from the bottom of the borehole.
- the mud pumped into the borehole travels down the drillstring, through the drill bit then back up to the surface via an annulus formed between the exterior of the drillstring and the wall of the borehole being drilled.
- the drilling mud may be cleaned and then recirculated.
- the drilling mud not only carries the cuttings from the base of the borehole to the surface, it may also be used to cool the drill bit and, importantly, to balance the hydrostatic pressure in the rock formations.
- This optimal pressure which avoids kicks and fluid loss is termed herein the "optimal operating pressure window”.
- the pressure in the borehole is strongly influenced by the flow rate of drilling mud
- the flow rate that provides this optimal pressure at steady state is termed herein as the "optimal operating flow rate window”.
- a bottomhole pressure the pressure at the bottom of the borehole is the pressure that is used to determine an optimal pressure in the borehole since the bottomhole pressure is in general the most extreme of the pressures in the borehole.
- the optimal operating flow rate window may in general be calculated using the bottomhole pressure. Often there are no sensors to measure the bottomhole pressure and the pressure must be interpolated for other parameters, such as drilling mud properties, choke pressure, stand pipe pressure and/or the like.
- Telemetry systems are used to communicate the data acquired by the sensors to the surface. There are a number of telemetry systems, but mud pulse telemetry is one of the most widely used telemetry systems.
- acoustic signals are transmitted through the drilling mud in the borehole, where the drilling mud is circulated under pressure through the drill string during drilling operations.
- Information contained in the acoustic signals may be transmitted from the surface to the bottom of the borehole or from the bottom of the borehole to the surface.
- Data acquired by the downhole sensors is transmitted by suitably timing the generation of pressure pulses in the flowing drilling mud.
- the acoustic signals are received and decoded by a pressure transducer and computer.
- the drilling mud pressure in the drillstring may be modulated by means of a valve and control mechanism, generally termed a pulser or mud pulser.
- the pulser is usually mounted in a specially adapted drill collar positioned above the drill bit.
- the generated pressure pulse travels up the mud column inside the drillstring at the velocity of sound in the mud.
- the velocity may vary between approximately 3000 and 5000 feet per second.
- the rate of transmission of data is relatively slow due to pulse spreading, distortion, attenuation, modulation rate limitations, and other disruptive forces, such as the ambient noise in the drill string.
- a typical pulse rate is on the order of a pulse per second (1 Hz).
- the mud pulse signal is comprised of a pressure pulse at one of two amplitudes, indicating whether the mud pulser is open or closed. If the pulser is closed, a high pressure pulse is generated, to indicate, for example, a digital " 1.” If the pulser is opened, a digital "0" is indicated.
- the primary method of increasing the data rate of the transmitted signal is to increase the frequency (f) of the pulses. As the frequency f of the pulses increases, however, it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish between adjacent pulses because the resolution period is too short.
- Mud pressure pulses can be generated in various different ways and the mud pulses may comprise modulation of pulse amplitude, pulse frequency and/or pulse phase. Whatever type of pulse system is employed, detection of the pulses at the surface is sometimes difficult due to attenuation and distortion of the signal and the presence of noise generated by the mud pumps, the downhole mud motor and elsewhere in the drilling system. Typically, a pressure transducer is mounted directly on the line or pipe that is used to supply the drilling fluid to the drillstring. [0036] In MWD/LWD, the measured data may be communicated to the surface through mud pulse telemetry techniques, in which drilling fluid or "mud" is used as a propagation medium for a signal wave, such as a pressure wave.
- mud pulse telemetry techniques in which drilling fluid or "mud" is used as a propagation medium for a signal wave, such as a pressure wave.
- data may be communicated by modulating one or more features of the wave to represent the data.
- the amplitude, the frequency, and/or the phase of the wave may be varied such that each variation represents either a single data bit (i.e., binary modulation) or multiple data bits (i.e., non-binary modulation) of digital data.
- these modulations may be detected and the data bits may be determined from the modulations. Mud pulse telemetry is discussed in more detail in U.S. Patent no. 8,302,685, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
- mud is circulated through the drillstring.
- lengths of drill pipe must be added to the drillstring during the drilling procedure as the length of the borehole is increased.
- the adding of a section of drill pipe which may be referred to as a stand, requires that a connection be made to connect the addition section of the drill pipe to the drillstring in the borehole.
- the flow rate/pressure of the drilling mud in the drillstring drops. This typically results in the pressure of the mud dropping below the optimal operating pressure window.
- the pressure of the drilling mud is critical to an effective drilling process and the pressure is repeatedly monitored and, in general, controlled to be in the optimal operating pressure window, where the pressure of the drilling mud is greater than the pore pressure of the formation to prevent fluid ingress into the borehole, and below a fracture pressure of the formation, to prevent fracturing the formation.
- the drilling system is controlled so that the drilling fluid pressure in the top of the drillstring is increased back up to the desired drilling pressure. Most commonly, drilling pressure in the top of the drillstring is increased by pumping drilling fluid into the drillstring at the surface.
- drilling fluid is pumped into the drillstring at a rate that increases the pressure in the drillstring to a level below the optimal operating pressure window, and then the pump rate is slowly increased to enter the optimal operating flow rate window, which slow increase in flow results in a slow increase in the pressure of the drilling fluid in the drillstring so that it slowly returns to a pressure within the optimal operating pressure window.
- the pumps may be brought straight up to the optimal operating flow rate required for drilling.
- one embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling flow rates of drilling fluids being pumped into a drillstring during a drilling procedure to drill a borehole from a surface location through an earth formation, the method comprising: establishing a range of desired optimal flow rates for pumping the drilling fluids into the drillstring, wherein the optimal flow rates are determined so as to keep drilling mud pressure in the borehole within an optimal operating pressure window having upper and lower pressure bounds; drilling for a first period of time at a first optimal flow rate, maintaining the pressure within the optimal operating pressure window; reducing the flow rate to cause the pressure to fall below the lower bound of the pressure window; increasing the flow rate to a value above said first optimal flow rate; reducing the flow rate to a second optimal flow rate, which may be the same or different to the first optimal flow rate.
- the flow rate of drilling mud is increased so as to overshoot the final desired optimal flow rate for a period of time before falling back to the optimal flow rate.
- the time required to achieve stable flow in the drillpipe may be reduced and the transition period, where mud pulse telemetry, is unreliable may be reduced.
- a benefit of this invention is that a stable flow rate at which reliable data communication can occur is achieved substantially faster providing for enhanced communication in the borehole.
- the pressure window for the downhole pressure determined from the reservoir pressure etc., the compliance properties of the drilling fluid and/or the like may be used to process a maximum flow rate increase above the flow rate of drilling fluid being pumped into the drillstring prior to a drilling stand and/or a period of time that such a flow rate increase can be performed.
- the amount of increase above the operating flow rate and the period of time this increase is applied during the drilling procedure will both increase the downhole pressure so in embodiments of the present invention, the two variables are processed to provide either a large increase in flow rate above the optimum flow rate for a short period of time or a lower increase for a longer period of time.
- a determination may be made as to which of the alternatives is better for the ongoing drilling procedure.
- a sensor or the like may be used to measure a flow rate of drilling fluid into the drillstring before a drilling stand and a processor may control pumps to increase the flow rate of the drilling fluid into the drillstring above the measured flow rate after the drilling stand is performed.
- the overshoot of the flow rate and the direction of the overshoot are determined such that the pressure in the drillstring does not exceed a desired pressure window and/or so that the perturbation in the flow rate/pressure of the drilling fluid is minimal and/or returns to the desired flow rate as quickly as possible.
- the increased flow rate may be up to 30%, up to 20% and/or up to 10%> greater than an optimal flow rate. Also the increased flow rate may persist for a period of time of the order of minutes and/or 10s of seconds, e.g. less than 5 minutes. In some aspects it may be less than 2 minutes or even 1 minute.
- a first method for determining overshoot parameters is provided by modeling the flow/pressure of the drilling fluid in the drillstring, such as by using the theory of flow rate adjustments, as described in United States Patent no. 8,196,678, which patent is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
- a second method for controlling overshoot is to gradually increase the overshoot parameters from one connection to the next, while monitoring the pressure at surface (such as by monitoring stand-pipe pressure) to check that the maximum pressure stays within bounds that are acceptable, and preferably checking the observations with theoretical calculations to approximately infer the downhole flow rate from the observed pressures at surface.
- the overshoot may be outside of a range of flow rates that are determined as being necessary to maintain the downhole pressure within an operating pressure window - i.e., a pressure window bounded by the formation fracture pressure and the formation pore pressure - but because of the short duration of time of the overshoot may not introduce a sufficient volume of drilling fluid to take the bottomhole pressure out of the bounds of operating pressure window.
- choke pressure may be adjusted at the same time as the overshoot is performed to mitigate changes in bottomhole pressure produced by the overshoot.
- the pump flow rate time series may either be controlled using an automated system, which follows the determined rate profile, or by an operator, who manually attempts to follow the time operations of the rate profile.
- a processor in communication with a surface sensor may control the overshoot and the system may learn from previous overshoots to find optimum overshoot parameters for the drilling system and to improve the effectiveness of subsequent overshoots.
- Knowledge of other drilling systems, modeling, experimentation and/or the like may be used to determine the overshoot parameters.
- Overshoot parameters and the surface pressure may be recorded, displayed, stored and/or the like to provide for an understanding/record/real-time analysis of the overshoot process and its effects.
- characteristics of the operation of the mud pulse telemetry system may also be recorded, displayed, stored and/or the like to provide an understanding of the effect of the overshoot on the mud pulse telemetry operation.
- overshoot systems and methods may be integrated with a managed pressure drilling system, including an automated managed pressure drilling system.
- properties of the drilling mud may be used to process the overshoot parameters.
- FIG. IB illustrates an apparatus for resuming interrupted communication down a wellbore, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- a drillstring 101 is located in a borehole 102 that is penetrating through an earth formation 104.
- BHA bottomhole assembly
- the BHA 103 may comprise a turbine 109, a pressure pulse based communication system 110 and/or means of determining the orientation of the BHA with respect to the earth's magnetic and/or gravitational field 108.
- the drillstring 101 is suspended by sheaves 107, and there is a means for fluid to enter the drillstring 101 through a swivel 106.
- the swivel 106 is connected to a pump 112, which is controlled by an electrical control system 113.
- the control system 113 includes settings that may either come from an operator and/or a computer (not shown).
- Figures 2-4 illustrate simulations of flows and pressures in a normal/previous wellbore operation, and simulations of flows and pressures in wellbore procedure operated in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
- Figure 2 illustrates a flow rate transition according to current practice (solid line), and according to a method in accordance of the present invention (dashed line).
- current practice the flow is brought up to a steady level (here 3000 litres/minute).
- steady level here 3000 litres/minute
- the flow is first brought up to 3300 litres/minute, and then down to 3000 litres/minute after 30 seconds.
- Figure 3 shows flow rates through a drill bit versus time for a conventional wellbore procedure and a according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- the flow rate downhole takes nearly two minutes to stabilize.
- this is achieved in about 40 seconds.
- Figure 4 shows stand-pipe pressures for a conventional wellbore procedure and a according to one embodiment of the present invention. Although a higher flow rate is used following the invention, the extra pressure seen at the surface is minimal, because of the short duration of the extra flow.
- a processor controls the pumps.
- the processor controls the pumps to increase the flow rate of the drilling fluid so that is overshoots the flow rate that has been determined will produce the desired pressure in the drillstring/borehole for effective drilling, i.e, within the pressure window (as described in more detail above).
- the processor may control the overshoot to minimize perturbations in the drilling fluid pressure.
- the processor may determine overshoot parameters that both provide for the quickest move from the transition period to the downhole flow rate necessary for effective mud pulse telemetry and only an acceptable increase in drilling fluid pressure in the borehole with respect to the pressure window. Because the pressure in the drillstring is of such importance, the processor may be in communication with a surface pressure sensor, such as located in the stand pipe, and may provide a display of the pressure changes produced by the overshoot. Tolerances may be built into the processor, to provide that the overshoot parameters provide for pressure perturbations that are a defined amount below a maximum pressure of the pressure window.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
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Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US201361818175P | 2013-05-01 | 2013-05-01 | |
PCT/US2014/036354 WO2014179561A1 (en) | 2013-05-01 | 2014-05-01 | Resuming interrupted communication through a wellbore |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP2992170A1 true EP2992170A1 (en) | 2016-03-09 |
EP2992170A4 EP2992170A4 (en) | 2016-06-15 |
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EP14792132.4A Withdrawn EP2992170A4 (en) | 2013-05-01 | 2014-05-01 | Resuming interrupted communication through a wellbore |
Country Status (5)
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US (1) | US20160090800A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2992170A4 (en) |
EA (1) | EA201592080A1 (en) |
MX (1) | MX2015015169A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2014179561A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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WO2015065430A1 (en) * | 2013-10-31 | 2015-05-07 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Decreasing pump lag time using process control |
US10989024B2 (en) | 2016-12-28 | 2021-04-27 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Method and system for communication by controlling the flowrate of a fluid |
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US10570683B2 (en) * | 2017-12-07 | 2020-02-25 | Nabors Drilling Technologies USA | Rig control apparatus, system, and method for improved mud-pulse telemetry |
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GB2371582B (en) * | 2000-03-10 | 2003-06-11 | Schlumberger Holdings | Method and apparatus enhanced acoustic mud impulse telemetry during underbalanced drilling |
RU2003134142A (en) * | 2001-04-24 | 2005-05-20 | СиДиэКС ГЭС Л.Л.К. (US) | HYDRAULIC REGULATED PUMPING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ITS OPERATION |
US6755261B2 (en) * | 2002-03-07 | 2004-06-29 | Varco I/P, Inc. | Method and system for controlling well fluid circulation rate |
WO2007124330A2 (en) * | 2006-04-20 | 2007-11-01 | At Balance Americas Llc | Pressure safety system for use with a dynamic annular pressure control system |
US7857075B2 (en) * | 2007-11-29 | 2010-12-28 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Wellbore drilling system |
US8387725B2 (en) * | 2008-04-14 | 2013-03-05 | Smith International, Inc. | Percussion drilling assembly and hammer bit with gage and outer row reinforcement |
US9027643B2 (en) * | 2008-06-11 | 2015-05-12 | Weatherford Technology Holdings, Llc | Method of removing cutters |
GB2464263B (en) * | 2008-10-07 | 2011-04-13 | Schlumberger Holdings | Method of downlinking to a downhole tool |
US8136603B2 (en) * | 2009-09-01 | 2012-03-20 | Tesco Corporation | Method of preventing dropped casing string with axial load sensor |
US20110220350A1 (en) * | 2010-03-11 | 2011-09-15 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Identification of lost circulation zones |
US8844633B2 (en) * | 2010-03-29 | 2014-09-30 | At-Balance Americas, Llc | Method for maintaining wellbore pressure |
US9080407B2 (en) * | 2011-05-09 | 2015-07-14 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Pressure and flow control in drilling operations |
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- 2014-05-01 WO PCT/US2014/036354 patent/WO2014179561A1/en active Application Filing
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- 2014-05-01 US US14/888,436 patent/US20160090800A1/en not_active Abandoned
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EP2992170A4 (en) | 2016-06-15 |
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