WO2017015069A1 - Determining location of potential drill site - Google Patents

Abstract

A method is disclosed an includes determining a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites, wherein each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells. The method further includes calculating distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set. The method also includes selecting a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances.

Description

DETERMINING LOCATION OF POTENTIAL DRILL SITE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Number 62/196, 130, filed on July 23, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The subject matter of the present disclosure relates to drill placement and more particularly relates to determining a location of a potential drill site for horizontal wells.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The success of energy producers, such as oil and gas producers, depends on how effectively and economically reservoirs can be drained. With conventional reservoirs that are accessible using a vertical wellbore, precautions may be taken to ensure the wells are sufficiently spaced to reduce well interference.

[0004] Unconventional reservoirs, such as horizontal reservoirs, however, may not use such precautions because the drainage area of a horizontal well for an

unconventional reservoir may not travel outside its immediate area of influence to interfere with other wells. Therefore, spacing of horizontal wells to drain unconventional reservoirs can differ from spacing of vertical wells associated with conventional reservoirs. SUMMARY

[0005] A method, for determining a location of a potential drill site, is disclosed and includes determining a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites. Each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells. The method further includes calculating distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set. The method also includes selecting a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances. The method may include representing each of the one or more horizontal wells of the set of pre-existing drill sites as lines in a two- dimensional plane. The method may also include generating a plurality of contour lines between two or more adjacent pre-existing drill sites in the set. Each contour line is defined by points that are equidistant from the endpoint or the midpoint of lines representing adjacent horizontal wells. A location for a potential drill site is selected from a point along contour line. An apparatus comprising a processor and memory may be configured to execute the method, and a program product comprising a computer readable storage medium may store instructions to execute the method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] In order that the advantages of the subject matter of the present disclosure will be readily understood, a more particular description of the subject matter of the present disclosure briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict typical embodiments of the subject matter of the present disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the subject matter of the present disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for determining a location of a potential drill site;

[0008] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus for determining a location of a potential drill site;

[0009] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of another apparatus for determining a location of a potential drill site;

[0010] Figures 4A-4D illustrate one embodiment of determining a location of a potential drill site using a Voronoi map;

[0011] Figures 5A-5C illustrate one embodiment of determining a location of a potential drill site using a nearest neighbor map;

[0012] Figures 6A-6B illustrate one embodiment of determining a location of a potential drill site using geologic overlay maps;

[0013] Figure 7 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for determining a location of a potential drill site; and

[0014] Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of another method determining a location of a potential drill site. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The present application discloses an approach that can be used to determine well spacing and potential drill sites for unconventional wells. Accordingly, the subject matter of the present application has been developed to determine a placement strategy of wells for reservoirs.

[0016] Figure 1 depicts one embodiment of a system 100 for determining a location of a potential drill site. In one embodiment, the system 100 includes one or more information handling devices 102, one or more drill management modules 104, one or more data networks 106, and one or more servers 108. In certain embodiments, even though a specific number of information handling devices 102, drill management modules 104, data networks 106, and servers 108 are depicted in Figure 1, one of skill in the art will recognize, in light of this disclosure, that any number of information handling devices 102, drill management modules 104, data networks 106, and servers 108 may be included in the system 100.

[0017] In one embodiment, the system 100 includes one or more information handling devices 102. The information handling devices 102 may include one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a set-top box, a gaming console, a smart TV, a smart watch, a fitness band or other wearable activity tracking device, an optical head-mounted display (e.g., a virtual reality headset, smart glasses, or the like), a High-Definition Multimedia Interface ("HDMI") or other electronic display dongle, a personal digital assistant, or another computing device comprising a processor (e.g., a central processing unit ("CPU"), a processor core, a field programmable gate array ("FPGA") or other programmable logic, an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a controller, a microcontroller, and/or another semiconductor integrated circuit device), a volatile memory, and/or a non-volatile storage medium.

[0018] In certain embodiments, the information handling devices 102 are communicatively coupled to one or more other information handling devices 102 and/or to one or more servers 108 over a data network 106, described below. The information handling devices 102, in a further embodiment, are configured to execute various programs, program code, applications, instructions, functions, and/or the like, which may access, store, download, upload, and/or the like data located on one or more servers 108.

[0019] In one embodiment, the drill management apparatus 104 is configured to determine placement of horizontal wells for a horizontal or otherwise unconventional reservoir, such as a gas or oil reservoir. The drill management module 104, in one embodiment, determines a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites, wherein each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells. In some embodiments, the drill management module 104 calculates distances between each location of the preexisting drill sites in the set. In a further embodiment, the drill management module 104 selects a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances. The drill management apparatus 104, including its various sub-modules, may be located on one or more information handling devices 102 in the system 100, one or more servers 108, one or more network devices, and/or the like. The drill management apparatus 104 is described in more detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

[0020] The drill management apparatus 104, in one embodiment, improves upon current drilling technology because it determines placement of drill sites for horizontal wells. Well spacing for horizontal reservoirs is conventionally done using a rule of thumb (e.g., place a new horizontal well so many feet from the nearest horizontal well), such as spacing wells 300-600 feet apart. This may not be the most economical solution for resource producers, such as oil and gas producers. Therefore, determining a new drill site based on scientific data and interpretations on drain and drillings per well can provide an optimum well-spacing solution, as described in more detail below.

[0021] In various embodiments, the drill management apparatus 104 may be embodied as a hardware appliance that is hard-wired to perform the various functions described below, and which can be installed or deployed on an information handling device 102, on a server 108, or elsewhere on the data network 106. In certain

embodiments, the drill management apparatus 104 may include a hardware device such as a secure hardware dongle or other hardware appliance device (e.g., a set-top box, a network appliance, or the like) that attaches to a device such as a laptop computer, a server 108, a tablet computer, a smart phone, or the like, either by a wired connection (e.g., a universal serial bus ("USB") connection) or a wireless connection (e.g.,

Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, near-field communication ("NFC"), or the like); that attaches to an electronic display device (e.g., a television or monitor using an HDMI port, a DisplayPort port, a Mini DisplayPort port, VGA port, DVI port, or the like); and/or the like. A hardware appliance of the drill management apparatus 104 may include a power interface, a wired and/or wireless network interface, a graphical interface that attaches to a display, and/or a semiconductor integrated circuit device as described below, configured to perform the functions described herein with regard to the drill management apparatus 104.

[0022] The drill management apparatus 104, in such an embodiment, may include a semiconductor integrated circuit device (e.g., one or more chips, die, or other discrete logic hardware), or the like, such as a field-programmable gate array ("FPGA") or other programmable logic, firmware for an FPGA or other programmable logic, microcode for execution on a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a processor, a processor core, or the like. In one embodiment, the drill management apparatus 104 may be mounted on a printed circuit board with one or more electrical lines or connections (e.g., to volatile memory, a non-volatile storage medium, a network interface, a peripheral device, a graphical/display interface, or the like). The hardware appliance may include one or more pins, pads, or other electrical connections configured to send and receive data (e.g., in communication with one or more electrical lines of a printed circuit board or the like), and one or more hardware circuits and/or other electrical circuits configured to perform various functions of the drill management apparatus 104.

[0023] The semiconductor integrated circuit device or other hardware appliance of the drill management apparatus 104, in certain embodiments, includes and/or is communicatively coupled to one or more volatile memory media, which may include but is not limited to random access memory ("RAM"), dynamic RAM ("DRAM"), cache, or the like. In one embodiment, the semiconductor integrated circuit device or other hardware appliance of the drill management apparatus 104 includes and/or is

communicatively coupled to one or more non-volatile memory media, which may include but is not limited to: NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, nano random access memory (nano RAM or NRAM), nanocrystal wire-based memory, silicon-oxide based sub-10 nanometer process memory, graphene memory, Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide- Silicon ("SONOS"), resistive RAM ("RRAM"), programmable metallization cell ("PMC"), conductive-bridging RAM ("CBRAM"), magneto-resistive RAM ("MRAM"), dynamic RAM ("DRAM"), phase change RAM ("PRAM' or "PCM"), magnetic storage media (e.g., hard disk, tape), optical storage media, or the like.

[0024] The data network 106, in one embodiment, includes a digital

communication network that transmits digital communications. The data network 106 may include a wireless network, such as a wireless cellular network, a local wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network, a Bluetooth® network, a near-field communication ("NFC") network, an ad hoc network, and/or the like. The data network 106 may include a wide area network ("WAN'), a storage area network ("SAN"), a local area network (LAN), an optical fiber network, the internet, or other digital communication network. The data network 106 may include two or more networks. The data network 106 may include one or more servers, routers, switches, and/or other networking equipment. The data network 106 may also include one or more computer readable storage media, such as a hard disk drive, an optical drive, non-volatile memory, RAM, or the like. [0025] The one or more servers 108, in one embodiment, may be embodied as blade servers, mainframe servers, tower servers, rack servers, and/or the like. The one or more servers 108 may be configured as a mail server, a web server, an application server, an FTP server, a media server, a data server, a web server, a file server, a virtual server, and/or the like. The one or more servers 108 may be communicatively coupled (e.g., networked) over a data network 106 to one or more information handling devices 102. The one or more servers 108 may store data associated with drilling, such as various maps, existing well information, and/or the like.

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus 200 for determining a location of a potential drill site. In one embodiment, the apparatus 200 includes an embodiment of a drill management apparatus 104. The drill management apparatus 104, in some embodiments, includes one or more of a set determination module 202, a distance module 204, a location module 206, and a drill 208, which are described in more detail below.

[0027] The set determination module 202, in one embodiment, determines a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites that are associated with one or more horizontal wells. As used herein, a horizontal well is a well for extracting material from a reservoir of a resource (e.g., oil, gas, water, or the like) that runs horizontally, such as in a layer of shale rock. To extract the resource from the horizontal reservoir, a horizontal well (also known as an unconventional well) can be drilled into the horizontal reservoir. Unlike conventional, vertical wells, horizontal wells are created by drilling vertically to a predetermined depth and then drilling horizontally into the horizontal reservoir using a hydraulically fractured horizontal wellbore.

[0028] The set determination module 202, in one embodiment, determines a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites (e.g., horizontal well locations) based on user input. For example, a user may provide the locations, GPS coordinates, or other identifying information for an area where the user is interested in drilling a new horizontal well. In a further embodiment, the set determination module 202 determines a set of pre-existing drill sites from mapping data. For example, the set determination module 202 may receive and interpret a drill map that lists, shows, provides, or the like locations of existing well locations for horizontal and/or vertical reservoirs. The drill map may be provided by an energy organization (e.g., U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the like), by an energy producer, or the like.

[0029] In certain embodiments, the distance module 204 calculates a distance between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set of drill sites determined by the set determination module 202. The distance module 204, in one embodiment, determines a straight distance between the pre-existing drill sites, regardless of terrain, geographic features (e.g., mountains, rivers, etc.), existing pipelines, national parks or other restricted access areas, or the like. For example, the distance module 204 may determine a distance between two pre-existing drill sites using the formula:

where (xi, yi) and (x2, yi) are respective coordinates for each pre-existing drill site. Of course, the distance module 204 may utilize other distance formulas.

[0030] In one embodiment, the distance module 204 determines a distance between pre-existing drill sites that takes into account the foregoing factors. For example, the distance module 204 may find a distance between pre-existing drill sites that bypasses a mountain, ravine, river, natural park, or the like.

[0031] The location module 206, in one embodiment, selects a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances between pre-existing drill sites in the set. As described below, the location module 206 may select a location of a potential drill site for a horizontal well using a Voronoi method, described below with reference to the Voronoi module 302, and/or a nearest neighbor method, described below with reference to the nearest neighbor module 304. The location may include a map coordinate, a GPS coordinate, a latitude/longitude coordinate, or the like. [0032] In some embodiments, the location module 206 determines a ranking for a potential drill site. For example, if there are a plurality of viable potential drill sites, the location module 206 may calculate or determine a ranking for each of the potential drill sites, which may be used to order the potential drill sites according to a user's

preferences. The ranking may be based on a number of factors, such as a risk indicator derived as a result of a risk analysis of drilling at a potential drill site, a drill schedule, location of one or more pre-existing drill sites, access to a road network, and/or the like.

[0033] The drill 208, in one embodiment, is used to drill a horizontal well at the selected location of the potential drill site. The drill 208 may be any drill configured to drill horizontally along a rock layer, for example, to reach reservoirs that cannot be reached by vertical or directional drilling, or the like. The drill 208 may be used to drill a horizontal well for a horizontal reservoir containing oil, gas, water, and/or other resources using hydraulic fracturing to create a horizontal wellbore. In this manner, the drill 208 located on the potential drill site may be placed at location in relation to one or more preexisting drill sites to increase horizontal well density without causing wellbore interference and pressure drops in the horizontal reservoir, for example.

[0034] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus 300 for determining a location of a potential drill site. In one embodiment, the apparatus 300 includes an embodiment of a drill management apparatus 104. The drill management apparatus 104, in some embodiments, includes one or more of a set determination module 202, a distance module 204, a location module 206, and a drill 208, which may be substantially similar to the set determination module 202, the distance module 204, the location module 206, and the drill 208 described above with reference to Figure 2. In a further embodiment, the drill management module 104 includes one or more of a location module 206 that includes a Voronoi module 302 and a nearest neighbor module 304, an output module 306, and an overlay module 308, which are described below in more detail. [0035] In one embodiment, the location module 206 determines a location of a potential drill site for a horizontal well using a Voronoi method. In such an embodiment, the Voronoi module 302 performs one or more functions to determine a potential drill site for a horizontal well based on the distances between the set of pre-existing drill sites described above. With reference to Figures 4A-4D, the Voronoi module 302 determines a location of a potential drill site for a horizontal well using a Voronoi method. In general, the Voronoi method partitions a plane into regions based on distances to points in a specific subset of the plane. For each set of points there is a corresponding region consisting of those points closer to that set than to any other.

[0036] With reference to Figure 4A, the Voronoi module 302 may receive a set of pre-existing drill sites 402 from the set determination module 202. The set of preexisting drill sites 402 may be a subset of a larger set of pre-existing drill sites for a given region 404. The Voronoi module 302 may receive a map as shown in Figure 4A, a set of coordinates for a pre-existing drill site, or the like. Based on the set of pre-existing drill sites 402, the Voronoi module 302 may project a three-dimensional deviated wellbore into a two-dimensional plane such that the horizontal well is represented by a line segment 406 (e.g., a two-dimensional plane) or a straight line of a predetermined length.

[0037] Referring to Figure 4B, the Voronoi module 302 generates at least one endpoint 408 and/or a midpoint 410 for the line segment 406 representing each preexisting drill site for a horizontal well. Referring to Figure 4C, the Voronoi module 302 generates, calculates, or otherwise determines one or more Voronoi grids/cells 412 based on the endpoint 408 and/or the midpoint 410 for each line. The Voronoi grids/cells 412 comprise the set of points in the two-dimensional plane that are closer to a particular endpoint 408 or midpoint 410 in the grid/cell 412 than to another endpoint 408 or midpoint 410. Accordingly, the Voronoi grids/cells 412 are bounded by one or more contour lines 414 that are defined by equidistant points between at least two adjacent pre- existing drill sites represented by the endpoints 408 and/or midpoints 410 of the line segments 406 representing the horizontal wells.

[0038] In a further embodiment, referring to Figure 4D, the Voronoi module 302 ignores, removes, or otherwise disregards at least a portion of a contour line 414 associated with an endpoint 408 and/or a midpoint 410 located on the same line segment 406 representing a horizontal well. At this point, the Voronoi module 302 may select a location for a potential drill site from one or more points along one of the remaining contour lines 414. In certain embodiments, the Voronoi module 302 selects a location for a potential drill site along a contour line that is substantially straight 416, which may make drilling a horizontal well easier and more efficient.

[0039] In one embodiment, the location module 206 determines a location of a potential drill site for a horizontal well using a nearest neighbor method. In such an embodiment, the nearest neighbor module 304 performs one or more functions to determine a potential drill site for a horizontal well based on the distances between the set of pre-existing drill sites described above. The nearest neighbor method, as used herein, determines a location of a potential drill site for a horizontal well based on an existing horizontal well and its nearest neighbor wells.

[0040] Referring to Figure 5 A, the nearest neighbor module 304 projects a three- dimensional deviated wellbore into a two-dimensional plane such that the horizontal well is represented by a line segment 502. The nearest neighbor module 304 selects a line segment 506 and divides the line segment 506 into a plurality of sections using one or more perpendicular lines 504 that are placed centrally along a midpoint of the line segment 506. The length of the perpendicular lines 504 may be predetermined, specified by a user, calculated as a function of the length of a line segment 506, or the like. The perpendicular lines 504 may be the same length or may be of varying lengths. Similarly, the spacing between the perpendicular lines 504 may be predetermined, specified by a user, calculated as a function of the length of a line segment 506, or the like. The perpendicular lines 504 may be equally spaced apart or may be spaced apart at various intervals along the line segment 506.

[0041] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 5B, the nearest neighbor module 304 creates an area 508, e.g., a polygon, around the line segment 506 using the endpoints of the perpendicular lines as boundary points. In certain embodiments, if a perpendicular line intersects another line segment 510 representing a nearby or adjacent horizontal well, that line segment 510 becomes the boundary of the area around the line segment 506 of interest.

[0042] In a further embodiment, referring to Figure 5C, the nearest neighbor module 304 divides a length of a major axis of the area in half (e.g., by two), which becomes the area 512 defined by the well spacing around the horizontal well of interest represented by the line segment 506. The nearest neighbor module 304, in one embodiment, determines a location for a potential drill site along the border of the area 512 defined by the well spacing around the line segment 506, e.g., the existing horizontal well, along a border 514 of area defined by the perpendicular lines, and/or at a location within the area defined between these two borders.

[0043] Referring again to Figure 3, the output module 306, in one embodiment, receives the location of the potential drill site for the horizontal well determined by the location module 206 and provides, presents, displays, or the like the location of one or more potential drill sites to a user such as a drill operator, an energy producer, an energy regulation agency, or the like. For example, in certain embodiments, the output module 306 presents a listing of locations of potential drill sites such as a listing of GPS coordinates, latitude/longitude coordinates, or other map coordinates. In another example, the output module 306 generates a drill map that presents a map of locations of pre-existing drill sites and the location of one or more potential drill sites.

[0044] In certain embodiments, the output module 306 presents a ranking for each of the potential drill sites along with the location of each potential drill site. In certain embodiments, the output module 306 presents factors that are relevant to the selection of a potential drill site, and which may have been considered when calculating the ranking for a potential drill site, such as a risk indicator, the drill schedule, access to a road network, location of pre-existing drill sites, and/or the like.

[0045] In some embodiments, the output module 306 may present an interactive drill map that includes options for a user to display or hide indicators for each of the foregoing factors, the ranking for each drill site, various overlay maps (described below), and/or the like. Similarly, the output module 306 may present a listing of potential drill sites with information regarding the foregoing factors associated with each potential drill site in the list. For example, the output module 306 may present a spreadsheet or other list of the potential drill sites ranked in order of the determined rankings for each potential drill sites and information associated with each potential drill site such as a risk indicator, whether the potential drill site has access to a road network, distance to nearest pre-existing drill site, earliest time period to begin work on the potential drill site, and/or the like.

[0046] In certain embodiments, the overlay module 308 overlays or superimposes one or more geologic maps on the drill map generated by the output module 306. The one or more geologic maps may include a well drainage map, a saturation map, a topographical map, a well-probability map, a reservoir pressure distribution map (e.g., derived either through well tests or material balance calculations), a hydrocarbon saturation distribution map (e.g., derived from reservoir simulations), and/or the like. For example, as shown in Figure 6 A, a well -drainage map may be superimposed on a drill map generated using the Voronoi method for locating potential drill sites as illustrated in Figure 4D. The drainage map is superimposed on each line segment 406 representing a horizontal well such that a drainage area 602 for each horizontal well is defined around each horizontal well. The drainage map may show how much resource or material has been drained from each well, e.g., the larger the drainage area 602 around a well, the more material has been drained from the well.

[0047] The location module 206 may determine a location for a potential drill site using a combination of the contour lines generated by the Voronoi module 302 and the superimposed drainage map. For example, as shown in Figure 6B, the location module 306 may select a portion 604 of a contour line 414 for a location of a potential drill site a predetermined distance from an area defined by the drainage area 602 for a pre-existing horizontal well in order to drill a horizontal well at a location that has not yet been touched by a pre-existing horizontal well. The overlay module 308 may superimpose similar maps on a drill map generated using the nearest neighbor method, and the location module 206 may select a location for a potential drill site based on the information from the nearest neighbor method and the superimposed geologic maps.

[0048] Figure 7 depicts a schematic flow chart diagram of one embodiment of a method 700 for determining a location of a potential drill site. In one embodiment, the method 700 begins and determines 702 a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites that are each associated with one or more horizontal wells. In some embodiments, the method 700 calculates 704 distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set. In a further embodiment, the method 700 selects a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances, and the method 700 ends. In one embodiment, the set determination module 202, the distance module 204, and the location module 206 perform one or more functions of the method 700.

[0049] Figure 8 depicts a schematic flow chart diagram of one embodiment of a method 800 for determining a location of a potential drill site. In one embodiment, the method 800 begins and determines 802 a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites that are each associated with one or more horizontal wells. In a further embodiment, the method 800 generates 804 a Voronoi map to determine one or more distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set. In another embodiment, the method 800 generates 806 a nearest neighbor map to determine one or more distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set.

[0050] In some embodiments, the method 800 generates 808 a drill map of the location of the one or more pre-existing drill sites in the set and the location of the one or more potential drill sites. In one embodiment, the method 800 overlays 810 one or more geologic maps on the drill map and selects 812 a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances determined using the Voronoi map and/or the nearest neighbor map, and the superimposed geologic maps. In certain embodiments, the method 800 drills 814 a horizontal well at one or more of the potential drill sites, and the method 800 ends. In certain embodiments, the set determination module 202, the distance module 204, the location module 206, the Voronoi module 302, the nearest neighbor module 304, the output module 306, and/or the overlay module 308 performs one or more functions of the method 800.

[0051] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an

embodiment," and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all

embodiments" unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "including,"

"comprising," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to" unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive and/or mutually inclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a," "an," and "the" also refer to "one or more" unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0052] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments.

[0053] These features and advantages of the embodiments will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of embodiments as set forth hereinafter. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied as a system, method, and/or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having program code embodied thereon.

[0054] Many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be

implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

[0055] Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of program code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

[0056] Indeed, a module of program code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. Where a module or portions of a module are

implemented in software, the program code may be stored and/or propagated on in one or more computer readable medium(s).

[0057] The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present disclosure.

[0058] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory ("RAM"), a read-only memory ("ROM"), an erasable programmable read-only memory ("EPROM" or Flash memory), a static random access memory ("SRAM"), a portable compact disc read-only memory ("CD-ROM"), a digital versatile disk ("DVD"), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

[0059] Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing processing device.

[0060] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure.

[0061] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.

[0062] These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other

programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0063] The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

[0064] Many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be

implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

[0065] Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of program instructions may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

[0066] The schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible

implementations of apparatuses, systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions of the program code for implementing the specified logical function(s). [0067] It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Other methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portions thereof, of the illustrated Figures.

[0068] Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate the logical flow of the depicted embodiment. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted embodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and program code.

[0069] The description of elements in each figure may refer to elements of proceeding figures. Like numbers refer to like elements in the figures, including alternate embodiments of like elements.

[0070] Although the preceding description has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, it extends to functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. No claim in this application invokes Section 112 paragraph 6 unless it includes the words "means for."

Claims

[0071] What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:

determining a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites, wherein each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells;

calculating distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set; and

selecting a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising representing each of the one or more horizontal wells of the set of pre-existing drill sites as lines in a two-dimensional plane, each line comprising at least one of an endpoint and a midpoint.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating a plurality of contour lines between two or more adjacent pre-existing drill sites in the set, wherein: each contour line is defined by points that are equidistant from one of the endpoint and the midpoint of lines representing adjacent horizontal wells; and

a location for a potential drill site is selected from a point along a contour line.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising selecting a location for a potential drill site for a horizontal well along a contour line that is substantially straight.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

representing a horizontal well as a line in a two-dimensional plane; dividing the line into a plurality of sections using one or more perpendicular lines, wherein the perpendicular lines have a same predetermined length, are equally spaced apart from each other along the line, and placed on the line at midpoints of the perpendicular lines; and

determining the location of one or more potential drill sites responsive to the perpendicular lines.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising creating an area around the line representing the horizontal well using the end points of the perpendicular lines, wherein a location of a potential drill site is selected from one or more of a point within the area and a point on the area's boundary.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining whether a perpendicular line intersects a line representing a second horizontal well, wherein the line representing the second horizontal well becomes a boundary for the area at a point where the perpendicular line intersects the line representing the second horizontal well.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the location of the one or more potential drill sites is selected from one or more locations located halfway between the horizontal line representing the horizontal well and the area boundary.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the location of the one or more potential drill sites is selected from one or more locations located along a boundary of the area that does not comprise a line representing the second horizontal well.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a drill map of the locations of the one or more pre-existing drill sites in the set and the location of the one or more potential drill sites, the drill map comprising one or more identifiers for each location of the one or more potential drill sites.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising overlaying one or more geologic maps on the drill map, the one or more geologic maps selected from the group consisting of a drainage map, a saturation map, a topographical map, and a well probability map, wherein a location of one or more potential drill sites is further selected based on a selected geologic map.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

a memory that stores code executable by the processor to:

determine a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites, wherein each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells;

calculate distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set; and

select a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising code executable by the processor to: represent each of the one or more horizontal wells of the set of pre-existing drill sites as lines in a two-dimensional plane, wherein each line comprises at least one of an endpoint and a midpoint; and

generate a plurality of contour lines between two or more adjacent pre-existing drill sites in the set, wherein:

each contour line is defined by points that are equidistant from one of the endpoint and the midpoint of lines representing adjacent horizontal wells; and a location for a potential drill site is selected from a point along a contour line.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a location for a potential drill site from a point along a contour line that is substantially straight.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising code executable by the processor to:

represent a horizontal well as a line in a two-dimensional plane;

divide the line into a plurality of sections using one or more perpendicular lines, wherein the perpendicular lines have a same predetermined length, are equally spaced apart from each other along the line, and placed on the line at midpoints of the perpendicular lines; and

determine the location of one or more potential drill sites responsive to the perpendicular lines.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising code executable by the processor to:

create an area around the line representing the horizontal well using the end points of the perpendicular lines, wherein a location of a potential drill site is selected from one or more of a point within the area and a point on the area's boundary; and

determine whether a perpendicular line intersects a line representing a second horizontal well, wherein the line representing the second horizontal well becomes a boundary for the area at a point where the perpendicular line intersects the line representing the second horizontal well.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the location of the one or more potential drill sites is selected from:

one or more locations located halfway between the horizontal line representing the horizontal well and the area boundary; and

one or more locations located along a boundary of the area that does not comprise a line representing the second horizontal well.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising code executable by the processor to provide a drill map of the locations of the one or more pre-existing drill sites in the set and the location of the one or more potential drill sites, the drill map comprising one or more identifiers for each location of the one or more potential drill sites.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising code executable by the processor to overlay one or more geologic maps on the drill map, the one or more geologic maps selected from the group consisting of a drainage map, a saturation map, a topographical map, and a well probability map, wherein a location of one or more potential drill sites is further selected based on a selected geologic map.

20. A program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium that stores code executable by a processor, the executable code comprising code to perform: determining a set of at least two pre-existing drill sites, wherein each drill site in the set is associated with one or more horizontal wells;

calculating distances between each location of the pre-existing drill sites in the set; and

selecting a location of one or more potential drill sites for a horizontal well based on the distances.