Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

David Alan Welsh

Yinghui Lu

Paris Smaragdis

Nam Nguyen

Avinash Vinayak Taware

Daniel Viassolo

Yi Yang Ang

Yibing Zheng

John Philip Granville

Tatiana Gilstrap

Clifford Lloyd Macklin

Nugroho Perhatianto

Costas Christofi

Federico Lucas, Jr

Disclosed are tools, systems, and methods for detecting one or more underground acoustic sources and localizing them in depth and radial distance from a wellbore, for example, for the purpose of finding underground fluid flows, such as may result from leaks in the well barriers. In various embodiments, acoustic-source detection and localization are accomplished with an array of at least three acoustic sensors disposed in the wellbore, in conjunction with array signal processing.

Acoustic array signal processing for flow detection

Various apparatus or methods are arranged to operate a tool in a wellbore, where the tool has a number of acoustic sensors. Scanning images obtained by the tool sensors along the borehole can be combined to increase the contrast of leak location with respect to background noise. A sequence of beamformed images, generated from signals captured by the tool as it moves over a range of depths of the wellbore, can be acquired. Each beamformed image may overlap at least one other beamformed image of the sequence. The beamformed images can be processed and the processed beamformed images can be combined, forming a stitched image. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods operable in providing stitched images can operate in a variety of applications.

Stitching methods to enhance beamforming results

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for taking acoustic/ultrasonic wave measurements of a wellbore using a downhole tool equipped with microelectromechanical (MEM) transducers are provided. The MEM transducers may include a plurality of MEM transmitters (e.g., MEM speakers) and a plurality of separate MEM receivers (e.g., MEM microphones). These MEM transducers may be disposed in arrays proximate an outer surface of the downhole tool to collect acoustic/ultrasonic wave measurements of the full circumference of a wellbore. Due to their small size, large numbers of MEM transducers may be distributed radially around the downhole tool. Such an arrangement of sensors may enable the downhole tool to perform measurements of the entire wellbore without the downhole tool needing to be rotated, leading to an increased signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements.

MEMS-based transducers on a downhole tool

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League City, TX, United States of America

David Alan Welsh