China Petroleum Chemical Corporation

Sinopec Tech Houston, LLC

Baker Hughes Corporation

Drilling Technology Research Institute of Shengli Petroleum Engineering Corporation Limited, Sinopec

Sheng Zhan

Jinhai Zhao

Herong Zheng

Jun Han

Fengtao Hu

Jeremy Zhang

Weiping Xu

Hongbing Xiao

Jinzhou Yang

Zhen Yang

Sam Seldon

Laiju Han

Haihua Zhang

Izhar Ahmad

Xianghua Liu

Zongqi Chen

Derek M Shumaker

A mud pulser includes an inlet assembly, a main-valve assembly, a servo-valve assembly, a motor assembly and a collar. The servo-valve assembly has a servo-valve, which includes a servo-valve plugging member and a servo-valve chamber housing the servo-valve plugging member and having a first orifice and a second orifice. A servo-valve shaft is connected to the servo-valve plugging member and configured to be driven to perform a reciprocating movement that causes the servo-valve plugging member to alternately block the first orifice and the second orifice. The alternate blocking of the first orifice and the second orifice triggers movements in the main-valve assembly to restrict or release mud flow to generate mud pulse.

Mud pulser

An interconnectable downhole instrument package has a downhole instrument disposed in a pressure housing; a male connector assembly connecting to a first end of the downhole instrument; and a female connector assembly connecting to a second end of the downhole instrument. The male connector assembly has a first housing and a male rotatable connector that are connected together, while the female connector assembly has a second housing and a female rotatable connector. The second housing is adapted to receive the female rotatable connector.

Interconnectable downhole instrument package

A method for obtaining elemental concentration and determining the formation mineralogy uses a tool having multiple dual-function detectors that can detect both neutrons and gamma rays simultaneously. The method includes emitting neutrons into the formation, detecting neutron and gamma ray signals from the formation and discriminating the neutron signal and the gamma ray signal, obtaining the space, time and energy dependent fluence rates for fast neutrons and thermal neutrons, obtaining gamma ray energy spectra from inelastic scattering and neutron capture reactions from one or more detectors, obtaining the energy spectrum of inelastic gamma rays and/or capture gamma rays from a single element, calculating concentration of the element in the formation using its energy spectrum of inelastic gamma rays or capture gamma rays from one or more detectors and the space, time and energy dependent fluence rate of fast neutrons or thermal neutrons, and determining the formation mineralogy.

Method and apparatus for using pulsed neutron generators and dual-function detectors to obtain formation mineralogy

A method for obtaining a gas saturation value of a subterrain formation involves a tool having multiple dual-function detectors that detect neutrons and gamma rays. The method includes steps of emitting neutrons into the formation, detecting neutrons and gamma ray signals form the formation using the detectors, determining formation parameters including the formation type and formation porosity, and further determining parameters such as the ratio of thermal neutron count rates from at least two of three detectors, the ratio of capture gamma count rates from at least two of three detectors, and calculating the real-time gas saturation value using the determined parameters.

Method and apparatus for obtaining real-time formation gas saturation

A method for measuring an oil saturation value of a subterrain formation uses a tool having multiple dual-function detectors that detect neutrons and gamma rays. The method includes emitting neutrons into the formation, detecting neutrons and gamma ray signals form the formation using the detectors, determining formation parameters including the formation type and formation porosity, and further determining parameters such as C/O ratios at each of the detectors, a total neutron count rate at each of detectors, a fast neutron count rate at each of detectors, and a thermal neutron count rate at each of the three or more detector, and calculating the oil saturation value using the determined parameters.

Method and apparatus for obtaining real-time downhole oil saturation

A method for measuring subterranean formation porosity includes the steps of: deploying a nuclear logging tool having one or more neutron sources and two or more dual-function detectors disposed in into a subterranean formation; causing the one or more neutron sources to emit neutrons in a plurality of neutron pulses into the subterranean formation and generating neutrons and gamma rays in the subterranean formation; obtaining one or more neutron count rates for each of the two or more detectors; determining a formation type of the subterranean formation based on gamma rays received at the one or more detectors; calculating one or more neutron count rate ratios between the neutron count rates of two detectors selected from the two or more detectors; and obtaining one or more formation porosities based on the formation type and the one or more neutron count rate ratios.

Apparatus and method for obtaining real-time true formation porosity using pulsed neutron well logging tool having dual-function detectors

A nuclear logging tool has a housing, one or more neutron sources, one or more shields, and two or more detectors disposed about the housing. Each of the one or more neutron sources is configured to generate neutrons in pulses or continuously and each of the two or more detectors is operable to detect neutrons and gamma rays. The two or more detectors include a first detector disposed at a first distance from a first neutron source and a second detector disposed at a second distance from the first neutron source. The first distance is shorter than the second distance. The first distance and the second distance is measured in the longitudinal direction of the housing. Each shield is operable to absorb neutrons and gamma rays and is disposed inside the housing between one of the one or more neutron source and one of the one or more detectors.

Nuclear logging tools and applications thereof

Formation porosity is measured using a logging tool that has a pulsed neutron generator and multiple dual-function detectors that detect both neutrons and gamma rays. Ratios of thermal neutrons, epithermal neutrons, and capture gamma rays from multiple detectors are utilized to obtain multiple neutron porosities and multiple gamma-ray porosities within different depth of investigations. The neutron porosity and the gamma-ray porosity may be further corrected by excluding peak areas attributable to hydrogen and/or chlorine to reduce the shale effect and/or the chlorine effect. The neutron porosity and the gamma-ray porosity may be combined to provide improved porosity evaluations within different depth of investigations into the formation in the entire porosity measurement range (0-100 p.u.).

Method and apparatus for enhanced formation porosity measurement using pulsed neutron source and dual-function detectors

An interconnector for connecting downhole instruments includes a male connector assembly and a female connector assembly. The male connector assembly has a first housing and a male rotatable connector that are connected together. The female connector assembly has a second housing and a female rotatable connector. The second housing is adapted to receive the female rotatable connector. The male rotatable connector has a first end having a plurality of cylinders that are sequentially and concentrically connected, and a second end adapted to receive a first plurality of electrical wires, and a first plurality of electrical contacts disposed on the plurality of cylinders. The female rotatable connector has a first end having a cavity having a plurality of steps adapted to receive the plurality of cylinders in the male rotatable connector, and a second end adapted to receive a second plurality of electrical wires.

Interconnect for downhole instruments

A method for wireline or logging-while-drilling systems that uses pulsed neutron sources coupled to multiple dual-function radiation detectors of neutrons and gamma rays, as well as a non-transitory computer readable memory device that can distinguish using pulse shape discrimination techniques the neutrons from the gamma rays in order to measure thermal neutron time-decay signals and thermal neutron capture gamma ray time-decay signals that are later further process using the non-transitory computer readable memory device to obtain a borehole sigma and formation sigma that are not affected by near-wellbore environments.

Method for obtaining near-wellbore true borehole sigma and true formation sigma by using a nuclear logging tool during oil and gas exploration

A computer-implemented method that uses a preprogrammed neural network and a trained neural network computer program product to predict and then compared borehole and formation sigmas, when using a pulse neutron source and at least three dual-function radiation detectors. These dual-function radiation detectors are used for detecting both neutrons and gamma rays and further pre-programmed to distinguish between neutrons and gamma rays by using pulse shape discrimination techniques. The trained neural network computer program product can be used on above-surface systems, as well as below surface systems like borehole assemblies in logging-while-drilling systems. Once thermal neutron time-decay signals and capture gamma ray time-decay signals are measured by the at least three-dual function radiation detectors, a non-transitory computer readable memory device with the trained neural network computer program product is used to obtain a true borehole sigma and true formation sigma as the measurements are not affected by near-wellbore environments.

Computer-implemented method of using a non-transitory computer readable memory device with a pre programmed neural network and a trained neural network computer program product for obtaining a true borehole sigma and a true formation sigma

A method for obtaining accuracy gravity coefficients out of three orthogonally oriented accelerometer devices and a thermometer by computing, using a pre-programmed micro-control unit processor, temperature errors, bias error coefficients, sensitivity error coefficients, and orthogonality error coefficients during measurement while drilling operations. Particularly, the method uses voltage data values of the three orthogonally oriented accelerometers to compute said error coefficients which provides for zero-error positioning of the MWD tool during long-term downhole surveying as well as while facing high-shock, vibrations, and high temperatures.

Method for obtaining gravity coefficients for orthogonally oriented accelerometer devices during measurement-while-drilling operations

A method and apparatus of logging downhole formation and obtaining formation porosity using a pulsed neutron generator and multiple dual-function detectors that detect both neutrons and gamma rays. Ratios of thermal neutrons, epithermal neutrons, and capture gamma rays from multiple detectors are utilized to obtain neutron porosity, gamma porosity and formation porosity by using a trained neural network. The method can provide formation porosity measurements independent of environmental factors, such as borehole size, tool standoff, salinity, temperature, pressure, etc. Effects from environmental factors can be automatically corrected by employing multiple dual-function detectors that detect both neutrons and gamma rays.

Acquiring formation porosity using multiple dual-function detectors and neural network

A method and a system implementing the method, are disclosed for computing magnetic interferences in measurement while drilling operations, using the retrieved lateral, and axial magnetic interferences of the measurement while drilling downhole tool system. With the disclosed method and system of implementing the method, it can be determined whether the source of the magnetic interference is from the measurement while drilling downhole tool system lateral direction or its axial direction. When magnetic field strength is abnormal, the lateral and axial magnetic interferences are monitored, and then compared against their values before the abnormal magnetic field strength. This way the direction of the magnetic interference is analyzed to eliminate or judge the cause of the interference, and properly guide the measurement while drilling downhole tool system towards its reservoir or well location.

Method and system for detecting downhole magnetic interference on measurement while drilling operations

A pulser for generating pressure pulses propagating through a column of drilling fluid in the drill string to the surface during drilling. The pulser may include a screen in the surface of a tubular housing to permit mud from the mud stream to enter into the pulser; an adjustable servo valve configured to receive the mud and including a removable servo poppet and a removable servo orifice member positioned in the tubular housing, wherein the adjustable servo valve is configured to allow the removable servo poppet and the removable servo orifice member to be replaced by another removable servo poppet and another removable servo orifice member to alter an inner diameter of an orifice of the adjustable servo valve to accommodate drilling conditions to increase a performance of the pulser generating pressure pulses for the mud stream returning to the surface.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Sheng Zhan