Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.

The University of Texas System

Umut Zalluhoglu

Robert Phillip Darbe

Nazli Demirer

Wei Zhang

Julien Marck

Yiming Zhao

Reena Agarwal Chanpura

Vy Pho

Alexander Mathew Keller

Julien Christian Valery Marek

Richard Thomas Hay

Ketan Chimanlal Bhaidasna

Mark Vincent Collins

Jian Wu

Qiuying Gu

Dongmei Chen

Cristian Lenin Sosareyes

Tianheng Feng

Peter John Hornblower

Julien Christian Valery Marck

Mevis Juliana Tarazona Mercado

A method for calibrating a steering model may comprise estimating an initial condition for one or more variables in the steering model and calibrating the steering model with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo Simulation (MCMC). A drilling system may comprise a bottom hole assembly, a drill string connected to the bottom hole assembly, and an information handling system connected to the bottom hole assembly. The information handling system may be configured to process one or more measurements from the bottom hole assembly, calibrate a steering model based at least in part on the one or more measurements, adjust a control logic based at least in part on the steering model, and adjust the bottom hole assembly based at least in part on the control logic.

Probabilistic model calibration and estimation for drilling steering control

One or more sensors are positioned downhole in a wellbore of a geological formation. One or more survey directional measurements associated with the wellbore are performed and one or more continuous directional measurements associated with the wellbore are performed. A wellbore trajectory model projects a trajectory of the wellbore to respective measured depths at which at least one of the one or more survey directional measurements and one or more continuous directional measurements were performed or obtained to predict one or more directional measurements of the wellbore at those depths. One or more differences are determined between the predicted one or more directional measurements and at least one of the one or more survey directional measurements and the one or more continuous directional measurements. The wellbore trajectory model is calibrated based on the one or more differences between predicted measurements and performed measurements.

Wellbore trajectory model calibration for directional drilling

A method and system for identifying a fault in a downhole tool. The method may comprise storing a plurality of diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) from one or more previous downhole operations in a database, mapping the plurality of DTCs in the database, performing a downhole operation wherein a DTC is generated, and performing a determinative algorithm that uses pattern recognition to identify a fault caused by a DTC signature based on the one or more of the plurality of DTCs.

Diagnostic trouble code signature classification for downhole tool fault identification

This disclosure presents a method and process to improve the accuracy of the calculations for true vertical depth and Eastings and Northings pair of a borehole while drilling operations are in progress. The method utilizes continuous survey parameters that are collected while drilling operations are in progress, and that have been collected between two neighboring stationary survey parameters. The stationary survey parameters are assumed to be ground truth and are fused with an invertible solution to a low order polynomial to generate the true vertical depth and an Eastings and Northings pair at each continuous survey location. An objective function can be used to optimize and solve the polynomial. The method can be performed on a well site controller, a geo-steering system, a bottom hole assembly, or other computing system capable of receiving the collected measurements, performing the method steps, and communicating the resultant borehole position parameters to other systems.

Estimating borehole shape between stationary survey locations

Methods and compositions for estimating one or more downhole qualities of a drilling apparatus by obtaining axial acceleration data. The axial acceleration data may be acquired by measuring an axial acceleration of a bottom hole assembly. The axial acceleration may then be used to estimate one or more of a downward weight on a drill bit of the drilling apparatus or a rate of penetration of the drill bit.

Methods for estimating downhole weight on bit and rate of penetration using acceleration measurements

A well path for a directional drilling device may be updated by determining a perturbation for a new well path from a current bottom-hole assembly position to a target using the initial well plan (or any well path of reference) as a reference. An initial well plan may be determined for a directional drilling device along with a current actual borehole position of a drilling device along with other parameters such as attitude. With this, a perturbation to the well plan based on the current actual borehole position of a drilling device and a subterranean target maybe determined. Based on this perturbation an updated borehole path may be determined.

Perturbation based well path reconstruction

Current disclosure proposes calibration methodology that uses the knowledge learned from historical data and real-time data to update a simplified physics-based borehole propagation model for real time steering control of a directional drilling system. The proposed methodology updates model parameters of the simplified physics-based model in real time through a process of setting up and optimizing an objective function, which indicates the difference between the estimated trajectory and the feedback from the real-time data. Penalizing terms, which prevent the parameters from deviating drastically from the prior knowledge of the parameter, and various components of the objective function are learned from the historical data. As a result, the updated model can accurately estimate and predict the system behavior allowing an input sequence of the system to be accurately mapped to the output response.

Techniques for calibrating borehole propagation model for direction drilling in real time

A method for controlling a rotary steerable system (RSS) may comprise disposing the RSS into a borehole, storing a curvature for the borehole into an information handling system, storing one or more steering commands in the information handling system, taking a first attitude measurement at a first sensor and a second sensor disposed on the RSS at a first location in the borehole, and calculating a first relative attitude from the first attitude measurement at the first sensor and the second sensor. The method may further comprise taking a second attitude measurement at the first sensor and the second sensor disposed on the RSS at the second location in the borehole, calculating a second relative attitude from the second attitude measurement at the first sensor and the second sensor, and comparing the first relative attitude to the second relative attitude to find a difference.

Downhole controller assisted drilling of a constant curvature in a borehole

A method and system for a rotary steerable system (RSS). The method may comprise performing a tool position calculation from the one or more measurements and creating one or more event flags based at least in part on a location of the RSS in a formation, wherein the one or more event flags are created by an information handling system disposed on a bottom hole assembly. The method may also comprise selecting an algorithm for the tool position calculation based on the one or more event flags. The system may comprise one or more sensors configured to take one or more measurements and an information handling system disposed on a bottom hole assembly.

Automated scheduling of sensors for directional drilling

A method for controlling a drilling trajectory of a wellbore includes receiving a target trajectory reference of a drill bit within a wellbore from a formation model. The method also includes receiving real-time formation evaluation measurements from at least one sensor positioned within the wellbore and computing a target trajectory set-point change based on the real-time formation evaluation measurements. Further, the method includes generating a target trajectory from the target trajectory reference and the target trajectory set-point change and steering the drill bit using the target trajectory.

Trajectory control for directional drilling using formation evaluation measurement feedback

A method for controlling a drilling trajectory of a wellbore includes computing a position and attitude of a drill bit within a wellbore. The method further includes computing a wellbore trajectory error between (i) the position of the drill bit and a well plan position and (ii) the attitude of the drill bit and a well plan attitude. Further, the method includes determining an inclination set-point change command and an azimuth set-point change command using the wellbore trajectory error. Additionally, the method includes steering the drill bit using the inclination set-point change command and the azimuth set-point change command.

Trajectory control for directional drilling

The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods to improve downhole drilling. In one embodiment, a method to improve downhole drilling includes receiving a well plan, where the well plan is indicative of a well path to form a borehole of a hydrocarbon well is provided. The method also includes receiving measurements indicative of a previously-drilled section of the borehole. The method further includes generating, based on the measurements, a trajectory of the borehole, where the trajectory is a function of a depth. The method further includes providing the trajectory of the borehole to a Model Predictive Controller. The method further includes steering a tool towards the well path based on an output of the Model Predictive Controller.

Systems and methods to improve directional drilling

A method of drilling tendency estimation including receiving, at a processor, one or more directional sensor measurements from a drilling tool disposed on a drill string, processing, at the processor, the one or more directional sensor measurements to determine an actual wellbore trajectory over a defined interval, and identifying, at the processor, a set of directional disturbance parameters by optimization of the actual trajectory of the drilling tool, steering inputs, and/or a set of pre-defined directional disturbance parameters of the drilling tool.

Autonomous directional drilling directional tendency estimation

Techniques for estimating a current inclination and azimuth of a drill bit of a wellbore drilling system are described. The estimates for the current inclination and azimuth are generated using measurements obtained for one or more parameters associated with the drilling process performed by the drill bit and taken over a range of the wellbore falling within a sliding window having a predefined distance D extending along the wellbore.

Sensor fusion and model calibration for bit attitude prediction

A method for directional drilling including defining, by a sliding mode controller, a sliding hypersurface for reducing a trajectory error in one or more error dimensions; determining a current trajectory error between a current trajectory of a directional drilling tool and a reference trajectory for a curved path, the current trajectory error corresponding to a current error position in the one or more error dimensions; calculating a sliding mode vector originating from the current error position and substantially conforming to the sliding hypersurface in the one or more error dimensions; determining a feedback control input for the directional drilling tool based on the sliding mode vector; instructing the directional drilling tool to generate a wellbore path according to the feedback control input; and updating the current trajectory error based on either a change in position or a change in attitude of the directional drilling tool.

Growing community of inventors

Humble, TX, United States of America

Umut Zalluhoglu