23854results about "Survey" patented technology

The present invention provides a system for operating a power line communications system that employs surface wave communications and conducted communications. The system is comprised of a plurality of network elements, which may take the form of repeaters, communication interface devices, backhaul devices, medium voltage transducers, distribution points, aggregation points, and others. In one embodiment, surface waves are communicated over the medium voltage power lines and the conducted communications are communicated via the low voltage power lines to and from customer premises.

A method of managing a fluid or gas reservoir is disclosed which assimilates diverse data having different acquisition time scales and spatial scales of coverage for iteratively producing a reservoir development plan that is used for optimizing an overall performance of a reservoir. The method includes: (a) generating an initial reservoir characterization, (b) from the initial reservoir characterization, generating an initial reservoir development plan, (c) when the reservoir development plan is generated, incrementally advancing and generating a capital spending program, (d) when the capital spending program is generated, monitoring a performance of the reservoir by acquiring high rate monitor data from a first set of data measurements taken in the reservoir and using the high rate monitor data to perform well-regional and field-reservoir evaluations, (e) further monitoring the performance of the reservoir by acquiring low rate monitor data from a second set of data measurements taken in the reservoir, (f) assimilating together the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, (g) from the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, determining when it is necessary to update the initial reservoir development plan to produce a newly updated reservoir development plan, (h) when necessary, updating the initial reservoir development plan to produce the newly updated reservoir development plan, and (i) when the newly updated reservoir development plan is produced, repeating steps (c) through (h). A detailed disclosure is provided herein relating to the step (a) for generating the initial reservoir characterization and the step (b) for generating the initial reservoir development plan.

A process may include providing heat from one or more heaters to at least a portion of a subsurface formation. Heat may transfer from one or more heaters to a part of a formation. In some embodiments, heat from the one or more heat sources may pyrolyze at least some hydrocarbons in a part of a subsurface formation. Hydrocarbons and / or other products may be produced from a subsurface formation. Certain embodiments describe apparatus, methods, and / or processes used in treating a subsurface or hydrocarbon containing formation.

A method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The method for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation may include heating a first volume of the formation using a first set of heaters. A second volume of the formation may be heated using a second set of heaters. The first volume may be spaced apart from the second volume by a third volume of the formation. The first volume, second volume, and / or third volume may be sized, shaped, and / or located to inhibit deformation of subsurface equipment caused by geomechanical motion of the formation during heating.

The present invention provides a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) system having a downhole computer and multiple downhole sensors. Relatively large amounts of basic or "raw" data are measured by downhole sensors, and these data are processed within a downhole computer to be reduced to parameters of interest, which may be utilized to control the drilling operation by downhole devices, stored downhole, telemetered to the surface, or both. The measurements may be correlated downhole with stored reference data thereby providing additional information pertaining to the drilling operation. Downhole depth correlation between downhole measured parameters may be made by utilizing surface determined or downhole determined borehole depth.

Proppants having added functional properties are provided, as are methods that use the proppants to track and trace the characteristics of a fracture in a geologic formation. Information obtained by the methods can be used to design a fracturing job, to increase conductivity in the fracture, and to enhance oil and gas recovery from the geologic formation. The functionalized proppants can be detected by a variety of methods utilizing, for example, an airborne magnetometer survey, ground penetrating radar, a high resolution accelerometer, a geophone, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultra-sound, impedance measurements, piezoelectric activity, radioactivity, and the like. Methods of mapping a subterranean formation are also provided and use the functionalized proppants to detect characteristics of the formation.

This disclosure relates in general to a method and system for monitoring a conduit, a wellbore or a reservoir associated with hydrocarbon production or transportation and / or carbon dioxide sequestration. More specifically, but not by way of limitation, embodiments of the present invention provide for using an optical fiber as a distributed interferometer that may be used to monitor the conduit, wellbore or reservoir. In certain aspects, the distributed interferometric monitoring provides

A system and method of communicating among devices via a piping structure using at least one induction choke about the piping structure to route a time-varying current carrying communication signals between the devices. A communications system comprises a piping structure, a first communication device, a second communication device, and an induction choke. The piping structure comprises a first location, a second location, and an electrically conductive portion extending between the first and second locations. The first and second locations are distally spaced along the piping structure. The first and second communication devices are each electrically connected to the electrically conductive portion of the piping structure along the first location and second location, respectively, and each is adapted to send and receive communication signals via time-varying current. The induction choke is located about an electrically choked portion of the electrically conductive portion of the piping structure, such that the induction choke is adapted to route time-varying current within the piping structure between the electrical connection location for the first communication device and the electrical connection location for the second communication device, and such that the first communication device can communicate with the second communication device via the piping structure. A preferred application of the present invention is a well for producing petroleum products (e.g., oil, natural gas), comprising a communication system as described above.

A fluid flow control device (60) for use in a wellbore to control the inflow of production fluids comprises a sand control screen (62) having a base pipe (64) with a first set of openings (66) that allows the production fluids to flow therethrough and a sleeve (74) coaxially disposed adjacent to the base pipe (64). The sleeve (74) has a second set of openings (76) that allows the production fluids to flow therethrough. The sleeve (74) is selectively positionable relative to the base pipe (64) such that a pressure drop in the production fluids is selectively controllable by adjusting an alignment of the first set of openings (66) relative to the second set of openings (76).

A wellbore tubular patch for patching a hole in a wellbore has been invented, the tubular patch in certain aspects having an expandable top member having a hollow tubular body and a top end and a bottom end, an expandable bottom member having a hollow tubular body and a top end and a bottom end, an expandable outer sleeve in which is secured a portion of the bottom end of the expandable top member, and a portion of the top end of the expandable bottom member inserted into and held within expandable outer sleeve. A method for making a tubular patch for patching a hole in a tubular in an earth wellbore has been invented, the method in certain aspects including securing a portion of a bottom end of an expandable top member in an expandable outer sleeve, the expandable top member having a hollow tubular body and a top end, and securing a portion of a top end of an expandable bottom member within the expandable outer sleeve, the expandable bottom emmber having a hollow tubular body.

Apparatus having a fiber optic tether disposed in coiled tubing for communicating information between downhole tools and sensors and surface equipment and methods of operating such equipment. Wellbore operations performed using the fiber optic enabled coiled tubing apparatus includes transmitting control signals from the surface equipment to the downhole equipment over the fiber optic tether, transmitting information gathered from at least one downhole sensor to the surface equipment over the fiber optic tether, or collecting information by measuring an optical property observed on the fiber optic tether. The downhole tools or sensors connected to the fiber optic tether may either include devices that manipulate or respond to optical signal directly or tools or sensors that operate according to conventional principles.

Downhole cables are described that are configured to protect internal structures that may be detrimentally impacted by exposure to the downhole environment, by protecting such structures by at least two protective layers. In some examples, the structures to be protected may be housed in a protective tube housed within the protective outer sheath. The described configuration enables the use of structures such as polymer fibers in the cables for strength and load-bearing capability by protecting the fibers, by multiple protective layers, from exposure to gases or fluids within a wellbore.