Sidewall coring tool for testing and estimating rock properties

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein include sidewall coring tools configured to perform testing on core samples and / or formations from which the core samples are extracted while collecting the core samples. For example, in certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tools may include downhole core laboratory having a plurality of testing modules configured to perform various testing procedures on core samples and / or formations from which the core samples are extracted while collecting the core samples. In addition, in certain embodiments, a testing module may include an inline scratcher device disposed in a travel path of the core samples during extraction of the core samples, which enable scratch testing to be performed on the core samples.

Description

SIDEWALL CORING TOOL FOR TESTING AND ESTIMATING ROCK PROPERTIESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 609,994, filed December 14, 2023, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods that include sidewall coring tools configured to perform testing on core samples and / or formations from which the core samples are extracted while collecting the core samples.

[0003] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and / or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as an admission of any kind.

[0004] The oil and gas industry includes a number of sub-industries, such as exploration, drilling, logging, extraction, transportation, refinement, retail, and so forth. During exploration and drilling, wellbores may be drilled into the ground for reasons that may include discovery, observation, and / or extraction of resources. These resources may include oil, gas, water, or any other combination of elements within the ground.

[0005] Wellbores or boreholes may be drilled to, for example, locate and produce hydrocarbons. During a well development operation, it may be desirable to evaluate and / or measure properties of encountered formations, formation fluids, and / or formation gases. Some formation evaluations may include extracting a core sample (e.g., a rock sample) from the sidewall of a wellbore. Core samples may be extracted using a coring tool coupled to a downhole tool that is lowered into the wellbore and positioned adjacent a formation. A hollow coring shaft or bit of the coring tool may be extended from the downhole tool and urged against the formation to penetrate the formation. A formation or core sample fills the hollow portion or cavity of the coring shaft and the coring shaft is removed from the formation retaining the sample within the cavity.

[0006] The sample obtained using the hollow coring bit is generally referred to as a “core sample” or “core plug.” Once the core sample has been transported to the surface, it may be analyzed to assess, among other things, the reservoir storage capacity (e.g., porosity) and the flow potential (e.g., permeability) of the material that makes up the formation; the chemical and mineral composition of the fluids and mineral deposits contained in the pores of the formation; and the irreducible water content of the formation material. However, it may be beneficial to perform testing on core samples downhole during collection of the core samples.SUMMARY

[0007] A summary of certain embodiments described herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0008] The systems and methods presented herein include a sidewall coring tool assembly that includes a core cutting section configured to perform a sidewall coring operation to extract a core sample from a formation adjacent a borehole within which the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed. The sidewall coring tool assembly also includes a downhole core laboratory having one or more testing modules. Each testing module is configured to perform a respective testing procedure on the core sample and / or the formation while the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed within the borehole.

[0009] The systems and methods presented herein also include a sidewall coring tool assembly that includes a core cutting section configured to perform a sidewall coring operation to extract a core sample from a formation adjacent a borehole within which the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed. The sidewall coring tool assembly also includes an inline scratcher device disposed within a travel path of the core sample during extraction of the core sample from the formation. The the inline scratcher device is configured to enable scratch testing on the core sample during extraction of the core sample from the formation.

[0010] The systems and methods presented herein further include a method that includes deploying a sidewall coring tool assembly into a borehole extending through a formation. The method also includes using the sidewall coring tool assembly to extract a core sample from the formation. The method further includes performing one or more testing procedures on the core sample and / or the formation while the sidewall coring tool assembly is deployed within the borehole.

[0011] Various refinements of the features noted above may be undertaken in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in thesevarious aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a coring system, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIGS. 2A through 2C are schematic views of a sidewall coring tool assembly including close-up views of a coring shaft and coring bit, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIGS. 3 A through 31 illustrate a sequence of operating steps for the sidewall coring tool assembly that enable the sidewall coring tool assembly of FIGS. 2A through 2C to collect a core sample, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a sidewall coring tool assembly having an inline scratcher device, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates a sidewall coring tool assembly having a downhole core laboratory configured to perform testing procedures, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates how a downhole core laboratory of a sidewall coring tool assembly may be extended into a socket of a formation to perform testing procedures, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 7A illustrates a sidewall coring tool assembly having a downhole core laboratory installed above a core cutting section of the sidewall coring tool assembly, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 7B illustrates a sidewall coring tool assembly having a downhole core laboratory installed below a core cutting section of the sidewall coring tool assembly, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates processing circuitry of a downhole core laboratory, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are only examples of the presently disclosed techniques.Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers’specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0023] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements; in other words, these terms are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to ... ” Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Furthermore, the phrase “A based on B” is intended to mean that A is at least partially based on B. Moreover, unless expressly stated otherwise, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive (e.g., logical OR) and not exclusive (e.g., logical XOR). In other words, the phrase “A or B” is intended to mean A, B, or both A and B.

[0024] As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element.” Further, the terms “couple,” “coupling,” “coupled,” “coupled together,” and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements.” As used herein, the terms “up” and “down,” “upper” and “lower,” “upwardly”and “downwardly,” “upstream” and “downstream,” “uphole” and “downhole,” “above” and“below,” “top” and “bottom,” and other like terms indicating relative positions above or below a given point or element are used in this description to more clearly describe some embodiments of the disclosure. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point as the surface from which drilling operations are initiated as being the top (e.g., uphole or upper) point and the total depth along the drilling axis being the lowest (e.g., downhole or lower) point, whether the well (e.g., wellbore, borehole) is vertical, horizontal or slanted relative to the surface.

[0025] In addition, as used herein, the terms "real time", "real-time", or "substantially real time" may be used interchangeably and are intended to described operations (e.g., computing operations) that are performed without any human-perceivable interruption between operations. For example, as used herein, data relating to the systems described herein may be collected, transmitted, and / or used in control computations in "substantially real time" such that data readings, data transfers, and / or data processing steps occur once every second, once every 0.1 second, once every 0.01 second, or even more frequent, during operations of the systems (e.g., while the systems are operating). In addition, as used herein, the terms "automatic" and "automated" are intended to describe operations that are performed are caused to be performed, for example, by a processing system (i.e., solely by the processing system, without human intervention).

[0026] As described above, mechanical sidewall coring tools use a coring bit to cut into an annular space in the wellbore to create a cylindrical core sample or plug that can be extracted to the surface. A plurality of core samples or plugs can be cut and stored (usually sequentially) and returned to the surface for analysis. In general, the core plug is created by rotating and applying weight on an annular coring bit with cutting elements on the crown. This activitybreaks the rock and cuttings are created. In addition, sidewall coring tools typically include a mechanical prime mover (e.g., a hydraulic coring motor) to generate rotary power. This rotary power is transferred to the coring bit or rock cutting bit through the coring shaft of the sidewall coring tool. The coring bit drills into the formation with cutting elements made of a relatively hard material like diamonds. At the end of its stroke, the coring bit breaks the core sample off from the formation. The core sample can be temporarily stored inside the bit and shaft assembly before it is deposited into a core storage tube.

[0027] The embodiments described herein include systems and methods for measuring mechanical properties of a core sample while the core sample is being collected and is, therefore, fresh and still under hydrostatic pressure. For example, the embodiments described herein include one or more instrumented sharp scribers in the travel path of an extracted core sample such that one or more scratches of pre-determined depths and widths may be made on to the core sample. The force exerted on the scriber may be measured, relayed to surface, and used to estimate mechanical properties like hardness, unconfined compressive strength, or other properties that could be correlated to the scratch measurements. This information may be relayed to the surface computer so a tool operator and / or a customer may get almost real-time measurement of the core sample properties. The tool operator and / or the customer could use this information to make adjustments to the coring operation or coring program to realize maximum benefit from the ongoing sidewall coring job.

[0028] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. l is a schematic view of an embodiment of a coring system 10 utilizing a sidewall coring tool assembly 12 as described in greater detail herein. As illustrated, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be used in a drilled well to obtain core samples from a downhole or subterranean geologic formation 14. In operation, thesidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be lowered into a borehole 16 defined by a bore wall 18, commonly referred to as the sidewall 18. As illustrated, in certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be connected by one or more electrically conducting cables 20 (e.g., wireline cables) to a surface unit 22, which may include (or otherwise be operatively coupled to) a control panel 24 and a monitor 26. In general, the surface unit 22 is configured to provide electrical power to the sidewall coring tool assembly 12, to monitor the status of downhole coring and activities of other downhole equipment, and to control the activities of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 and other downhole equipment. While FIG. 1 illustrates the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 deployed at the end of a wireline cable 20, in other embodiments, a sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be deployed in a well using any known or future-developed conveyance means, including drill pipe, coiled tubing, etc.

[0029] In certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be contained within an elongate housing suitable for being lowered into and retrieved from the borehole 16. In certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may include an electronic sonde 28, a core cutting section 30, and a core magazine 32. In general, the electronic sonde 28 includes electronics that enable the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to communicate with the surface unit 22 (e.g., though the cables 20) and to control coring operations of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 in accordance with such communication. In addition, the core cutting section 30 includes mechanical components that enable the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to retrieve core samples through the sidewall 18 of the wellbore 16, as described in greater detail, and to store the retrieved core samples (e.g., as sequentially retrieved) in the core magazine 32.

[0030] In particular, as described in greater detail herein, the core cutting section 30 contains a coring assembly including at least one coring motor 34 powered through the cables 20, a(generally cylindrical) coring shaft 36 having a distal, open end 38 for cutting and receiving a core sample from a formation 14 into an internal cavity formed radially within the cylindrical coring shaft 36, and a mechanical linkage (not shown) for deploying and retracting the coring shaft 36 relative to the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 and for rotating the coring shaft 36 against the sidewall 18. FIG. 1 illustrates the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 in an active, cutting configuration. For example, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is positioned adjacent the formation 14 and urged firmly against the sidewall 18 of the wellbore 16 by upper and lower anchoring shoes 40, 42, which are extended from a side of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 opposing the coring shaft 36. As described in greater detail herein, the distal, open end 38 of the coring shaft 36 may be rotated via the coring motor 34 against the formation 14 to cut a core sample from the formation 14.

[0031] FIGS. 2A through 2C are schematic views of a sidewall coring tool assembly 12 including close-up views of the coring shaft 36 and the coring bit 46 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. A coring shaft 36 coupled via a (generally cylindrical) coring motor shaft 44 of the coring motor 34 transfers rotary power and weight-on-bit (WOB) during the cutting operation. The coring shaft 36 is attached to the coring motor shaft 44 at a first axial end and to a coring bit 46 at a second axial end. In general, the coring bit 46 includes a bit face 48 (e g., rock and bit interface) that contacts the formation 14. In certain embodiments, a clearance between an internal diameter of the coring shaft 36 and an outer diameter of the core sample 50 forms an internal annulus 52, which provides an annular path for mud and cutting debris. Similarly, a clearance between an external diameter of the coring shaft 36 and an internal diameter of the formation 14 forms an external annulus 54, which provides another annular pathfor mud and cutting debris. As described below, a core catcher ring (CCR) 56 of the coring shaft 36 may be used to retain the core sample 50 for extraction.

[0032] As described in greater detail herein, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be configured to perform scratch testing on the core sample 50 while the core sample 50 is being collected by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. FIGS. 3A through 31 illustrate a sequence of operating steps for the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 that enable the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to collect the core sample 50. The sequence of operating steps illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 31 will be used herein to facilitate discussion of various locations (and corresponding operating sequence steps) at which the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may perform the scratch testing described herein.

[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may first be positioned within a wellbore 16 proximate a core sample location 58 of interest of the formation 14. Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the coring shaft 36 may be rotated laterally by a pivoting mechanism 60 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to align the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) such that an axis of the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) is generally perpendicular to a sidewall 18 of the wellbore 16. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) may be rotated about its longitudinal axis (e.g., by the coring motor 34 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12) to drill into the formation 14 to form a core sample 50. Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 3E and 3F, the coring shaft 36 may be rotated laterally slightly such that a proximate end of the coring shaft 36 moves up and down (or vice versa) relative to a distal end of the coring shaft 36 to sever the core sample 50 from the formation 14. The CCR 56 then retains the core sample 50 within the coring shaft 36. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 3G, the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) may be rotated about its longitudinal axis(e.g., by the coring motor 34 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12) to extract the core sample 50 from the formation 14 and into an interior of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 3H and 31, the coring shaft 36 may be rotated laterally by the pivoting mechanism 60 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) such that an axis of the coring shaft 36 (and the coring bit 46) is generally parallel to an axis of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. At this point, the core sample 50 may be stored within the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 and / or extracted from the wellbore 16.

[0034] As such, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is configured to cut rock samples 50 from a formation 14 while disposed within a wellbore 16 extending through the formation 14 and at a depth within the wellbore 16 proximate a location of interest within the formation 14.These rock samples 50 may be provided to a customer who may perform various tests on them to determine mechanical, geomechanical, petrophysical, micro- structural, and other properties, of the formation 14 from which the samples 50 were extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. These tests may be performed every few weeks or months after an extraction job performed by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12, as described herein. However, such tests do not help a tool operator or the customer to make adjustments to a coring operation or coring program during the coring operation or coring program to realize maximum benefit from an ongoing sidewall coring job.

[0035] The embodiments described herein provide systems and methods to enable measurement of mechanical properties of core samples 50 while the cores samples 50 are being collected, as described herein, and are fresh and still under hydrostatic pressure. For example, the embodiments described herein include placement of one or more instrumented sharp scribers in the travel path of an extracted core sample 50 such that one or more scratches of pre-determined depths and widths may be made on to the core sample 50. The force exerted on the scriber may be measured, relayed to the surface (e.g., to the surface unit 22 illustrated in FIG. 1), and used (e.g., by the surface unit 22) to estimate mechanical properties like hardness, unconfined compressive strength, or other properties of the core sample 50 that could be correlated to the scratch measurements. This information may be relayed to the surface unit 22 so that a tool operator and / or customer may receive almost real-time measurement of the core properties. The tool operator and / or the customer could use this information to make adjustments to the coring operation or coring program to realize maximum benefit from the ongoing sidewall coring job.

[0036] As illustrated in FIG. 4, in certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may include an inline scratcher device 62 that is configured to scratch a core sample 50 during the process of collecting the core sample 50 from a formation 14, as described herein. In certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may include a hard material that is used to apply a scratching force against the core sample 50 and may be strategically placed in a travel path of the core sample 50. For example, the inline scratcher device 62 may be placed such that it creates a scratch of pre-determined width and depth on the core sample 50.

[0037] In certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may be considered a passive scratcher. In other words, the inline scratcher device 62 may not include any sensors or actuation devices attached to it. As such, in such embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may not be capable of directly measuring parameters relating to scratching forces applied by the inline scratcher device 62, such as displacement, pressure, force, and so forth, and may not be configured to generate specific scratching forces by, for example, actively actuating a scratching mechanism of the inline scratcher device 62. Rather, in such embodiments, the inline scratcherdevice 62 may simply be positioned at a location of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 that enables it to passively cause the scratch in the core sample 50 as the core sample 50 travels along a path past the inline scratcher device 62.

[0038] However, in other embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may be considered an active scratcher. For example, in certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may include sensors (and, in certain embodiments, processing circuitry) that enable the inline scratcher device 62 to detect certain parameters relating to a scratch caused by the inline scratcher device 62, for example, displacement, pressure, and forces applied by the inline scratcher device 62, as well as certain parameters relating to the resulting scratch on the core sample, such as width and / or depth of the scratch. In addition, in certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may include active actuation devices, such as springs, levers, and so forth, that are configured to actively cause variable scratching forces against a core sample 50 (e.g., specific desired scratching forces), for example, based on control signals generated by processing circuitry of the inline scratcher device 62 and / or control signals received from the surface (e.g., from the surface unit 22 illustrated in FIG. 1). In such embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may include processing circuitry that is configured to determine control signals to be generated to actuate such actuation devices, and sensors (e.g., optical sensors) configured to directly measure parameters related to a generated scratch (e.g., displacement, pressure, and forces applied by the inline scratcher device 62) and / or measure parameters relating to the created scratch (e.g., width and / or depth of the scratch).

[0039] The inline scratcher device 62 may be disposed at any of several locations with the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. For example, in certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may be disposed on an inner wall of the coring shaft 36 such that the inline scratcherdevice 62 may be pulled across an outer surface of a core sample 50 while the core sample 50 is being created, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, to perform the scratch testing described herein. In addition, in certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may be disposed on an outer wall of the coring shaft 36 such that the inline scratcher device 62 may be pulled across an inner surface of the formation 14 from which the core sample 50 is being created (e.g., of a socket created where the core sample 50 was previously) while the core sample 50 is being created, as also illustrated in FIG. 3D, to perform the scratch testing described herein. In such embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may also be pulled across the inner surface of the formation 14 from which the core sample 50 is being created (e.g., of a socket created where the core sample 50 was previously) while the core sample 50 is being extracted from the socket, as illustrated in FIG. 3G, to perform the scratch testing described herein. In addition, in certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may be disposed adjacent the core magazine 32 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG 31) such that the inline scratcher device 62 may perform the scratch testing described herein while the core sample 50 is being transferred from within the coring shaft 36 to the core magazine 32.

[0040] In certain embodiments, the inline scratcher device 62 may only be one of a variety of testing modules that may be included in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 to perform various tests on core samples 50 after they are extracted from formations 14 and / or to perform various tests on the formations 14 from which the core samples 50 have been extracted. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, in certain embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may include a downhole core laboratory 64 that includes a plurality of testing modules including, but not limited to, a nuclear measurements module 66 configured to, for example, estimate the density and / or porosity of core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 based on, for example, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); a scratch testing module 68 (e.g., including the inline scratcher device 62) configured to perform scratch tests on core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12; a hardness testing module 70 configured to perform hardness tests on core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12; a compression testing module 72 configured to perform compression tests on core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 (e.g., to determine the material’s behavior under certain compressive loads; an acoustic module 74 configured to perform acoustic spectroscopy on the core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12; and / or a gamma ray module 76 configured to perform gamma ray spectroscopy on the core samples 50 and / or the formation 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12.

[0041] In addition, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may include a core cleaner module 78 configured to reasonably clean core samples 50 (e.g., removing debris the core samples 50) prior to any or all of the testing procedures being performed by the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 while the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is disposed downhole within a wellbore 16 (e.g., between extractions of two separate core samples 50 by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12). In addition, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may include a core packaging module 80 configured to package extracted sample cores 50 in flexible or non-flexible containers that maybe sealed or unsealed, pressurized or unpressurized, for example, prior to storage of the core sample 50 in the core magazine 32 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12.

[0042] It will be appreciated that the order of the various modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80 of the downhole core laboratory 64 illustrated in FIG. 5 is merely exemplary and not intended to be limiting. Indeed, any conceivable order may be implemented. In addition, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may include any combination of the various modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, depending on the particular needs, for example, for a particular coring job.

[0043] As described above, in certain embodiments, the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be configured to perform their respective testing procedures on core samples 50 after the core samples 50 have been extracted from a formation 14 (e.g., once the core samples 50 are being, or have been, pulled into the body of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 3F through 31). However, in other embodiments, the testing procedures performed by the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may instead be performed on the formation 14, for example, after the core sample 50 has been extracted from the formation 14. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3G through 31, after a core sample 50 has been extracted, a “socket” 82 (i.e., generally hollow cylindrical section where the core sample 50 used to be) in the formation 14 remains. In such embodiments, the coring motor 34, the coring shaft 36, and the coring bit 46 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be replaced (e.g., either manually at the surface or automatically downhole during a coring job) by certain components (e.g., testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76) of the downhole core laboratory 64 (as illustrated in FIG. 6), which may extend into the socket 82 of the formation 14 to perform any and all of the testing procedures described abovewith reference to FIG. 5. In such embodiments, the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be configured to create a vacuum or other sealing arrangement within the socket 82 of the formation to facilitate the components (e.g., testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76) of the downhole core laboratory 64 to be disposed within the socket 82 to perform their intended functions. Although illustrated in FIG. 6 as an embodiment where the components (e.g., testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76) of the downhole core laboratory 64 are combined with the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12, in other embodiments, the components (e.g., testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76) of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be part of a downhole tool not having a core cutting section 30.

[0044] Although the embodiments described above have generally included performing testing procedures during or after a core sample 50 is being or has been extracted from a formation 14, in other embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may be configured to perform testing procedures on a sidewall 18 of a borehole 16 within which the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is disposed before a core sample 50 is extracted from the formation by the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. For example, in such embodiments, one or more of the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be brought into close proximity with the sidewall 18 of a borehole 16 to enable components of the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 to perform their particular testing procedures.

[0045] In addition, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may be disposed at a variety of locations within the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may be installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 above the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 such that the downhole core laboratory 64 is located above the core cuttingsection 30 when the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is disposed within the borehole 18. However, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, in other embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may be installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 below the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 such that the downhole core laboratory 64 is located below the core cutting section 30 when the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 is disposed within the borehole 18.

[0046] Although illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B as having distinct embodiments where all of the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 are installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 above the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 (e.g., FIG. 7A) or are installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 below the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 (e.g., FIG. 7B), in other embodiments, a first subset of the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 above the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 while a second subset of the testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be installed in the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 below the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. For example, in such embodiments, it might make more sense to have certain testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 (e.g., a scratch testing module 68, a hardness testing module 70, and a compression testing module 72) closer to the core magazine 32 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 (e.g., below the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12), whereas some of the other testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 of the downhole core laboratory 64 (e.g., a nuclear measurements module 66, an acoustic module 74,and a gamma ray module 76) may be located above the core cutting section 30 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12.

[0047] In addition, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may include processing circuitry to enable the downhole core laboratory 64 to perform the testing procedures, as well as the ancillary procedures such as core cleaning and packaging, described in greater detail herein. FIG. 8 illustrates processing circuitry of the downhole core laboratory 64. For example, in certain embodiments, the downhole core laboratory 64 may include one or more processor(s) 84, memory 86, storage 88, and communication circuitry 90. The processor(s) 84 may generate (e.g., using processor-executable code stored in the memory 86 and / or the storage 88) and send control signals to the various modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80 of the downhole core laboratory 64 via the communication circuitry 90 to instruct the modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80 to perform their respective functions, as described in greater detail herein. In addition, in certain embodiments, the processor(s) 84 may generate (e.g., using processorexecutable code stored in the memory 86 and / or the storage 88) and send control signals to the coring components (e.g., the coring motor 34, and so forth) of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 via the communication circuitry 90 to instruct the coring components to performing the sidewall coring operations described in greater detail herein.

[0048] In addition, the processor(s) 84 may receive testing data from the various testing modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76. Data analysis and data processing based on the received data may be executed by the processor(s) 84 using processor-executable code stored in the memory 86 and / or the storage 88. The analyzed and processed data may be stored in the storage 88 for later usage. Based on the analytic and processing results, the processor(s) 84 may adjust (e.g., automatically adjust, in certain embodiments) operating parameters of the modules 66, 68, 70,72, 74, 76, 78, 80 of the downhole core laboratory 64 and / or the coring components (e.g., the coring motor 34, and so forth) of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12. For example, in certain embodiments, operating parameters of the modules 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80 of the downhole core laboratory 64 may be adjusted (e.g., automatically adjusted, in certain embodiments) to enable more accurate testing of core samples 50 and / or formations 14 from which the core samples 50 are extracted based on previous collected data. In addition, in certain embodiments, operating parameters of the coring components (e.g., the coring motor 34, and so forth) of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 may be adjusted (e.g., automatically adjusted, in certain embodiments) to alter a coring job during performance of the coring job.

[0049] The processor(s) 84 may be any type of computer processor or microprocessor capable of executing computer-executable code. The processor(s) 84 may include singlethreaded processor(s), multi -threaded processor(s), or both. The processor(s) 84 may also include hardware-based processor(s) each including one or more cores. The processor(s) 84 may include general purpose processor(s), special purpose processor(s), or both.

[0050] The memory 86 and the storage 88 may be any suitable articles of manufacture that can serve as media to store processor-executable code, data, or the like. These articles of manufacture may represent computer-readable media (e.g., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store the processor-executable code used by the processor(s) 84 to perform the presently disclosed techniques. The memory 86 and the storage 88 may also be used to store data and various software applications for data analysis and data processing. The memory 86 and the storage 88 may represent non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store the processor-executable code used by theprocessor(s) 84 to perform various techniques described herein. It should be noted that non- transitory merely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal.

[0051] In general, the embodiments described herein are intended to address the problem of time considerations. For example, in certain instances, up to fifty core samples 50 may be stored in the core magazine 32 of the sidewall coring tool assembly 12 per coring job. Then, in general, the core samples 50 are pulled to surface and sent to a laboratory for testing. As such, wireline logs need to be adjusted after the fact (e.g., after the testing has been performed at the surface). The embodiments described herein facilitate the logs being adjusted in substantially real time, and decisions to take more (or less) core samples 50 at a particular location may be made, for example.

[0052] While the present disclosure may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. For example, while some embodiments described herein contain specific combinations of coring systems, other combinations may also be possible. Rather, the present disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following appended claims. In particular, it will be appreciated that any and all combinations and sub-combinations of the various features described herein may be included or omitted from any particular embodiment.

[0053] The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the presenttechnical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] ...” or “step for [performing [a function] ...,” it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

[0054] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A sidewall coring tool assembly, comprising: a core cutting section configured to perform a sidewall coring operation to extract a core sample from a formation adjacent a borehole within which the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed; and a downhole core laboratory comprising one or more testing modules, each testing module configured to perform a respective testing procedure on the core sample and / or the formation while the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed within the borehole.

2. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise a nuclear measurements module configured to estimate density and / or porosity of the core sample and / or the formation based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

3. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise a scratch testing module configured to perform scratch testing on the core sample and / or the formation.

4. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 3, wherein the scratch testing module comprises an inline scratcher device disposed within a travel path of the core sample through the sidewall coring tool assembly during extraction of the core sample from the formation.

5. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise a hardness testing module configured to perform hardness testing on the core sample and / or the formation.

6. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise a compression testing module configured to perform compression testing on the core sample and / or the formation.

7. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise an acoustic module configured to perform acoustic spectroscopy on the core sample and / or the formation.

8. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory comprise a gammy ray module configured to perform gamma ray spectroscopy on the core sample and / or the formation.

9. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the downhole core laboratory comprises a core cleaner module configured to clean the core sample during extraction of the core sample from the formation.

10. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the downhole core laboratory comprises a core packaging module configured to package the core sample into acontainer prior to storage of the core sample in a core magazine of the sidewall coring tool assembly.

11. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one testing module of the one or more testing modules is configured to be at least partially extended into a socket in the formation created after the core sample is extracted from the formation.

12. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the downhole core laboratory is located above the core cutting section.

13. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein the downhole core laboratory is located below the core cutting section.

14. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 1, wherein a first subset of the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory are located above the core cutting section, and a second subset of the one or more testing modules of the downhole core laboratory are located below the core cutting section.

15. A sidewall coring tool assembly, comprising: a core cutting section configured to perform a sidewall coring operation to extract a core sample from a formation adjacent a borehole within which the sidewall coring tool assembly is disposed; andan inline scratcher device disposed within a travel path of the core sample during extraction of the core sample from the formation, wherein the inline scratcher device is configured to enable scratch testing on the core sample during extraction of the core sample from the formation.

16. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 15, wherein the inline scratcher device is configured to actively apply a scratching force against the core sample.

17. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 15, wherein the inline scratcher device is configured to passively apply a scratching force against the core sample.

18. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 15, wherein the inline scratcher device comprises one or more sensors configured to detect parameters relating to a scratch force applied against the core sample and / or one or more parameters relating to a resulting scratch on the core sample.

19. The sidewall coring tool assembly of claim 15, wherein the inline scratcher device comprising processing circuitry configured to generate control signals to actuate one or more actuation devices of the inline scratcher device to apply a specific scratching force against the core sample.

20. A method, comprising: deploying a sidewall coring tool assembly into a borehole extending through a formation;using the sidewall coring tool assembly to extract a core sample from the formation; and performing one or more testing procedures on the core sample and / or the formation while the sidewall coring tool assembly is deployed within the borehole.

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