6976 results about "Earth quake" patented technology

A drilling system includes a control unit and a bottomhole assembly (BHA) coupled to a drill string. The control unit uses measurements from sensors distributed throughout the drill string and BHA to determine the physical condition of the drill string and BHA and to determine whether drilling can be optimized. The drill string sensors are housed in receiver subs and optionally can be positioned on extensible members. The receiver sub also can include a short-hop telemetry module, a processor module, and a clock module. In one embodiment, the receiver subs include seismic sensors for enabling vertical seismic profiling. During operation, the processor visually presents to the operator via one or more graphical user interfaces a dynamically updated pictorial image representing the drilling system. The image is annotated with an appropriate visual signal to indicate a determined physical condition at a given location or component. The processor can also display recommended adjustments to drilling parameters for increasing drilling rates, improving tool life, and more precise steering.

A method of seismic surveying comprising the steps of actuating the or each vibrator in a first vibrator group at time T0, and subsequently actuating the or each vibrator in a second vibrator group at time T1 that satisfies T0<T1<T0+S1+L where S1 is the sweep time of the first vibrator group and L is the listening time. At least one of the first vibrator group and the second vibrator group comprises at least two vibrators. The first group and the second group of vibrators may be the same group, or they may be different groups. This method enables the time required to complete a seismic survey to be reduced compared to the prior art “simultaneous shooting” and “slip-sweep shooting” techniques.

In a case where the first group and the second group of vibrators are different, the method may further comprise actuating the or each vibrator in the first vibrator group at time T2, where T1<T2<T1+S2+L and S2 is the sweep time of the first vibrator group, and then actuating the or each vibrator in the second vibrator group at time T3 where T2<T3<T2+S1+L and where T3−T2≠T1−T0. The varying time delay between a shot of the first vibrator group and the corresponding shot of the second vibrator group means that harmonic noise will occur at different times in the shot records so that the noise may be eliminated by appropriately combining the shot records.

A warning system (20) includes a central control unit (CCU), and a plurality of local units (LU) connected to the central control unit (CCU). Each local unit (LU) includes a plurality of input trips (An), such as smoke detector, an earthquake detector, and gas detector, and a plurality of programmable responses, such as a bypass relay (C), a message delivered by a record/playback unit (D), an emergency light (E), and a strobe light (F). The input trips (An) also include a disconnect trip (A1), which is activated by a detector input signal (DI) sent from the central control unit (CCU), and indicates that the central control unit (CCU) has malfunctioned. The programmable responses include a warning output signal (WO) which is sent from the local unit (LU) to the central control unit (CCU) to indicate the presence of a local emergency at the local unit (LU).

There is provided herein a system and method of acquiring, processing, and imaging transient Controlled Source ElectroMagnetic (t-CSEM) data in ways that are similar to those used for seismic data. In particular, the instant invention exploits the time-distance characteristics of t-CSEM data to permit the design and execution of t-CSEM surveys for optimal subsequent processing and imaging. The instant invention illustrates how to correct t-CSEM data traces for attenuation and dispersion, so that their characteristics are more like those of seismic data and can be processed using algorithms familiar to the seismic processor. The resulting t-CSEM images, particularly if combined with corresponding seismic images, may be used to infer the location of hydrocarbon reservoirs.

The present invention provides for a method and apparatus for seismic data processing. Prestack seismic data is obtained that contains a plurality of reflectors. Non-parallel moveout of the plurality of reflectors is utilized to determine a source wavelet using an L2-Norm and a reflectivity parameter using an L1-Norm. The source wavelet and reflectivity parameters can be determined simultaneously. Source and reflectivity determination may further comprise minimization of a model objective function. The model objective function may be a function of at least one of i) said source wavelet, ii) a gradient parameter and iii) an intercept parameter. An AVO intercept and gradient parameters can be determined using the determined source wavelet and reflectivity parameter. Constraints may be placed on parameters to ensure physically realistic solutions.

An apparatus for making a marine seismic streamer includes a conveyor for transporting assembled mechanical harness from a storage device therefor to a storage device for storing completed marine streamer. The apparatus includes a first extruder for filling the harness with a void fill material and a second extruder for depositing jacketing material onto the filled harness both extruders being intermediate the two storage devices. A means for changing state of the void filling material is disposed proximate an outlet of the first extruder. In one embodiment, the means for changing state includes a radiation source.

A hydrocarbon exploration method is disclosed for generating anisotropic resistivity models of a subsurface reservoir from seismic and well data using a rock physics model. In one embodiment, the method comprises: selecting wells within a region of interest (101); obtaining a plurality of rock properties (102) and adjusting selected rock parameters (103) in the calibration of the rock physics model at the well locations; inverting porosity and shale content from seismic data (107); propagating the calibrated rock physics model to the region of interest (109) and calculating effective resistivity for the entire region of interest (109). The inventive method also provides for analyzing the uncertainty associated with the prediction of the resistivity volume.

A method for improving vibratory source seismic data uses a filter which converts a recorded seismic groundforce signal (including harmonic distortion therein) into a desired short-duration wavelet. A plurality of surveys may be carried out using a plurality of sweeps from plurality of vibrators that have their relative phases encoded, the groundforce signal of each vibrator being measured. The recorded seismic reflection signals are then processed to separate out the signals from each vibrator. In another aspect, harmonics of upto any desired order may be canceled while carrying out multiple surveys with a plurality of vibrators. In a marine environment, the recorded signal from a vibrator towed by a moving vessel is used to derive a Doppler shift correction filter that is applied to reflection seismic data.

The present invention is a method for processing seismic data comprising acquiring seismic data using a sweep sequence including a plurality of cascaded sweep segments. The seismic data include a plurality of data segments and a listen time. The listen is combined with an initial data segment. The seismic data segments are phase shifted to a phase of a target data segment to be denoised (i.e. removal of ambient, harmonic and coherent noise). A difference between the target data segment and the remaining data segments is determined. If the determined difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, data in the target data segment is replaced with data derived from the remaining data segments. The data segments may be stacked to form a new target data segment. The listen time is extracted from the initial data segment.

The invention provides a full-sew-length three-dimensional crushing data simulation method and device for oil and gas reservoir development. The method comprises obtaining pre-stack seismic data of an oil and gas reservoir development object region, obtaining the pre-stack seismic data to conduct elastic parameter inversion and obtaining an elastic parameter data body of the oil and gas reservoir development object region, constructing a rock mechanic parametric model based on three-dimensional grid nodes according to the elastic parameter data body, calculating stress information on the three-dimensional grid nodes, generating three-dimensional stress field distribution model; and conducting full-sew-length three-dimensional numerical simulation in a crushing process according to the rock mechanic parametric model and the three-dimensional stress field distribution model. The full-sew-length three-dimensional crushing data simulation method and device can improve accuracy and efficiency of crushing data.

Systems and methods for automatic steering of marine seismic towing vessels are described. One system comprises a towing vessel, a seismic source, and optionally one or more seismic streamers towed by the towing vessel; a steering sub-system for steering the vessel, the sub-system including a vessel steering algorithm for calculating an optimum vessel steering path; and a controller to produce a difference between a measured position of a tracking point with a pre-plot position of the tracking point, and calculate a set point based on the difference to the steering algorithm. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, allowing a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

Systems and methods for asynchronously acquiring seismic data are described, one system comprising one or more seismic sources, a plurality of sensor modules each comprising a seismic sensor, an A/D converter for generating digitized seismic data, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a sensor module clock; a seismic data recording station; and a seismic data transmission sub-system comprising a high precision clock, the sub-system allowing transmission of at least some of the digitized seismic data to the recording station, wherein each sensor module is configured to periodically receive from the sub-system an amount of the drift of its clock relative to the high precision clock. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract to ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

A method, a map and an article of manufacture for the exploration of hydrocarbons. In one embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the steps of: accessing 3D seismic data; dividing the data into an array of relatively small three-dimensional cells; determining in each cell the semblance/similarity, the dip and dip azimuth of the seismic traces contained therein; and displaying dip, dip azimuth and the semblance/similarity of each cell in the form a two-dimensional map. In one embodiment, semblance/similarity is a function of time, the number of seismic traces within the cell, and the apparent dip and apparent dip azimuth of the traces within the cell; the semblance/similarity of a cell is determined by making a plurality of measurements of the semblance/similarity of the traces within the cell and selecting the largest of the measurements. In addition, the apparent dip and apparent dip azimuth, corresponding to the largest measurement of semblance/similarity in the cell, are deemed to be estimates of the true dip and true dip azimuth of the traces therein. A color map, characterized by hue, saturation and lightness, is used to depict semblance/similarity, true dip azimuth and true dip of each cell; true dip azimuth is mapped onto the hue scale, true dip is mapped onto the saturation scale, and the largest measurement of semblance/similarity is mapped onto the lightness scale of the color map.

A method is described for the measurement of multidirectional far-field source signatures from seismic surveys whereby a vertical cable acquisition technique is provided, vertical cable data are acquired, the proper receivers are specified to measure the signature, data are sorted into common selected receiver gathers CSRG, the direct wave within common receiver gather is properly windowed, the angles of each direct path are computed and the amplitude of the signatures is normalized, so as to obtain the multidirectional far-field signatures of the seismic source array having the same characteristics as those that generated the seismic reflections.

A perimeter clip attached to a wall molding that supports a beam in a suspended ceiling intended to survive seismic disturbances. The clip is capable, during an earthquake, of permitting an end of a beam at one end of a connected line of beams, in a grid, to slide while being supported in the clip, or, in the alternative, to secure an end of a beam to the wall molding.