Drill Cuttings Water Extraction for Real-Time Pay Zone Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for analyzing geologic materials, such as petroleum drill cuttings, are limited in their ability to accurately identify oil and gas pay zones, particularly in low visibility plays and horizontal wells, due to the inability to effectively utilize water as an analyte and the cost-prohibitive nature of resistivity logs.
Innovation Solution
A method for analyzing release-resistant water in geological materials by isolating the sample, removing extraneous water, applying an extracting force to release detectable amounts of release-resistant water, and measuring it using humidity meters or capacitance manometers, with the system comprising a collection, washing, drying, and analytical components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional resistivity logs are used to identify oil and gas pay zones, then mapping capability is provided, but the method becomes cost-prohibitive and fails in low visibility plays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts water from the geological material using vacuum pressure and heat, then analyzes the extracted water composition to identify pay zones. This extraction approach enables the use of water as an analyte rather than accepting it as unmeasurable background noise, providing a cost-effective alternative to resistivity logs while maintaining identification accuracy across various play types including low visibility plays
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and concentration parameters of water by applying vacuum pressure and heat treatment, transforming water from its normal bound state in the formation to an extractable state. This parameter change enables accurate measurement and analysis of water composition to identify hydrocarbon pay zones
2Adaptability or versatility
If water is considered as an analyte in geological materials, then new identification capability is provided, but measurement accuracy is compromised due to water abundance and difficulty in measurement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts water from the geological material using vacuum pressure and heat, then analyzes the extracted water composition to identify pay zones. This extraction approach enables the use of water as an analyte rather than accepting it as unmeasurable background noise, providing a cost-effective alternative to resistivity logs while maintaining identification accuracy across various play types including low visibility plays
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary vacuum pressure treatment and heat treatment to remove extraneous water before analysis. This preliminary action concentrates the water of interest and removes interfering substances, enabling accurate measurement of water composition as an analyte for pay zone identification
3Loss of information
If fluid inclusion analysis is used to analyze geologic formations, then fluid composition and formation conditions are provided, but the content does not match present-day fluids and is of limited utility for identifying current pay zones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary vacuum pressure treatment and heat treatment to remove extraneous water before analysis. This preliminary action concentrates the water of interest and removes interfering substances, enabling accurate measurement of water composition as an analyte for pay zone identification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional fluid inclusion analysis methods with a vacuum pressure and heat treatment approach to extract and analyze water. This substitution enables direct measurement of present-day water composition in the formation, providing reliable information about current pay zones rather than relying on trapped ancient fluids
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and efficient identification of petroleum deposits in real-time or near real-time drilling operations by analyzing release-resistant water, overcoming limitations of traditional methods and providing detailed geological site maps.
Implementation Method 1
The vacuum pressure is sufficient to remove substantially all of the extraneous water from the material
Implementation Method 2
applying an extracting force to the sample of material in the enclosure, wherein the extracting force is capable of causing the release of a detectable amount release-resistant water from the material
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are devices for the collection and analysis of geologic materials (e.g., drill cuttings) at a well or drilling site, such as at the drilling of a petroleum well. The devices are specifically adapted to rapidly collect a sample of such materials, e.g., from a petroleum drill flow line, to analyze the rock volatile content of such materials, and then collect a next sample of such materials for future analysis, such that the information collected from use of the device can be used for “real time” direction of drilling or fracking operations or for other uses.