Drill String Current Injection for Wireline-Free Magnetic Ranging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing magnetic ranging methods for wellbores require wireline deployment, which is time-consuming and risky, especially in situations where access to a wellbore is lost due to catastrophic events like blowouts, and existing wireline-free methods either limit current flow or pose mechanical risks.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for magnetic ranging using a bottom hole assembly with a sensor and non-rotating drill pipe, incorporating electrically insulative gap subs to direct electrical energy into the earth for creating a magnetic signal on a target well without wireline, allowing current injection and detection during drilling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wireline deployment is used for magnetic ranging, then accurate target well excitation and detection can be achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and introduces mechanical risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wireline deployment step from the ranging process by implementing current injection directly through the drill string. The drill string itself serves as the current injection conduit, eliminating the need for separate wireline deployment while maintaining the ability to induce magnetic signals in the target well for accurate ranging measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill string is given multiple functions: it serves both as the drilling tool and as the current injection conductor for magnetic ranging. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated wireline deployment equipment, reducing deployment time while preserving ranging accuracy through the same drill string infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If wireline deployment is used for magnetic ranging, then accurate target well excitation and detection can be achieved, but mechanical risks increase due to wireline handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the wireline component from the system entirely, replacing it with direct current injection through the drill string. This extraction of the problematic wireline element eliminates mechanical risks associated with wireline handling, deployment, and retrieval while maintaining ranging accuracy through alternative current injection pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill string performs the dual role of both drilling operation and current injection for ranging. By making the drill string self-sufficient for both functions, the system eliminates dependence on separate wireline equipment, thereby reducing mechanical complexity and associated risks while preserving measurement precision.
3Productivity
If current is injected through the drill string without isolation, then drilling continuity is maintained, but current flows uncontrollably affecting measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The drill string is segmented into electrically isolated sections using insulating subs. These subs divide the continuous drill string into distinct electrical zones, allowing current to be injected at specific depths while preventing unwanted current flow in other sections. This segmentation enables controlled current injection that maintains drilling continuity while ensuring accurate signal detection for ranging measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
Electrically insulating subs act as intermediaries within the drill string system. These insulating elements mediate between the need for continuous drilling operations and the requirement for precise current injection control. By placing insulating subs at strategic locations, the system achieves both uninterrupted drilling and accurate current-directed signal induction in the target well.
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 efficient and accurate magnetic ranging during drilling without the need for wireline deployment, preserving the efficiency and accuracy of target well excitation and detection, while minimizing mechanical and hydraulic risks.
Implementation Method 1
A sensor in the bottom hole assembly that is at least sensitive to a magnetic ranging signal
Implementation Method 2
current passes from the drillstring into the surrounding earth/strata and creates a magnetic ranging signal on a target well
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices and systems are disclosed for magnetically ranging while drilling with a coiled tubing unit or drill pipe by way of a an electrically conducive but environmentally electrically insulated wire installed through a coiled tubing spool or drill pipe complete with electrically insulative subs in the coiled tubing bottom hole assembly or drill pipe. The method and systems allow for the injection of excitation current into the formation by way of selectively electrifying various drill stem components, thereby facilitating current collection on a target tubular which radially emanates a magnetic field about the target well tubular(s). The method and devices allow for the construction of complex downhole current injection configurations which allow for modification of the bottom hole assembly to maximize target well signal generation in the presence of adverse environmental conditions.