Multiwell Pad Drilling Trajectory Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for designing well trajectories in multiwell pads lack efficiency and accuracy, particularly in avoiding collisions and optimizing drilling performance.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for generating well trajectories that utilize dogleg severity values and geometric control points, allowing for the creation of curved trajectories that avoid collisions and optimize drilling paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional methods are used for designing well trajectories in multiwell pads, then the design process is simpler, but efficiency and accuracy are insufficient, particularly in avoiding collisions and optimizing drilling performance
Solution Approach 1:
The well trajectory is divided into multiple discrete segments or curve sections, each defined by control points. This segmentation allows for precise control of each segment's geometry while maintaining overall trajectory accuracy, resolving the contradiction between design simplicity and drilling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved trajectory segments with dogleg severity values instead of straight-line approximations. This curvature modeling enables accurate representation of actual wellbore paths, improving collision avoidance and drilling optimization while the systematic approach to curve definition maintains design manageability.
2Manufacturing precision
If geometric control points are used to generate curved trajectories, then collision avoidance and drilling optimization improve, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Control points and dogleg severity values are pre-calculated and defined before actual trajectory generation. This preliminary setup organizes the computational requirements into structured inputs, reducing the complexity burden during execution while maintaining high trajectory accuracy through precise geometric control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the trajectory design problem into a parameter-based system where control points and dogleg severity values serve as adjustable parameters. This parameterization enables systematic computation of complex curved trajectories while maintaining computational efficiency through structured mathematical relationships.
3Reliability
If more detailed trajectory control is implemented, then collision risks are minimized and drilling performance is optimized, but the time required for trajectory generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces iterative mechanical trial-and-error trajectory design with a direct computational geometry system. By using mathematical formulas to calculate control points and dogleg severity values, the system achieves detailed trajectory control for collision avoidance without the time-consuming iterative processes of traditional methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The systematic parameterization of trajectories using control points and dogleg severity values enables rapid computation of detailed paths. This parameter-based approach allows comprehensive trajectory optimization for collision avoidance while maintaining efficient generation times through structured mathematical calculations.
Data Source
AI summary
A method can include receiving input for a multiwell pad; selecting, based at least in part on a portion of the input, a template for the multiwell pad; generating, based at least in part on the template, well trajectories for the multiwell pad, where each of the well trajectories extends from a surface location of the multiwell pad to one or more reservoir target locations and where each of the well trajectories includes at least one curve generated using one or more dogleg severity values and one or more geometric control points that are not required to lie on one or more of the well trajectories; and outputting specifications for the generated trajectories of the multiwell pad.