Topological Wellbore Path Planning Around Existing Wells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Finding a drillable path for a wellbore in a subsurface occupied by existing wells is challenging, particularly in developed fields, as conventional methods are time-consuming and prone to errors due to collision risks and drilling constraints.
Innovation Solution
A topological representation of the subsurface is created to efficiently evaluate and select a wellbore path by generating a 3D volume with cells, identifying existing wellbores, computing an unoccupied envelope homology group, and performing topological deformations to determine candidate wellbore paths that minimize collision risks and satisfy constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual iteration is used to find a drillable wellbore path, then the path can account for existing wells and constraints, but the process is time-consuming and prone to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical evaluation process with an automated computational system using topology-based algorithms. The system automatically processes wellbore path candidates by computing topological properties and evaluating constraints, eliminating manual iteration while maintaining accuracy in path selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the wellbore path selection problem by changing parameters from manual coordinate evaluation to topological space representation. By representing the subsurface as a topological space and wellbore paths as continuous curves, the system enables automated mathematical evaluation of path validity, collision freedom, and constraint satisfaction.
2Reliability
If comprehensive evaluation of all possible paths is performed to minimize collision risk, then collision risk is reduced, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous subsurface space into discrete topological elements (cells, edges, faces) and represents wellbore paths as sequences of these elements. This segmentation allows the complex problem of evaluating all possible paths to be broken down into manageable discrete evaluations of individual path segments against constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a topological copy or representation of the physical subsurface space, including existing wells and constraints, as a computational model. This topological representation allows comprehensive evaluation of collision risk through mathematical operations on the model without requiring physical exploration of all paths.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for finding and efficiently evaluating and selecting a wellbore path that accounts for placement rules and the presence of existing wells. A topological representation of the connected paths is created and managed. The topological representation may be generated as a pre-computed database of space information that represents the locations of existing wells and accounts for restrictions such as anti-collision and the parameters, including geological and drilling equipment parameters. Using such a representation, the design of a wellbore path may be completed quickly and more efficiently. The topology may represent all connected space for a section of the subsurface. This topological representation may be used to evaluate all possible paths from the starting point (surface location, tie-in point for a sidetrack, tie-in point for replanning, etc.) to the target and enable selecting the path that meets the conditions and is optimized for the existing constraints.