Wellbore Steering via Stratigraphic Misfit Heat Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drilling technologies face challenges in accurately steering a wellbore to geological targets due to complexities in directional drilling and the inability to timely gather and process data from downhole sensors and surface control systems.
Innovation Solution
The method involves combining various parameters into a characteristic function for the subject well and offset wells, generating heat maps to display the misfit between these functions, and using these heat maps to identify optimal paths for the wellbore, thereby updating the well plan and steering the wellbore into the desired geological targets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional drilling technologies are used to steer wellbore to geological targets, then the drilling operation can be performed with standard equipment and procedures, but the accuracy of wellbore positioning and steering precision deteriorates due to complexities in directional drilling and inability to timely process downhole sensor data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces heat maps as an intermediary visual tool that mediates between complex downhole sensor data and drilling decision-making. The heat maps transform multi-parameter sensor data (gamma ray, resistivity, acoustic impedance) into intuitive visual representations showing stratigraphic depth mismatches, enabling operators to accurately steer wellbores without being overwhelmed by raw data complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/manual wellbore steering methods with a computational system that automatically processes downhole sensor data, generates heat maps, and provides steering recommendations. This substitution of mechanical operations with computational processing enables timely and accurate wellbore positioning despite directional drilling complexities
2Manufacturing precision
If real-time data from downhole sensors and surface control systems is gathered and processed using advanced computational methods, then wellbore steering precision is improved, but the complexity of data processing and computational requirements increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple downhole sensor data streams (gamma ray, resistivity, acoustic impedance) and surface control system data into a unified heat map representation. This consolidation of multiple data sources into a single visual interface simplifies the processing complexity while maintaining high steering precision through integrated multi-parameter analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates visual copies (heat maps) of the complex subsurface geological structure and stratigraphic relationships. These heat map copies represent the actual subsurface conditions and depth mismatches without requiring direct manipulation of the complex raw sensor data, thereby simplifying the operational complexity while preserving steering accuracy
3Reliability
If heat maps displaying misfit between characteristic functions of subject and offset wells are generated and used to identify optimal wellbore paths, then drilling errors are reduced and costs are lowered, but the computational time and processing resources required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary processing of downhole sensor data to generate characteristic functions and heat maps during the drilling operation rather than after completion. By pre-computing the heat maps showing stratigraphic depth mismatches in real-time, the system enables immediate steering corrections without requiring time-consuming post-processing, thus reducing overall computational time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms raw sensor parameters into derived parameters (characteristic functions) and then into visual heat map parameters showing misfit values. This parameter transformation hierarchy allows the system to process complex multi-parameter sensor data efficiently by converting it into a simplified visual format that directly indicates optimal wellbore paths, reducing computational time while maintaining high reliability
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for using stratigraphic heat maps to steer a well being drilled. Data from one or more offset wells can be provided to a computer system and used with data from a well being drilled to generate one or more stratigraphic heat maps during the drilling of the subject well. The stratigraphic heat maps can be displayed and used to determine the location of the wellbore relative to one or more geological formations, including one or more target formations or within a target formation. Based on the use of the heat maps and the location of the wellbore relative to a target, the drill plan can be adjusted or updated and/or one or more drilling parameters or operations may be adjusted to drill the wellbore, such as to drill the wellbore to the target or to maximize the length of the wellbore within a target zone.