Method for estimating formation characteristics of the exposed bottomhole formation

Patent · Tue Oct 06 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5770803

Fontenot, J E

This patent describes a method for estimating a value of a property of a formation face being penetrated at a bottomhole location in a borehole by a drill bit in a drilling operation. It consists of: constructing a data base comprising reference sets of correlated values. Each set corresponds to a known location within a borehole. Each set includes a reference value indicative of the known location for each properties. The construct comprises measuring, while penetrating at each known location, a value indicative of a first property of a formation face being penetrated at each known location, measuring, later after drilling has progressed below each location, a value indicative of a second property of a formation surrounding each location, and correlating the measured values for the first and second properties for each location to form each reference set in the data base; measuring, while penetrating at a new bottomhole location in the borehole, a test value indicative of the first property of a new formation face being penetrated at the new bottomhole location; and comparing the test value with the data base to provide an estimated value of the second property at the bottomhole location. An apparatus useful for estimating a value of a property of a formation face being penetrated at a bottomhole location by the drill bit in a drilling operation is described comprising in combination: means for storing a data base; means for measuring, while penetrating at the bottomhole location, a value indicative of the first property of a formation face being penetrated at the bottomhole location; and means for comparing the measured value of the first property to the corresponding value of the first property of each set in the data base.

• Assignee: NL Industries, Inc., New York, NY
• Patent Number(s): US 4697650
• OSTI ID: 5770803
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
BOREHOLES
CAVITIES
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
GEOPHYSICS
MANAGEMENT
MEASURING METHODS
MWD SYSTEMS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OIL WELLS
PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
RESERVOIR ROCK
WELLS