Title: System for kick detection during a drilling operation

Abstract

The disclosure provides a kick detection system for use during a drilling operation where wellbore kick warnings are provided based on indications of standoff conditions in a compensated instrument system. The system provides a warning of a potential kick condition by analyzing a current instrument compensation against a time series of past compensations, in order to monitor whether conditions within the standoff region of the wellbore are unexpectedly changing. The system comprises a source, a short-spaced detector, and a long-spaced detector, and a processor receives the short-spaced signal and the long-spaced signal, compensates the long-spaced signal, and generates standoff data reflecting the corrections applied to the long-range signal. The processor determines and maintains the standoff data as a time series and periodically compares a recent data point to a moving average in order to evaluate indications of a potential well kick.

Inventors:

Rose, Kelly K.; Tost, Brian C.; Aminzadeh, Fred

Issue Date:

2019-04-09

Research Org.:

National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1568171

Patent Number(s):

10253620

Application Number:

14/852,845

Assignee:

Rose, Kelly, Albany, OR (United States); Tost, Brian, Albany, OR (United States); Aminzadeh, Fred, Woodland Hills, CA (United States)

Patent Classifications (CPCs):

E - FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS E21 - EARTH DRILLING E21B - EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING

G - PHYSICS G01 - MEASURING G01V - GEOPHYSICS

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E - FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS E21 - EARTH DRILLING E21B - EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING

E21B21/08 - Controlling or monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid, e.g. automatic filling of boreholes, automatic control of bottom pressure
E21B47/00 - Survey of boreholes or wells
E21B47/01 - Devices for supporting measuring instruments on a drill pipe, rod or wireline
E21B47/10 - Locating fluid leaks, intrusions or movements {

G - PHYSICS G01 - MEASURING G01V - GEOPHYSICS

G01V1/44 - using generators and receivers in the same well
G01V11/00 - Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more of main groups G01V1/00 - G01V9/00
G01V3/30 - operating with electromagnetic waves
G01V5/08 - using primary nuclear radiation sources or X-rays {
G01V5/10 - using neutron sources {
G01V5/125 - {and detecting the secondary gamma- or X-rays in different places along the bore hole}

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Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 09/14/2015

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English