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Title: Systems and methods for locating and imaging proppant in an induced fracture

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1632635

Born Scattering Inversion (BSI) systems and methods are disclosed. A BSI system may be incorporated in a well system for accessing natural gas, oil and geothermal reserves in a geologic formation beneath the surface of the Earth. The BSI system may be used to generate a three-dimensional image of a proppant-filled hydraulically-induced fracture in the geologic formation. The BSI system may include computing equipment and sensors for measuring electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of the fracture before and after the fracture is generated, adjusting the parameters of a first Born approximation model of a scattered component of the surface electromagnetic fields using the measured electromagnetic fields, and generating the image of the proppant-filled fracture using the adjusted parameters.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
Assignee:
CARBO Ceramics Inc. (Houston, TX); National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (Albuquerque, NM)
Patent Number(s):
10,578,762
Application Number:
15/935,787
OSTI ID:
1632635
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 03/26/2018
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (8)

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Use of Magnetic Liquids for Imaging and Mapping Porous Subterranean Formations patent-application February 2014
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Evaluation of fracture geometries in rock formations patent-application January 2005
Method Of Manufacture And The Use Of A Functional Proppant For Determination Of Subterranean Fracture Geometries patent-application July 2012
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Objects Buried in Layered Media Using Born and Distorted Born Iterative Methods journal April 2004
Methods for Approximating Hessian Times Vector Operation in Full Wavefield Inversion patent-application May 2013
Method and Apparatus for Surveying a Borehole with a Rotating Sensor Package patent-application September 2010