Patent
Estimating drill cutting origination depth using marking agents
| العنوان: | Estimating drill cutting origination depth using marking agents |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 8,627,902 |
| تاريخ النشر: | January 14, 2014 |
| Appl. No: | 13/167342 |
| Application Filed: | June 23, 2011 |
| مستخلص: | A method for estimating a depth from which cuttings have been recovered from a well may include varying a parameter of one or more marking agents added into a drilling fluid circulated into the well and recovering the cuttings from the well. The depth may be estimated by estimating a value associated with the marking agent that marks the cuttings. A system for estimating a depth from which cuttings have been recovered from a well includes at least one marking agent configured to mark the cuttings and a marking agent dispensing device configured to add the at least one marking agent into a drilling fluid circulated into the well. The marking agent dispensing device may be further configured to vary a parameter of the at least one marking agent. |
| Inventors: | Hammer, Aaron C. (Houston, TX, US); Clapper, Dennis K. (Houston, TX, US) |
| Assignees: | Baker Hughes Incorporated (Houston, TX, US) |
| Claim: | 1. A method for estimating a depth from which cuttings have been recovered from a well, comprising: adding a first marking agent and a second marking agent into a drilling fluid; maintaining a concentration of the first marking agent above a detection level; maintaining a concentration of the second marking agent below a saturation level; varying a parameter of at least one of the first marking agent and the second marking agent added into a drilling fluid circulated into the well; recovering the cuttings from the well; estimating a value associated with the first and the second marking agents that mark the cuttings; and estimating the depth using the estimated value associated with the first and the second marking agents. |
| Claim: | 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the parameter of the first marking agent is controlled to provide a relatively steady concentration and the parameter of the second marking agent is varied to cause a set of unique values associated with the first and the second marking agents over a selected time interval. |
| Claim: | 3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising correlating the set of unique values with a set of depth values such that each depth value has an associated unique value. |
| Claim: | 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the estimated value is a ratio of the first and the second marking agents that mark the cuttings. |
| Claim: | 5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: adding an additional marking agent to the drilling fluid circulated into the well, wherein the estimated value is a ratio of an amount of the first and the second marking agents and an amount of the additional marking agent. |
| Claim: | 6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: adding a plurality of additional marking agents to the drilling fluid circulated into the well, wherein the estimated value is a ratio of an amount of the first and the second marking agents and an amount of at least one additional marking agent of the plurality of additional marking agents. |
| Claim: | 7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the estimated value is related to a material formed by the interaction of the first and the second marking agents. |
| Claim: | 8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and the second marking agents are one of: (i) a particulated material, (ii) a fluid, (iii) gas, and (iv) a liquid. |
| Claim: | 9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the parameter is one of: (i) quantity, (ii) a material property, (iii) an optical property, (iv) a chemical property; and (v) an engineered property. |
| Claim: | 10. A system for estimating a depth from which cuttings have been recovered from a well, comprising: a first marking agent and a second marking agent, each marking agent being configured to mark the cuttings; and a marking agent dispensing device configured to add the first marking agent and a second marking agent into a drilling fluid circulated into the well, the at least one marking agent dispensing device being further configured to vary a parameter of at least the second marking agent. |
| Claim: | 11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one marking agent includes a first and a second marking agent and wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to vary an amount of the first marking agent in the drilling fluid. |
| Claim: | 12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to record a parameter of the at least one marking agent being added to the drilling fluid. |
| Claim: | 13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to cause a set of unique parameter values over a selected time interval. |
| Claim: | 14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising an information processing device configured to correlate the set of unique parameter values with depth such that each depth value has an associated unique parameter value. |
| Claim: | 15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the parameter is one of: (i) quantity, (ii) a material property, (iii) an optical property, (iv) a chemical property; and (v) an engineered property. |
| Claim: | 16. A system for estimating a depth from which cuttings have been recovered from a well, comprising: at least one marking agent configured to mark the cuttings; a marking agent dispensing device configured to add the at least one marking agent into a drilling fluid circulated into the well, the at least one marking agent dispensing device being further configured to vary a parameter of the at least one marking agent, wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to record a parameter of the at least one marking agent being added to the drilling fluid. |
| Claim: | 17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one marking agent includes a first and a second marking agent and wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to vary an amount of the first marking agent in the drilling fluid. |
| Claim: | 18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the marking agent dispensing device is configured to cause a set of unique parameter values over a selected time interval. |
| Claim: | 19. The system of claim 18 , further comprising an information processing device configured to correlate the set of unique parameter values with depth such that each depth value has an associated unique parameter value. |
| Claim: | 20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the parameter is one of: (i) quantity, (ii) a material property, (iii) an optical property, (iv) a chemical property; and (v) an engineered property. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 175/42 |
| Patent References Cited: | 3205353 September 1965 Bray 3566979 March 1971 Bennett et al. 4447340 May 1984 FeJean-Jacques 4708212 November 1987 McAuley et al. 4807469 February 1989 Hall 4904603 February 1990 Jones et al. 5571962 November 1996 Georgi et al. 5665538 September 1997 Slater et al. 5763176 June 1998 Slater et al. 5811152 September 1998 Cleary 7293715 November 2007 Bargach et al. 7424910 September 2008 Xu et al. 7635033 December 2009 Lynde 7762131 July 2010 Ibrahim et al. 8104338 January 2012 DiFoggio 2005/0252286 November 2005 Ibrahim et al. 2009/0151939 June 2009 Bailey et al. 2010/0065463 March 2010 Taylor 2010/0193184 August 2010 Dolman et al. 2011/0006110 January 2011 Cleary et al. 2280205 September 2007 2800384 May 2001 2319337 May 1998 2472371 February 2011 |
| Other References: | PCT/US2012/043570—International Search Report dated Jan. 25, 2013. cited by applicant |
| Primary Examiner: | Neuder, William P |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Mossman, Kumar & Tyler PC |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.08627902 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |