Method of detecting substance saturation in a formation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11280929-B2
Application number	US-201615531673-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 19, 2016
Priority date	Sep 19, 2016
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

A substance saturation sensing method includes making a resistivity measurement of a formation proximate to a well with a logging tool prior to installation of a casing string in the well. After the casing string is installed in the well, a first set of measurements of the formation is made with a monitoring system to generate a measured response. A set of calibration values is calculated based on the first set of measurements to produce a resistivity that matches the resistivity measurement. A second set of measurements of the formation is made with the monitoring system during or after saturating of a substance occurs in the formation. At least one parameter indicative of the saturating of the substance in the formation is determined based on the second set of the measurements and the set of calibration values.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substance saturation sensing method, comprising:
making a resistivity measurement of a formation proximate to a well with a logging tool prior to installation of a casing in the well; making a multi-arm caliper measurement of the well prior to installing the casing; wherein the casing comprises at least two collars, and each of the at least two collars comprises an electrode, and wherein a portion of the casing between the electrodes is insulated;
after installing the casing in the well, making a first set of measurements of the formation with a monitoring system to generate a measured response, the monitoring system comprising at least one transmitter, the at least one transmitter including at least one of the electrodes, wherein the at least one of the electrodes injects electrical current into the formation, wherein the injected electrical current generates a primary field and a secondary field, and wherein the monitoring system comprises at least one sensor to measure the primary field and the secondary field;
calculating a set of calibration values based on the first set of measurements and the resistivity measurement to produce a resistivity that matches the resistivity measurement;
making a second set of measurements of the formation with the monitoring system during or after saturation of a substance occurs in the formation; and
determining at least one parameter indicative of the saturation of the substance in the formation based on the second set of measurements and the set of calibration values.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining resistivity data from the resistivity measurement;
defining a grid for a resistivity model simulation, the grid comprising a plurality of grid points;
populating a resistivity value at each of the plurality of grid points based on the resistivity data;
creating a resistivity model of the monitoring system and the formation; and
performing the resistivity model simulation to generate a synthetic response.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein calculating the set of calibration values comprises calculating a set of calibration constants to match the measured response to the synthetic response.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising applying the set of calibration constants to the second set of measurements to generate a calibrated set of measurements,
wherein the at least one parameter is determined based on the calibrated set of measurements.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein populating the resistivity value comprises performing interpolation or extrapolation of the resistivity data.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the resistivity value is populated based on at least one of a borehole property, a casing property and a cement property.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the monitoring system comprises a plurality of transmitters and a plurality of sensors, and
wherein the resistivity model is created based on a property of the monitoring system, the property of the monitoring system comprising at least one of a location of each sensor, an orientation of each sensor, a location of each transmitter, a power level of the monitoring system, and an operation frequency of the monitoring system.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
measuring a plurality of EM field values using the plurality of sensors as a wireline tool is logged along the casing of the well; and
determining the location of each sensor based on the plurality of EM field values detected by each sensor.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the location of each sensor is determined based on a peak value of the plurality of EM field values.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the wireline tool comprises at least one of a transmitter coil, a toroid and a contact electrode.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substance is water.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is deployed to or installed in the well on a permanent basis.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system comprises a fiber optic system.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one transmitter comprises a plurality of transmitters and the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary field is independent of any interaction with the formation, and the secondary field is produced as a result of interaction with the formation.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating the set of calibration values is further based on borehole shape including at least one of: outer diameter, thickness, electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating the set of calibration values is also based on magnetic permeability of the casing of the well.

18. A method for monitoring substance saturation in a formation, comprising:
obtaining resistivity data of the formation proximate to a well prior to installing a casing in the well; making a multi-arm caliper measurement of the well prior to installing the casing;
installing the casing and a monitoring system in the well; wherein the casing comprises at least two collars, and each of the at least two collars comprises an electrode, and wherein a portion of the casing between the electrodes is insulated;
measuring a first set of electro-magnetic (EM) field values of the formation with the monitoring system, the monitoring system comprising at least one transmitter, the at least one transmitter including at least one of the electrodes, wherein the at least one of the electrodes injects electrical current into the formation, wherein the injected electrical current generates a primary field and a secondary field, and wherein the monitoring system comprises at least one sensor to measure the primary field and the secondary field;
generating a synthetic response based on the resistivity data and magnetic permeability of the casing string;
generating a measured response based on the first set of EM field values;
obtaining a set of calibration values based on the measured response and, the synthetic response;
measuring a second set of EM field values of the formation with the monitoring system after measuring the first set of EM field values; and
determining at least one parameter indicative of saturation of a substance in the formation based on the second set of EM field values and the set of calibration values.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein generating the synthetic response comprises:
defining a grid for a resistivity model simulation of the formation, the grid comprising a plurality of grid points;
populating a resistivity value at each of the plurality of grid points based on the resistivity data;
creating a resistivity model of the monitoring system and the formation; and
performing the resistivity model simulation to generate the synthetic response.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising applying the set of calibration values to the second set of EM field values to create a calibrated set of EM field values.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein determining the at least one parameter comprises processing the calibrated set of EM field values to determine the at least one parameter indicative of the saturation of the substance.

22. The method of claim 18 , wherein the at least one transmitter comprises a plurality of transmitters, and the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors.

23. The

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Donderici Burkay
• Fouda Ahmed E
• Wilson Glenn Andrew

Classifications

• G01V3/32

  operating with electron or nuclear magnetic resonance · CPC title

• G01V3/20

  operating with propagation of electric current · CPC title

• G01V3/24

  using AC · CPC title

• G01N27/06 Primary

  of a liquid (involving electrolysis G01N27/26) · CPC title

• G01V3/28 Primary

  using induction coils · CPC title