Detecting downhole fluid composition utilizing photon emission

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11598206-B2
Application number	US-202017076488-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2020
Priority date	Oct 21, 2020
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

This disclosure presents systems and processes to collect elemental composition of target fluid and solid material located downhole of a borehole. Waveguides can be utilized that include capillary optics to deliver emitted high energy into a container or a conduit and then to detect the high energy. A source waveguide can be used to emit the high energy into the target fluid and a detector waveguide can collect resulting measurements. Each waveguide can include a protective sheath and a pressure cap on the end of the capillary optics that are proximate the target fluid, to protect against abrasion and target fluid pressure. In other aspects, a pulsed neutron tool can be utilized in place of the waveguides to collect measurements. The collected measurements can be utilized to generate chemical signature results that can be utilized to determine the elemental composition of the target fluid or of the solid material.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a first waveguide operable to focus energy, having a first end of the first waveguide located external of an external diameter of a container or a conduit and a second end of the first waveguide located internal of an internal diameter of the container or the conduit and proximate a target fluid, where the target fluid is contained within the container or the conduit and the target fluid is under a fluid pressure, and wherein the container or the conduit is located within a borehole; and
a pressure cap, proximate the second end of the first waveguide and coupled to at least one waveguide capillary, operable to be a pressure barrier between the at least one waveguide capillary and the target fluid, wherein the at least one waveguide capillary is located longitudinally within the internal diameter of the first waveguide.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first waveguide is a detector waveguide and the first end of the first waveguide is coupled to a detector system operable to collect measurements of detected energy, and the detector system is located external of the external diameter of the container or the conduit.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 , wherein a second waveguide is a source waveguide operable to focus the energy and a first end of the second waveguide is coupled to an energy source, where the first end of the second waveguide is located external of the external diameter of the container or the conduit and a second end of the second waveguide is located internal of the internal diameter of the container or the conduit and proximate the target fluid, and wherein the second end of the first waveguide is proximate the second end of the second waveguide.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3 , wherein the second end of the first waveguide is oriented at a forty-five degree angle to the second end of the second waveguide.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one waveguide capillary is a polycrystalline capillary.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
a sheath, coupled to an outside surface of the first waveguide, operable to protect the first waveguide from the fluid pressure and abrasion from the target fluid, and wherein the sheath is composed of stainless steel.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 , wherein the pressure cap is located internal of the first waveguide proximate the second end of the first waveguide.

8. A system, comprising:
a container or a conduit, capable of containing a target fluid under a fluid pressure, wherein the container or the conduit is located downhole in a borehole;
a detector system, capable of determining a chemical signature result of the target fluid;
a source controller, capable of focusing emitted energy from an energy source, wherein the source controller is one of a source waveguide or a pulsed neutron tool, and the energy source is an x-ray source or a gamma ray source; and
a detector waveguide, capable of detecting the emitted energy from within the target fluid, wherein the source controller has a source controller first end coupled to the energy source and a source controller second end proximate the target fluid, and the detector waveguide has a detector waveguide first end coupled to the detector system and a detector waveguide second end proximate the target fluid and proximate the source controller second end, and where the source controller first end and the detector waveguide first end are external of an external diameter of the container or the conduit, the source controller second end and the detector waveguide second end are internal of an internal diameter of the container or the conduit.

9. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the source controller is the source waveguide, and the source waveguide and the detector waveguide include polycrystalline capillaries, are coated in a sheath and include a pressure cap capable of reducing effects of the fluid pressure and abrasion on the source waveguide and the detector waveguide.

10. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the container or the conduit is a fluid pipe with a lower end located in the borehole and an upper end at a surface location, and wherein the chemical signature result specifies the target fluid as one or more of an oil, a gas, a borehole fluid, a formation fluid, a drilling fluid, a mud, a hydraulic fluid, a fracturing fluid, a brine, a chemical additive, or a contamination percentage of a drilling fluid present in a formation fluid.

11. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein a chemical adjustment parameter is determined utilizing the chemical signature result and a matrix of element parameters, and the detector system utilizes the chemical adjustment parameter to adjust the chemical signature result.

12. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein one or more of a bromide compound, a zinc compound, an iodide compound, or a cesium compound are used as tracers in drilling fluid by the detector system.

13. The system as recited in claim 8 , further comprising:
a transceiver, capable of transmitting the chemical signature result to a well site controller capable of adjusting a well operation plan.

14. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the container or the conduit is part of a formation tester located within the borehole, the source controller is the pulsed neutron tool, the container or the conduit has a sheathing to provide target fluid isolation from other fluids in the borehole, and the detector waveguide is capable of detecting gamma-rays.

15. The system as recited in claim 14 , wherein the sheathing is capable of one or more of scattering neutrons, or shielding the detector waveguide from energy sourced external of the external diameter of the container or the conduit.

16. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the container or the conduit has one open end capable of being placed, using an extension probe, against a subterranean formation located within the borehole, and the source controller second end and the detector waveguide second end are proximate the subterranean formation, and the source controller is the source waveguide.

17. The system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the container or the conduit is capable of pumping the target fluid, a drilling fluid, a borehole fluid, or a mud into or out of the container or the conduit.

18. The system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the source waveguide is a first source waveguide, and the system includes one or more additional source waveguides each at a different location relative to the detector waveguide, and the chemical signature result includes one or more of an average elemental composition or a salinity value.

19. The system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the source waveguide and the detector waveguide are a first set of waveguides, and the system includes one or more additional sets of waveguides, each at a different location relative to the first set of waveguides.

20. The system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the chemical signature result is utilized to generate an image using an elemental composition of one or more of the subterranean formation, a borehole mud, or a borehole fluid.

21. The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the detector system utilizes a matrix of element parameters, where the matrix of element parameters comprise a similar elemental composition as the target fluid.

22. The system as recited in claim 21 , wherein the detect

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Jones Christopher Michael
• Crawford Jeffrey James
• Van Zulekom Anthony Herman
• Gascooke Darren George

Classifications

• G01N2223/616

  earth materials · CPC title

• G01N23/223

  by irradiating the sample with X-rays or gamma-rays and by measuring X-ray fluorescence · CPC title

• G01N2223/635

  fluids, granulates · CPC title

• E21B49/08 Primary

  Obtaining fluid samples or testing fluids, in boreholes or wells · CPC title

• G01N23/222

  using neutron activation analysis [NAA] · CPC title