On-site mass spectrometry for liquid and extracted gas analysis of drilling fluids

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016160641-A1
Application number	US-201414906511-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 6, 2014
Priority date	Aug 22, 2013
Publication date	Jun 9, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An example method for analyzing drilling fluid used in a drilling operation within a subterranean formation may include receiving a drilling fluid sample from a flow of drilling fluid at a surface of the subterranean formation. A chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample may be determined using a mass spectrometer. A formation characteristic of the subterranean formation may be determined using the determined chemical composition. Determining the chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample may include determining the chemical composition of at least one of extracted gas from the drilling fluid sample and a liquid portion of the drilling fluid sample.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for analyzing drilling fluid used in a drilling operation within a subterranean formation, comprising:
receiving a drilling fluid sample from a flow of drilling fluid at a surface of the subterranean formation; determining a chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample using a mass spectrometer; and determining a formation characteristic of the subterranean formation using the determined chemical composition.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample comprises determining the chemical composition of at least one of extracted gas from the drilling fluid sample and a liquid portion of the drilling fluid sample.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising extracting gas from the drilling fluid sample using at least one of a continuously stirred vessel, distillation column, flash column, and separator column.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising altering a temperature of the drilling fluid sample using at least one of a shell and tube heat exchanger, a thermoelectric heat exchanger, an electric heat exchanger, a finned tube heat exchanger, and a u-tube heat exchanger.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein extracting gas from the drilling fluid sample comprises introducing a carrier gas into the extracted gas.

6 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising altering the liquid portion of the drilling fluid sample.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein altering the liquid portion of the drilling fluid sample comprises at least one of diluting of the liquid portion in a solvent, contacting the liquid portion with an immiscible solvent, aerating the liquid portion with atmospheric or purified gasses, or performing pyrolysis on the liquid portion.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the formation characteristic using the determined chemical composition comprises comparing the determined chemical composition to known chemical compositions of subterranean formations.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the formation characteristic comprises at least one of a type of rock in the subterranean formation, the presence of hydrocarbons in the subterranean formation, the production potential for a strata of the subterranean formation, and the movement of fluid within the strata.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the drilling fluid sample from the flow of drilling fluid at the surface of the subterranean formation comprises receiving the drilling fluid sample from at least one of a return line, a mud tank, a gumbo box, a shale shaker, a suction line, and a stand pipe.

11 . A system for analyzing drilling fluid used in a drilling operation within a subterranean formation, comprising:
a fluid circulation system positioned at the surface of the subterranean formation and configured to pump a flow of drilling fluid into and receive the flow of drilling fluid from a borehole in the subterranean formation; a drilling fluid analyzer in fluid communication with the fluid circulation system to receive and analyze a drilling fluid sample from the flow of drilling fluid; and an information handling system comprising a processor and a memory device containing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to
receive an output from the drilling fluid analyzer;
determine a chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample; and
determine a formation characteristic of the subterranean formation based, at least in part, on the determined chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein
the drilling fluid analyzer analyzes at least one of extracted gas from the drilling fluid sample and a liquid portion of the drilling fluid sample; and the set of instructions that causes the processor to determine the chemical composition of the drilling fluid sample further causes the processor to determine the chemical composition of at least one of the extracted gas and the liquid portion.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the drilling fluid analyzer comprises at least one of a continuously stirred vessel, distillation column, flash column, and separator column.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the drilling fluid analyzer further comprises at least one of a shell and tube heat exchanger, a thermoelectric heat exchanger, an electric heat exchanger, a finned tube heat exchanger, and a u-tube heat exchanger.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the drilling fluid analyzer comprises a sample preparation unit that at least one of dilutes the liquid portion in a solvent, contacts the liquid portion with an immiscible solvent, aerates the liquid portion with atmospheric or purified gasses, and performs pyrolysis on the liquid portion.

16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the set of instructions that causes the processor to determine the formation characteristic based, at least in part, on the determined chemical composition further causes the processor to compare the determined chemical composition to known chemical compositions of subterranean formations.

17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the formation characteristic comprises at least one of a type of rock in the subterranean formation, the presence of hydrocarbons in the subterranean formation, the production potential for a strata of the subterranean formation, and the movement of fluid within the strata.

18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the drilling fluid analyzer receives the drilling fluid sample at least one of continuously or periodically from the flow of drilling fluid.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the fluid circulation system comprises at least one of a return line, a mud tank, a gumbo box, a shale shaker, a suction line, and a stand pipe.

20 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the drilling fluid analyzer comprises a mass spectrometer.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Rowe Mathew Dennis
• Muirhead David Kirkpatrick

Classifications

• E21B21/067

  Separating gases from drilling fluids · CPC title

• E21B49/00

  Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells · CPC title

• H01J49/40

  Time-of-flight spectrometers (H01J49/36 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E21B49/005 Primary

  Testing the nature of borehole walls or the formation by using drilling mud or cutting data · CPC title

• H01J49/0027

  Methods for using particle spectrometers · CPC title