In-situ downhole cuttings analysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9617851-B2
Application number	US-201314068780-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2013
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods for evaluating cuttings entrained in a downhole fluid in a borehole intersecting an earth formation. Methods may include using at least one sensor to produce information responsive to a reflection of an emitted wave from downhole cuttings in the borehole, wherein the information is indicative of a parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings; and processing the information using at least one processor to estimate the parameter of interest. Methods may include using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce corresponding information from each of a plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations about a bottom hole assembly (BHA); and using the at least one processor to estimate from the information from each of the orientations an azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest. The at least one sensor may include acoustic sensors, electromagnetic sensors, and/or optical sensors.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of evaluating downhole cuttings entrained in a downhole fluid in a borehole intersecting an earth formation, the method comprising:
conveying at least one acoustic sensor in the borehole on a drill string;
performing a drilling operation which produces downhole cuttings from disintegration of the formation;
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce information responsive to a reflection of an emitted acoustic wave from the downhole cuttings in the borehole, wherein the information is indicative of a parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings;
processing the information using at least one processor to estimate the parameter of interest, wherein the parameter of interest comprises at least one of: i) average particle size of the downhole cuttings; ii) distribution of particle sizes; iii) quantitative indicator of shape of the downhole cuttings; and
using the parameter of interest in performing further operations comprising at least one of:
i) characterizing the drilling operation;
ii) optimizing one or more drilling parameters of the drilling operation; and
iii) optimizing a mud program for the drilling operation.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing the further operations using the parameter of interest in near real-time.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce the information further comprises using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce corresponding information from each of a plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations about a bottom hole assembly (BHA); and
processing the information further comprises using the at least one processor to estimate from the information from each of the orientations an azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising using a transducer rotating about a substantially longitudinal axis of the BHA to receive at each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations the reflection of the corresponding emitted wave and produce the corresponding information.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising rotating the transducer with respect to the BHA.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising producing the corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations using each of a plurality of corresponding azimuthally distributed acoustic sensors.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
defining a cross-section of the borehole as a plurality of sectors; and
associating the corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations with a corresponding azimuthal window representing at least one of the plurality of sectors.

8. The method of claim 3 further comprising using a multi-directional acoustic sensor configured for beamforming to receive from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations the reflection of the corresponding emitted wave and produce the corresponding information.

9. The method of claim 3 further comprising using the estimated azimuthal variation to perform in near real-time at least one of:
i) characterizing a drilling operation;
ii) optimizing one or more drilling parameters of a drilling operation; and
iii) optimizing a mud program.

10. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce the corresponding information from each of a plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations at one or more first times;
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce later corresponding information from each of a plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations at one or more second times; and
estimating from the corresponding information and the later corresponding information a change in azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest over time; and
using the estimated change in azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest over time to perform in near real-time, with respect to the one or more second times, at least one of:
i) characterizing a drilling operation;
ii) optimizing one or more drilling parameters of a drilling operation; and
iii) optimizing a mud program.

11. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce the corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations at one or more first times;
using the at least one acoustic sensor to produce earlier corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations at one or more third times; and
estimating from the earlier corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations a standoff of the bottom hole assembly from the borehole with respect to azimuth.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein, for the corresponding information at the one or more first times the emitted acoustic wave is at one or more first frequencies, and for the corresponding information at the one or more third times, the emitted wave is at one or more second frequencies different than the one or more first frequencies.

13. An apparatus for evaluating cuttings entrained in a downhole fluid in a borehole intersecting an earth formation, the apparatus comprising:
a drill string configured to perform a drilling operation which produces downhole cuttings from disintegration of the formation by the drill string;
at least one acoustic sensor on the drill string, the at least one acoustic sensor configured to produce information responsive to a reflection of an emitted acoustic wave from the downhole cuttings in the borehole, wherein the information is indicative of a parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings; and
at least one processor configured to estimate the parameter of interest using the information, wherein the parameter of interest comprises at least one of: i) average particle size of the downhole cuttings; ii) distribution of particle sizes; iii) quantitative indicator of shape of the downhole cuttings.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein:
the at least one acoustic sensor is configured to produce corresponding information from each of a plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations about the BHA; and
the at least one processor is configured to estimate from the corresponding information from each of the orientations an azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one acoustic sensor comprises a plurality of azimuthally distributed acoustic sensors producing the corresponding information from each of the plurality of azimuthally distributed orientations.

16. An apparatus for evaluating cuttings entrained in a downhole fluid in a borehole intersecting an earth formation, the apparatus comprising:
a bottom hole assembly (BHA) on a drill string configured for conveyance into the borehole for performing a drilling operation which produces downhole cuttings from disintegration of the formation by the drill string;
a plurality of sensors azimuthally distributed in the BHA, each of the sensors configured to produce information responsive to the downhole cuttings in the borehole, wherein the information is indicative of a parameter of interest relating to the downhole cuttings;
at least one processor configured to estimate from the information from each of the sensors an azimuthal variation of the parameter of interest relating to the cuttings, wherein the parameter of interest comprises at

Assignees

• Baker Hughes Inc

Inventors

• Dahl John
• Morgan Christopher J
• Gillen Michael E

Classifications

• E21B49/005 Primary

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