Systems and methods for analyzing resource production

• US 10,607,170 B1
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Datainfocom Usa, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Datainfocom Usa, Inc.
• Inventors: Basu, Atanu, Mohan, Daniel, Wang, Chun, Venter, Frederick
• Primary Examiner(s): Munson, Patricia H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Byrd, Uche
• Application Number:
  US15/052,658
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 2200/20 Computer models or simulations, e.g. for reservoirs under production, drill bits
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 2200/22 Fuzzy logic, artificial intelligence, neural networks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/11 Perforators; Permeators
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/12 Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells E21B43/25 takes precedence; valve arrangements E21B34/00
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/121 Lifting well fluids monitoring of down-hole pump systems E21B47/008
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/122 Gas lift
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/128 Adaptation of pump systems with down-hole electric drives
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/129 Adaptations of down-hole pump systems powered by fluid supplied from outside the borehole gas-lift E21B43/122; jet pumps E21B43/124
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/16 Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/164 Injecting CO2 or carbonated water in combination with organic material C09K8/594
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/20 Displacing by water
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/26 by forming crevices or fractures
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/022 of the borehole, e.g. using geomagnetism
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/00 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 Class Codes: E21B 49/003 by analysing drilling variables or conditions E21B49/005 takes precedence; systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions E21B44/00
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/00 Special methods or apparatus for drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/04 Directional drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/046 horizontal drilling drilling with mechanical conveying means E21B7/003
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2333/4706 stimulating, promoting or activating activity
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 1/00 : Seismology; Seismic or acoustic prospecting or detecting
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 11/002 : Details, e.g. power supply systems for logging instruments, transmitting or recording data, specially adapted for well logging, also if the prospecting method is irrelevant means for transmitting well survey signals E21B47/12; signal transmission systems in general G08C; transmission in general H04B
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 20/00 : Geomodelling in general
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 2210/66 : Subsurface modeling
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 2210/665 : using geostatistical modeling
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/028 : using expert systems only
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/048 : using a predictor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 : Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/17 : Mechanical parametric or variational design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 : Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 : Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/02 : Neural networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/08 : Learning methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/126 : Evolutionary algorithms, e.g. genetic algorithms or genetic programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 : Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 : Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 : Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 : Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 : Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 : Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 : Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 : Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 : Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 : constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 : based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 : Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 : Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 : Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 : Management or planning

Abstract

A method of producing fluids from a geological structure includes receiving field information associated with producing wells of a field; deriving a field specific model based on the field information, the field specific model including a proximity depletion synthetic variable and a fraction hit synthetic variable; identifying a proposed location based on the application of field management engine to the field specific model, the field management engine projecting a decrease in production from wells proximal to the location and projecting an improvement in a production objective; and drilling a well at the proposed location.

Claims

1. A method of producing fluids from a geological structure, the method comprising:

receiving field information associated with producing wells in a field, the field having field characteristics including geological, geophysical, petrophysical, lithological, and mineralogical characteristics, a first portion of the field information being received in a form of structured data, and a second portion of the field information being received in a form of unstructured data;

transforming the unstructured data into transformed structured data;

based on the received field information in the form of the structured data and the transformed structured data, building a plurality of field-specific models, each of the plurality of field-specific models being specific to the field characteristics of the field;

selecting one of the plurality of field-specific models, the selected field-specific model including a proximity depletion synthetic variable and a fracturing (frac) hit synthetic variable;

iteratively identifying, based on the selected field-specific model and using a field management engine, two or more proposed locations for a proposed well;

for each of the two or more proposed locations for the proposed well;

projecting, based on the selected field-specific model and using the field management engine, a decrease in production from one or more of the producing wells located proximal to the respective proposed location; and

projecting, based on the selected field-specific model and using the field management engine, a production amount associated with a well drilled at the respective proposed location;

selecting, using the field management engine, one of the two or more proposed locations for the proposed well, the selected location for the proposed well having the projected production amount that exceeds the projected decrease in production; and

drilling the proposed well at the selected location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the field information includes production values and well locations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the well location includes horizontal placement.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the field information includes geological information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the field-specific model further includes a fracking order synthetic variable.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising projecting a production of a plurality of wells associated with the field.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one of the plurality of field-specific models comprises:

receiving information associated with a further one or more wells within the field;

determining a test set of information from the received information associated with the further one or more wells within the field, and validating each of the plurality of field-specific models using the test set of information; and

based on results of the validation, selecting the one of the plurality of field-specific models.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of field-specific models includes one or more machine learning models.

9. A method of producing fluids from a geological structure, the method comprising:

receiving field information associated with producing wells in a field, the field having field characteristics including geological, geophysical, petrophysical, lithological, and mineralogical characteristics;

based on the received field information, building a plurality of field-specific models, each of the plurality of field-specific models being specific to the field characteristics of the field;

selecting one of the plurality of field-specific models;

iteratively identifying, based on the selected field-specific model and using a field management engine, two or more proposed locations for a proposed well in the field;

for each of the two or more proposed locations for the proposed well;

projecting, based on the selected field-specific model and using the field management engine, a decrease in production from one or more of the producing wells located proximal to the respective proposed location; and

projecting, based on the selected field-specific model and using the field management engine, a production amount associated with a well drilled at the respective proposed location;

selecting, using the field management engine, one of the two or more proposed locations for the proposed well, the selected location for the proposed well having the projected production amount that exceeds the projected decrease in production; and

drilling the proposed well at the selected location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the field information includes production values and well locations.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the well location includes horizontal placement.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the field information includes geological information.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the selected field-specific model includes a fracking order synthetic variable.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting the one of the plurality of field-specific models comprises:

receiving information associated with a further one or more wells within the field;

determining a test set of information from the received information associated with the further one or more wells within the field, and validating each of the plurality of field-specific models using the test set of information; and

based on results of the validation, selecting the one of the plurality of field-specific models.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of field-specific models includes one or more machine learning models.