DEPTH RANGE MANAGER FOR DRILL STRING ANALYSIS

• US 20160326856A1
• Filed: 01/30/2014
• Published: 11/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Landmark Graphics Corporation (Halliburton Company)
• Original Assignee: Landmark Graphics Corporation (Halliburton Company)
• Inventors: WISE, Matthew E.
• Granted Patent: US 10,240,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 21/085 Underbalanced techniques, i.e. where borehole fluid pressure is below formation pressure
• 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: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

A depth range manager provide users with a way to run and retain multiple depth range analyses for a drill string operation, including the operational parameters for each analysis. This allows users easily to view and compare the analyses at the different drilling depth ranges. In some embodiments, instead of drilling depth ranges, users may also urn and retain multiple different models and analyses using multiple different drilling times. The operational parameters for the multiple different models and analyses may be defined and stored using a flexible one-to-many database structure that accommodates the different sets of operational parameters as well as any existing single-analysis parameters associated with legacy analyses. A graphical interface allows users easily to define and store the operational parameters in the flexible one-to-many database structure.

Claims

1. A computer-based analysis system for analyzing a drill string operation in a subterranean formation, comprising:

a central processing unit mounted within the computer-based analysis system;

a display electrically connected to the central processing unit, the display displaying a graphical interface for the computer-based analysis system;

at least one user input device electrically connected to the central processing unit, the at least one user input device receiving user inputs from a user through the graphical interface for the computer-based analysis system; and

a storage device electrically connected to the central processing unit, the storage device storing a depth range manager application for the graphical interface of the computer-based analysis system, the depth range manager application providing a first set of input fields and a second set of input fields, the first set of input fields allowing the user to enter a first set of user inputs to be used by the computer-based analysis system to perform a first drill string analysis, and the second set of input fields allowing the user to enter a second set of user inputs to be used by the computer-based analysis system to perform a second drill string analysis, the first set of user inputs being different from the second set of user inputs.

2. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the first and second drill string analyses are selected by the user from one of the following analyses:

an analysis of drill string torque and drag, and analysis of drill string hydraulics, and an analysis of underbalanced drilling on the drill string operation.

3. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the first set of user inputs includes a first depth range within the subterranean formation and the second set of user inputs includes a second depth range within the subterranean formation, the first depth range being different from the second depth range.

4. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the first set of user inputs includes a first drilling time within the subterranean formation and the second set of user inputs includes a second drilling time within the subterranean formation, the first drilling time being different from the second drilling time.

5. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the first set of user inputs includes a first set of operational parameters for the drill string operation and the second set of user inputs includes a second set of operational parameters for the drill string operation, the first set of operational parameters being different from the second set of operational parameters.

6. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the graphical interface displays the results of the first and second drill string analyses as plot lines, the plot lines for the first drill string analysis and the plot lines for the second drill string analysis being displayed simultaneously.

7. The computer-based analysis system of claim 1, wherein the graphical interface displays at least one of the fields of the first set of input fields simultaneously with at least one of the fields of the second set of input fields.

8. A computer-based analysis method for analyzing a drill string operation in a subterranean formation, comprising:

receiving a plurality of first user inputs from a user via at least one user input device for subsequent use in performing a first drill string analysis;

receiving a plurality of second user inputs from the user via the at least one user input device for subsequent use in performing a second drill string analysis;

performing the first drill string analysis according to the first plurality of user inputs;

performing the second drill string analysis according to the second plurality of user inputs; and

displaying the results of the first and second analyses as plot lines on a display, wherein the plot lines for the first analysis and the plot lines for the second analysis are displayed simultaneously on the display.

9. The computer-based analysis method of claim 8, further comprising storing the first and second pluralities of user inputs together as a single case on the storage device and allowing the user subsequently to retrieve both pluralities of user inputs together as a single case from the storage device.

10. The computer-based analysis method of claim 9, further comprising establishing a one-to-one relationship between the first plurality of user inputs and the single case.

11. The computer-based analysis method of claim 9, further comprising establishing a one-to-many relationship between the second plurality of user inputs and an intermediate data structure and establishing a one-to-one relationship between the intermediate data structure and the single case.

12. The computer-based analysis method of claim 11, wherein the first plurality of user inputs comprises operational parameters and analysis settings, further comprising establishing a one-to-one relationship between the analysis settings and the single case and establishing a one-to-many relationship between the operational parameters and the intermediate data structure.

13. The computer-based analysis method of claim 8, further comprising removing the results of the first or second analysis upon selection by the user.

14. The computer-based analysis method of claim 8, wherein the first and second drill string analyses are selected by the user from one of the following analyses:

an analysis of drill string torque and drag, and analysis of drill string hydraulics, and an analysis of underbalanced drilling on the drill string operation.

15. A computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions for causing a computer to analyze a drill string operation in a subterranean formation, the computer-readable instructions comprising instructions for causing the computer to:

receive a plurality of first user inputs from a user via at least one user input device for subsequent use in performing a first drill string analysis;

receive a plurality of second user inputs from the user via the at least one user input device for subsequent use in performing a second drill string analysis;

perform the first drill string analysis according to the first plurality of user inputs;

perform the second drill string analysis according to the second plurality of user inputs; and

display the results of the first and second analyses as plot lines on a display, wherein the plot lines for the first analysis and the plot lines for the second analysis are displayed simultaneously on the display.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the computer to store the first and second pluralities of user inputs together as a single case on the storage device and allowing the user subsequently to retrieve both pluralities of user inputs together as a single case from the storage device.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the computer to establish a one-to-one relationship between the first plurality of user inputs and the single case.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the computer to establish a one-to-many relationship between the second plurality of user inputs and an intermediate data structure and establishing a one-to-one relationship between the intermediate data structure and the single case.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the first plurality of user inputs comprises operational parameters and analysis settings, the computer-readable instructions further causing the computer to establish a one-to-one relationship between the analysis settings and the single case and establishing a one-to-many relationship between the operational parameters and the intermediate data structure.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first and second drill string analyses are selected by the user from one of the following analyses:

an analysis of drill string torque and drag, and analysis of drill string hydraulics, and an analysis of underbalanced drilling on the drill string operation.