Method and apparatus for detecting impending sticking of a drillstring
First Claim
1. A method of drilling a wellbore utilizing a drillstring, comprising:
- substantially continuously sensing vibration of a drilling operation;
recording at least one signal representative of said vibration; and
monitoring for a signal change in said at least one signal representative of said vibration to detect Impending sticking of said drillstring before actual sticking occurs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface. When characterized as a method, the method steps include (1) monitoring a vibration characteristic of the drillstring during drilling operations, and (2) comparing the vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking. In the preferred embodiment, vibration amplitude is monitored to detect amplitude diminishment which is indicative of impending pipe sticking. Preferably, vibration data is subjected to a stabilizing signal processing operation which minimizes the adverse impact of noise and normalizes the data to facilitate comparison with prior time periods. Preferably, the data is presented and displayed in a time-domain format to allow visual comparison over a selected time interval.
149 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A method of drilling a wellbore utilizing a drillstring, comprising:
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substantially continuously sensing vibration of a drilling operation; recording at least one signal representative of said vibration; and monitoring for a signal change in said at least one signal representative of said vibration to detect Impending sticking of said drillstring before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method of drilling a wellbore utilizing a drillstring, comprising:
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substantially continuously sensing at least one drillstring vibration characteristic indicative of drilling interaction with said wellbore with respect to time during selected drilling operations; recording at least one signal representative of said at least one drillstring vibration characteristic; monitoring at least one signal characteristic with respect to time of said at least one signal; and identifying impending sticking from at least one signal change of said at least one signal. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a vibration characteristic of said drillstring during drilling operations; and comparing said vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring vibration of said drillstring during drilling operations; and comparing vibration amplitudes with at least one prior vibration amplitude to identify amplitude changes which are characteristic of impending sticking in order to detect impending sticking before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of drilling an oil and gas wellbore with a drillstring disposed in said wellbore and submerged in a drilling fluid, comprising the method steps of:
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rotating said drillstring in said wellbore; monitoring a vibration characteristic of said drillstring during drilling operations; comparing said vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking of said drillstring against a wellbore surface before sticking of said drillstring actually occurs; and upon identification of impending sticking, altering at least one drilling condition to avoid sticking of said drillstring against said wellbore surface. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. An apparatus for determining that a drillstring is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising:
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means for substantially continuously sensing a real-time vibration property of said drillstring; means for recording at least one signal representative of said real-time vibration property; and means for monitoring for a signal change in said at least one signal representative of said real-time property to detect impending sticking before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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43. An apparatus for determining that a drillstring is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising:
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means for substantially continuously sensing at least one drillstring characteristic with respect to time during selected drilling operations; means for recording at least one signal representative of said at least one drillstring vibration characteristic; and means for allowing monitoring of at least one signal characteristic of said at least one signal to allow identification of impending sticking before actual sticking occurs from at least one signal change.
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44. An apparatus for determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising:
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means for monitoring a vibration characteristic of said drillstring during drilling operations; and means for comparing said vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47)
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48. An apparatus for determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising:
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means for monitoring vibration of said drillstring during drilling operations; and means for comparing vibration amplitudes with at least one prior vibration amplitude to identify amplitude changes which are characteristic of impending sticking. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A method of drilling a wellbore utilizing a drillstring, comprising:
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substantially continuously sensing a real-time vibration property of a drillstring during drilling operation at a surface location; recording at least one signal representative of said real-time vibration property; and monitoring for a signal change in said at least one signal representative of said real-time property to detect impending sticking of said drillstring before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (59)
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60. A method of determining that a drillstring in a wellbore is susceptible to sticking against a wellbore surface, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a vibration characteristic of said drillstring during drilling operations from only a surface location; and comparing said vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking before actual sticking occurs. - View Dependent Claims (61)
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62. A method of drilling an oil and gas wellbore with a drillstring disposed in said wellbore and submerged in a drilling fluid, comprising the method steps of:
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rotating said drillstring in said wellbore; conducting vibrations through said drillstring to a surface location; monitoring a vibration characteristic of said drillstring during drilling operations from said surface location; comparing said vibration characteristic with at least one prior vibration characteristic to identify impending sticking of said drillstring against a wellbore surface before sticking of said drillstring actually occurs; and upon identification of impending sticking, altering at least one drilling condition to avoid sticking of said drillstring against said wellbore surface. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64)
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Specification