Method and apparatus for pumping quality control through formation rate analysis techniques
First Claim
1. A method for estimating a flow rate of a fluid from a formation, comprising:
- pumping to remove the fluid from the formation;
measuring fluid pressure during pumping;
tracking a volume pumped during pumping;
estimating a fluid property comprising at least one of the set consisting of permeability, mobility and compressibility for the fluid from the flow rate;
optimizing a fluid pumping rate based the property to acquire the fluid substantially in a single-phase; and
estimating the flow rate of the fluid from the measured pressure and volume.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determination of the quality of a formation fluid sample including monitoring permeability and mobililty versus time to determine a filtrate contamination level, single phase state without gas and solids in the formation fluid, as it existed in the formation and the determination of laminar flow from the formation. The present invention also enables determination of an optimal pumping rate to match the ability of a subsurface formation to produce a single phase formation fluid sample in minimum time. The method and apparatus also detect pumping problems such as sanding and loss of seal with borehole.
75 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for estimating a flow rate of a fluid from a formation, comprising:
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pumping to remove the fluid from the formation; measuring fluid pressure during pumping; tracking a volume pumped during pumping; estimating a fluid property comprising at least one of the set consisting of permeability, mobility and compressibility for the fluid from the flow rate; optimizing a fluid pumping rate based the property to acquire the fluid substantially in a single-phase; and estimating the flow rate of the fluid from the measured pressure and volume. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for estimating a flow rate of a fluid from a formation, comprising:
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pumping to remove the fluid from the formation; measuring fluid pressure during pumping; tracking a volume pumped during pumping; estimating a fluid property comprising at least one of the set consisting of permeability, mobility and compressibility for the fluid from the flow rate; estimating the flow rate of the fluid from the measured pressure and volume; monitoring the fluid property versus time to determine formation cleanup.
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8. A method for estimating a
flow rate of a fluid from a formation, comprising: -
pumping to remove the fluid from the formation; measuring fluid pressure during pumping; tracking a volume pumped during pumping; estimating the flow rate of the fluid from the measured pressure and volume; and monitoring the flow rate versus time to determine whether a formation fluid sample is in a single phase state.
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9. A method for determining success of a pumping operation comprising:
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estimating flow rate and pressure for a fluid pumped from a formation; and estimating a correlation between the flow rate and pressure; and estimating the success of the pumping operation based on the correlation, wherein success of the pumping operation further comprises a limited pressure drop in a sample acquired. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. An apparatus for retrieving fluid comprising:
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a pump whose volume can be tracked that retrieves the fluid from a formation; a pressure gauge that measures pressure of the fluid; and a processor programmed to track success of retrieving the fluid from volume and pressure, wherein the processor is programmed to estimate a fluid property selected from a group consisting of permeability, mobility and compressibility, wherein the pump removes the fluid at a rate based on the property to acquire the fluid substantially in a single-phase. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for retrieving fluid comprising:
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a pump whose volume can be tracked that retrieves the fluid from a formation; a pressure gauge that measures pressure of the fluid; and a processor programmed to track success of retrieving the fluid from volume and pressure, wherein the processor is programmed to estimate a fluid property selected from a group consisting of permeability, mobility and compressibility, wherein the processor is further programmed to one of;
(i) estimate a quality of the fluid from the property measured over time, (ii) estimate a correlation coefficient for estimates of the property and detect a pumping problem based on the correlation coefficient, (iii) monitor the property versus time to determine formation cleanup, and (iv) monitor the property versus time and estimate whether the fluid sample is in a single phase state.
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19. A system for estimating a property of a fluid, comprising:
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a down hole tool; a pump in the downhole tool that removes the fluid from a formation, wherein the pump removes the fluid at a rate based on the property to acquire the fluid substantially in a single-phase; a pump position indicator; a pressure gauge that measures fluid pressure corresponding to a pump piston position indicated by the pump position indicator; and a processor that estimates the property of the fluid from the measured pressure and pump position. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification