Integrated electrode resistivity and EM telemetry tool

• US 7,782,060 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Inventors: Smits, Jan W., Clark, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Patidar; Jay M
• Application Number:
  US11/617,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20080156534A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 324347-364
• US Class Current: 324/369
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/01 Devices for supporting measuring instruments on drill bits, pipes, rods or wirelines; Protecting measuring instruments in boreholes against heat, shock, pressure or the like
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/113 using electrical indications; using light radiations
• 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: 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

Abstract

An integrated electrode resistivity and EM telemetry tool and obtaining both formation resistivity and telemetry data from the integrated tool. An integrated electrode resistivity and EM telemetry tool having a drill collar including a first portion and a second portion separated by an insulated gap and telemetry cartridge carrying telemetry circuitry including a voltage source generating a voltage drop across the insulated gap and an axial current on a drill string that returns through an earthen formation includes an insulated measure electrode connected to the first portion, and resistivity measurement circuitry functionally connected to the measure electrode and the telemetry circuitry.

Claims

1. An integrated resistivity and telemetry tool for use in a wellbore, comprising:

a conductive tubular including first portion and a second portion separated by an insulated gap;

an electronics cartridge carrying telemetry circuitry disposed in the first portion;

a measure electrode carried on the second portion;

resistivity measurement circuitry disposed on the second portion and functionally connected to the measure electrode;

an inductive coupler disposed on the first portion and electrically and functionally connecting the electronics cartridge to the resistivity measurement circuitry; and

wherein the resistivity measurement circuitry maintains the measure electrode at substantially the same potential as the second portion.

2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the electronics cartridge includes an ac voltage source.

3. The tool of claim 2, wherein the ac voltage source can operate at multiple frequencies.

4. The tool of claim 1, wherein the electronics cartridge is functionally connected to a sense electrode.

5. The tool of claim 1, wherein the electronics cartridge is retrievable.

6. The tool of claim 1, wherein the measure electrode includes a ring electrode, a button electrode, or any combination thereof.

7. The tool of claim 1, wherein the insulated gap and the measure electrode are separated by some distance, the distance being selected to produce a desired depth of investigation for the resistivity measurement.

8. The tool of claim 1, wherein the resistivity measurement circuitry is incorporated into a front-end electronics package.

9. The tool of claim 1, wherein the resistivity measurement circuitry comprises a low input impedance operational amplifier.

10. The tool of claim 1, wherein the resistivity measurement circuitry comprises a high input impedance operational amplifier.

11. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a sense electrode carried on the conductive tubular proximate to the measure electrode.

12. The tool of claim 11, wherein the measure electrode is a button electrode and the sense electrode is a pair of ring electrodes surrounding the button electrode.

13. The tool of claim 12 wherein the resistivity circuitry includes a high input impedance amplifier measuring the voltage difference between the pair of ring electrodes and driving the current on the measure electrode such that the voltage difference is zero.

14. The tool of claim 11, wherein the measure electrode is a ring electrode and the sense electrode comprises two pairs of sense ring electrodes, wherein one pair of sense ring electrodes is above the ring electrode and the other pair of sense ring electrodes is below the ring electrode.

15. The tool of claim 11, wherein the measure electrode is a ring electrode and the sense electrode comprises a pair of sense ring electrodes, wherein the pair of sense ring electrodes is proximate to the ring electrode.

16. The tool of claim 1, wherein the lower portion comprises all or a portion of a bottom hole assembly, the bottom hole assembly comprising one or more downhole tools.

17. The tool of claim 16, wherein the measure electrode and the resistivity measurement circuitry are part of the one or more downhole tools.

18. The tool of claim 11, wherein the resistivity measurement circuitry includes a high input impedance amplifier measuring the voltage difference between a pair of sense electrodes and driving the current on the measure electrode such that the voltage difference is zero.

19. The tool of claim 16, wherein the bottom hole assembly comprises a sub and the sub carries the measure electrode and the resistivity measurement circuitry.

20. The tool of claim 1, wherein the conductive tubular is a drill collar.

21. A method to obtain a formation resistivity measurement using a telemetry tool disposed in a wellbore, the telemetry tool including conductive tubular having a first portion and a second portion separated by an insulated gap, the method comprising:

providing an electronics cartridge carrying telemetry circuitry disposed on the first portion;

providing a measure electrode and resistivity measurement circuitry disposed on the second portion and functionally connected to one another;

providing an inductive coupler disposed on the first portion and electrically and functionally connecting the electronics cartridge to the resistivity measurement circuitry;

producing a voltage across the insulated gap to drive an electric current into the formation surrounding the wellbore;

maintaining the measure electrode at substantially the same potential as the second portion;

obtaining telemetry information; and

obtaining a resistivity measurement of the formation.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the measure electrode is a button electrode and the method further comprises rotating the conductive tubular and using the button electrode to produce a resistivity image of the wellbore wall.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising retrieving the electronics cartridge.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising selecting a separation distance between the measure electrode and the insulated gap to provide a desired depth of investigation.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

providing a pair of sense electrodes proximate to the measure electrode;

measuring a voltage difference between the pair of sense electrodes; and

driving the current on the measure electrode so that the voltage difference is zero.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising providing voltages at multiple frequencies for telemetry operations and resistivity operations.