Sub-surface imaging using antenna array for determing optimal oil drilling site

• US 7,980,327 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2009
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Benischek, Vincent, Basantkumar, Rajneeta, Lyasko, Gennady, Currie, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMPSON, KENNETH L
• Application Number:
  US12/545,069
• Publication Number:
  US 20100071955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• Field of Search: 175/40, 175/50, 324/345, 324/331, 340/854.6, 702/2, 702/7, 702/14, 166/250.01, 166/250.02
• US Class Current: 175/50
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/16 Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/113 using electrical indications; using light radiations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/0391 Affecting flow by the addition of material or energy

Abstract

The invention provides for systems and methods of enhancing crude oil recovery providing an array of electromagnetic receiver antennae arranged and operated in conjunction with an array of far field electromagnetic transmitter antennae for mapping subsurface features of a reservoir. Mapping is performed according to the relative intensities, frequencies, phase shifts, and/or other reflected signal parameters of the reflections received by the receiver antennae (relative to the transmit signals) associated with a given location or target area within a reservoir. Such mapping aids in determining an optimal location of a production well or the location of an auxiliary well relative to the production well.

Claims

1. A method for determining an optimal drilling site for recovery of crude oil contained in a fluid reservoir within a formation layer at a given subsurface depth of at least five hundred feet relative to a terrain surface, the method comprising:

a) from multiple positions on or below the terrain surface, transmitting immediately in the far field a sequence of pulsed electromagnetic energy beam signals focused at a select target depth, wherein the signals combine to cover a target area of the select target depth, defining a scan;

b) receiving reflections from the target area in response to the sequence of transmitted pulsed energy beam signals impinging thereon, the reflections being characteristic of particular media located within the target area being impinged upon by the transmitted far field pulsed electromagnetic energy beam signals;

c) correlating the received reflections from said target area over a given time interval for a given scan to determine relative changes in intensities of reflections over said target area;

d) storing the scan data for each scan in memory;

modifying transmit parameters in at least one of frequency, focus depth, and phase shift and repeating steps a)-d) for a plurality of selected target depths to thereby define a scanned volume;

identifying particular media and their location within the scanned volume according to the scan data, wherein the identifying includes identifying the location of crude oil within the scanned volume relative to other of the particular media; and

drilling a borehole from the terrain surface into a reservoir containing the crude oil along a path based on said identification of said particular media within the reservoir.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the path of the borehole is adapted to avoid select ones of said particular media within the reservoir and encounter said crude oil media based on said identification.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises correlating the relative changes in intensities of reflections with data relating to characteristics of particular media stored in memory to identify select ones of the particular media within the reservoir.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said particular media include at least one of rock and water.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said crude oil particles have reflection characteristics different from that of rock and water.

6. A system for determining an optimal drilling site for recovery of crude oil contained in a fluid reservoir within a formation layer at a given subsurface depth of at least five hundred feet relative to a terrain surface, the method comprising:

a) a plurality of transmit antennae located at multiple positions on or below the terrain surface, the antennae adapted to transmit immediately in the far field a sequence of pulsed electromagnetic energy beam signals focused at a select target depth, wherein the beams combine to cover a target area of the select target depth, defining a scan;

b) a plurality of receive antennae adapted to receive reflections from the target area in response to the sequence of transmitted pulsed energy beam signals impinging thereon, the reflections being characteristic of particular media located within the target area being impinged upon by the transmitted far field pulsed electromagnetic energy beam signals;

c) a processor for correlating the received reflections from said target area over a given time interval for a given scan to determine relative changes in intensities of reflections over said target area;

d) memory coupled to the processor for storing the scan data for each scan in memory;

a controller for modifying transmit parameters in at least one of frequency, focus depth, and phase shift for each of a plurality of selected target depths to thereby define a scanned volume;

wherein the processor is configured to identify particular media and their location within the scanned volume according to the scan data, including identifying the location of crude oil within the scanned volume relative to other of the particular media; and

provide a path for drilling of a borehole from the terrain surface into a reservoir containing the crude oil based on said identification of said particular media within the reservoir, the path adapted to avoid select ones of said particular media within the reservoir and encounter said crude oil media based on said identification.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is adapted to correlate the relative changes in intensities of reflections with data relating to characteristics of particular media stored in memory to identify select ones of the particular media within the reservoir.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said particular media include at least one of rock and water.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said crude oil particles have reflection characteristics different from that of rock and water.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein an initial reflectance reference is established indicative of the intensities of reflected signals from the target volume over a predetermined interval, and wherein said signal processor compares subsequent reflective intensities received in response to pulsed electromagnetic transmissions to said initial reflectance reference to determine relative movement of the particular media within the volume.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein each of said transmit antennae comprises a compact parametric antenna having a dielectric, magnetically-active, open circuit mass core, ampere windings around said mass core, said mass core being made of magnetically active material having a capacitive electric permittivity from about 2 to about 80, an initial permeability from about 5 to about 10,000 and a particle size from about 2 to about 100 micrometers;

and an electromagnetic source for driving said windings to produce an electromagnetic wavefront.