Wireless tag tracer method

• US 8,397,810 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robin James Verret
• Original Assignee: Turbo-Chem International, Inc.
• Inventors: Verret, Robin J., Kilchrist, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Zakiya W
• Application Number:
  US12/201,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20090211754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,663 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 166/250.12
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/005 Monitoring or checking of cementation quality or level
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/11 using tracers; using radioactivity

Abstract

A fluid can be tracked in a wellbore utilizing at least one WID tag, such as an LW tag or an RFID tag, entrained in the fluid. A WID tag reader can be disposed and/or displaced in the wellbore, for example, on a drill string or a casing string. A reader can be utilized to locate the at least one WID tag in the wellbore. A reader can be housed in a drill string sub. A fluid entrained with at least one WID tag can be utilized as a tracer fluid. A WID tag can be entrained in cement or a drilling or fracture fluid.

Claims

1. A method of tracking a fluid in a wellbore comprising:

entraining a plurality of wireless identification (WID) tags in the fluid to form a slurry, wherein the WID tags comprise a plurality of peer-to-peer long wavelength (LW) tags in a visibility network;

injecting the slurry into the wellbore, whereby the LW tags enter a zone beyond range of a reader in the wellbore and

locating the LW tags in the beyond-range zone with at least one reader via the visibility network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising injecting a slurry of the plurality of WID tags and the fluid into an annulus between an outer surface of a first casing string disposed in the wellbore and at least one of the wellbore and an inner surface of a second casing string circumferential to the first casing string.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising determining when the fluid is injected to a desired location in the annulus.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising injecting a slurry of the plurality of WID tags and the fluid into an annulus between an outer surface of a drill string and the wellbore.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising disposing the at least one reader into the wellbore.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising displacing the at least one reader within the wellbore.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising disposing the at least one reader in the wellbore on a drill string.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the at least one reader is disposed on a sub body having at least one connection to the drill string.

9. The method of claim 5 further comprising disposing the at least one reader in the wellbore on a casing string.

10. The method of claim 5 further comprising disposing the at least one reader in the wellbore on a wireline.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting a fluid loss by locating a concentrated zone of the plurality of WID tags in the wellbore.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising entraining the plurality of WID tags substantially uniformly in the fluid.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising detecting a fluid void by locating a zone in the wellbore substantially devoid of the plurality of WID tags.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting sensor data from the plurality of WID tags to the reader.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising writing data to the plurality of WID tags.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the fluid comprises a drilling fluid comprising an invert emulsion having a dielectric constant less than about 50, and wherein the beyond-range zone comprises a thief zone.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the fluid comprises a fracturing fluid, and wherein the beyond-range zone comprises a fracture.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the fracturing fluid comprises dispersed, thermally activated sub-micron diversion particles.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the beyond-range zone comprises a waterflood.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of WID tags are entrained in a tracer slug of the fluid.

21. A method of tracking a fluid in a wellbore comprising:

entraining a plurality of wireless identification (WID) tags in the fluid, wherein the WID tags comprise surface acoustic wave (SAW) tags; and

locating the plurality of WID tags in the wellbore with at least one reader.

22. A method of tracking a fluid comprising:

entraining a plurality of wireless identification (WID) tags in the fluid, wherein the fluid comprises an invert emulsion;

injecting a slurry of the plurality of WID tags and the fluid into a wellbore; and

relaying information from one or more of the WID tags in a peer-to-peer communication network to at least one reader.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising triangulating tag position via multiple reception locations to obtain tag depth and directional location.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the WID tags comprise long wavelength (LW) tags operated at a frequency less than 450 KHz and a data rate of 300 to 9600 baud.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the WID tags employ IEEE Standard 1902.1.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the LW tags comprise active transceivers.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the LW tags have IP addresses for identification.

28. The method of claim 22 comprising locating a plurality of the WID tags in the peer-to-peer communication network within a thief zone out of range to a said reader in the wellbore.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the invert emulsion has a dielectric constant less than about 50.