System for gas detection, well data collection, and real time streaming of well logging data

• US 8,838,390 B1
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Selman and Associates Limited
• Original Assignee: Selman and Associates Limited
• Inventors: Selman, Thomas H., Jennings, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schechter, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): KUAN, JOHN CHUNYANG
• Application Number:
  US13/029,666
• Time in Patent Office: 1,307 Days
• Field of Search: 702/6, 702/8, 702/9, 702/11, 702/13, 702/188, 175/40, 731/520.2, 731/520.4, 367/25, 166/264
• US Class Current: 702/9
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/00 Survey of boreholes or wells monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid E21B21/08
• 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: E21B 49/005 Testing the nature of borehole walls or the formation by using drilling mud or cutting data
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/08 Obtaining fluid samples or testing fluids, in boreholes or wells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/40 Data acquisition and logging for input to computer G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A system for creating a log during gas detection and monitoring is disclosed herein. The system can include a gas detection and well logging device for sensing and transmitting data, which can include a processor in communication with a monitoring device. The monitoring device can monitor, acquire, and transmit data associated with a drilling operation. The processor can receive the data, calibrate the data, and log the data into files. The processor can capture sensed data based on a time event and a depth event. The processor can scale the data and form a geological-hydrocarbon log for transmission. A client device can be in communication with the gas detection and well logging device, and can have computer instructions for querying the geological hydrocarbon log, the data, and the files to obtain real time streaming data for instant display.

Claims

1. A system for creating a geological hydrocarbon drilling log during gas detection and monitoring of a drilling operation using data acquired by monitoring devices on a drilling rig, on drilling equipment near the drilling rig, or in a wellbore being drilled for viewing on at least one client device, wherein the geological hydrocarbon drilling log contains real time streaming of sensed data and acquired data from fluid analysis, wherein the system comprises:

a. a rig server with a rig processor in communication with a rig server data storage connected to a network and to the monitoring devices positioned on the drilling rig, the drilling equipment, the wellbore being drilled, a mudpit, or combinations thereof to monitor and acquire data related to gas detection, fluid status, emissions from the wellbore, and other wellbore data using a member of the group consisting of;

gas sensors, depth sensors, flame ionization detectors, catalytic combustion detectors, thermal conductivity detectors, infrared gas detectors, other gas detection devices, and chromatographs, and having computer instructions in the rig server data storage to collect sensed rig data including a member of the group consisting of;

temperature, pressure, depth of equipment, and chemical content of drilling fluids, to calibrate collected rig data against known parameters and known chemical content for drilling fluids, and to transmit the calibrated rig data via the network;

b. a central server with a central server processor and a central server data storage connected to the network, wherein the central server data storage contains;

(i) computer instructions to form an executive dashboard, wherein the executive dashboard comprises;

1. a plurality of digital data track displays displaying digital data associated with drilling operations consisting of at least depth and time;

2. a unit section within a digital data track display;

3. a digital display of a latest data value;

4. an identifier for digital data being tracked;

5. a time versus depth value graph;

6. a switch index mode selection allowing a user to switch between plotting by a time index and plotting by a depth index;

7. a layout of data tracks button connected to computer instructions to control size, number and type of data tracks on the executive dashboard;

8. a status indicator that can change colors to indicate one or more status of the drilling operation and provide a visual indication that digital data is being received from the monitoring devices; and

(ii) computer instructions to transmit the executive dashboard to the at least one client device via the network; and

c. a gas detection well logging device having a gas detection processor and a gas detection data storage, wherein the gas detection well logging device is connected to the network for sensing and transmitting acquired data from the monitoring devices positioned on the drilling rig, the drilling equipment, the wellbore being drilled, the mudpit, or combinations thereof, wherein the gas detection data storage contains;

(i) computer instructions to receive data from the monitoring devices;

(ii) computer instructions to calibrate the data from the monitoring devices;

(iii) computer instructions to log the calibrated data into a time based file and a depth based file;

(iv) computer instructions to capture the acquired data based on a time event;

(v) computer instructions to capture the acquired data based on a depth event,

(vi) computer instructions to form an operator dashboard to display well conditions, drilling conditions and drilling operations in real time continuously using data from the monitoring devices, wherein the operator dashboard comprises;

a drill bit depth, a wellbore depth, a time clock, a time to drilling transition, and a chromatograph screen, and wherein the operator dashboard tracks a member of the group consisting of;

drilling progress, all drilling data, portions of data from any monitoring device, a number of time, depth or other events simultaneously;

(vii) computer instructions to scale acquired data, calibrated data, or combinations thereof;

(viii) computer instructions to form a geological-hydrocarbon drilling log and to log calibrated data in real time and lag time into a first depth based file and into a second depth based file; and

(ix) computer instructions to transmit acquired data, calibrated data, the formed geological-hydrocarbon drilling log or combinations thereof, to the rig server, to the central server, or combinations thereof using real time streaming; and

d. the at least one client device in communication with the network with a client device processor and a client device data storage, wherein the client device data storage comprises;

computer instructions for querying the formed geological-hydrocarbon drilling log for the sensed data, the calibrated data, the time based file, the depth based file, or combinations thereof, to obtain real time streaming data; and

computer instructions for instantly displaying the real time streaming data, and wherein the system allows for simultaneous localized monitoring and remote monitoring over the network using the at least one client device, wherein the system allows the user to view both the executive dashboard and the operator dashboard simultaneously.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising computer instructions in the gas detection data storage to activate an alarm when the sensed data, the calibrated data, or combinations thereof are above or below a preset limit.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising computer instructions in the client device data storage to activate a client device alarm when the sensed data, the calibrated data, or combinations thereof are above or below a present limit.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising computer instructions in the gas detection data storage to determine a number of lag strokes required to displace a preselected volume of a wellbore.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising computer instructions in the gas detection data storage for inserting a commentary in real time as part of the formed geological-hydrocarbon drilling log for a particular depth.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions in the gas detection data to form the operator dashboard track drilling progress, track data from the monitoring devices, and track events simultaneously.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising computer instructions in the client device data storage to track the drilling progress for multiple wells simultaneously using the executive dashboard.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising computer instructions in the gas detection data storage to form a synthetic curve.