Wireless tag tracer method and apparatus

• US 8,881,809 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robin James Verret
• Original Assignee: Robin James Verret, Turbo-Chem International, Inc.
• Inventors: Verret, Robin J., Kilchrist, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Zakiya W
• Application Number:
  US13/780,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20130175024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 621 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

Wireless tag fluid tracking system. 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 system to track a fluid in a wellbore comprising:

a visibility network of wireless identification (WID) tags comprising peer-to-peer long wavelength (LW) tags operable at a frequency less than 450 KHz and a data rate of 300 to 9600 baud entrained in a fluid to form a slurry;

at least one reader disposed within the wellbore within range of the visibility network; and

one or more of the peer-to-peer LW tags in the visibility network disposed in a zone beyond range of the at least one reader, wherein the beyond-range peer-to-peer LW tags are locatable by the at least one reader via the visibility network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one reader is disposed on a drill string.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one reader is disposed on a casing string.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the visibility network comprises multiple reception locations for triangulation to obtain tag depth and directional location.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the WID tags employ IEEE standard 1902.1.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the LW tags comprise active transceivers.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the LW tags have IP addresses for identification.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the slurry is disposed in 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.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the slurry is disposed in an annulus between an outer surface of a drill string and an inner surface of the wellbore.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a concentrated zone of the WID tags in the wellbore adjacent a fluid loss zone.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the WID tags are entrained substantially uniformly in the slurry.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising a fluid void detectable by the at least one reader as a zone in the wellbore substantially devoid of the WID tags.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the WID tags comprise sensors to transmit sensor data to the at least one reader.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein data can be written to the WID tags in the wellbore.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the fluid comprises a drilling fluid comprising a dielectric constant less than about 50.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the fluid comprises an invert emulsion.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the beyond range zone comprises a thief zone.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the beyond range zone comprises a fracture.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the fluid comprises a fracturing fluid comprising dispersed, thermally activated sub-micron diversion particles.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein the beyond range zone comprises a waterflood.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the fluid comprises the WID tags disposed in a tracer slug disposed in the wellbore.