Drill pipe oscillation regime and torque controller for slide drilling

• US 9,784,035 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2015
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nabors Drillling Technologies USA, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nabors Drillling Technologies USA, Inc.
• Inventors: Boone, Scott G., Gillan, Colin J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harcourt, Brad
• Application Number:
  US14/624,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20160237802A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• 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 7/04 Directional drilling
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/06 Deflecting the direction of boreholes

Abstract

Apparatuses, methods, and systems are described which assist in controlling toolface orientation of a bottom hole assembly. A controller instructs a top drive to oscillate a drill string an oscillation revolution amount to reduce friction of the drill string in a wellbore during a slide drilling procedure. A torque sensor detects torque at an interface between the drill string and the top drive, and the controller determines properties of a torsional wave from the detected torque that is propagating along the drill string during the slide drilling procedure. The controller determines a modification to the oscillation revolution amount and/or rotations per minute in order to control the toolface orientation in a desired manner. The top drive implements the determined modification and thereby assists in controlling the toolface orientation during the slide drilling procedure.

Claims

1. A method for controlling toolface orientation, comprising:

oscillating a drill string coupled to a top drive an oscillation revolution amount to reduce friction of the drill string in a wellbore during a slide drilling procedure;

detecting a torsional wave traveling along the drill string produced in response to the oscillating the drill string during the slide drilling procedure; and

modifying the oscillation revolution amount in response to the detected torsional wave to dampen at least a portion of the detected torsional wave to maintain the toolface orientation of a bottom hole assembly on the drill string during the slide drilling procedure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying further comprises:

adjusting the oscillation revolution amount to absorb substantially all of the detected torsional wave to maintain the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the adjusting further comprises:

calculating a maximum threshold torsional wave magnitude beyond which the torsional wave would cause an undesirable change in the toolface orientation;

determining a target oscillation revolution amount that would result in the calculated maximum threshold torsional wave magnitude along the drill string; and

adjusting the oscillation revolution amount to or below the target oscillation revolution amount.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying further comprises:

determining the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly; and

comparing the determined toolface orientation to a desired toolface orientation.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

calculating a difference between the determined toolface orientation and the desired toolface orientation; and

calculating a desired angular steering offset that will reduce the calculated difference.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

adjusting the oscillation revolution amount to allow the desired angular steering offset to reach the bottom hole assembly to control a change of the toolface orientation from the determined toolface orientation to the desired toolface orientation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting further comprises:

detecting torque by a sensor disposed at an interface between the top drive and the drill string; and

determining the torsional wave based on the detected torque.

8. A drilling apparatus, comprising:

a top drive controllable to rotate a drill string in a first rotational direction during a rotary drilling operation and to oscillate the drill string in the first rotational direction and an opposite second rotational directional during a slide drilling procedure according to a determined oscillation revolution amount to reduce friction of the drill string in a downhole bore of a wellbore;

a sensor configured to detect a torsional wave traveling along the drill string produced in response to the oscillation of the drill string during the slide drilling procedure; and

a controller configured to receive information representing the torsional wave from the sensor and, based on the received information from the sensor, modify the determined oscillation revolution amount to dampen at least a portion of the detected torsional wave to maintain a toolface orientation of a bottom hole assembly on the drill string during the slide drilling.

9. The drilling apparatus of claim 8, wherein:

the sensor comprises a torque sensor configured to detect torque, and

the controller is further configured to determine properties of the torsional wave based on the detected torque.

10. The drilling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to modify the oscillation revolution amount to absorb substantially all of the detected torsional wave to maintain the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly.

11. The drilling apparatus of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to:

calculate a maximum threshold torsional wave magnitude beyond which the torsional wave would cause an undesirable change in the toolface orientation;

determine a target oscillation revolution amount that would result in the calculated maximum threshold torsional wave magnitude along the drill string; and

adjust the oscillating of the drill string to the target oscillation revolution amount.

12. The drilling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly; and

compare the determined toolface orientation to a desired toolface orientation.

13. The drilling apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to:

calculate a difference between the determined toolface orientation and the desired toolface orientation; and

calculate a desired angular steering offset that will reduce the calculated difference.

14. The drilling apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to:

adjust the oscillation revolution amount to allow the desired angular steering offset to reach the bottom hole assembly to control a change of the toolface orientation from the determined toolface orientation to the desired toolface orientation.

15. A method for controlling toolface orientation, comprising:

determining a first oscillation revolution amount determined based on one or more characterizations of a drill string in a wellbore during a slide drilling procedure;

oscillating the drill string the first oscillation revolution amount to reduce friction of the drill string in the wellbore during the slide drilling procedure;

detecting a torsional wave traveling along the drill string produced in response to the oscillating the drill string during the slide drilling procedure; and

adjusting the first oscillation revolution amount based on the detected torsional wave to a second oscillation revolution amount different from the first oscillation revolution amount to dampen at least a portion of the detected torsional wave to maintain the toolface orientation of a bottom hole assembly on the drill string during the slide drilling procedure.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of data regarding one or more conditions of the drill string and the wellbore from a corresponding plurality of sensors; and

characterizing the drill string based on the received plurality of data, wherein the determining the first oscillation revolution amount is based on the characterizing.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein

setting the second oscillation revolution amount allows a top drive assembly coupled to the drill string to absorb substantially all of the detected torsional wave to maintain the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the adjusting further comprises:

determining the toolface orientation of the bottom hole assembly; and

comparing the determined toolface orientation to a desired toolface orientation.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

calculating a difference between the determined toolface orientation and the desired toolface orientation; and

calculating a desired angular steering offset that will reduce the calculated difference.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

setting the second oscillation revolution amount to allow the desired angular steering offset to reach the bottom hole assembly to control a change of the toolface orientation from the determined toolface orientation to the desired toolface orientation.