Method and apparatus for a tubing conveyed perforating guns fire identification system using enhanced marker material

• US 6,564,866 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2000
• Issued: 05/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated (Baker Hughes Company)
• Inventors: Clark, John, Oag, Jamie
• Primary Examiner(s): Bagnell, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Halford, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US09/749,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20020079098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• Field of Search: 166/250.12, 166/250.01, 166/268, 166/297, 166/298, 73/351.4, 731/520.1, 250/259
• US Class Current: 166/250.12
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/11857 firing indication systems
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/11 using tracers; using radioactivity
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/113 using electrical indications; using light radiations

Abstract

A method and apparatus detects the presence of a fluorescent tracer dye, a change in capacitance, or a change in fiber optic electrical properties to determine whether or not a TCP gun has fired. The method and apparatus detects the number of charges fired to determine whether or not all TCP guns have fired and also determines the contributions of injection wells to producing wells by introducing fluorescent tracers into injection wells and detecting the presence of the fluorescent tracers at production wells. The invention places fluorescent dye particles in a gravel pack to sense when a gravel pack is deteriorating by detecting the tracer dye particles in the well flow.

Claims

1. A method for detecting detonation of a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun in a wellbore comprising the steps:

(a) placing a sensor in a wellbore;

(b) detonating a TCP charge containing a tracer; and

(a) detecting detonation of the TCP charge wherein the sensor comprises a tracer module for detecting the presence of a fluorescent tracer dye.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting detonation of the TCP charge in further comprising sensing tracer dye released from the tracer module upon detonation of the TCP charge.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracer dye comprises microencapsulated pigments tracers, pigments or solid dye tracers.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the solid dye tracers comprise plastic, polymer, ceramic, or organic compounds.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the solid dye tracers comprise plastic, polymer, ceramic, or organic compounds.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring the presence of a tracer at the production well with a fluorometer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring the presence of a tracer at the production well with a spectrometer.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

process monitoring in real-time; and

analyzing the process stream based on the tracer dye detection and the process monitoring.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a change in capacitance to determine when a TCP gun has fired.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a change in fibre optic length to determine when a TCP gun has fired.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

placing fluorescent particles smaller than sand particles; and

determining the presence of the fluorescent particles smaller than sand particles at the surface to determine gravel pack deterioration.

12. A method of determining the contribution from a injection well to a producing well comprising the steps for:

(a) placing at least one identifiable tracer dye in an injection well, the tracer dye identifier being associated with the injection well; and

(b) detecting the presence of at the at least one identifiable tracer dye at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from the injection well to the producing well.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

placing a plurality of identifiable tracer dyes, each dyes associated with a injection well; and

detecting the presence of tracer dyes at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from each injection well to the producing well.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

developing a reservoir model based on the detection of tracer dyes.

15. An apparatus for detecting detonation of a tubing conveyed perforating (TCP) gun in a well bore comprising:

a TCP charge and detonator deployed in the well bore;

a detonation sensitive device that reacts to the detonation of the TCP charge wherein the TCP charge further comprises a fluorescent tracer dye module that releases the dye upon detonation of the TCP charge, the apparatus further comprising a fluorescent dye detector for sensing release of the fluorescent dye.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the tracer dye comprises microencapsulated pigments tracers, pigments or solid dye tracers.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a plurality of identifiable tracer dyes, each dyes associated with a injection well; and

a fluorometer for detecting the presence of tracer dyes at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from each injection well to the producing well.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a spectrometer for measuring the presence of a tracer at the production well.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a processor for process monitoring in real-time and

analyzing the process stream based on the tracer dye detection and the process monitoring.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a capacitance change detector for detecting a change in capacitance to determine when a TCP gun has fired.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a fiber optic cable surrounding the TCP charge for determining a change in fiber optic length when a TCP gun has fired.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a reservoir model based on the detection of tracer dyes.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

fluorescent tracer particles smaller than sand particles for determining the presence of the fluorescent particles smaller than sand particles at the surface to determine gravel pack deterioration.

24. A apparatus for determining the contribution from a injection well to a producing well comprising:

(a) an injector for injecting an identifiable tracer dye into an injection well, the tracer dye identifier being associated with the injection well; and

(b) detecting the presence of at the identifiable tracer dye at the producing well, thereby determining the contribution from the injection well to the producing well.