Evaluation and model of solids control equipment
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsFranz Aguirre, Andrew Marlatt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for monitoring characteristics of a drilling mud, a rate of penetration (ROP), and other factors to determine which remedial actions to perform and how to perform them. In conventional drilling operations, there are many systems which operate independently and do not share data, leading to inefficient actions when the operation is viewed as a whole. The systems and methods of the present disclosure enable a bigger picture to be considered, including a cost of replenishing mud, the wear on drilling tools, the effect of running a centrifuge, etc.
Claims21
A system, comprising:
- a drilling mud circulation system configured to circulate drilling mud for a drilling operation, wherein the drilling operation has a rate of penetration (ROP);
- a solids removal component configured to selectively remove solid material from the mud;
- a measurement component configured to produce a measurement of at least one characteristic of the drilling mud;
- a computation module configured to:
- receive the measurement from the measurement component;
- receive the ROP for the drilling operation;
- and
- alter at least one parameter of the drilling operation according to a comparison of the measurement and the ROP according to a model stored within the computation module.
A method, comprising:
- circulating drilling mud through a drilling mud circulation system for use with a drilling operation;
- monitoring a characteristic of the drilling mud;
- storing data pertaining to the characteristic of the drilling mud and a remedial action that can alter the characteristic of the drilling mud, wherein the remedial action has an associated cost;
- monitoring a rate of penetration (ROP) of the drilling operation;
- and
- if the ROP decreases below a predetermined threshold, performing the remedial action if an expected change in ROP outweighs the associated cost of the remedial action.
A method, comprising:
- circulating drilling mud through a drilling operation on an oil rig;
- periodically operating a centrifuge configured to remove solid material from the drilling mud, including feeding a portion of the drilling mud to the centrifuge and spinning the centrifuge to remove the solid material;
- monitoring a concentration of solid material in the drilling mud;
- monitoring a rate of penetration (ROP) for the drilling operation;
- increasing a rate of the centrifuge if the ROP falls below a predetermined threshold and if the concentration of solid material in the drilling mud is higher than approximately 5%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.