Determining drilling fluid loss in a wellbore
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsClinton Cheramie Galliano, Mathew Dennis Rowe, Walter Varney Andrew Graves
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A location of a fracture can be determined in a wellbore. Micro-electro-mechanical (“MEM”) devices of different sizes and shapes can be included in a sweep and injected into a wellbore. A MEM reader can be positioned within a downhole tool for detecting MEM devices in the wellbore after a sweep returns to the surface of the wellbore. The MEM reader can be disposed in the wellbore for measuring the position of the MEM devices remaining in the wellbore. A location, size, and shape of a fracture in the wellbore can be determined based on the position of the MEM devices in the wellbore.
Claims17
A method comprising:
- detecting, by running a measuring-while-drilling tool or a logging-while-drilling tool that includes a micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) reader into a wellbore, MEM devices in the wellbore subsequent to a MEM injecting sweep exiting the wellbore, the MEM injecting sweep containing MEM devices of different sizes and shapes;
- and
- transmitting data representing a position, an amount, and types of the MEM devices in the wellbore to a computing device for determining, based on the data, a location, size, and shape of a fracture causing loss of fluid in the wellbore during drilling operations.
A system comprising:
- micro-electro-mechanical (“MEM”) devices of different sizes and shapes disposable in a MEM injecting sweep injected into a wellbore;
- a measuring-while-drilling tool or logging-while-drilling tool that includes a MEM reader, the MEM reader positionable in the wellbore by running the measuring-while-drilling or logging-while-drilling tool into the wellbore for detecting MEM devices at a wellbore position subsequent to the MEM injecting sweep returning to a surface of the wellbore;
- and
- a processing module communicatively coupled to the MEM reader for receiving data representing a position, an amount, and types of the MEM devices in the wellbore and for determining, based on the data, a location, size, and shape of a fracture causing loss of fluid in the wellbore during drilling operations.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program code that is executable by a processor device to cause a computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
- generating data for determining a location of a fracture in a wellbore using data transmitted from a micro-electro-mechanical (“MEM”) reader, the fracture causing loss of fluid in the wellbore during drilling operations, the data representing a position, an amount, and a distribution of types of MEM devices in the wellbore at a wellbore position subsequent to a MEM injecting sweep for determining an amount and types of lost circulation material to be used in a further sweep subsequently injected into the wellbore, the distribution including a number of MEM devices per type in a group;
- and
- outputting data for determining the location of the fracture in the wellbore using the data transmitted from the MEM reader.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.