System and method to measure mud level in a wellbore annulus
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorsKrzysztof Karol Machocki, Michael Anthony Affleck
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Abstract
Systems include a floating device disposed on a top of a column of drilling fluid in an annulus of a wellbore. The floating device includes a capsule. A transmitter or a reflector may be coupled to the capsule. The floating device may transmit signals to a surface region from the annulus or receive signals from the surface region and reflect at least a portion of the received signals. A receiver in the surface region receives transmitted signals or reflected signals from the floating device and determines a distance between the floating device and a reference point in the surface region. The distance indicates a level of the drilling fluid in the annulus.
Claims15
A system comprising:
- a floating device disposed on top of a column of drilling fluid in an annulus of a wellbore, the floating device comprising a capsule and at least two different types of transmitters coupled to the capsule, the at least two different types of transmitters to each emit a signal in a direction up the annulus;
- at least two different types of receivers positioned in a surface region above the wellbore, the at least two different types of receivers to detect the signals emitted by the at least two different types of transmitters;
- a processor in communication with the at least two different types of receivers, the processor to determine a distance between the floating device and a reference point in the surface region based on the detected signals, the distance indicative of a level of the drilling fluid in the annulus.
A method comprising:
- deploying a floating device comprising at least one transmitter on top of a column of drilling fluid in an annulus of a wellbore;
- positioning a surface device comprising at least one receiver in a surface region above the wellbore;
- emitting a signal from the at least one transmitter in the floating device in a direction up the annulus;
- detecting the signal emitted from the at least one transmitter at the at least one receiver;
- determining a distance between the floating device and a reference point in the surface region from the detected signal:
- emitting signals from two different types of transmitters included in the floating device;
- detecting signals from the two different types of transmitters at two different types of receivers included in the surface device;
- determining two distances between the floating device and the reference point in the surface region based on the detected signals by the two different types of receivers;
- and
- recalibrating the distance determined between the floating device and the reference point at the surface region based on the two distances.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.