# US 12,180,826 B2 · Real-time analysis of in-field collected well fracturing data

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 12,180,826 B2
- Document ID: US12180826B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/931,288
- Filed: 2020-07-16
- Published: 2021-01-21
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2019-07-16
- Assignees: Well Data Labs, Inc.
- Applicants: Well Data Labs, Inc.
- Inventors: Jessica G. Iriarte Lopez; Alberto J. Ramirez Ramirez; Carly T. Wolfbrandt; Samid A. Hoda; Mary S. Van Domelen
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12180826B2

## CPC

- E21B 43/26: by forming crevices or fractures
- E21B 47/06: Measuring temperature or pressure
- E21B 21/08: Controlling or monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid, e.g. automatic filling of boreholes, automatic control of bottom pressure (valve arrangements therefor E21B21/10)
- G06N 20/00: Machine learning
- E21B 2200/22: Fuzzy logic, artificial intelligence, neural networks or the like
- G06F 2218/02: Preprocessing
- E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to cloud based applications that automatically and quickly identify start and end times of fracturing stages in real-time as well as one or more additional performance characteristics of the fracturing process. In one aspect, a method for real-time analysis of well data includes receiving treating data for a well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel; preprocessing the treating data; identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received; identifying, automatically and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages; and generating a visual output of the start time and the end time of each of the one or more stages.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for controlling a well, the method comprising:
receiving treating data for the well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages, wherein identifying the start time comprises:
clipping the slurry rate channel and the treating pressure channel;
generating a binary channel using the clipped slurry rate and treating pressure channels;
identifying one or more time instances when a value of the binary channel is equal to zero; and
generating a flag for the start time of each stage at a last time instance when the value of the binary channel is zero;
generating a visual output of the start time and the end time of each of the one or more stages;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more stages, the start time and the end time are based on using a trained machine learning analysis.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more stages of the one or more fracturing processes comprises:
applying a stage splitting model to approximate the one or more stages;
detecting one or more pressure tests in association with the approximated one or more stages; and
refining the approximated one or more stages using the one or more pressure tests.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the stage splitting model approximates the one or more stages by:
down-sampling the treating pressure channel and the slurry rate channel;
generating an auxiliary interstage channel that is indicative of gaps between two or more stages; and
flagging the one or more stages using the auxiliary interstage channel.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, at least one instance of a pressure change, the pressure change being indicative of at least one operational issue during a fracturing process; and
generating a visual flag for each detected pressure change.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, a step-down test; and
generating a visual flag for each detected step-down test.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the identification of the one or more stages and the start time and the end time of the one or more stages are performed simultaneously for a plurality of wells.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, a change in well pressure monitoring that is more than a threshold; and
generating a visual flag corresponding to the increase in the well pressure monitoring, the visual output identifying a corresponding job time and a corresponding active well.

### Claim 9

A method for controlling a well, the method comprising:
receiving treating data for the well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received, wherein identifying the one or more stages of the one or more fracturing processes comprises:
applying a stage splitting model to approximate the one or more stages;
detecting one or more pressure tests in association with the approximated one or more stages; and
refining the approximated one or more stages using the one or more pressure tests;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages, wherein detecting the one or more pressure tests comprises:
clipping slurry rate data of the slurry rate channel;
determining a slurry rate volume using the clipped slurry rate data;
normalizing the treating pressure channel and the slurry rate channel;
generating a binary pressure test channel based on the normalized treating pressure channel and the normalized slurry rate channel;
identifying the one or more pressure tests based on the binary pressure test channel;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.

### Claim 10

A method for controlling a well, the method comprising:
receiving treating data for the well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages, wherein identifying the end time comprises:
smoothing the slurry rate channel and the treating pressure channel;
generating an auxiliary stage volume channel based on the smoothed slurry rate channel;
generating an auxiliary pressure channel based on the smoothed treating pressure channel;
generating the end time when at least the auxiliary stage volume channel and the auxiliary pressure channel each satisfy a corresponding condition;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.

### Claim 11

A computing device comprising:
one or more memories having computer-readable instructions stored therein; and
one or more processors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform a method of:
receiving treating data for a well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages, wherein identifying the start time comprises:
clipping the slurry rate channel and the treating pressure channel;
generating a binary channel using the clipped slurry rate and treating pressure channels;
identifying one or more time instances when a value of the binary channel is equal to zero; and
generating a flag for the start time of each stage at a last time instance when the value of the binary channel is zero;
generating a visual output of the start time and the end time of each of the one or more stages;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein the identifying the start time and the end time are based on using a trained machine learning process.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein the identifying the one or more stages of the one or more fracturing processes comprises:
applying a stage splitting model to approximate the one or more stages;
detecting one or more pressure tests in association with the approximated one or more stages; and
refining the approximated one or more stages using the one or more pressure tests.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The computing device of claim 13, further comprising approximating the one or more stages by:
down-sampling the treating pressure channel and the slurry rate channel;
generating an auxiliary interstage channel that is indicative of gaps between two or more stages; and
flagging the one or more stages using the auxiliary interstage channel.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform the operations of:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, at least one instance of a pressure change, the pressure change being indicative of at least one operational issue during a fracturing process; and
generating a visual flag for each detected pressure change.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform the operations of:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, a step-down test; and
generating a visual flag for each detected step-down test.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein identifying the one or more stages and the start time and the end time of the one or more stages are performed simultaneously for a plurality of wells.

### Claim 18 (depends on 11)

The computing device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform the operations of:
detecting, in at least one of the one or more stages, a change in well pressure monitoring that is more than a threshold; and
generating a visual flag corresponding to the increase in the well pressure monitoring, the visual output identifying a corresponding job time and a corresponding active well.

### Claim 19

A computing device comprising:
one or more memories having computer-readable instructions stored therein; and
one or more processors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform a method of:
receiving treating data for a well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received, wherein the identifying the one or more stages of the one or more fracturing processes comprises:
applying a stage splitting model to approximate the one or more stages;
detecting one or more pressure tests in association with the approximated one or more stages, detecting the one or more pressure tests by:
clipping slurry rate data of the slurry rate channel;
determining a slurry rate volume using the clipped slurry rate data;
normalizing the treating pressure channel and the slurry rate channel;
generating a binary pressure test channel based on the normalized treating pressure channel and the normalized slurry rate channel; and
identifying the one or more pressure tests based on the binary pressure test channel;
refining the approximated one or more stages using the one or more pressure tests;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.

### Claim 20

A computing device comprising:
one or more memories having computer-readable instructions stored therein; and
one or more processors configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to perform a method of:
receiving treating data for a well in real-time, the treating data including one or more of a treating pressure channel and a slurry rate channel;
preprocessing the treating data;
identifying one or more stages of one or more fracturing processes in association with which the treating data is received;
identifying, automatically by a processing system and in real-time, a start time and an end time for each of the one or more stages, wherein identifying the end time comprises:
smoothing the slurry rate channel and the treating pressure channel;
generating an auxiliary stage volume channel based on the smoothed slurry rate channel;
generating an auxiliary pressure channel based on the smoothed treating pressure channel;
generating the end time when at least the auxiliary stage volume channel and the auxiliary pressure channel each satisfy a corresponding condition;
identifying, by the processing system in communication with a controller of one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment of the well and based on the processing system identifying the start time or the end time for each of the one or more stages, an abnormal pressure condition at the well; and
automatically controlling, by the controller executing one or more control instructions and in response to the identification of the abnormal pressure condition at the well, the one or more hydraulic fracturing equipment in communication with the controller, wherein executing the one or more control instructions adjusts, in real time, a pressure within the well.