Well ranging apparatus, methods, and systems
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsHsu-Hsiang Wu, Anand Parakash, Yijing Fan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to couple a power supply to a ground point associated with a well, and to a lower portion of a conductive casing disposed within the well, where the lower portion of the conductive casing is separated by an insulating gap from an upper portion of the conductive casing, the upper portion of the conductive casing being at a higher elevation of the first well than the lower portion of the conductive casing. Further activity may include injecting an excitation signal into the lower portion of the conductive casing to induce a magnetic field in a geological formation surrounding the first well. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
Claims21
A method, comprising:
- coupling a power supply to a ground point associated with a first well, and to a lower portion of a conductive casing disposed within the first well, the lower portion of the conductive casing separated by an insulating gap from an upper portion of the conductive casing, wherein the upper portion of the conductive casing is at a higher elevation of the first well than the lower portion of the conductive casing;
- and
- injecting an excitation signal into the lower portion of the conductive casing to induce a magnetic field in a geological formation surrounding the first well.
A method, comprising:
- casing a well with a conductive casing separated by insulating gaps into at least two portions;
- and
- attaching an insulated conductor to a lower one of the portions that is separated from an upper one of the portions by at least one of the insulating gaps, to form an excitation signal injection point that is not directly electrically coupled to the upper one of the portions, wherein the upper one of the portions is at a higher elevation of the well than the lower one of the portions.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a well having a conductive casing separated by at least one insulating gap into at least two portions;
- and
- an insulated conductor directly electrically coupled to a lower one of the portions that is separated from an upper one of the portions by the at least one insulating gap, to form an excitation signal injection point that is not directly electrically coupled to the upper one of the portions, wherein the upper one of the portions is at a higher elevation of the well than the lower one of the portions.
An apparatus, comprising:
- an upper well casing portion;
- and
- a lower well casing portion having an excitation signal injection terminal, wherein the lower well casing portion is joined to the upper well casing portion by insulating gap material disposed between the upper well casing portion and the lower well casing portion.
A system, comprising:
- a first well having a conductive casing separated by at least one insulating gap into at least two portions, and an insulated conductor directly electrically coupled to a lower one of the portions that is separated from an upper one of the portions by the at least one insulating gap, to form an excitation signal injection point that is not directly electrically coupled to the upper one of the portions, wherein the upper one of the portions is at a higher elevation of the well than the lower one of the portions;
- a second well including a signal receiver;
- and
- a signal injection apparatus, to inject an excitation signal directly into the lower one of the portions to induce a magnetic field into a geological formation surrounding the lower one of the portions, wherein a ranging signal corresponding to the magnetic field is to be received by the signal receiver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.