Wireless communication using well casing
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsHarold J. Vinegar, Robert Rex Burnett, William Mountjoy Savage, Frederick Gordon Carl, Jr., Ilya Emil Berchenko
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Abstract
A petroleum well having a borehole extending into a formation is provided. A piping structure is positioned within the borehole, and an induction choke is positioned around the piping structure downhole. A communication system is provided along the piping structure between a surface of the well and the induction choke. A downhole module is positioned on an exterior surface of the piping structure and is configured to measure characteristics of the formation. The formation characteristics, such as pressure and resistivity, are communicated to the surface of the well along the piping structure.
Claims16
A petroleum well having a having a borehole extending into a formation and a piping structure including a casing positioned within the borehole, the petroleum well comprising:
- a downhole module positioned on the outside of the casing for collecting formation characteristic data of the formation;
- a communication system operably coupled to the piping structure and module such that the formation characteristic data can be communicated along the piping structure as a time-varying signal;
- and
- an induction choke external to the casing effective to impede current flow through the casing, wherein the downhole module receives power by a connection to the casing above the induction choke and a ground return below the induction choke.
In a petroleum well having a borehole extending into a formation and having a piping structure positioned within the borehole, a method for assessing the formation comprising the steps of:
- sensing a formation characteristic of the formation using sensors external to the piping structure;
- communicating the formation characteristic along the piping structure as a time varying signal applied to the piping structure;
- and
- providing a lower induction choke positioned concentrically around the piping structure;
- wherein communicating the formation characteristic along the piping structure is done between a current supply point and the lower induction choke.
A method of constructing a petroleum well having piping structure including casing, comprising the steps of:
- placing the casing within the borehole of the well;
- embedding one or more sensors in the borehole external to the casing;
- positioning an induction choke external to the casing effective to impede current flow;
- and
- providing a source of time-varying signals adapted for coupling to the piping structure of the well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.