Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080296017 | Methods and Apparatus to Sample Heavy Oil from a Subteranean Formation - A method of sampling fluid from a subterranean formation includes positioning a first tool having a heater in a borehole so that the heater is adjacent a portion of the subterranean formation: heating with the heater the portion of the subterranean formation; removing the first tool from the borehole; orienting a second tool having a sampling probe in the borehole so that the sampling probe is to contact a portion of the subterranean formation heater by the heater; and obtaining via the sampling probe a fluid sample from the portion of the subterranean formation heater by the heater. | 12-04-2008 |
20090150079 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO MONITOR CONTAMINATION LEVELS IN A FORMATION FLUID - Apparatus and methods to monitor contamination levels in a formation fluid are disclosed. An example method involves obtaining first property data indicative of a first fluid property of a formation fluid and second property data indicative of a second fluid property of the formation fluid. A correlation between the first and second property data is generated and third data is fitted to the correlation. A fitting parameter is determined based on the third data indicative of an amount of change of the first property data relative to an amount of change of the second property data. | 06-11-2009 |
20090211752 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING FORMATION FLUIDS - A method of retrieving a formation fluid from a formation adjacent a borehole wall includes estimating at least one of a permeability of the formation and a viscosity of the formation fluid. A first tool is selected based on the estimation, the first tool being selected from one of a heating and sampling tool, an injection and sampling tool, and a coring tool. An attempt to retrieve a formation fluid sample from the formation is then made with the first tool, and a formation fluid sample is retrieved from the formation. A second retrieval process may then be initiated, in which the second retrieval process includes increasing the mobility of the formation fluid. | 08-27-2009 |
20090308600 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE THE COMPRESSIBILITY OF A FLUID - Example methods and apparatus to determine the compressibility of a fluid are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes capturing a fluid in a chamber, pressurizing the captured fluid to first and second pressures, measuring first and second values representative of first and second densities of the fluid while pressurized at respective ones of the first and second pressures, and computing a third value representative of a compressibility of the fluid using the first and second values. | 12-17-2009 |
20100126731 | APPARATUS AND METHODS TO REMOVE IMPURITIES AT A SENSOR IN A DOWNHOLE TOOL - Apparatus and methods to remove impurities at a sensor in a downhole tool are disclosed. During the testing and/or sampling of formation fluid in a borehole, the downhole tool creates a transient high rate of fluid flow of the formation fluid to remove impurities at the sensor. | 05-27-2010 |
20100186948 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO SAMPLE HEAVY OIL FROM A SUBTERANEAN FORMATION - A method of sampling fluid from a subterranean formation includes positioning a first tool having a heater in a borehole so that the heater is adjacent a portion of the subterranean formation; heating with the heater the portion of the subterranean formation; removing the first tool from the borehole; orienting a second tool having a sampling probe in the borehole so that the sampling probe is to contact a portion of the subterranean formation heated by the heater; and obtaining via the sampling probe a fluid sample from the portion of the subterranean formation heated by the heater. | 07-29-2010 |
20100192684 | PHASE SEPARATION DETECTION IN DOWNHOLE FLUID SAMPLING - Example methods and apparatus to detect phase separation in downhole fluid sampling operations are disclosed. An example method to detect a phase separation condition of a fluid from a subterranean involves obtaining a sample of the fluid, measuring a first characteristic value of the sample, measuring a second characteristic value of the sample and comparing the first characteristic value to a first reference value associated with a single-phase condition of the fluid to generate a corresponding first comparison result. The example method then compares the second characteristic value to a second reference value associated with the single-phase condition of the fluid to generate a corresponding second comparison result and detects the phase separation condition of the fluid based on the first and second comparison results. | 08-05-2010 |
20100223989 | OBTAINING AND EVALUATING DOWNHOLE SAMPLES WITH A CORING TOOL - Samples of hydrocarbon are obtained with a coring tool. An analysis of some thermal or electrical properties of the core samples may be performed downhole. The core samples may also be preserved in containers sealed and/or refrigerated prior to being brought uphole for analysis. The hydrocarbon trapped in the pore space of the core samples may be extracted from the core samples downhole. The extracted hydrocarbon may be preserved in chambers and/or analyzed downhole. | 09-09-2010 |
20100258304 | IN-SITU EVALUATION OF RESERVOIR SANDING AND FINES MIGRATION AND RELATED COMPLETION, LIFT AND SURFACE FACILITIES DESIGN - Methods and related systems are described relating to monitoring particulates downhole at in-situ conditions. Solid particles being carried in the fluid as the fluid is produced from the reservoir formation are monitored. The downhole solid particle monitoring can include measuring the quantity (e.g., volume fraction, weight fraction, or the like) of solid particles, measuring the distribution of sizes of the solid particles, and/or measuring the shape of the particles. The solid particles can be monitored using one or more of sensors such as optical spectrometers, acoustic sensors, video cameras, and erosion probes. A sanding prediction is generated based at least in part on the monitoring of the solid particles, and the sanding prediction is then used to design a completion, lift system, and surface facilities for the wellbore and/or select operating conditions so as to control sanding during production. | 10-14-2010 |
20100274490 | THICKNESS-INDEPENDENT COMPUTATION OF HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PERMEABILITY - A method for determining permeability of a reservoir using a packer-probe formation testing tool. The elements of the method include generating, using a dual packer tool module, fluid flows from the reservoir into a wellbore, obtaining pressure data associated with the fluid flows using an observation probe tool module, wherein the packer-probe formation testing tool comprises the dual packer module and the observation probe tool module, identifying a portion of the pressure data corresponding to a spherical flow regime, determining horizontal permeability based on the portion of the pressure data, and displaying an output generated using the horizontal permeability. | 10-28-2010 |
20110042071 | CLEAN FLUID SAMPLE FOR DOWNHOLE MEASUREMENTS - A system and method for obtaining a clean fluid sample for analysis in a downhole tool are provided. In one example, the method includes directing fluid from a main flowline of the downhole tool to a secondary flowline of the downhole tool. While the fluid is being directed into the secondary flowline, sensor responses corresponding to the fluid in the secondary flowline are monitored to determine when the sensor responses stabilize. The secondary flowline is isolated from the main flowline after the sensor responses have stabilized. A quality control procedure is performed on the fluid in the secondary flowline to determine whether the captured fluid is the same as the fluid in the main flowline. Additional fluid from the main flowline is allowed into the secondary flowline if the captured fluid is not the same. | 02-24-2011 |
20110061439 | METHODS OF CALIBRATING A FLUID ANALYZER FOR USE IN A WELLBORE - Methods of calibrating a fluid analyzer for use in a wellbore are described. An example method of generating calibration data for a fluid analyzer for use in a downhole tool involves lowering a downhole tool including a fluid analyzer to a location in a wellbore, measuring, via the fluid analyzer, a characteristic value of a calibration fluid or a vacuum while the fluid analyzer is at the location, obtaining an expected characteristic value for the calibration fluid or the vacuum at the location, and comparing the measured characteristic value to the expected characteristic value to generate a calibration value for the fluid. | 03-17-2011 |
20110093200 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE PHASE-CHANGE PRESSURES - Example methods and apparatus to determine phase-change pressures are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes capturing a fluid in a chamber, pressurizing the fluid at a plurality of pressures, measuring a plurality of transmittances of a signal through the fluid at respective ones of the plurality of pressures, computing a first magnitude of a first subset of the plurality of transmittances, computing a second magnitude of a second subset of the plurality of transmittances, comparing the first and second magnitudes to determine a phase-change pressure for the fluid. | 04-21-2011 |
20110132609 | FORMATION FLUID SAMPLING TOOLS AND METHODS UTILIZING CHEMICAL HEATING - A formation fluid sampling tool is provided with reactants which are carried downhole and which are combined in order to generate heat energy which is applied to the formation adjacent the borehole. By applying heat energy to the formation, the formation fluids are heated, thereby increasing mobility, and fluid sampling is expedited. | 06-09-2011 |
20130110401 | CALIBRATION AND CONSISTENCY CHECK OF VARIABLEW VOLUME SYSTEMS | 05-02-2013 |
20130205886 | Method For Determining A Permeability Or Mobility Of A Radial Flow Response Of A Reservoir - A system and method determine formation permeability and/or at least one property indicative of formation permeability of a subsurface geological reservoir having radial-flow. Pressure data is obtained with an observation probe during a formation test, wherein the observation probe is located at a setting position within an open hole wellbore formed within the reservoir. The system and method measure radial-flow response of the reservoir at or adjacent to the setting position of the observation probe by analyzing the collected pressure data. The formation permeability and/or at least one property indicative of the permeability of the reservoir is determined based on the measured radial-flow response of the reservoir at or adjacent to the observation probe. | 08-15-2013 |
20130239664 | Fluid Density From Downhole Optical Measurements - A system and method for determining at least one fluid characteristic of a downhole fluid sample using a downhole tool are provided. In one example, the method includes performing a calibration process that correlates optical and density sensor measurements of a fluid sample in a downhole tool at a plurality of pressures. The calibration process is performed while the fluid sample is not being agitated. At least one unknown value of a density calculation is determined based on the correlated optical sensor measurements and density sensor measurements. A second optical sensor measurement of the fluid sample is obtained while the fluid sample is being agitated. A density of the fluid sample is calculated based on the second optical sensor measurement and the at least one unknown value. | 09-19-2013 |
20130239671 | PRESSURE-CORRECTED DENSITY OF A FLUID - This disclosure is drawn to methods, systems, devices and/or apparatus related to determining the density of a fluid. Specifically, the disclosed methods, systems, devices and/or apparatus relate to determining the density of a fluid in situ (e.g., in a downhole tool) under the Earth's surface using extrapolation and/or interpolation technique(s). Some example methods may include obtaining a fluid sample from a formation, measuring, in a downhole tool, a plurality of density values of the fluid sample, each density value being measured at a distinct pressure level within a pressure range, and extrapolating and/or interpolating the plurality of density values of the fluid sample to a pressure level different that the distinct pressure in which the density value is measured. Some example methods may include tuning one or more Equation-of-State model based, at least in part, on the density values. | 09-19-2013 |
20140090893 | Obtaining And Evaluating Downhole Samples With A Coring Tool - Samples of hydrocarbon are obtained with a coring tool. An analysis of some thermal or electrical properties of the core samples may be performed downhole. The core samples may also be preserved in containers sealed and/or refrigerated prior to being brought uphole for analysis. The hydrocarbon trapped in the pore space of the core samples may be extracted from the core samples downhole. The extracted hydrocarbon may be preserved in chambers and/or analyzed downhole. | 04-03-2014 |
20140230538 | System And Method for Removing Noise From Measurement Data - System and/or methods for removing noise from measurement data are disclosed. For example, pressure measurements may be used to identify a flow regime using the derivative of each of the pressure measurements. A time window may be defined about each pressure measurement and numerous or even all pressure measurements within the time window may be used to calculate the pressure derivative of each pressure measurement. A least-squares method or a least-absolute-deviations method may be used to compute a pressure-derivative curve. The iteratively-reweighted least-squares method may be used to solve least-absolute-deviation problems to compute a pressure-derivative curve with enhanced smoothing. | 08-21-2014 |