Patent Application Titled "Formation Property Characteristic Determination Methods" Published Online (USPTO 20160061986)
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- According to news reporting originating from
Washington, D.C.
, by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Anand,
Vivek (
Sugar Land, TX
); Jain, Vikas (
Sugar Land, TX
), filed on August 27, 2014, was made available online on March 10, 2016 (see also
Patents).
No assignee for this patent application has been made.
Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Logging tools may be used in wellbores to make, for example, formation evaluation measurements to infer properties of the formations surrounding the borehole and the fluids in the formations. Common logging tools include electromagnetic tools, acoustic tools, nuclear tools, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tools, though various other tool types are also used.
"Early logging tools were run into a wellbore on a wireline cable, after the wellbore had been drilled. Modern versions of such wireline tools are still used extensively. However, the desire for real-time or near real-time information while drilling the borehole gave rise to measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tools and logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools. By collecting and processing such information during the drilling process, the driller may modify or enhance well operations to optimize drilling performance and/or well trajectory.
"MWD tools typically provide drilling parameter information such as weight-on-bit, torque, shock & vibration, temperature, pressure, rotations-per-minute (rpm), mud flow rate, direction, and inclination. LWD tools typically provide formation evaluation measurements such as natural or spectral gamma-ray, resistivity, dielectric, sonic velocity, density, photoelectric factor, neutron porosity, sigma thermal neutron capture cross-section, a variety of neutron induced gamma-ray spectra, and NMR distributions. MWD and LWD tools often have components common to wireline tools (e.g., transmitting and receiving antennas or sensors in general), but MWD and LWD tools may be constructed to endure and operate in the harsh environment of drilling. The terms MWD and LWD are often used interchangeably, and the use of either term in this disclosure will be understood to include both the collection of formation and wellbore information, as well as data on movement and placement of the drilling assembly.
"Logging tools may be used to determine formation volumetrics, that is, quantify the volumetric fraction, typically expressed as a percentage, of each constituent present in a given sample of formation under study. Formation volumetrics involves the identification of the constituents present, and the assigning of unique signatures for constituents on different log measurements. When, using a corresponding earth model, the forward model responses of the individual constituents are calibrated, the log measurements may be converted to volumetric fractions of constituents."
In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
"A method for analyzing at least one characteristic of a geological formation may include obtaining measured data for the geological formation based upon a logging tool, and minimizing an objective function representing at least an L.sup.p norm of model parameters and an error between the measured data and predicted data for the objective function, wherein p is not equal to 2. The method may further include determining the at least one characteristic of the geological formation based upon the minimization of the objective function.
"A related apparatus is for analyzing at least one characteristic of a geological formation and may include a memory and a processor cooperating therewith to obtain measured data for the geological formation based upon a logging tool, and minimize an objective function representing an L.sup.p norm of model parameters and an error between the measured data and predicted data for the objective function, wherein p is not equal to 2. The processor may further determine the at least one characteristic of the geological formation based upon the minimization of the objective function.
"A non-transitory computer-readable medium may have computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to at least obtain measured data for the geological formation based upon a logging tool, minimize an objective function including an L.sup.p norm of model parameters and an error between the measured data and predicted data for the objective function, wherein p is not equal to 2, and determine the at least one characteristic of the geological formation based upon the minimization of the objective function.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
"FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, partially in block form, of a well logging apparatus which may be used for determining characteristics of formation properties in accordance with an example embodiment.
"FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating method aspects for determining characteristics of formation properties in accordance with an example embodiment.
"FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating minimization of the L.sup.2 norm in accordance with a prior art approach.
"FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating minimization of the L.sup.1 norm in accordance with an example embodiment.
"FIG. 5 is a set of inversion results for 2D NMR data, and associated 1D projections, using L.sup.2 norm minimization in accordance with the prior art.
"FIG. 6 is a set of inversion results for the same 2D NMR data used in FIG. 5, and associated 1D projections, but using L.sup.1 norm minimization in accordance with an example embodiment."
For more information, see this patent application: Anand, Vivek; Jain, Vikas. Formation Property Characteristic Determination Methods. Filed August 27, 2014 and posted March 10, 2016. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=4509&p=91&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20160303.PD.&OS=PD/20160303&RS=PD/20160303
Keywords for this news article include: Patents, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
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