Abstract:
A method of visualizing borehole system data includes obtaining first borehole system data, second borehole system data, third borehole system data, and fourth borehole system data corresponding to first, second, third, and fourth borehole system characteristics, respectively, of a first borehole system. The method includes binning the first, second, and third borehole system data to generate first binned borehole system data, second binned borehole system data, and third binned borehole system data, respectively. The method also includes generating a display of relationships among each of the first, second, and third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    During drilling operations, wellbore completion operations, or any other operations related to predicting, forming, or analyzing a borehole, wellbore, or downhole assembly, data regarding the borehole, downhole assembly, and surrounding formation are calculated or measured to assist in predicting and analyzing the borehole system. Typical methods for analyzing the calculated or measured data provide analyses in two dimensions, such as a measurement versus borehole depth. Alternatively, a display may be provided of borehole data in three dimensions, such as a measurement versus depth versus time. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0002]    Embodiments of the invention relate to a method of visualizing borehole system data including obtaining first borehole system data, second borehole system data, third borehole system data, and fourth borehole system data corresponding to first, second, third, and fourth borehole system characteristics, respectively, of a first borehole system. The method includes binning the first, second, and third borehole system data to generate first binned borehole system data, second binned borehole system data, and third binned borehole system data, respectively. The method also includes generating a display of relationships among all of the first, second, and third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data. 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the invention relate to a borehole system including a downhole assembly including at least a portion located in a borehole. The system also includes a computer configured to visualize borehole system data, the computer including memory and a processor. The processor is configured to obtain first borehole system data, second borehole system data, third borehole system data, and fourth borehole system data corresponding to first, second, third, and fourth borehole system characteristics, respectively, of a first borehole system. The processor is further configured to bin the first, second, and third borehole system data to generate first binned borehole system data, second binned borehole system data, and third binned borehole system data, respectively. The processor is further configured to generate display data of relationships among each of the first, second, and third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates a borehole system according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a method of visualizing borehole system data according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a graphic representation of first to fourth borehole system data according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a graphic representation of first to fifth borehole system data according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    Conventional borehole system analyses display calculated or measured data in two or three dimensions. Embodiments of the invention relate to data visualization in borehole systems in four or more dimensions. 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a borehole system  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. The system  100  includes a downhole assembly  110  including a derrick  111  or other support structure and a downhole portion  112 , such as a pipe, drill bit, or other completion located in a borehole  131  of an earth formation  130 . The system  100  also includes a computer  120 , which may be a borehole system analysis computer and may further be a downhole assembly control computer to control the downhole assembly  110 , such as by adjusting a weight-on-bit of a drill bit, adjusting a rotation speed of a drill bit, adjusting fluid flow rates of borehole fluid, adjusting a composition of fluid flow rates, or adjusting any other downhole assembly control parameter. 
         [0011]    The computer  120  includes a processor  121  and memory  122 . The memory stores data and programs, including downhole assembly data  123 , borehole data  124 , location data  125 , one or more control programs  126  and any other data or program. The computer  120  also includes a display generator  127 , a display  128 , and an input/output (I/O) module  129 . The display generator  127  may include one or more processors and memory, and may comprise one or more computer programs to control the one or more processors, or the processor  121  to generate display data, being a graphical representation to depict borehole system data. While  FIG. 1  illustrates the computer  120  as a single computer, embodiments of the invention encompass one or more computers connected one or more wired or wireless connections to form a distributed computing system. 
         [0012]    Operation of the borehole system  100  will be described with respect to the flow diagram of  FIG. 2 . In block  201 , the computer  120  obtains borehole system data. In particular, the computer  120  obtains at least first to fourth borehole system data. The data may be obtained for one borehole, for one or more operations of one borehole, for multiple boreholes, or for multiple operations of multiple boreholes. The computer  120  may also obtain additional borehole system data, such as fifth or sixth borehole system data. 
         [0013]    The borehole system data may include formation data regarding characteristics of the formation  130 , borehole fluid data of fluids in the borehole  131 , downhole assembly data of characteristics of the downhole assembly  110 , or any other borehole system data. Examples of downhole assembly data include rate of penetration data corresponding to a rate at which a drill bit penetrates the formation  130 , a weight-on-bit measurement, torque measurements, flow rate measurements, or any other downhole assembly data. Examples of downhole assembly data also include surface data that relates to the downhole assembly including, for example, weight-on-bit and torque. 
         [0014]    The computer  120  may obtain the borehole system data via wires or wirelessly from the downhole assembly. In addition, the computer  120  stores the borehole system data in memory  122  and may use both the data received from the data lines from the downhole assembly  110  and historical data stored in memory  122  to generate a display with the display generator  127 , to analyze the borehole system data, and to control the downhole assembly  110 . In embodiments of the invention, the historical data may include data from multiple runs in one borehole, where a run is defined as a section of the borehole. In some embodiments, the historical data includes data from other boreholes than the borehole being drilled. 
         [0015]    In block  202 , the computer  120  bins the borehole system data, generating at least first to third binned borehole system data. The binning may be performed based on any criteria, such as data collected during a predetermined interval of time, at predetermined depths along the borehole  131 , predetermined ranges of magnitudes or intensities of measurements, or any other criteria. 
         [0016]    For example, in one embodiment, borehole system data is binned in increments of time, such as by measuring a peak, average, or median of measurements taken over a period of one second, one minute, one hour, or any other duration of time. In another embodiment, borehole system data is binned by increments of borehole depth, such as an absolute depth from the surface or a depth along a length of the borehole. In yet another embodiment, borehole system data is binned by a magnitude or intensity of a measurement. For example, a measurement of weight-on-bit may be binned in increments of five, ten, or twenty kiloNewtons or any other increment of weight-on-bit. In some embodiments, the fourth borehole system data is also binned to generate fourth binned borehole system data. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment of the invention, the computer  120  performs a confidence check to remove data bins that do not contain sufficient data. For example, if a bin of data contains less than ten minutes of drilling time in a bin representing an hour or more, the bin may be omitted from a representation of the borehole system. The confidence check may be applied to discard outlier data. 
         [0018]    In block  203 , display data is generated including each of the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data. In one embodiment, the display data is generated including un-binned fourth borehole system data, and in an alternative embodiment, the display data is generated using binned fourth borehole system data. The display data represents a graphical representation of each of the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data displayed each with respect to each other. In one embodiment, the display data is generated by the display generator  127 . In one embodiment, the display generator  127  analyzes the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data and converts the borehole system data that may be transmitted to a display device  128  to generate a graphical representation of the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data. In particular, the display generator  127  generates a graphical representation that incorporates all of the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data in the same graphical representation. 
         [0019]    In block  204 , the display data is displayed on a display device.  FIG. 3  illustrates an example of a graphical representation  300  of all of the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data according to an embodiment of the invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the first binned borehole system data makes up a first axis of first to tenth graph layers  301   a  to  301   j.  The second binned borehole system data makes up a second axis of the first to tenth graph layers. Each of the first to tenth graph layers  301   a  to  301   j  corresponds to a predetermined interval of the third binned borehole system data. Different shadings, colorations, or patterns in the rectangles  302  that make up the first to tenth graph layers correspond to predetermined intervals of the fourth borehole system data, which may be un-binned borehole system data or binned borehole system data. 
         [0020]    In one embodiment, the first and second borehole system data correspond to downhole assembly operating characteristics, such as weight-on-bit, rotations-per-minute, flow rates, torque, etc. In one embodiment, the third borehole system data is a measurement of characteristics of an earth formation, such as a gamma measurement. In one embodiment, the fourth borehole system data is a parameter that measures an effectiveness of operation of the downhole assembly, such as the rate of penetration of a drill bit, a tool failure rate, a representation of non-productive time or vibration levels, representations of a combination of performance and reliability, financial effectiveness, etc. 
         [0021]    In block  205 , the downhole assembly is controlled based on the graphical representation. For example, in an embodiment in which the first and second borehole system data correspond to downhole assembly operating characteristics, the third borehole system data is a measurement of characteristics of an earth formation, and the fourth borehole system data is a parameter that measures an effectiveness of operation of the downhole assembly, the optimum level of operation of a downhole assembly may be determined by comparing a measured earth formation characteristic with an earth formation characteristic represented in the graphical representation  300 . For example, if the third borehole system data represents a gamma measurement and the fourth borehole system data represents a rate of penetration of a drill bit, the first borehole system data represents a weight-on-bit, and the second borehole system data represents a rotation rate of the drill string, then an optimum rate of penetration may be determined at a given gamma level, and a weight-on-bit and rotation rate may be adjusted to achieve the optimum rate of penetration for a measured gamma level. The first to fourth borehole system data may be obtained from historical data of previous runs or other boreholes, or the data may be obtained in real-time from a borehole being analyzed and controlled. The optimum rate of penetration data obtained from the analysis may be provided to an operator or set points for controlling a drilling operation may be provided directly to a controller (i.e. a computer including processor that generates control signals) of a drilling rig. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the downhole assembly  110  is controlled using the control program  126  executed by the processor  121 , or by one or more control modules including separate processors, memory, and supporting circuitry. In one embodiment, the downhole assembly is controlled based on a user analyzing the displayed borehole system data and interacting with a control computer to control a downhole assembly. In another embodiment, the downhole assembly  110  is controlled by a computer program that analyzes one of the display data and displayed graphical representation of the display data to determine optimal operating parameters. 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  illustrates a graphical representation generated according to another embodiment of the invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the graphical representation  400  may include a first graphical representation  401  illustrating the relationship among first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data corresponding to a first borehole and a second graphical representation  402  illustrating the relationship among the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data corresponding to a second borehole. Information about the locations of the first borehole and the second borehole may be stored in memory  122  as location data  125 . 
         [0024]    Embodiments of the invention encompass a comparison of multiple boreholes and borehole systems, as discussed above, as well as different runs within the same borehole. For example, in one embodiment, a first graphical representation  401  would correspond to a first run within a borehole and the second graphical representation  402  would correspond to a second run within the same borehole. Embodiments of the invention are not limited to the above examples, but include comparison of borehole data corresponding to different geographies, operations performed at different times, and operations performed with different parameters, such as different drilling tools or other instruments or different drilling methods. In addition, embodiments of the invention are not limited to drilling, but encompass any downhole operations including analysis of predicted boreholes, actual boreholes, borehole drilling, completion operations, and any other operations related to the borehole. 
         [0025]    In an embodiment in which the graphical representation includes multiple graphical representations  401  and  402 , one or more downhole assemblies may be controlled or selected for operation based on analyzing the first and second graphical representations  401  and  402 . In an embodiment in which the graphical representation includes multiple graphical representations  401  and  402 , the graphical representation may display five dimensions corresponding to five borehole system characteristics. 
         [0026]    In embodiments of the invention, since the third borehole system data is binned, forming multiple separate graph layers, a user or operator may analyze the characteristics of each separate graph layer to identify optimum operating parameters of a downhole assembly. In another embodiment, a computer analyzes the first to third binned borehole system data and the fourth borehole system data and generates an alert or automatically adjusts borehole system operating characteristics based on the analysis without operator input. 
         [0027]    Embodiments of the invention relate to representing borehole system data in four or more dimensions to determine optimal operating conditions of the borehole system. In some embodiments, optimal conditions are obtained by representing borehole data in five dimensions, including multiple four-dimensional graphs, to permit an operator or computer to compare the multiple four-dimensional graphs. The operator or computer may then perform any desired operation based on the representation, including controlling operating conditions of the borehole system, such as weight-on-bit, drilling speed, etc. The operator or computer may also select equipment for operating the borehole system based on the representation, may select locations for performing downhole operations based on the representation, may analyze a financial feasibility or profitability of a downhole system based on the representation, or may perform any other operation related to the downhole system. In some embodiments, the representation of the borehole system data in four or more dimensions is used to generate a model of the borehole system or of other borehole systems. 
         [0028]    In some embodiments of the invention, data is collect over time, such as via multiple runs in a borehole, the data is visualized in four or more dimensions, and optimal operating conditions are determined based on the visualization. The optimal operating conditions may relate to a financial cost to drill or perform another downhole operation, such as a completion operation. The optimal operating conditions may further relate to a time needed to perform a downhole operation, equipment needed to perform a downhole operation, an optimal or required geography of the borehole (such as curvature, size, etc.), or any other operating conditions, maintaining a failure rate of equipment or the borehole below predetermined levels, minimizing non-productive time of the borehole system, minimizing tool maintenance, maintaining a high rate of penetration, or any other optimal operating condition. 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, two or more borehole systems, such as two or more bottom hole assemblies, are compared by comparing two or more representations of at least four-dimensional borehole system data to determine which is operating better. 
         [0030]    While one or more embodiments have been shown and described, modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation.