18434900. APPROACHES TO DIRECTIONAL DRILLING simplified abstract (SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION)

APPROACHES TO DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

Organization Name

SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Inventor(s)

Samba Holger White Ba of Houston TX (US)

Lu Jiang of Beijing (CN)

Adrien Chassard of Houston TX (US)

Magnus Hedlund of Houston TX (US)

Maja Ignova of Stonehouse (GB)

Katharine Mantle of Stonehouse (GB)

Jinsoo Kim of Houston TX (US)

Tao Yu of Beijing (CN)

Farid Toghi of Clamart (FR)

Hendrik Suryadi of Abu Dhabi (AE)

Qing Liu of Beijing (CN)

Diego Medina of Houston TX (US)

APPROACHES TO DIRECTIONAL DRILLING - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18434900 titled 'APPROACHES TO DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

The patent application describes a system and method for optimizing drilling operations by analyzing a well plan, determining trajectory constraints, and selecting an optimal path for the drill bit to reach its target.

• The system receives a well plan and data from surface and downhole to determine the current location of the drill bit.
• Trajectory constraints are automatically derived from the well plan for each section.
• Trajectory candidates are determined based on these constraints for paths to respective targets.
• A working plan is then created with the optimal path to reach the final target.

Potential Applications: - Oil and gas drilling operations - Geothermal drilling projects - Mining exploration activities

Problems Solved: - Improving drilling efficiency - Enhancing accuracy in reaching targets - Minimizing drilling time and costs

Benefits: - Increased productivity - Reduced risk of errors - Cost savings in drilling operations

Commercial Applications: Optimizing drilling processes in the oil and gas industry can lead to significant cost savings and improved operational efficiency. This technology can be valuable for drilling companies looking to enhance their performance and competitiveness in the market.

Prior Art: Readers interested in prior art related to this technology can explore patents and research papers in the field of drilling automation, trajectory optimization, and well planning software.

Frequently Updated Research: Stay updated on the latest advancements in drilling automation, trajectory optimization algorithms, and software solutions for well planning to ensure the most efficient and accurate drilling operations.

Questions about Drilling Optimization: 1. How does this technology impact the overall efficiency of drilling operations? 2. What are the key factors considered in determining the optimal path for the drill bit?

Original Abstract Submitted

A system and method that include receiving a well plan and determining a plurality of sections of the well plan and receiving data from surface and downhole to determine a current location of a drill bit. The system and method also include analyzing the well plan to automatically derive trajectory constraints that are associated with each of the plurality of sections of the well plan. The system and method additionally include determining a plurality of trajectory candidates that pertain to respective paths from the current location of a drill bit to respective targets included within each of the plurality of sections of the well plan based on a consideration of the trajectory constraints. The system and method further include determining a working plan that includes an optimal path from the current location of the drill bit to reach a final target based on the plurality of trajectory candidates.