Automatic method for three-dimensional structural interpretation of borehole images acquired in high-angle and horizontal wells
US10466375B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 2015 |
| Grant date | Nov 5, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 13, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V5/04
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for automatic interpretation of bulls-eye and sinusoidal features observed in LWD images is disclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes an automatic workflow for extracting smooth contours from images that demarcate boundaries of structural features, followed by projection of the contours to three-dimensional (3D) point clouds in the well coordinate system for structural interpretation. The method may characterize both sinusoidal features and bulls-eye features, taking into account variations of formation dip/azimuth, or well inclination/azimuth, on the topology of a structural feature. The disclosed method may be sufficiently fast for use in real-time analysis and interpretation, or to provide constraints for physics-based data inversion processing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.