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EP-4065816-B1 - TELEMETRY SYSTEM COMBINING TWO TELEMETRY METHODS

EP4065816B1EP 4065816 B1EP4065816 B1EP 4065816B1EP-4065816-B1

Inventors

  • MACPHERSON, JOHN
  • HAWTHORN, ANDREW
  • FANG, LEI
  • VAN ZELM, JOHN-PETER
  • PETERS, VOLKER
  • PETER, ANDREAS

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20201123

Claims (12)

  1. A telemetry system for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore (102), comprising: a first telemetry method implemented in a multi-hop topology, wherein the multi-hop topology includes a first surface node (SN) and at least two proximal downhole nodes (N1, N2, N3, N4); a second telemetry method implemented in a topology that includes at least a second surface node (SN) in communication with a distal downhole node (DN); and sensors communicatively coupled to the at least two proximal downhole nodes (N1, N2, N3, N4) of the multi-hop topology and capable of receiving signals transmitted with the second telemetry method, wherein each surface node (SN) interfaces with a surface computer system, wherein the first telemetry method has an inter-node transmission bandwidth higher than a transmission bandwidth of the second telemetry method, characterized in that the telemetry system is configured such that the first telemetry method and second telemetry method may be operated in series such that data is first carried with the second telemetry method and then transferred to the first telemetry method at one of the at least two proximal downhole nodes (N1, N2, N3, N4), and wherein the telemetry system is configured to be self-adaptive by finding an optimum downhole receiver for maximum bandwidth of the telemetry system.
  2. The telemetry system of claim 1, wherein the first telemetry method utilizes signal transmission in a different physical channel than the second telemetry method.
  3. The telemetry system of claim 2, wherein the first telemetry method is an acoustic telemetry in a wall of the pipe string.
  4. The telemetry system of claim 2, wherein the second telemetry method is a mud-pulse telemetry in a bore of the pipe string.
  5. A method for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore (102), comprising: performing a first telemetry method implemented in a multi-hop topology, wherein the multi-hop topology includes a first surface node (SN) and at least two proximal downhole nodes (N1, N2, N3, N4); performing a second telemetry method implemented in a topology that includes a second surface node (SN) in communication with a distal downhole node (DN); communicatively coupling sensors to the at least two proximal downhole (N1, N2, N3, N4) nodes of the multi-hop topology; operating the first telemetry method with an inter-node transmission bandwidth higher than a transmission bandwidth of the second telemetry method; wherein the sensors are capable of receiving signals transmitted with the second telemetry method, and wherein each surface node interfaces with a surface computer system, characterized in that the method further comprises operating the first telemetry method and second telemetry method in series such that data is first carried with the second telemetry method and then transferred to the first telemetry method at one of the at least two proximal downhole nodes (N1, N2, N3, N4), and wherein the method further comprises finding an optimum downhole receiver for maximum bandwidth of the telemetry system.
  6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first telemetry method utilizes signal transmission in a different physical channel than the second telemetry method.
  7. The method of claim 5 further comprising providing power to the distal downhole node with a battery.
  8. The method of claim 7 wherein the second telemetry method is an electromagnetic telemetry in a formation (103) surrounding the wellbore (102).
  9. The method of claim 8 wherein the sensors are capable of receiving the signals transmitted with the second telemetry method while tripping the pipe string out of the wellbore (102).
  10. The method of claim 8 wherein the first telemetry method is an acoustic telemetry in a wall of the pipe string.
  11. The method of claim 10 wherein the sensors are capable of receiving the signals transmitted with the second telemetry method at the same time a pipe joint is added to the pipe string.
  12. The method of claim 10 wherein the sensors are capable of receiving the signals transmitted with the second telemetry method at the same time a pipe joint is removed from the pipe string.

Description

BACKGROUND This disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore. This disclosure relates more particularly to telemetries that are combined on a pipe string, and the use thereof in a wellbore. There are essentially two physical topologies addressing the carrying of information along a pipe string in a wellbore, multi-hop and single-hop. All methods of carrying data from downhole to the surface (and from the surface to downhole) are affected by signal attenuation. At some distance from its source, the signal power drops below some limit that defines reliable detection. Before it approaches this limit, it must be detected and either boosted or repeated up the pipe string. Boosting means the information-bearing signal is simply re-amplified, while repeating means that the information in the signal is read, corrected, and then rebroadcast onwards to the surface. So any transmission technology may use multi-hop or single-hop topology, depending on the distance of transmission. The multi-hop topology involves telemetry methods that utilize multiple signal repeaters or signal boosters (also called nodes) along the pipe string to carry data from a Measuring-While-Drilling ("MWD") tool in the Bottom Hole Assembly ("BHA") to the surface. The BHA is located at the distal end of the pipe string, and the lowermost portion of the BHA is the drill bit, which is used to create the wellbore by breaking the rock of the formation. Examples of such telemetry methods include acoustic telemetry in the pipe wall, and telemetry along a wire in the pipe bore (called wired pipe) which uses couplers across tool joints. A reason for utilizing multiple nodes is that the distance between transmitters and receivers is limited due to the attenuation of the telemetry signal in these telemetry methods. One advantage of the multi-hop topology may be that each node can contain sensors that can be used to provide along-string-measurements ("ASM"). These sensors may measure properties related to the wellbore or the formation. The transmission rate between nodes in a multi-hop topology can be far greater than the transmission rate in a single-hop topology, but the effective rate in a multi-hop topology, that is, the transmission rate achieved between end nodes, may be similar to the transmission rate in a single-hop topology. This difference between inter-node transmission rate and effective transmission rate is usually due to an error correction overhead, and the time-lapse necessary to receive, correct, and send data sequences in each intermediary node. For example, the inter-node transmission rate may be 120 bits-per-second (bps) or higher, and the effective transmission rate may be 3-10 bps. The single-hop topology involves telemetry methods that have low attenuation between transmitter and receiver, and hence, can achieve long transmitter-receiver distances. These telemetry methods can therefore carry data from a Measuring-While-Drilling ("MWD") tool in the Bottom Hole Assembly ("BHA") to the surface. Examples of such telemetry methods include mud-pulse telemetry ("MPT") in the pipe bore, and Electro-Magnetic ("EM") telemetry in the formation surrounding the wellbore. The rate at which the transmission signal that is encoding the data is generated may be slower in a single-hop topology than the inter-node transmission rate in a multi-hop topology. For example, the mud pulser in an MPT single-hop method generates the signal conveying the data, and may only be capable of 40 bps. In practice, however, signal reflections at the surface or other phenomena can significantly affect the reliability of the data transmission, and this transmission rate may drop to about 15 to 20 bps for reliable transmission. For example, in the case of MPT, these reflections are primarily caused by surface equipment located proximal to the surface node, such as fluid hoses, valves and abrupt changes in the diameter of the pipe bore. Furthermore, in the case of MPT, the surface mud pumps, which are used when drilling or fracturing, can also constitute a significant noise source that impairs reliable transmission. Thus, there is a continuing need in the art for apparatus and methods for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore at the maximum rate possible by the device generating the telemetry signal. WO 2019/133366 A1 discloses a hybrid telemetry system includes a plurality of telemetry networks configured to communicate a modulated signal representing digital data along adjoining sections of a pipe string. US 6 144 316 A discloses an electromagnetic and acoustic signal repeater for communicating information between surface equipment and downhole equipment. EP 2 157 279 A1 discloses a method of transmitting data along tubing in a borehole. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure describes a telemetry system for carrying information along a pipe string in a wellbore, for example, whi