US-12625295-B2 - Wirelessly powered and activated electromagnetic transmitters behind casing for reservoir monitoring

Abstract

Described herein are systems and techniques for monitoring substances that are injected into an Earth formation whether that be CO2 from a carbon capture and storage (CCS) process, or water or steam injected for an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. Components located on an outside of a wellbore casing may be electrically isolated from components located on the inside of the wellbore casing. Data and/or power may be transferred through the wellbore casing wirelessly in order to increase the reliability of a data collection system because the need for wires to be placed on the outside surface of a wellbore casing is eliminated. The components located on the outside of the casing may receive electromagnetic (EM) or transmit EM fields as part of a system that collects data about substances that are injected into Earth formations during a CCS or EOR process.

Inventors

• Ahmed Elsayed Fouda
• Christopher Michael Jones
• Michael Christie

Assignees

• HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20221208

Claims (17)

1. 1 . A system comprising: a first transceiver that transmits a first signal into a ground formation, wherein the first transceiver is disposed along an outer surface of a wellbore casing; a second transceiver that receives energy from the first signal transmitted into the ground formation by the first transceiver, wherein the received energy is converted into a second signal that is provided to a computer such that the computer can perform an evaluation on the second signal to identify a property of the ground formation; a first contactless communication element (CCE) located inside of the wellbore casing; and a second CCE located on the outer surface of the wellbore casing, wherein: power is wirelessly coupled from the first CCE to the second CCE; an operational frequency that wirelessly couples signals between first CCE and the second CCE is tuned based on a characteristic of the wellbore casing; and the second CCE is configured to receive a communication, as part of the signals, from the first CCE to trigger the first transceiver to transmit the first signal into the ground formation.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the communication is sent to the second CCE from the first CCE as part of the power that is wirelessly coupled between the first CCE and the second CCE.
3. 3 . The system of claim 2 , further comprising one or more electronic components coupled to the second CCE that are powered by a voltage generated by stimulation of a piezoelectric device, inductive coupling, or capacitive coupling.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein: the first transceiver transmits the first signal into the ground formation without direct electrical contact being made with the ground formation, the second transceiver receives the energy without making direct electrical contact with the ground formation, and an operational frequency used to wirelessly couple signals between the first CCE and the second CCE is tuned based either or both of a number of layers of the casing and a thickness of the casing.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver include one or more respective inductors, the first signal is transmitted via an electromagnetic (EM) field, and the second signal is generated based on receiving the energy via EM induction.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first signal is transmitted based on galvanic excitation and the energy is received via galvanic action.
7. 7 . A method comprising: wirelessly coupling power from a first contactless communication element (CCE) located inside of a wellbore casing to a second CCE located on an outer surface of the wellbore casing; tuning an operational frequency that wirelessly couples signals between the first CCE and the second CCEE based on a characteristic of the wellbore casing; transmitting a communication, as part of the signals, from the first CCE to the second CCE, wherein the communication triggers the first transceiver to transmit a first signal into a ground formation in proximity to the wellbore casing; transmitting the first signal into the ground formation by the first transceiver in response to the communication transmitted from the first CCE to the second CCE, wherein the first transceiver is disposed along an outer surface of a wellbore casing; and receiving, by a second transceiver, energy from the from the first signal transmitted into the ground formation by the first transceiver, wherein the received energy is converted into a second signal that is provided to a computer such that the computer can perform an evaluation on the second signal to identify a property of the ground formation.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the communication is sent to the second CCE from the first CCE as part of the power that is wirelessly coupled between the first CCE and the second CCE.
9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising generating a voltage that powers one or more components coupled to the second CCE based on piezoelectric device stimulation, inductive coupling, or capacitive coupling.
10. 10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein: the first transceiver transmits the first signal into the ground formation without direct electrical contact being made with the ground formation, the second transceiver receives the energy without making direct electrical contact with the ground formation, and an operational frequency is used to wirelessly couple signals between the first CCE and the second CCE is tuned based on either or both of a number of layers of the casing and a thickness of the casing.
11. 11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver include one or more respective inductors, the first signal is transmitted via an electromagnetic (EM) field, and the second signal is generated based on receiving the energy via EM induction.
12. 12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first signal is transmitted based on galvanic excitation and the energy is received via galvanic action.
13. 13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage media having embodied thereon instructions that when executed by one or more processors to implement a method comprising: wirelessly coupling power from a first contactless communication element (CCE) located inside of a wellbore casing to a second CCE located on an outer surface of the wellbore casing; tuning an operational frequency that wirelessly couples signals between the first CCE and the second CCEE based on a characteristic of the wellbore casing; transmitting a communication from the first CCE to the second CCE, wherein the communication triggers the first transceiver to transmit a first signal into a ground formation in proximity to the wellbore casing; transmitting the first signal into the ground formation by the first transceiver in response to the communication transmitted from the first CCE to the second CCE, wherein the first transceiver is disposed along an outer surface of a wellbore casing; and receiving, by a second transceiver, energy from the from the first signal transmitted into the ground formation by the first transceiver, wherein the received energy is converted into a second signal that is provided to a computer such that the computer can perform an evaluation on the second signal to identify a property of the ground formation.
14. 14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to perform the evaluation.
15. 15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13 , wherein the communication is sent to the second CCE from the first CCE as part of the power that is wirelessly coupled between the first CCE and the second CCE.
16. 16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to generate a voltage that powers one or more components coupled to the second CCE based on piezoelectric device stimulation, inductive coupling, or capacitive coupling.
17. 17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13 , wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver include one or more respective inductors, the first signal is transmitted via an electromagnetic (EM) field, and the second signal is generated based on receiving the energy via EM induction.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is generally directed to electromagnetic systems for reservoir monitoring. For example, aspects of the present disclosure are directed to improving the robustness of a wellbore sensing apparatus and using the wellbore sensing apparatus to monitor conditions of the wellbore. BACKGROUND When managing oil and gas drilling and production environments (e.g., wellbores, etc.) and performing operations in the oil and gas drilling and production environments, it is important to obtain measurements and other sensor data and details regarding Earth formations and conditions in the vicinity of a wellbore. Such data may be used to understand downhole conditions and help manage the wellbore and associated operations. For example, sensor data can be used to identify features within the Earth formations and whether the Earth formations are stable and being used in a controlled way. However, the downhole conditions and constraints can create significant challenges in deploying systems such as sensors and monitoring conditions downhole. Non-limiting illustrative examples of such conditions and constraints can include extreme temperatures, extreme pressures, space constraints, and complex mixtures of different elements, among others. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to describe the manner in which the features and advantages of this disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description is provided with reference to specific implementations thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary implementations of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an example logging while drilling wellbore operating environment, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of an example downhole environment having tubulars, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 2 illustrates example components that may be used to sense conditions within an Earth formation where a wellbore is located, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 3 illustrates example components that may be attached to an outer surface of a wellbore casing that receives power wirelessly from other components that are located inside of the wellbore casing, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 4 illustrates example inductive components that transfer power and data wirelessly through a wellbore casing, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 5 illustrates example capacitive components that transfer power and data wirelessly through a wellbore casing, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 6 illustrates an example wellbore sensing configuration that uses galvanic action to sense electromagnetic fields after those electromagnetic fields are transmitted through an Earth formation, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 7 illustrates an example electromagnetic field monitoring system that includes galvanic elements located at the surface of the Earth and in different wellbores, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example process obtaining measurements describing conditions of an Earth formation, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for monitoring a reservoir and conditions of an Earth formation, in accordance with various aspects of the subject technology. FIG. 10 illustrates an example computing device architecture which can be employed to perform various steps, methods, and techniques disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various aspects of the disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the principles disclosed herein. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein. It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illust