Schlumberger Oilfield Services' sonicVISION sonic-while-drilling tool provides both enhanced real-time velocity measurements and improved tool reliability and functionality, resulting in increased drilling efficiency and safety, the company says.
According to Schlumberger, the tool delivers high quality, real-time acoustic travel time data, giving operators confidence to make critical well decisions. High-quality, real-time sonic data can be applied to several drilling scenarios, including pore pressure prediction, drilling process optimization, stress and rock strength determination, formation gas and gas influx detection, and bit-on-seismic positioning.
SonicVISION delivers full slowness time (ST) projections to surface, which, the company says, offers real-time compressional and shear measurements with a full slowness projection log delivered while drilling at the rig site or office.
The sonicVISION tool is available in 6 3/4-in., 8 1/4-in., and 9-in. collar sizes and has been run in hole sizes ranging from 8 1/2 to up to 30-in.
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It provides additional quality control with automatic station measurements during a connection. In a noise-free environment, the tool takes a check measurement that is sent uphole when pumping resumes.
These velocity measurements allow the user to:
- Optimize the mud weight window to minimize kicks
- Predict borehole stability
- Identify top-of-cement
- Understand rock mechanical properties
- Measure porosity
- Position bit-on-seismic using synthetics
- Identify gas influx or formation gas
- Perform other standard sonic applications
"Measurements acquired by the sonicVISION tool can reduce drilling risks and costs by providing formation data in uncertain and challenging environments," Paal Kibsgaard, president, Drilling & Measurements, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, said. "Proprietary Schlumberger software turns quality sonicVISION log information and other LWD measurements into valuable drilling answers, such as safe operating mud weight window."
Improved confidence of the real-time measurements is made possible by several features, including a real-time projection log, typically only available in memory, which Schlumberger says enables the sonic information be labeled in real-time at surface and interpreted by a remote expert if needed. Automatic station measurements done in a noise free environment during connections and sent uphole sent in real-time for additional quality control, wideband receivers and high-power transmitter further improve the confidence of the real-time measurement.
Combinable with all Schlumberger LWD systems, the sonicVISION tool is available in 6 3/4-in., 8 1/4-in., and 9-in. collar sizes and has been run in hole sizes ranging from 8 1/2 to up to 30-in.
