IP Library Granted Patent US 11,760,912
Granted Patent B2
US 11,760,912 · App. 17/451,407 · Granted Sep 19, 2023

Fluorescent barcoded quantum dots for drilling depth correlation

Inventors: Nouf M. Aljabri (Dhahran, SA); Vera Solovyeva (Moscow, RU); Alberto F. Marsala (Venice, IT)
Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
C09K8/035C09K11/025C09K11/883E21B47/04E21B47/11
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,760,912
App. No.
17/451,407
Granted
Sep 19, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A composition of matter includes a core-shell quantum dot particle having an inorganic core and an organic shell and drilling fluid. A method includes introducing a core-shell quantum dot particle having an inorganic core and a polymer shell into a drilling fluid, circulating the drilling fluid through a well during a drilling operation that creates formation cuttings such that the core-shell quantum dot particle interacts with the formation cuttings, creating tagged cuttings, collecting returned cuttings from the circulating drilling fluid at a surface of the well, detecting the presence of the core-shell quantum dot particle on the returned cuttings to identify the tagged cuttings, and correlating the tagged cuttings with a drill depth in the well at a time during the drilling operation.

Claims (26)

1. A composition of matter comprising:

a core-shell quantum dot particle having an inorganic core and an organic shell, wherein the organic shell is a polymer;

drilling fluid; and

formation cuttings, wherein the core-shell quantum dot particle is attached to the formation cutting,

wherein the polymer is derived from units of at least one monomer, wherein the monomer is selected from the group consisting of styrene, aminostyrene, bromostyrene, chlorostyrene, butyl methacrylate, t-butyoxystyrene, trifluoromethyl styrene, pentafluorostyrene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethyl orthosilicate, ethylene oxide, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethylene, propylene, and combinations thereof.

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic core is a cadmium-containing chalcogenide.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic core is selected from the group consisting of InP, CuInS 2 , InP/ZnSeS/ZnS, PbS, PbO, ZnO, ZnS, HgS, GaAs, GaP, AlGaAs HgTe, InAs, and graphene.

4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic core is a perovskite.

5. The composition of claim 4 , wherein the perovskite is selected from the group consisting of CsPbBr 3 , and CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 .

6. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic core includes a dopant selected from the group consisting of Mn 2+ , Tm 3+ , Er 3+ , Tb 3+ , Eu 3+ , Ag + , and combinations thereof.

7. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is of a polymer type selected from the group consisting of polythiols, poly(ethylene glycol), thiolated poly(ethylene glycol), peptides, multidentate phosphine polymers, poly(acrylamide)s, poly(amidoamine)s, poly(ethyleneimine)s, poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)s, amphiphilic di- and tri block-co-polymers, poly(maleic acid) derivatives, poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-tetradecene), and combinations thereof.

8. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of poly ethyleneimine, polyacrylamide, poly chlorostyrene, poly bromostyrene, and poly methylstyrene.

9. A method comprising:

introducing a core-shell quantum dot particle having an inorganic core and a polymer shell into a drilling fluid,

wherein the polymer is derived from units of at least one monomer, wherein the monomer is selected from the group consisting of styrene, aminostyrene, bromostyrene, chlorostyrene, butylmethacrylate, t-butyoxystyrene, trifluoromethyl styrene, pentafluorostyrene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethyl orthosilicate, ethylene oxide, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, ethylene, propylene, and combinations thereof;

circulating the drilling fluid through a well during a drilling operation that creates formation cuttings such that the core-shell quantum dot particle interacts with and attaches to the formation cuttings, creating tagged cuttings;

collecting returned cuttings from the circulating drilling fluid at a surface of the well;

detecting the presence of the core-shell quantum dot particle on the returned cuttings to identify the tagged cuttings; and

correlating the tagged cuttings with a drill depth in the well at a time during the drilling operation.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein detecting the core-shell quantum dot particle comprises illuminating the tagged cuttings with UV light and obtaining images of the cuttings with a camera.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the detecting the core-shell quantum dot particle comprises using a detection method selected from the group consisting of UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorimetry, and mass spectroscopy.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

pumping a second core-shell quantum dot particle with the drilling fluid down the well after circulating the core-shell quantum dot particle, wherein the second core-shell quantum dot particle is configured to attach to and tag formation cuttings as the well is drilled;

returning the drilling fluid and tagged formation cuttings from the well; and

detecting the presence of the second core-shell quantum dot particle on the tagged cuttings.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the core-shell quantum dot particle comprises a first emission wavelength, wherein the second core-shell quantum dot particle comprises a second emission wavelength, and wherein the first emission wavelength is different from the second emission wavelength such that the core-shell quantum dot particle may be differentiated from the second core-shell quantum dot particle by illuminating the core-shell quantum dot particles with UV light and obtaining images of the tagged cuttings with a camera.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 28, 2023
From: ARAMCO INNOVATIONS LLC
To: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
Reel/Frame 063174/0696 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 25, 2021
From: ALJABRI, NOUF M.; MARSALA, ALBERTO F.
To: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
Reel/Frame 057896/0737 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 25, 2021
From: SOLOVYEVA, VERA
To: ARAMCO INNOVATIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 057896/0775 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230120528A1 · Apr 20, 2023