Gas extraction calibration system and methods

1. A method to operate a gas extraction system in extracting at least one hydrocarbon from mud flowing in a drilling operation, the method comprising:

directing at least a portion of the mud flowing in the drilling operation to the gas extraction system;

injecting, in at least one injection operation, at least one known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud and obtaining, with the gas extraction system during each injection operation, at least one subject reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud;

determining a correction factor of each of the at least one hydrocarbon for the gas extraction system by comparing each subject reading against its corresponding known concentration;

obtaining, with the gas extraction system, at least one operational reading for the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud; and

correcting the at least one operational reading using the determined correction factor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein injecting the at least one known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud comprises pumping a mixture of the directed mud and the injected concentration to a pressurized mixing volume.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining, with the gas extraction system during the at least one injection operation, the subject reading of the directed mud comprises pumping a constant volume of the directed mud to the gas extraction system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the correction factor of each of the at least one hydrocarbon for the gas extraction system comprises:

determining a first of the correction factor for a first component of the at least one hydrocarbon according to the steps of claim 1 ; and

calculating, from the first correction factor for the first component, one or more second of the correction factors for one or more second components of the at least one hydrocarbon.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein injecting the at least one known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud comprises:

bypassing a portion of a mud stream from the directed mud for injection;

injecting a quantity of gas and/or liquid of the at least one hydrocarbon into the bypassed mud stream; and

recombining the bypassed portion with a remaining portion of the mud stream.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein recombining the bypassed portion with the remaining portion comprises mixing a mixture of the bypassed portion of the mud having the injected concentration with the remaining portion of the mud stream.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting, based on the corrected operational reading, a parameter of the drilling operation, wherein the parameter is selected from the group consisting of a flow rate, a pump rate, a mud type, a mud weight, and a surface back pressure.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising managing a drilling event based on the adjusted parameter, wherein the drilling event is selected from the group consisting of a kick, an influx, a fluid loss, gas at surface, and a high-pressure low-volume depletion.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising diverting some of the directed mud for containment and for later use in the injection and determination steps.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein diverting some of the directed mud for containment and for later use in the injection and determination steps comprises operating a selector selectively communicating between the containment, the gas extraction system, and a flow line of the mud flowing in the drilling operation.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, with the gas extraction system relative to the at least one injection operation, that a background reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud is at least indicative of stability.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein determining that the background reading is at least indicative of stability comprises one or more of:

waiting for the background reading to reach a measurement level of stability; and

determining that the background reading is consistent in comparison to another relative background reading.

13. The method of claim 11 , comprising terminating the method in response to a determination that the background reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud is indicative of instability, wherein the determination indicative of instability comprises a determination that the background reading fails to reach a measurement level of stability, is inconsistent with other background readings, or evidences a drilling event.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein injecting the at least one known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud comprises:

injecting the at least one known concentration with injection equipment, the injection equipment in fluid communication with the directed mud and receiving at least a portion of the directed mud, the injection equipment configured to inject the at least one known concentration of the at least one of the hydrocarbons into the directed mud;

pumping, with pump equipment in fluid communication with the injection equipment, the directed mud with the injected concentration at high pressure; and

mixing, in a volume in fluid communication with the pump equipment, the directed mud with the injected concentration under a pressurized condition prior to the gas extraction of obtaining the at least one subject reading with the gas extraction system.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein mixing further comprises mixing, with a mixer, the mixed portion of the directed mud with any remaining portion of the directed mud before communicating the directed mud for the gas extraction.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein mixing further comprises controlling, with a flow control in communication with the volume, flow of the mixed portion of the directed mud after mixing in the volume.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein obtaining, with the gas extraction system during the at least one injection operation, the at least one subject reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud comprises performing the gas extraction with the gas extraction system in fluid communication with the volume, wherein the gas extraction system comprises a constant volume pump taking in a stream of the directed mud.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein obtaining the at least one subject reading and determining the correction factor comprises using a processing unit operatively coupled to the injection equipment and the pump equipment, the processing unit being operable to obtain the at least one subject reading from the gas extraction and to determine the correction factor of the gas extraction in extracting the at least one hydrocarbon from the directed mud.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing additional injection operations and determinations; and refining the determined correction factor of each of the at least one hydrocarbon based thereon.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the steps of injecting and determining in the additional injection operations and determinations performed comprise:

obtaining, with the gas extraction system at least prior to a first of the at least one injection operation, a first background reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud;

injecting, in the first injection operation, a first of the known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud and obtaining, with the gas extraction system during the first injection operation, a first of the at least one subject reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud;

stopping the first injection operation and obtaining, with the gas extraction system, a second background reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud; and

injecting, in a second of the at least one injection operation, a second of the known concentration of the at least one hydrocarbon into the directed mud and obtaining, with the gas extraction system during the second injection operation, a second of the at least one subject reading of the at least one hydrocarbon extracted from the directed mud.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the second known concentration is greater than, less than, or equal to the first known concentration.