Using non-fungible tokens stored on a digital ledger for controlling ownership of well log data
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be generated and stored on a digital ledger for use in controlling ownership of well log data in some examples described herein. In one such example, a system can encrypt well log data to generate encrypted well-log data. The system can then generate a new record that associates a non-fungible token with the encrypted well-log data, where the non-fungible token is usable to track ownership of the well log data. The system can then publish the new record to a digital ledger that is distributed among a plurality of computer nodes of a ledger network. The new record can be published to the digital ledger in response to at least a subset of the computer nodes reaching a consensus decision to add the new record to the digital ledger.
1 . A system comprising:
a well bore of a hydrocarbon well located in a geologic formation;
a well tool of a first entity including a sensor package, the well tool positioned in the wellbore to measure properties of the geologic formation proximate to the wellbore using the sensor package and to generate well logs based on the measured properties;
a distributed ledger computing system comprising a plurality of computer nodes that collectively implement a ledger network hosting a digital ledger, where a computer node of the plurality of computer nodes is communicatively coupled to the well tool, each computer node of the plurality of computer nodes includes one or more processors and one or more memories, and wherein the one or more computing nodes of the plurality of computing nodes are configured to perform operations comprising:
automatically receiving well-log data associated with a well log generated by the well tool while measuring the properties of the geologic formation proximate to the well bore;
compressing the well-log data to generate compressed well-log data using one of Huffman coding, arithmetic coding, Burrows-Wheeler transform, Lempel-Zic compression or run-length encoding compression techniques;
encrypting the compressed well-log data to generate encrypted compressed well-log data;
storing the encrypted compressed well-log data on the digital ledger;
generating metadata including a tag indicating well-log data characteristics selected from the group consisting of ownership, joint ownership interest, geographical location, measurement depth, creation date, and well tool type;
generating a new record that associates a non-fungible token with the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata, the non-fungible token being usable to track ownership of the well-log data; and
publishing, based on an instruction from the first entity, the new record to the digital ledger in response to at least a subset of the plurality of computer nodes reaching a consensus decision to add the new record to the digital ledger;
executing, by the computer nodes, one or more smart contracts;
decrypting, by the one or more smart contracts, the encrypted compressed well-log data in the new record; and
an automated control system associated with a second entity and communicatively coupled to the distributed ledger computing system, the automated control system including a processor and a memory having instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the automated control system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from the first entity, authorization to access the well-log data;
analyzing the well-log data; and
based on analyzing the well-log data, transmitting one or more commands to a hydrocarbon well site to control a well operation in a target well bore.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein authorization to access the new record by the second entity is based on executing the one or more smart contracts through which it is determinable that a predetermined condition has been satisfied.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the target wellbore is the wellbore of the hydrocarbon well located in the geologic formation.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a program code of at least one of the computer nodes of the ledger network is executable by the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes for causing the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes to:
generate an online digital marketplace for buying, licensing, and selling a plurality of well logs, wherein each well log of the plurality of well logs is defined by corresponding well log data and represented by a corresponding non-fungible token on the digital ledger; and
wherein the online digital marketplace is searchable by a user to identify a subset of well logs, from among the plurality of well logs, having assigned tags that match a search criterion.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the well tool is a logging-while-drilling tool.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a program code of at least one of the computer nodes of the ledger network is executable by the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes for causing the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes to:
store the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata at a storage location that is separate from the digital ledger; and
store a reference to the storage location in the new record.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a program code of at least one of the computer nodes of the ledger network is executable by the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes for causing the one or more processors of the at least one of the computer nodes to store the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata in the new record in conjunction with the non-fungible token.
8 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
positioning a well tool of a first entity in a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well located in a geologic formation, the well tool including a sensor package;
communicatively coupling, to the well tool, a computer node of a distributed ledger computing system comprising a plurality of computer nodes that collectively implement a ledger network hosting a digital ledger;
operating, by the first entity, the sensor package of the well tool to measure properties of the geologic formation proximate to the wellbore and to generate well logs based on the measured properties;
automatically receiving, by the computer node from the well tool, well-log data associated with a well log generated by the well tool while measuring the properties of the formation proximate to the wellbore;
compressing, by the computer nodes, the well-log data to generate compressed well-log data using one of Huffman coding, arithmetic coding, Burrows-Wheeler transform, Lempel-Zic compression, or run-length encoding compression techniques;
encrypting, by the computer nodes, the compressed well-log data to generate encrypted compressed well-log data;
storing, by the computer nodes, the encrypted compressed well-log data on the digital ledger;
generating, by the computer nodes, metadata including a tag indicating well-log data characteristics selected from the group consisting of ownership, joint ownership interest, geographical location, measurement depth, creation date, and well tool type;
generating, by the computer nodes, a new record that associates a non-fungible token with the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata, the non-fungible token being usable to track ownership of the well-log data;
publishing, by the computer nodes, based on an instruction from the first entity, the new record to the digital ledger in response to at least a subset of the computer nodes reaching a consensus decision to add the new record to the digital ledger;
executing, by the computer nodes, one or more smart contracts;
decrypting, by the one or more smart contracts, the encrypted compressed well-log data in the new record;
communicatively coupling an automated control system associated with a second entity to the distributed ledger computing system;
receiving, by the automated control system associated with the second entity, from the first entity, authorization to access the well-log data;
analyzing, by the automated control system associated with the second entity, the well-log data; and
based on analyzing the well-log data, transmitting, by the automated control system, one or more commands to a hydrocarbon well site to control a well operation in a target wellbore.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein authorization to access the new record by the second entity is based on executing the one or more smart contracts through which it is determined that a predetermined condition has been satisfied.
10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising transferring ownership of the well log data from the first entity to the second entity by publishing another record to the digital ledger that transfers ownership of the non-fungible token from a first digital account of the first entity to a second digital account of the second entity.
11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising generating an online digital marketplace for buying and selling a plurality of well logs, wherein each well log of the plurality of well logs is defined by corresponding well log data and represented by a corresponding non-fungible token on the digital ledger, and wherein the online digital marketplace is searchable by a user to identify a subset of well logs, from among the plurality of well logs, having assigned tags that match a search criterion.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the target well bore is the well bore of the hydrocarbon well located in the geologic formation.
13 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
storing the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata at a storage location that is separate from the digital ledger; and
storing a reference to the storage location in the new record.
14 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising storing the encrypted compressed well-log data and the metadata in the new record in conjunction with the nonfungible token.
15 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising generating the non-fungible token.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the measured properties are selected from the group consisting of electrical properties, acoustic properties, radioactive properties, electromagnetic properties, pressure properties, and any combination thereof.
17 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the measured properties are selected from the group consisting of density, porosity, resistivity, magnetic resonance, compressional slowness, shear slowness, formation pressure, and any combination thereof.
18 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the measured properties are selected from the group consisting of electrical properties, acoustic properties, radioactive properties, electromagnetic properties, pressure properties, and any combination thereof.
19 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the well tool is a logging-while-drilling tool that measures the properties of the geologic formation during drilling of the well bore.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the measured properties are selected from the group consisting of density, porosity, resistivity, magnetic resonance, compressional slowness, shear slowness, formation pressure, and any combination thereof.