Granted Patent B2

US 12,735,973 · App. 18/990,656 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventor: Adam Chase Neufeldt (Calgary, CA)

Assignee: PASON SYSTEMS CORP.

E21B44/00

Abstract

Claims (215)

1 . A method of using one or more computer processors to control drilling of a wellbore, comprising:

determining a current bit depth indicative of a depth of a drill bit being used to drill the wellbore;

determining a compression factor indicative of compression of a drill string to which is attached the drill bit;

updating, based on the current bit depth and the compression factor, the current bit depth; and

controlling the drilling of the wellbore based on the updated bit depth, comprising:

performing, when the drill bit is off-bottom, a first toolface control operation comprising rotating the drill string by an amount of rotation determined using the updated bit depth.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the drilling is controlled by an automated drilling unit that:

receives one or more drilling parameter inputs; and

outputs, based on the one or more drilling parameter inputs, one or more drilling parameter setpoints that are used to control the drilling of the wellbore; and

controlling the drilling of the wellbore comprises:

inputting the one or more drilling parameter inputs, including the updated bit depth, to the automated drilling unit;

receiving, from the automated drilling unit, the one or more drilling parameter setpoints; and

controlling drilling of the wellbore based on the one or more drilling parameter setpoints.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after performing the first toolface control operation:

determining that a touchdown condition has been met; and

in response to determining that the touchdown condition has been met, performing a second toolface control operation comprising further rotating the drill string by an amount of rotation determined using the updated bit depth.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein determining that the touchdown condition has been met comprises:

monitoring a differential pressure across the drill bit; and

determining, based on the differential pressure, that the touchdown condition has been met.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the current bit depth comprises:

when the drill bit is off-bottom, calculating:

bitDepth

[

i

]

=

bitDepth

[

i

-

1

]

-

(

blockHeight

[

i

]

-

blockHeight

[

i

-

1

]

)

+

(

hookload

[

i

]

-

hookload

[

i

-

1

]

)

*

AxComp

,

wherein bitDepth[i] is the current bit depth, bitDepth[i−1] is a previous bit depth, blockHeight[i] is a current block height of a travelling block connected to the drill string, blockHeight[i−1] is a previous block height of the travelling block, hookload[i] is a current hookload reading, hookload[i−1] is a previous hookload reading, and AxComp is the compression factor.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein updating the current bit depth further comprises:

determining a current hole depth indicative of a depth of the wellbore; and

before calculating bitDepth[i], determining that the drill bit is off-bottom by determining that the current bit depth is less than the current hole depth.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein determining the compression factor comprises determining the compression factor based on dimensions of the drill string and Young's modulus of one or more materials comprised in the drill string.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein determining the compression factor comprises:

determining a change in block height of the travelling block;

determining a change in hookload; and

determining the compression factor by calculating the change in block height divided by the change in hookload.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the method further comprises:

determining hole depth indicative of a depth of the wellbore; and

determining, based on the hole depth and the updated bit depth, an updated off-bottom distance; and

controlling the drilling of wellbore is based on the updated off-bottom distance.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein

the amount of rotation by which the drill string is rotated according to the first toolface control operation is determined using the updated off-bottom distance.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a current hole depth indicative of a depth of the wellbore;

determining that the updated bit depth is greater than the current hole depth; and

in response to determining that the updated bit depth is greater than the current hole depth, setting the current hole depth equal to the updated bit depth.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising, prior to setting the current hole depth equal to the updated bit depth, determining one or any combination of the following:

that the drill string is not currently in-slips;

that a current weight-on-bit, indicative of a weight applied to the drill bit, is greater than a minimum weight-on-bit;

that a pump rate, indicative of a rate at which a mud pump is operating, is greater than a minimum pump rate; and

that the last direction in which a travelling block, connected to the drill string, moved is down.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein determining that the last direction in which the travelling block moved is down comprises calculating:

blockHeightDiff

=

blockHeight

[

t

]

-

blockHeight

[

t

-

1

]

lastBlocksDown

[

t

]

=

blockHeightDiff

<

0.

or

⁢

(

blockHeightDiff

==

0.

and

⁢

lastBlocksDown

[

t

-

1

]

)

,

wherein blockHeight[t] is a current block height of the travelling block, blockHeight[t−1] is a previous block height of the travelling block, lastBlocksDown[t] is the last direction in which the travelling block moved, and lastBlocksDown[t−1] is the last direction in which the travelling block moved at a point in time prior to lastBlocksDown[t].

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the current bit depth comprises:

when the drill string is in-slips, calculating:

bitDepth

[

i

]

=

bitDepth

[

i

-

1

]

+

(

hookload

[

i

]

-

hookload

[

i

-

1

]

)

*

AxComp

,

wherein bitDepth[i] is the current bit depth, bitDepth[i−1] is a previous bit depth, hookload[i] is a current hookload reading, hookload[i−1] is a previous hookload reading, and AxComp is the compression factor.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the compression factor comprises determining the compression factor based on dimensions of the drill string and Young's modulus of one or more materials comprised in the drill string.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the compression factor comprises:

determining a change in block height of the travelling block;

determining a change in hookload; and

determining the compression factor by calculating the change in block height divided by the change in hookload.

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein updating the current bit depth further comprises:

before calculating bitDepth[i], determining that the drill string is in-slips by determining that the current hookload reading is less than threshold.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein updating the current bit depth comprises further comprises:

when the drill string is transitioning from in-slips to out-of-slips, calculating:

bitDepth

[

i

]

=

bitDepth

[

i

-

1

]

+

(

hookload

[

i

]

-

hookload

[

i

-

1

]

)

-

hookloadComp

)

*

AxComp

,

wherein hookloadComp is indicative of an expected change in hookload that is unconnected to compression of the drill string.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer program code configured when executed by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to perform a method of controlling drilling of a wellbore, comprising:

determining a current bit depth indicative of a depth of a drill bit being used to drill the wellbore;

determining a compression factor indicative of compression of a drill string to which is attached the drill bit;

updating, based on the current bit depth and the compression factor, the current bit depth; and

controlling the drilling of the wellbore based on the updated bit depth, comprising:

performing, when the drill bit is off-bottom, a first toolface control operation comprising rotating the drill string by an amount of rotation determined using the updated bit depth.

20 . A drilling rig comprising:

a drill string having a drill bit at end thereof for drilling a wellbore;

one or more sensors for measuring block height and hookload, wherein block height is indicative of a height of a travelling block connected to the drill string, and hookload is indicative of a load exerted by the drill string; and

one or more processors configured to receive as inputs real-time measurements of the block height and the hookload obtained by the one or more sensors during drilling of the wellbore, and configured to:

determine a current bit depth indicative of a depth of the drill bit during drilling of the wellbore;

determine a compression factor indicative of compression of the drill string drilling of the wellbore;

update, based on the current bit depth and the compression factor, the current bit depth; and

control the drilling of the wellbore based on the updated bit depth, wherein controlling the drilling of the wellbore comprises:

performing, when the drill bit is off-bottom, a first toolface control operation comprising rotating the drill string by an amount of rotation determined using the updated bit depth.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (48)