| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 6957145 |
Methods for determining characteristics of earth formations |
October 18, 2005 |
| A method for measuring one or more characteristics of an earth formation wherebyenergy is emitted circumferentially about a borehole into the formation, and the amount reflected back is detected during a plurality of sample periods. The samples are grouped into two or more groups by the |
| 6956372 |
System and method for NMR logging with helical polarization |
October 18, 2005 |
| Nuclear magnetic resonance well logging apparatus and method of use for geophysical examination of a borehole as the borehole is drilled. The apparatus is connected to the drill bit to follow it through the borehole as the borehole is formed. The apparatus comprises a non-magnetic pr |
| 6956371 |
Method and apparatus for detecting diffusion sensitive phases with estimation of residual error |
October 18, 2005 |
| A method and system are disclosed for NMR echo-train data acquisition and processing for enhanced tracking of the error in the signal due to magnetoacoustic effects, known as ringing, that are not cancelled out or otherwise corrected. In one aspect, the method enables correction of r |
| 6954066 |
Abnormal pressure determination using nuclear magnetic resonance logging |
October 11, 2005 |
| A method and apparatus for determining abnormal pressure zones of a geologic formation using NMR measurements, preferably for logging-while-drilling applications. In a preferred embodiment, a normal compaction trend is constructed using NMR-derived clay bound water volume (CBW) conte |
| 6953505 |
Stable and biodegradable foamed cement slurries, additives and methods |
October 11, 2005 |
| The present invention relates to stable and biodegradable foamed cement slurries, additives and methods. A foamed cement slurry of the invention comprises a hydraulic cement, sufficient water to form a slurry, sufficient gas to form a foam and a biodegradable foaming and stabilizing |
| 6953094 |
Subterranean well completion incorporating downhole-parkable robot therein |
October 11, 2005 |
| A subterranean well completion has a tubular structure in which a remote controlled robot is permanently disposed. The robot is self-propelled, programmable, receives instructions from and communicates data to the surface, and is adapted to receive power from a downhole source and pe |
| 6953093 |
Communication tool for accessing a non annular hydraulic chamber of a subsurface safety valve |
October 11, 2005 |
| A tubing retrievable safety valve (50) having a non annular hydraulic chamber (60) in a sidewall portion thereof is operable to received a communication tool (100) therein such that relative rotation between at least a portion of the communication tool (100) and the tubing retrievable |
| 6953090 |
Cementing subterranean zones using cement compositions containing biodegradable dispersants |
October 11, 2005 |
| Methods of cementing subterranean zones using cement compositions containing biogradable dispersants are provided. The methods are basically comprised of the steps of preparing a hydraulic cement, a biodegradable dispersant comprised of polyaspartic acid containing side chains formed by |
| 6951252 |
Surface controlled subsurface lateral branch safety valve |
October 4, 2005 |
| A surface controlled subsurface lateral branch safety valve provides flow control for each branch wellbore in a multilateral well. In a described embodiment, a completion system for a well having an intersection between parent and branch wellbores includes an apparatus having multiple pa |
| 6951250 |
Sealant compositions and methods of using the same to isolate a subterranean zone from a disposa |
October 4, 2005 |
| A method of isolating a subterranean zone using a sealant composition comprising a partially polymerized furfuryl compound selected from the group consisting of furfuryl alcohol, furfuryl aldehyde, and combinations thereof, and pumping the sealant composition into a well bore positioned |
| 6951249 |
Foamed cement slurries, additives and methods |
October 4, 2005 |
| The present invention relates to foamed cement slurries, additives and methods. A foamed cement slurry of the invention comprises a hydraulic cement, sufficient water to form a slurry, sufficient gas to form a foam and an environmentally benign foaming and stabilizing additive comprising |
| 6948572 |
Command method for a steerable rotary drilling device |
September 27, 2005 |
| In a drilling system of the type comprising a rotatable drilling string, a drilling string communication system and a drilling direction control device connected with the drilling string, a method is provided for issuing one or more commands to the drilling direction control device u |
| 6948535 |
Apparatus and method for accurately metering and conveying dry powder or granular materials to a |
September 27, 2005 |
| The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for accurately metering and conveying a dry powder or granular material to a blender in a substantially closed system. The apparatus includes a storage tank adapted to hold the dry powder or granular material, a hopper disposed |
| 6945329 |
Methods and compositions for placing particulate materials in subterranean zones |
September 20, 2005 |
| Methods and compositions for placing particulate materials in subterranean zones penetrated by well bores. In one embodiment, the methods comprise: providing a compacted particulate material fluid that comprises a compacted particulate material, and a foam within the pore spaces of the |
| 6944546 |
Method and apparatus for inversion processing of well logging data in a selected pattern space |
September 13, 2005 |
| Method and apparatus for deriving information regarding a subsurface geophysical formation. Well logging data is acquired for the subsurface geophysical formation. Geometrical parameters for the subsurface geophysical formation are determined by inversion processing of the acquired w |
| 6943709 |
Self-adaptable data compression technique |
September 13, 2005 |
| A self-adaptable data compression technique includes compressing the digital data points of a waveform according to at least a first protocol and a second protocol, and various comparing the compressed data under various protocols to determine which would require the least memory for |
| 6942045 |
Drilling with mixed tooth types |
September 13, 2005 |
| A rotary-cutter Earth-penetrating bit in which a given track of bottom hole is attacked by inserts of two different types, e.g. chisel-shaped and pointed, wider and narrower, higher and shorter, and/or of different materials. The different types of inserts can both be included within a |
| 6941652 |
Methods of fabricating a thin-wall expandable well screen assembly |
September 13, 2005 |
| An expandable well screen has a desirable thin-wall construction together with a simplified fabrication method. In fabricating the screen, a flexible sheet of metal mesh filter media is diffusion bonded to an inner side of a perforated metal sheet which is then deformed to a tubular shap |
| 6938692 |
Permeable cement composition and method for preparing the same |
September 6, 2005 |
| An improved permeable cement composition for formation of downhole sand screens. The improved composition includes an effective amount of a surfactant. Addition of the surfactant to the permeable cement composition yields at least a pumpable slurry with a minimal amount of water or brine |
| 6938690 |
Downhole tool and method for fracturing a subterranean well formation |
September 6, 2005 |
| A downhole tool for fracturing a subterranean formation according to which a tool having a plurality of discharge jets or nozzles is located in a spaced relation to a wall of the formation to form an annulus between the nozzles and the formation. An acid-containing, stimulation fluid is |
| 6938458 |
Acoustic doppler downhole fluid flow measurement |
September 6, 2005 |
| An apparatus and system are disclosed for in situ measurement of downhole fluid flow using Doppler techniques. First, a baseline speed of sound is established as close to the desired measurement point as possible. This speed of sound measurement is then used in Doppler calculations for |
| 6936574 |
Process for controlling gas migration during well cementing |
August 30, 2005 |
| The present invention provides a cement composition and a process for using the cement composition to inhibit gas migration from a subterranean zone into the cement. The process comprises displacing a gelling additive, preferably comprised within a cement composition, into a well bore su |
| 6935432 |
Method and apparatus for forming an annular barrier in a wellbore |
August 30, 2005 |
| In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided which utilize an expandable media assembly to create an annular barrier in a subterranean well. The apparatus comprises a tubing assembly for placement in the wellbore, the tubing assembly having an outer surf |
| 6935428 |
Apparatus and methods for anchoring and orienting equipment in well casing |
August 30, 2005 |
| Apparatus and methods for anchoring and orienting equipment in a well provide a latch assembly having a substantially unobstructed bore, thereby increasing access and flow therethrough while the latch assembly is operatively engaged with an anchoring and orienting profile in the well. |
| 6935424 |
Mitigating risk by using fracture mapping to alter formation fracturing process |
August 30, 2005 |
| A formation fracturing method with which to mitigate risk to hydrocarbon productivity includes pumping fracturing fluid, during at least part of a fracturing job time period, into a well to fracture a formation; generating signals, within the fracturing job time period, in response to |
| 6935423 |
Borehole retention device |
August 30, 2005 |
| A borehole retention assembly for anchoring a well tool within a wellbore including a gripping assembly and an actuation assembly. The gripping assembly includes expandable members such that upon expanding the expandable members, the gripping assembly engages the wall of the borehole |
| 6935422 |
Expanding wellbore junction |
August 30, 2005 |
| An expanding wellbore junction system, apparatus and methods are provided for forming a sealed wellbore intersection in a subterranean well. In one described method, an expandable wellbore junction is expanded within an under-reamed cavity in a wellbore. Intersecting tubular legs of the |
| 6933856 |
Adaptive acoustic transmitter controller apparatus and method |
August 23, 2005 |
| The invention describes a method and apparatus for effectively communicating data along the acoustic channel of a subterranean well. The method comprises optimally driving an acoustic transmitter with an adaptive transmitter controller. A data signal is transmitted along the acoustic |
| 6932169 |
System and method for developing and recycling drilling fluids |
August 23, 2005 |
| A system and method for developing and recycling drilling fluids at the site of a subterranean well is described, thus eliminating the need for transporting the fluids to the site. |
| 6932167 |
Formation testing while drilling data compression |
August 23, 2005 |
| A compression scheme for reducing the amount of data that must be transmitted uplink from a formation test while drilling apparatus. Periodic samples are taken within the formation test apparatus and prior to transmitting data uplink, the samples are analyzed to generate curve fit pa |
| 6932157 |
Apparatus and method for treating an interval of a wellbore |
August 23, 2005 |
| An apparatus (60) and method for treating an interval of a wellbore comprises an outer tubular (62) disposed within the wellbore. A sand control screen (92) is disposed within the outer tubular (62). A slurry passageway (88) is formed between the sand control screen (92) and outer tu |
| 6931378 |
Method, systems, and program product for selecting and acquiring data to update a geophysical da |
August 16, 2005 |
| Methods and systems for collecting, managing, distributing and updating geophysical data primarily for E&P companies include in one embodiment the sale of subscriptions entitling paid subscribers access to all subscribed data including both preview and full data. Initial and subsequent d |
| 6926102 |
Subsea controlled milling |
August 9, 2005 |
| Subsea controlled milling apparatus and methods. In a described embodiment, a method of controlling displacement of a cutting device conveyed on a tubular string in a subterranean well includes the steps of: interconnecting an apparatus in the tubular string, the apparatus including |
| 6926086 |
Method for removing a tool from a well |
August 9, 2005 |
| A method of treating a subterranean formation surrounding a wellbore, according to which a tool inserted into the wellbore for performing a function in the wellbore is fabricated of a material that breaks up upon detonation of an explosive mounted on the tool, thus allowing the pieces |
| 6926081 |
Methods of discovering and correcting subterranean formation integrity problems during drilling |
August 9, 2005 |
| In accordance with a method of this invention, formation integrity problems are discovered, diagnosed and corrected in successively drilled subterranean well bore intervals. If one or more of well bore fluid outflows, formation fluid inflows or inadequate well bore pressure containme |
| 6924745 |
System and method for monitoring packer slippage |
August 2, 2005 |
| A system and method for monitoring a device in a well, according to which a sensor associated with the device monitors any movement of the device in the well and outputs a corresponding signal. The signal is processed and transmitted to a remote location. |
| 6924254 |
Viscous well treating fluids and methods |
August 2, 2005 |
| Viscous well treating fluids and methods of treating subterranean zones penetrated by well bores are provided. The viscous fluids are basically comprised of water, a gelling agent and a delayed viscosity breaker comprising pentanedione peroxide. |
| 6923273 |
Well system |
August 2, 2005 |
| The drilling system includes a work string supporting a bottom hole assembly. The work string including lengths of pipe having a non-metallic portion. The work string preferably includes a composite coiled tubing having a fluid impermeable liner, multiple load carrying layers, and a |
| 6923264 |
Methods of fracturing subterranean zones, fracturing fluids and breaker activators therefor |
August 2, 2005 |
| A method of fracturing subterranean zones at temperature below about 200.degree. F. wherein the fracturing fluid comprises water, a viscosity increasing gelling agent, a particulate proppant material, a delayed viscosity breaker for causing the fracturing fluid to revert to a thin fl |
| 6922637 |
Method for selection of cementing composition |
July 26, 2005 |
| A method is provided for selecting a cementing composition for sealing a subterranean zone penetrated by a well bore. The method involves determining a group of effective cementing compositions from a group of cementing compositions given estimated conditions experienced during the l |
| 6920944 |
Apparatus and method for drilling and reaming a borehole |
July 26, 2005 |
| A drilling assembly and an eccentric, adjustable diameter reamer are disclosed. The reamer includes cutter elements mounted on at least a first fixed blade for reaming a previously-formed borehole or for forming a borehole of increased diameter beneath an existing cased borehole. The |
| 6920933 |
Platform for delivery of downhole tools |
July 26, 2005 |
| A platform is used to deliver a tool down a hole by controlling the flow of fluid through and around the platform. The platform has a top surface for receiving the tool. The platform also has a bottom surface to provide guidance through and resistance to the flow of fluid. The lower surf |
| 6920929 |
Reverse circulation cementing system and method |
July 26, 2005 |
| A system and method of cementing in an annulus formed between a casing and the wall of a well bore, wherein a foamed cement is introduced into the upper portion of the annulus, directed downwardly through the annulus and back up into the casing, and then displaced back down the casing an |
| 6920085 |
Downlink telemetry system |
July 19, 2005 |
| A downlink telemetry system providing improved apparatus and methods for communicating instructions via pressure pulses from surface equipment to a downhole assembly. The apparatus comprises a surface transmitter for generating pressure pulses, a control system, and a downhole receiver f |
| 6918445 |
Methods and compositions for treating subterranean zones using environmentally safe polymer brea |
July 19, 2005 |
| Methods and compositions for treating subterranean zones penetrated by well bores utilizing environmentally safe viscous fluids including a solubility increasing boron complex or ester forming compound. A method of the invention comprises the following steps. A viscous treating fluid |
| 6918440 |
Testing drill packer |
July 19, 2005 |
| One embodiment of the present disclosure describes a test assembly including an inflatable packer. An internal control sleeve controls flow of drilling fluid through an inflation port to inflate and deflate the packer. A shifting tool run on a slick line moves the sleeve. The packer |
| 6918293 |
System and method having radiation intensity measurements with standoff correction |
July 19, 2005 |
| We disclose density measurement methods that are accurate over an extended range of standoff distances. One method embodiment includes: a) obtaining a standoff distance, a near detector count rate, and a far detector count rate; b) determining a formation density measurement using near a |
| 6915855 |
Wellbore junction drifting apparatus and associated method |
July 12, 2005 |
| An expanding wellbore junction system, apparatus and methods are provided for forming a sealed wellbore intersection in a subterranean well. In one described method, an expandable wellbore junction is expanded within an under-reamed cavity in a wellbore. Intersecting tubular legs of the |
| 6914538 |
High-power well logging method and apparatus |
July 5, 2005 |
| A system and method for downhole power delivery. In one embodiment, the system delivers computer-regulated downhole power voltages, and may be configured to customize signal waveforms and power allocation on the various independent signal transmission modes to maximize the power capa |
| 6913240 |
Electrohydraulic control unit |
July 5, 2005 |
| An electrohydraulic control unit for operating an actuator of a hydraulically controllable device is disclosed. The electrohydraulic control unit comprises a housing including a chamber for hydraulic fluid. The housing is coupled to the actuator such that a path for fluid communicati |
