TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Upgrading Formation-Evaluation Electronics for High-Temperature Drilling Environments

Ron Dirksen, SPE, Halliburton

Globally, increasing amounts of hydrocarbon resources are being found in fields that have very high thermal gradients. (It gets hot very quickly as you move downward.) On the drilling side, challenging, high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/ HT) wells customarily have been drilled with the simplest of tools, such as turbines and mud motors, which have minimal electronics and make no measurements. Logging-while-drilling tools, which do contain electronics and require electrical power to operate, have not been used thus far in these wells. Most formation-evaluation tools have lots of electronic components, and so initially couldnt be used in HP/HT wells. However, these wells are often located offshore, where high rig rates force operators to look for all possible means to increase drilling efficiency and optimize wellbore placement for maximum production. Meeting HT Challenges The main challenges in these environments are preventing the electronics from becoming damaged, maintaining measurement accuracy and precision, and generating or supplying the regulated power to the electronics reliably over the duration of the drilling effort. Several parallel technologies have been developed over the past 5 to 6 years that can be used on their own or in combination to address these issues. The technology developments have concentrated on three main themes: HT electronics and the operating environment, new sensor technologies and measurement methodologies to improve accuracy and precision, and active cooling. In this connection, a 2-year project to develop measurement-while-drilling tools that can record and transmit data at temperatures of 230Crunning for

14 days continuouslyhas been initiated by Halliburton. The purpose of this project was to finalize some of the ongoing developments in high-temperature electronics and sensor technologies and package them into a tool capable of performing in this environment. In considering the operating life of electronics, one of the main issues in HT environments is the increased rate of chemical reactions that cause the electronics to fail. In 1889, Svante Arrhenius documented the fact that chemical reactions require activation energy to proceed. The Arrhenius equation provides the quantitative relationship between temperature and the rate at which a chemical reaction occurs. This relationship is important for our industry because it governs many of the failure mechanisms for downhole electronics. The rate of chemical reactions is defined by the equation K=AeEa/RT, which documents the exponential relationship between rate (K) and temperature (T). Ea is the activation energy for a particular process, and this value can be changed (by adding catalyst or inhibitor). Ae (pre-exponential factor) and R (gas constant) are empirically derived constants. Many reactions double their rate every 10C. Chemicals Removed, Electronics Hardened Removal of the chemicals causing these reactions and hardening the electronics, i.e. increasing the activation energy required to start chemical reactions, have been the main factors in successfully developing HT electronics. In a cooperative effort between the E&P industry and several leading electronic-component manufacturers, technology has been developed to get

most out of the electronics required for measurement-/logging-while-drilling (M/LWD) tools to operate for extended periods at, or even above, 230C. The main developments were in hardening the circuitry, repackaging the electronics and removal of chemicals in the electronics and their immediate environment that otherwise would have reduced the effective life of the electronics, as a result of accelerating chemical reactions at higher temperatures. New Sensors, Measurement Methodologies New sensors and new measurement methodologies have been developed for the measurement of the earths magnetic and gravity fieldsessential in determining the wellbore trajectory in the hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs. The existing sensors that measure both the earths magnetic field and the gravity field have stability issues throughout all of the temperature-operating ranges, which unless addressed effectively cause their calibration to drift and thus result in inaccurate measurements. Both sensor packages needed to be redesigned for the HT operating environment for higher reliability and lower calibration drift. The electronics that supply the power to these instruments and collect the measurement values also have been redesigned to reduce the amount of drift with temperature. The methodology used to make the measurement has been upgraded to account for calibration drift, ensuring stable, calibrated measurements over the life of the instruments. When these instruments are used, the measurements are as accurate and precise as those taken with current low-temperature instruments used by the industry. Existing, proven technologies for measuring natural gamma rays, vibra-

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JPT JANUARY 2011

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TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
(a)
Ultra HP/HT

>20K psi 138 MPa >15K psi 103 MPa >10K psi 69 MPa Pressure

Extreme HP/HT

HP/HT

Standard

Temperature

(b)

>300F >350F >400F >150C >175C >200C

Temperature and Pressure CapabilityDecember 2010

Maximum Operation Pressure (psi) and Temperature (C) Tool 9 in. Rotary Steerable Directional Pressure While Drilling Gamma Resistivity Density Neutron Sonic Formation Tester 25,000 25,000 175 150 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 25,000 175 175 175 175 175 8 in. 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30 000 30,000 30,000 30,000 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 6 in. 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30 000 30,000 30,000 30,000 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 175 4 in. 30,000 30,000 25,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30 000 30,000 25,000 25,000 175 175* 175* 175* 175 175 175 175 150

to run relatively low-temperature-rated electrical components in HT wells. Refrigeration also is being used. A unit now being built will use phase-change technology (similar to a domestic refrigerator) to cool the area surrounding the sensors, creating a more benign environment in which instruments can operate even when temperatures in the wider operating sphere are much higher. A special liquid that evaporates and becomes colder as it is allowed to expand is pumped to the area around the sensors and electronics to keep them cool, extending their effective lives and increasing overall system reliability. Other developments have been in the area of the seals, which keep drilling and formation fluids from entering the tool. A combination of HT elastomeric and metal-to-metal seals has been implemented for these new tools. Ultrahigh-Temperature Tools To date, a couple of ultrahigh-temperature tools, which can measure directional data, vibration, natural gamma rays, and pressure, have been built and tested. The data will be communicated to the surface in real time, using pressure-pulse technology. A new mud-pulse package for this tool was developed in the process. The power supply to the mud pulser, as well as the electronics and sensor packages, comes from a new powersupply generator and power-regulation system that was built using many new materials and methods not previously used in the oil-and-gas industry. These developments will deliver technology that enables the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in HT reservoirs. However, they will also improve the overall performance and reliability of M/LWD systems deployed in normal temperature settings. (Figs. 1a and b show the dividing lines between the different operating environments defined by ascending pressures and temperatures, in graph form, and the current pressure and temperature capabilities of selected downhole tools.) Looking Ahead The progress made so far paves the way for the future development of other HT M/LWD technologies that are currently only available in environments with operating temperatures not exceeding 175C, such as resistivity, density, neutron porosity, and sonic measurements. JPT

*200C tools now commercially available, and 230C tools will be field tested in Q1 2011.

Fig. 1a) Ascending pressure and temperature operating environments displayed in graph; b) current pressure and temperature capabilities of selected downhole tools.

tion, and pressure have been hardened and made suitable for HT operation over a prolonged period. For the gamma-ray measurement, Geiger-Mueller (GM) tubes are being used. GM-tube technology has been available for a long time in the industry and has proved very reliable and capable of operating over a large range of temperatures and pressures. Small improvements have been made in the material used to make the tubes, as well as in the welding, braising, soldering technology, and sensor materials to ensure reliable operation at high temperature. Vibration- and pressure-measurement sensors that operate at temperatures above 230C are commercially available and being used in the new tools.

Cooling Technologies Various technologies, such as cold plates, flasking, and refrigeration, have been developed to keep the electronics cool. Cold-plate technology consists of metallic plates in which temperatures can be lowered by passing an electric current through them in proximity to the sensors and electronics. The plates can quickly carry heat away from the electronic sensors components. A similar technology is used in personal computers. Flasking is a measure in which the electronics are placed inside a special chamber, which can be filled with a low-density gas or converted to a vacuum. This reduces heat transfer from the environment to the electronics. The method itself is not new, having been used in the wireline industry for years

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JPT JANUARY 2011

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