TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to systems, devices, and methods for visualizing a down hole environment during a drilling procedure. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed to systems, devices, and methods for producing a three-dimensional visualization of a drill plan and current drilled wellbore toolface as well as a visualization of surrounding geology for steering a drilling apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

At the outset of a drilling operation, drillers typically establish a drilling plan that includes a target location and a drilling path to the target location. Once drilling commences, the bottom hole assembly (BHA) may be directed or “steered” from a vertical drilling path in any number of directions, to follow the proposed drilling plan. For example, to recover an underground hydrocarbon deposit, a drilling plan might include a vertical bore to a point to a side of a reservoir containing the deposit, then a directional or horizontal bore that penetrates the deposit. The operator may then follow the plan by steering the BHA through the vertical and horizontal aspects in accordance with the plan.

In slide drilling implementations, such directional drilling requires accurate orientation of a bent housing of the down hole motor. The bent housing is set on surface to a pre-determined angle of bend. The high side of this bend is referred to as the toolface of the BHA. In such slide drilling implementations, rotating the drill string changes the orientation of the bent housing and the BHA, and thus the toolface. To effectively steer the assembly, the operator must first determine the current toolface orientation, such as via a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) apparatus. Thereafter, if the drilling direction needs adjustment, the operator must rotate the drill string to change the toolface orientation.

During drilling, a “survey” identifying locational and directional data of a BHA in a well is obtained at various intervals. Each survey yields a measurement of the inclination angle from vertical and azimuth (or compass heading) of the survey probe in a well (typically 40-50 feet behind the total depth at the time of measurement). In directional wellbores, particularly, the position of the wellbore must be known with reasonable accuracy to ensure the correct steering along the desired or planned wellbore path. The measurements themselves include inclination from vertical and the azimuth of the well bore. In addition to the toolface data, and inclination, and azimuth, the data obtained during each survey may also include hole depth data, pipe rotational data, hook load data, delta pressure data (across the down hole drilling motor), and modeled dogleg severity data, for example. Dogleg severity is a measurement of the total curvature of the wellbore expressed over a standard length, typically 100 feet.

These measurements may be taken at discrete points in the well, and the approximate path of the wellbore may be computed from the data obtained at these discrete points. Conventionally, a standard survey is conducted at each drill pipe connection, at approximately every 95 feet, to obtain an accurate measurement of inclination and azimuth for the new survey position.

Information regarding geology may also be obtained during a drilling operation. In some cases, an operator may have access to geology information about a well from external sources, such as offset geological surveys. However, these sources may be challenging for an operator to interpret without an extensive training or a geology background. Furthermore, geology information from external sources is often general in nature and not well suited to various aspects of an actual drilling operation. External geology data may be especially difficult for an operator to analyze correctly while controlling other aspects of a drilling operation.

As a drilling operation proceeds, the operator must consider the geology information and information from available surveys to follow a drill plan. Often, this requires the operator to perform regular corrections to the drilled wellpath. This typically requires the operator to manipulate the drawworks brake and rotate the rotary table or top drive quill to find the precise combinations of hook load, mud motor differential pressure, and drill string torque, to properly position the toolface. This can be difficult and time consuming. Each adjustment has different effects on the toolface orientation, and each must be considered in combination with other drilling requirements, such as the composition of surrounding formations, to drill the hole. Thus, reorienting the toolface in a wellbore is very complex, labor intensive, and sometimes inaccurate. Furthermore, information required to steer the drilling BHA is generally transmitted to the operator in a textual format in conventional systems. The operator must consider the implications of this textual information, formulate a visual mental impression of the overall orientation of the drilling BHA, and try to formulate a steering plan based on this mental impression, before steering the system. A more efficient, reliable, and intuitive method for steering a BHA and visualizing surrounding geological formations is needed.

