Well construction geosteering apparatus, system, and process

Abstract

Embodiments of a geosteering system, method of operation, and associated media are disclosed. The system includes a computing system at a facility remote from at least one rig site. The computing system includes at least one processor and computer storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of a method of remotely controlling steering of a drilling process at the at least one rig site. The method includes receiving a data stream from the at least one rig site, the data stream including subsurface drilling data and directional survey data. The method also includes receiving, from a user, guidance regarding directional steering of a drilling apparatus at the at least one remote rig site. The method also includes communicating the guidance to the at least one rig site via a realtime communications connection.

1 . A geosteering system comprising:
 a computing system at a facility remote from at least one rig site, the computing system comprising:
 at least one processor; and 
 computer storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of a method of remotely controlling steering of a drilling process at the at least one rig site, the method comprising:
 receiving a data stream from the at least one rig site, the data stream including subsurface drilling data and directional survey data; 
 receiving, from a user, guidance regarding directional steering of a drilling apparatus at the at least one remote rig site; and 
 communicating the guidance to the at least one rig site via a realtime communications connection. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are further executed by the at least one processor to receive a plurality of data streams, each of the plurality of data streams received from a different one of a plurality of rig sites. 
     
     
         3 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are further executed by the at least one processor to receive problems identified by a user, and determine a severity of a problem and a plan of action to address the problem. 
     
     
         4 . The geosteering system of  claim 3 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are further executed by the at least one processor to trigger a geosteering directional survey process. 
     
     
         5 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , further comprising, at the at least one rig site, a server configured to receive data from one or more sensors, positional and directional data associated with the drilling apparatus, and mud logging data, wherein the server is configured to output the aggregated data for transmission in the data stream. 
     
     
         6 . The geosteering system of  claim 5 , wherein the data stream comprises markup language data compliant with a wellsite information transfer specification. 
     
     
         7 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , wherein the data comprises at least near-realtime data from the at least one rig site. 
     
     
         8 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , further comprising a graphical interface for the user, thereby allowing the user to provide directions to personnel at the at least one rig site to steer the drilling apparatus in an area of interest. 
     
     
         9 . The geosteering system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of rig sites. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-implemented method of remotely controlling steering of a drilling process of at least one rig site, the method comprising:
 receiving a data stream from a remote rig site, the data stream including subsurface drilling data and directional survey data;   receiving, from a user, guidance regarding directional steering of a drilling apparatus at the remote rig site; and   communicating the guidance to the remote rig site via a realtime communications connection.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising executing an escalation process based on an indication by the user based on the subsurface drilling data. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the escalation process includes a directional survey at the remote rig site. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the guidance is used at the remote rig site to adjust directional steering of the drilling apparatus at the remote rig site. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising periodically refreshing data from a well log. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising performing a mud logging process continuously at the remote rig site. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the data stream includes data that is aggregated at the remote rig site. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the guidance regarding directional steering of a drilling apparatus at the remote rig site is received at a geosteering component of a geosteering application. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving a data stream from each of a plurality of different remote rig sites. 
     
     
         19 . A computer storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause a computing system to perform a method of remotely controlling steering of a drilling process at each of a plurality of different rig sites, the method comprising:
 receiving a data stream from each of a plurality of different remote rig sites, the data stream including subsurface drilling data and directional survey data;   receiving, from a user, guidance regarding directional steering of a drilling apparatus at the remote rig site; and   communicating the guidance to one or more of the plurality of different remote rig sites via a realtime communications connection.   
     
     
         20 . The computer storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the method further includes executing an escalation process based on an indication by the user based on the subsurface drilling data, the escalation process including a directional survey at the remote rig site.