Geosteering tool assemblies having auto navigation drill-cruise, bottom hole assemblies, and methods for downhole generation of steering commands

Abstract

A geosteering tool receives sensor data from a data collection tool, generates a steering command based on the sensor data and geosteering logic, and sends the steering command to a directional drilling controller. The geosteering tool, data collection tool, and directional drilling controller each take the form of a respective downhole tool in a downhole tool array. Each of the downhole tools comprises a pair of distal ends, and adjacent downhole tools are adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools. The distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprise a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools, and each downhole tool that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool. Sensor data is received and the steering command is sent via the ring connectors and conductive links.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A geosteering tool including a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising geosteering logic and instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the geosteering tool to:
 receive sensor data from a data collection tool via a communication link;   generate a steering command based on the received sensor data and the geosteering logic; and   send the generated steering command to a directional drilling controller via the communication link, the directional drilling controller configured to set an orientation of a drill bit based on the steering command,   wherein:   the geosteering tool, the data collection tool, and the directional drilling controller each take the form of a respective downhole tool in a downhole tool array of a bottom hole assembly that includes the drill bit, the bottom hole assembly being arranged at a downhole end of a drill string,   each of the downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective pair of distal ends, adjacent downhole tools in the downhole tool array being adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools, the distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprising a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools,   each downhole tool in the downhole tool array that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool, and   the communication link comprises the respective ring connectors and the respective conductive links.   
     
     
         2 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein the geosteering tool is arranged uphole of the other downhole tools in the downhole tool array. 
     
     
         3 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein the received sensor data comprises at least one of measurement while drilling (MWD) data and logging while drilling (LWD) data. 
     
     
         4 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to:
 perform a comparison of the received sensor data with the geosteering logic; and   generate the steering command based on the comparison.   
     
     
         5 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises one or more geosteering requirements, and   the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to generate a steering command that satisfies at least one of the geosteering requirements.   
     
     
         6 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises path data representing respective paths of one or more wells, and   the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to:
 perform a comparison of the received sensor data with the path data; 
 determine a location of a given well in proximity to the bottom hole assembly based on the comparison; and 
 generate a steering command to set the orientation of the drill bit to an orientation that does not intersect the respective well path of the given well. 
   
     
     
         7 . The geosteering tool of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions to generate a steering command to set the orientation of the drill bit to an orientation that maintains the drill bit within boundaries of a reservoir. 
     
     
         8 . A bottom hole assembly arranged at a downhole end of a drill string, the bottom hole assembly comprising a drill bit, a downhole tool array of downhole tools arranged uphole of the drill bit, and a communication link that communicatively connects the downhole tools in a downhole tool array,
 wherein:
 the downhole tool array comprises a geosteering tool, a data collection tool, and a directional drilling controller, 
 each of the downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective pair of distal ends, adjacent downhole tools in the downhole tool array being adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools, the distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprising a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools, and 
 each downhole tool in the downhole tool array that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool, 
   wherein the communication link comprising the respective ring connectors and the respective conductive links, and   wherein the geosteering tool includes a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising geosteering logic and instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the geosteering tool to:
 receive sensor data from the data collection tool via the communication link; 
 generate a steering command based on the received sensor data and the geosteering logic; and 
 send the generated steering command to the directional drilling controller via the communication link, the directional drilling controller configured to set an orientation of the drill bit based on the steering command. 
   
     
     
         9 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the geosteering tool is arranged uphole of the other downhole tools in the downhole tool array. 
     
     
         10 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the received sensor data comprises at least one of measurement while drilling (MWD) data and logging while drilling (LWD) data. 
     
     
         11 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to:
 perform a comparison of the received sensor data with the geosteering logic; and   generate the steering command based on the comparison.   
     
     
         12 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises one or more geosteering requirements, and   the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to generate a steering command that satisfies at least one of the geosteering requirements.   
     
     
         13 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises path data representing respective paths of one or more wells, and   the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions that cause the geosteering tool to:
 perform a comparison of the received sensor data with the path data; 
 determine a location of a given well in proximity to the bottom hole assembly based on the comparison; and 
 generate a steering command to set the orientation of the drill bit to an orientation that does not intersect the respective well path of the given well. 
   
     
     
         14 . The bottom hole assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions to generate the steering command comprise instructions to generate a steering command to set the orientation of the drill bit to an orientation that maintains the drill bit within boundaries of a reservoir. 
     
     
         15 . A method carried out by a geosteering tool, the method comprising:
 receiving sensor data from a data collection tool;   generating a steering command based on the received sensor data and further based on geosteering logic stored in the geosteering tool; and   sending the generated steering command to a directional drilling controller,   wherein:   the geosteering tool, the data collection tool, and the directional drilling controller each take the form of a respective downhole tool in a downhole tool array of a bottom hole assembly that is arranged at a downhole end of a drill string,   each of the downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective pair of distal ends, adjacent downhole tools in the downhole tool array being adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools,   the distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprise a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools,   each downhole tool in the downhole tool array that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool, and   the geosteering tool receives the sensor data and sends the generated steering command via a communication link that includes the respective ring connectors and the respective conductive links.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the geosteering tool is arranged uphole of the other downhole tools in the downhole tool array. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the received sensor data comprises at least one of measurement while drilling (MWD) data and logging while drilling (LWD) data. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein generating the steering command comprises:
 performing a comparison of the received sensor data with the geosteering logic; and   generating the steering command based on the comparison.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises one or more geosteering requirements, and   generating the steering command comprises generating a steering command that satisfies at least one of the geosteering requirements.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the geosteering logic comprises path data representing respective paths of one or more wells, and   generating the steering command comprises:
 performing a comparison of the received sensor data with the path data; 
 determining a location of a given well in proximity to the bottom hole assembly based on the comparison; and 
 generating a steering command to set the orientation of a drill bit of the bottom hole assembly to an orientation that does not intersect the respective well path of the given well.