A breakthrough borehole imaging system developed by Technology International Inc. may push the limits of “seismic-while-drilling” technology to enable producers to more easily find natural gas and oil reserves, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Wednesday.

The system, said DOE, provides more accurate geo-steering, which could facilitate field development and improve well economics.

“The seismic-while-drilling technique uses a downhole acoustic source and receivers at the surface to create real-time images,” which allow an operator to “see” what’s ahead of the drillbit, DOE said. “The harsh high-pressure, high-temperature environments found in deep onshore and offshore deepwater wells require special imaging technologies and were the reason for the development of the SeismicPULSER system.” The DOE said no drilling system now available has the “full capabilities” of the new system.

“All possible borehole-pulsed sources by their very nature produce high frequencies,” said federal officials. “This is counter to the need for low frequencies that transmit long distances through rock.” The new technology uses a sparker control system, which can be adjusted by the operator from the surface to meet the varying demands of depth, rock properties and other geological variances. Built into or attached on the drill string, the system emits broadband low-frequency sounds, which, based on seismic calculations, are transmitted to surface receivers from depths beyond 30,000 feet.

According to project managers, the DOE-sponsored system is the first to meet the requirements of producers that plan to drill high-pressure, high-temperature wells to as deep as 35,000 feet in ultra-deep water. The operator is provided real-time images roughly 1,000 feet ahead of the drillbit without interfering with normal drilling. DOE said the system also costs less than conventional vertical seismic profiling systems while allowing operators to visualize and steer toward more optimal targets when drilling deep formations.

Funding for the project was provided by the DOE Office of Fossil Energy’s Oil & Natural Gas Program and was managed by the program’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. Field testing was performed at the University of Texas Devine seismic test site southwest of San Antonio, and at the DOE’s Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center near Casper, WY. Technology International, which provides engineering and regulatory compliance services, is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Richmond, VA.

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