US 11,713,651 B2
Heating a formation of the earth while drilling a wellbore
Mustafa A. Al-Huwaider, Dhahran (SA); and Shouxiang Mark Ma, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on May 11, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/317,556.
Prior Publication US 2022/0364439 A1, Nov. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. E21B 36/00 (2006.01); E21B 47/07 (2012.01); E21B 7/04 (2006.01); E21B 36/04 (2006.01); E21B 44/00 (2006.01); E21B 44/02 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 36/00 (2013.01) [E21B 7/04 (2013.01); E21B 36/04 (2013.01); E21B 44/00 (2013.01); E21B 44/02 (2013.01); E21B 47/07 (2020.05)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
while drilling a wellbore in a target zone of a formation of the Earth with a drilling assembly, the wellbore comprising a drilling mud:
receiving, by a controller and from a first sensor, a first signal representing a first temperature of the drilling mud at a drilling end of the drilling assembly, the first temperature of the drilling mud at a depth in the wellbore;
after receiving the first signal, heating, by a heat source mounted to the drilling assembly, a portion of the formation proximal to the depth, to a temperature greater than a formation temperature as the drilling assembly drills through the formation of the Earth;
simultaneously while heating the portion of the formation proximal to the depth while the drilling assembly drills through the formation of the Earth and the drilling mud receiving heat back from the portion of the formation by a flow of the drilling mud, receiving, by the controller from a second sensor, the second sensor farther from the drilling end of the drilling assembly than the first sensor, a second signal representing a second temperature of the drilling mud, the heat source positioned in the drilling assembly between the first sensor and the second sensor;
comparing, by the controller, a difference between of the first temperature of the drilling mud and the second temperature of the drilling mud to a threshold drilling mud temperature difference;
based on a result of the comparison, determining when the difference between the first temperature of the drilling mud and the second temperature of the drilling mud is less than the threshold drilling mud temperature difference, indicating that the drilling assembly is in an oil-bearing portion of the formation and the target zone is the oil-bearing portion of the formation; and
based on determining when the difference between the first temperature of the drilling mud and the second temperature of the drilling mud is less than the threshold drilling mud temperature difference, controlling, by the controller, the drilling assembly in the formation, wherein controlling the drilling assembly in the formation comprises maintaining the drilling assembly in the target zone.