US 12,359,563 B2
Logging and analysis module for drill cuttings, and method of analyzing drilling fluid
Ahmed M. H. ElGamal, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed by Ahmed M. H. ElGamal, Stanford, CA (US)
Filed on Sep. 13, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/931,805.
Application 17/931,805 is a division of application No. 16/728,169, filed on Dec. 27, 2019, granted, now 11,492,901.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/935,797, filed on Nov. 15, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/815,081, filed on Mar. 7, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0054107 A1, Feb. 23, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. E21B 49/00 (2006.01); E21B 21/01 (2006.01); E21B 49/08 (2006.01); E21B 47/04 (2012.01)
CPC E21B 49/005 (2013.01) [E21B 21/01 (2013.01); E21B 49/084 (2013.01); E21B 49/086 (2013.01); E21B 47/04 (2013.01); E21B 49/0875 (2020.05)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An analysis module for a shale shaker system, comprising:
a container configured to receive a stream of fluid returns comprising drill cuttings at a well site, the container having an inlet and an outlet, and defining a tank having a wall forming an internal volume;
one or more sensors residing within the internal volume of the container comprising (i) a sonic log sensor, (ii) a gamma ray log sensor, (iii) a resistivity log sensor, (iv) a density log sensor, or (v) combinations thereof;
a processor configured to receive electrical signals from the one or more sensors, with the processor having operating software to determine characteristics of the fluid returns and drill cuttings passing through the container in real time, as Drill Cuttings Data;
wherein:
the processor receives or, alternatively, calculates information indicative of a depth of the drill cuttings passing through the container as Depth Information, and associates the Depth Information with the Drill Cuttings Data;
the container resides downstream from a fluid transport pipe, with the fluid transport pipe being configured to receive the stream of fluid returns from a wellbore at the well-site during a drilling operation and deliver them to the inlet of the container;
a majority of the drill cuttings move through the tank and gravitationally travel towards the outlet of the container to the shale shaker screens; and
the container resides upstream from one or more shale shaker screens associated with the shale shaker system for filtering the drill cuttings from the fluid returns.