Drill String Radar

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Drill String Radar
Stolar Research Corporation848 Clayton
HighwayRaton, New Mexico(505) 445-3607
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The Problem

• Coal bed methane now accounts for 10 of the
  U.S. natural gas supply and supplies must
  increase to meet future energy needs
• Extraction tax contributes millions of dollars
  per month to the state of New Mexico and
  provides 600 jobs in Raton.
• Extraction recovers less than 5 of the BTUs of
  the coal bed
• Cavitation extraction method spoils the coal bed
• Environmental concerns include alteration of
  aquifers and destruction of wildlife habitat

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Vertical Cavitation
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The SolutionRadar-Controlled Directional
Drilling

• Enables drilling within an undulating coal bed
• Preserves sealing mudstone-shale sedimentary
  boundary layers of the coal bed, preventing
  aquifer drainage into the methane production
  wells.
• Conserves coal reserves for future mining
• Longhole drilling minimizes the need for surface
  reclamation

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Horizontal Directional Drilling Markets

• CBM and CNM production
• Horizontal drilling in layered hydrocarbon
  deposits
• National security, protection of U.S. assets

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Conventional Sidetracking Undera Paleochannel
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Current State of the Art

• Boundary detected by gamma sensor and data sent
  by low-data-rate acoustic pulse up the drill
  rodfalls under sandstone paleochannel.
• Slumber J Periscope technology features a
  multi-coil induction tool with three-layer
  modeling to determine well hole position relative
  to boundarynot a radar technology.

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DSR SystemAdvances State of the Art

• DSR system will meet two performance criteria.
• Drillstring data transmission (DTS) system
• Low-frequency radar antenna with up-and-down
  distance-measuring capability

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DSR Principle Advantages

• A directional transmitterantenna creates roof
  and floor detection modes (no rotation required)
• Down-hole electrical power generation
  extendsbattery life
• Radar data processed down-hole in real time
  provides navigational signals for steering
• Technology for gas-flow intensification

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DSR System Operation
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DSR Operating Detail

• Guides the drill within an undulating coal seam
  or other hydrocarbon reservoir

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DSR Operating Detail

• Uses directional antennas to distinguish between
  the top and bottom boundaries

Coal
Boundary Rock
Heat
Heat
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DSR System Limitations

• The medium being investigated cannot have
  excessive electrical losses
• Boundaries must reflect the transmitted signal

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DSR Drilling and RIM In-Seam Mapping
Develop and demonstrate a dual-phase methodology
of in-seam drilling, imaging, and structure
confirmation. This methodology

• Uses DSR for real-time MWD guidance and
  navigationof drillstrings duringhorizontal
  drilling Scheduled forcompletionAugust 2006
• Uses RIM to imagebetween drill holesfor seam
  thicknessestimates andin-seam
  structuredetectionCompletedFebruary 2005

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DSR Competitive Advantages

• No direct MWD technology competitors inEM field
  (coal exploration)
• DSR provides guidance under sandstonepaleochannel
  s where gamma sensors typically fail
• Eliminates sidetracks, reducing drilling cost
• Impervious to cutter head noise, which
  negatesreal-time acoustic wave sensing
• Measures anisotropic dielectric constant to
  determine cleat orientation

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Drilling Horizontally with DSR

• Horizontal directional drilling with radar
  navigationaccurately maps
• Coal seam height
• Elevation change (rolls)
• Roof/floor rock type
• Measuring anisotropicdielectric constant
  identifies
• Changes in the coal bed cleat structure
• Shear zones that affect mining

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DSR Proof-of-Concept Demonstration

• Testing showed the need for low radio-wave
  frequencies with separate transmitter and
  receiver antennas

Prototype Radar Testing
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DSR Hardware Development

• DTS Antenna and Battery Option
• The DSR probe design is complete
  fabricationon-going.
• Optional explosion-proof (XP) battery
  pack.Specifications 5 amp/hr,12 V,
  rechargeable(1,000 cycles)
• Robust antenna housing fixture designed for
  rigors of drilling environment. Centered around
  intrinsically safe beryllium copper (BeCu) brush
  alloy torroidal antenna design. Prototype is
  based on 2.75-in. NQ drill pipe.

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Hardware Development Progress

• The DSR-Probe design is complete fabrication is
  on going
• Water-flow power generator has been designed,
  built, and tested
• Designed and built DTS torroidal antenna test sub
  for testing multiple antenna configurations
  on2-7/8 EUE pipe and NQ pipe for actual field
  demonstration
• Working with Consol Energy on providing a data
  transmission line between our radar electronics
  and the processor for a secondary means of data
  transmission using their current acoustic system
• The DTS torroidal antenna sub is the section of
  the DSR assembly that will be the anchor point
  for both the electronic and radar antenna
  assemblies
• Most MSHA approvals secured (power, housings, and
  electronics antennas lacking I/S approvals)

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DSR Hardware Photo Library
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DSR Hardware Photo Library
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DSR Hardware Photo Library
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Turbine Generator Development
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RF Electronics Features

• DC blocks for antenna, an essential component of
  MSHA intrinsic safety certification
• Advanced electronics finalized and integrated
  into DSR prototype.
• The digital signal processing (DSP) board and
  multi-channel analog-to-digital interface board
  have been manufactured.
• The intermediate-frequency (IF) DSP circuit has
  been manufactured.
• A new F1/F1 modem transceiver induces signals on
  slickline or drillstring.

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Positioning System Features
DSR Graphical User Interface Positioning Program
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Preliminary Field Tests

• Data transmission capabilities verified along
  in-seam drillstring.
• The direction of the movement of the drillstring
  can be measured with a commercial gyrocompass and
  inclinometer.
• MWD positioning software tested for functionality
• By integrating the x, y, and z movement
  components of the drill head, the position of the
  bottom-hole assembly can be determined.

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Coal and Rock Electrical Tests

• Analysis of coal and rock EM properties
• WVU continues to evaluate coal and rock samples
  from various coal mines. Samples were cored and
  their electrical properties measured. These
  measurements are critical for proper radar design.

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Coal and Rock Electrical Tests
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Test Sites

• Raton deviated boreholes for detection and
  tracking of the air-soil boundary
• Utah SUFCO and Deer Creek coal mines

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SUFCO Boreholes
Hole Depth Orientation A
17.5 Sloped up at 10 degrees B
23.3 Sloped up at 6 degrees C 10.0
Horizontal D 25.0 Sloped down
at 13 degrees E 20.0 Horizontal F
20.0 Horizontal
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McElroy Coal Mine
Roof Rock
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McElroy Coal Roof Rock - Bedding Plane
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McElroy Roof Parting Rocks-Primary Cleats
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EnCana Oil-Saturated Limestone
Coal and its roof rock at a Pittsburgh seam have
much lower losses than the oil-saturated and
water-saturated limestone rocks of EnCana