Cryogenic cooling canister for downhole tools

This project has aimed to develop and demonstrate technology that will revolutionize wire-line logging in high-temperature geothermal wells. Logging is carried out in all phases of a well's lifetime, and is an important contributor in reducing drilling and exploration risk, improving reservoir characterization and optimizing production and maintenance. High well temperatures and a limited selection of high-temperature electronic components place many limitations on existing wire-line tools such as: - Reliability problems when electronic components are used up to their maximum temperature ratings. - High cost of high temperature electronic components. - Reduced accuracy on sensors due to temperature variations. - Short operating time in well. - Large and heavy logging instruments. Norwegian Well owns a patented cooling technology - CryoFlask - which addresses these limitations and enables a new generation of tools with a higher temperature rating, better reliability and a lower cost/performance ratio. The core of the technology consists in cooling down large parts of the internal heat-sink material to cryogenic temperatures. This, in combination with a thermal valve against the payload, means that you can achieve a longer operating time in the well, in addition to giving the payload a stable temperature. The project's content focuses on the theme: Renewable energy - Geothermal: To develop Norwegian expertise and technology for an international market with an emphasis on transferring knowledge and technology from other sectors by developing the CryoFlask technology for deep geothermal applications. The consortium partners represent both the geothermal industry and the O&G industry, which enables cross-fertilization between the two industries. The project has produced two prototypes that can be connected together in a log string. Each of the tools can take payloads of 1 m and 1.8 m respectively from existing logging instruments in the market. The first two prototypes were adapted to Prothe1's Protherma and Memory tools. The two prototypes can be used on both e-line and slick-line. Max temperature and pressure for the tools are 450°C and 12,500 psi. The project was completed with a test of one prototype in a geothermal test well in Italy. In this test, the payload from Kuster K10 was used, which is a pressure and temperature logging tool. The test demonstrated the operation and functionality of the CryoFlask technology in a well. The tool maintained a stable internal temperature around the payload while the tool is operational in the well. In addition, the test showed that the performance of the tool is far better than a state-of-the-art tool on the market today and also a state-of-the-art tool that has been developed through EU projects aimed at the development of geothermal supercritical wells. The project has been 100% successful and Norwegian Well is already in contact with major international players within the logging and drilling industry.

Med vellykket test av CryoFlask teknologien i Italia har prosjektet oppnådd følgende virkninger: - Lengre operasjonstid for logge tool i varme brønner. Dette gjelder både geotermiske og olje & gass brønner. - Stabil temperatur for payload komponenter (elektronikk, batterier, sensorer, mm.) - Økt levetid på payload. - Muliggjøring av komponenter i payload med lavere temperatur rating - Mindre tool som muliggjør logging innvendig i borestrenger i høytemperatur brønner Dette muliggjør bedre utnyttelse av eksterende og nye brønner både innenfor geotermisk og olje og gass brønner gjennom både bedre kvalitet på malinger og flere målinger. I ytterste fall muliggjør CryoFlask teknologien målinger i varme brønner som tidligere ikke var mulig eller det ikke var kosteffektivt med dagens logge-instrumenter. CryoFlask muliggjør også en økning i temperatur-rating på eksterende MWD og LWD utstyr innenfor boreindustrien.

This project will develop and demonstrate technology that will revolutionize downhole logging and intervention operations in high temperature geothermal wells. Logging is performed in all the phases of a wells life and it is an important contribution to reducing the drilling and exploration risk, improving reservoir characterization and optimizing production and maintenance. The high well temperatures and a limited selection of high-temperature electronics imposes several limitations on existing wireline tools such as: - Reliability issues when pushing the electronics towards their maximum temperature ratings. - High cost electronics. - Reduced sensing accuracy due to severe temperature variations during operation. - Short downhole operating time. - Large and heavy logging instruments. Norwegian Well owns a patented CryoCan cooling technology that targets these limitations and enables a new generation of tools with higher temperature ratings, improved reliability and lower cost to performance ratio. The proposal targets the "Tema 2: Fornybar energi - Geotermisk: Å utvikle norsk kompetanse og teknologi for et internasjonalt marked med vekt på å overføre kunnskap og teknologi fra andre sektorer" theme by developing the CryoCan technology for deep geothermal applications. The consortium partners represent both the geothermal industry and the O&G industry enabling cross-fertilization between the two industries.