Development of Radar Navigation and Radio Data Transmission for Microhole Coiled Tubing Bottom Hole Assemblies

This Final Technical Report summarizes the research and development (R&D) work performed by Stolar Research Corporation (Stolar) under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Contract Number DE-FC26-04NT15477. This work involved the development of radar navigation and radio data transmission systems for integration with microhole coiled tubing bottom hole assemblies. Under this contract, Stolar designed, fabricated, and laboratory and field tested two advanced technologies of importance to the future growth of the U.S. oil and gas industry: (1) real-time measurement-while-drilling (MWD) for guidance and navigation of coiled tubing drilling in hydrocarbon reservoirs and (2) two-way inductive radio data transmission on coiled tubing for real-time, subsurface-to-surface data transmission. The operating specifications for these technologies are compatible with 3.5-inch boreholes drilled to a true vertical depth (TVD) of 5,000 feet, which is typical of coiled tubing drilling applications. These two technologies (i.e., the Stolar Data Transmission System and Drill String Radar) were developed into pre-commercial prototypes and tested successfully in simulated coiled tubing drilling conditions. Integration of these two technologies provides a real-time geosteering capability with extremely quick response times. Stolar is conducting additional work required to transition the Drill String Radar into a true commercial product. The results of this advanced development work should be an important step in the expanded commercialization of advanced coiled tubing microhole drilling equipment for use in U.S. hydrocarbon reservoirs