A -- LARGE DOWNHOLE SEISMIC SENSOR ARRAY (LDSSA)

Notice Date

April 17, 2001

Contracting Office

Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC, P.O. Box 1625, Mail Stop 3805, Idaho Falls, ID 83405-3805

ZIP Code

83405-3805

Solicitation Number

S-6

Response Due

June 30, 2001

Point of Contact

Paul Grahovac

E-Mail Address

Account Executive (pg2@inel.gov)

Description

NOTICE TYPE: Solicitation NOTICE DATED: 04/17/2001 OFFICE ADDRESS: Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC (BBWI), P. O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3805. ZIPCODE: 83415-3521 SUBJECT: A -- Large downhole seismic sensor array (LDSSA). SOLICITATION NO.: SOL-6 RESPONSE DEADLINE: DUE 06/30/2001 CONTACT: POC Paul Grahovac NOTICE TEXT: A -- Large downhole seismic sensor array (LDSSA). This is a potential patent licensing and commercialization opportunity with Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC (BBWI), the prime operating contractor for the Department of Energy at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). BBWI seeks a partner to license and commercialize LDSSA technology BBWI has developed. The LDSSA technology generally adapts certain coiled tubing and advanced wireline implementations for multiple deployment of a large number of wall-clamping devices. The LDSSA technology specifically includes devices for clamping and attaching borehole geophone or accelerometer modules to the internal diameter of boreholes. The LDSSA technology was developed for the express purpose of allowing very long seismic arrays to be deployed by wireline or coiled tubing through conventional surface equipment and wellhead devices such as lubricators. Such very long seismic arrays can be used to reduce data acquisition time for crosswell or VSP surveys. This project reflects BBWI's and its consultants' mechanical packaging concepts and capabilities that compliment the advancement of these multi-station seismic detector systems. BBWI seeks a partner who has or will obtain the seismic sensors, digitizers, telemetry, and computerized data management systems to couple with the BBWI LDSSA technology for commercialization of the integrated system. This is not an opportunity to provide goods or services to BBWI or the Department of Energy. This Request for Interest (RFI) will close to response 30 days after publication. Interested parties should send e-mail to pg2@inel.gov (Paul Grahovac, Senior Account Executive, Technology Transfer & Commercialization, BBWI). If you do not have e-mail access, send regular mail to Paul Grahovac, Senior Account Executive, Technology Transfer & Commercialization, BBWI, P. O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3805. Background. The oil and gas industry and other industries that use geophysical measurements have a need for instrumentation that can be used to image the region around and between boreholes. "Cross-well imaging" is used to determine the geologic structure, rock properties, and possibly fluid saturation between the boreholes. The most extensively applied procedure for cross-well imaging requires the use of a seismic source in one borehole and one or more seismic receivers in the other. Seismic waves are propagated through the earth between and around the boreholes at several source and receiver depths and, based on the measured signals, a tomographic image of the earth can be constructed. Similarly, systems employing both a seismic source and receivers within the same borehole, single-well imaging, are needed to better image steeply dipping reflectors such as salt dome flanks. While borehole geophysical technology has been demonstrated to provide valuable information, its widespread use is severely restricted, largely due to the costs involved in data acquisition. Survey costs themselves are not prohibitively high. However, the associated rig time can escalate costs by a factor of four or more, depending on the specific application. Essentially then, the cost and utility of this technology is driven by the time required to collect the necessary data. Currently, much of this problem is due to industry's inability to field a receiver configuration that utilizes more than a five 3-component (3C) seismic receivers covering a relatively short vertical interval. None of industry's existing tools are scaleable to configuration lengths great enough to sufficiently impact cross-well, single-well, or VSP survey economics in a positive way. Similarly, single-well surveys are an attempt to continue to reduce costs (by utilizing only one borehole), but no single well system currently exists due to significant technical challenges of having both source and receiver within the same borehole. The additional information gained by petroleum companies from these surveys, when made less costly, will facilitate the recovery of bypassed oil and gas. This will contribute to the economic viability of using domestic petroleum reserves, resulting in a cost benefit to consumers, and assisting with US energy security.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010419/ASOL001.HTM (W-107 SN50J465)