The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is that the project facilitate the design and operation of electromagnetic telemetry for underground wireless communication in oilfield measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD). The performance of an electromagnetic telemetry system is heavily dependent on electrical properties of the underground formation, as well as the deployment of downhole and surface antennas. Rigorous electromagnetic full wave simulations are critical in design, development, and deployment of an electromagnetic telemetry system for a drilling job. The modeling software package will potentially be the first product on the market with the capability of providing efficient 3D simulations of electromagnetic telemetry systems in complicated underground environments. Besides the oil and gas industry, electromagnetic telemetry can also be used in other important areas such as CO2 sequestration, deep borehole disposal of nuclear waste, and geothermal energy exploration.
This I-Corps project explores the market potential of a 3D electromagnetic telemetry modeling tool for the oil and gas industry and other areas involving drilling activities. A realistic electromagnetic telemetry system is an extremely multiscale structure, and rigorously modeling such a system is beyond the capabilities of available commercial electromagnetic simulation tools. The proposed product is based on the recent advancement of computational electromagnetics algorithms using 3D integral equations with a novel coated thin wire model to simulate the metallic drill string and borehole environment in layered formation. The product as a modeling software can be several orders more accurate than existing commercial simulation tools for the analysis of electromagnetic telemetry systems. The goal of this I-Corps team is to investigate the market potential of this technology and related product in the oilfield and other relevant applicable areas.
