Seeking European partners with expertise to develop a sensor package for MWD or drilling applications

MWDPlanet is an APEGA accredited MWD technologies engineering and manufacturing company that focuses solely on custom solutions for its clients.

The company focuses on developing strategies that drastically improve drilling experiences by reducing the frequency and length of stop-downs and increasing accuracy.

In this way, MWDPlanet is proposing to build a down-hole directional orientation module (Sensor pack) to measure bore-hole orientation for MWD or any Directional Drilling applications.

A novel sensor pack design consists of a newly developed rock-solid magnetometer and three accelerometers, for azimuth and inclination measurements respectively. At this time, the company has developed and tested an in-house triple-axis magnetometer prototype. It has also sourced a third-party MEMS-based accelerometer. The next step is to combine these components into a three-dimensional, compact sensor pack.

As the main part of the project development, MWDPlanet will create a calibration tool, which is an additional commercial component that customers will use to calibrate the sensor on-site. The complete sensor pack with calibration station will then be pushed to commercialization.

Sensor pack’s new internal mathematics will eliminate industry’s old problems of slow and not always repeatable measurements, while at the same time the newest integration section of the Sensor Pack will still keep the possibility to communicate with old MWD-systems.

MWDPlanet’s primary innovation is combining the MEMS accelerometer technology with its own in-house flux-gate magnetometer design. The combination of these technologies permits the following innovations, compared to directional modules currently available on the market:

• The company can rate its combined sensor pack to a lower overall power consumption;
• Its sensor pack will be smaller (more compact);
• Due to the higher shock and vibration ratings of the MEMS-based accelerometers, the sensor pack will be more reliable;
• Because the company is using in-house components for the magnetometer, the overall cost of materials will be lower.
• The resulted design will communicate with all existing MWD protocols on the market.
• By offering Calibration System together with Sensor Pack – the company will resolve all Directional Service company’s problems that operate within harsh logistical parameters by providing them with a way to perform simple quality control of measured trajectory and/or possible repair and recalibration even in remote exploration areas.

Ahead of the development of a new down-hole directional orientation module (sensor pack) to measure bore-hole orientation for MWD or any Directional Drilling applications, MWDPlanet and Lumen Corporation is specifically interested in organizations with technical R&D expertise, value-added resellers, system integrations, early adopters and investors, technology adaptation of a proven innovative product to meet new requirements such as country-specific regulations and standards in the market being entered, technology validation of functionality, performance, quality and usability with early adopter customers in Europe and Asia market being entered, validation of product value proposition (test, procedure/tools’ development, test results analysis and reporting).

Another proposed project – Pegasus EM drop-in transmitter – revised version to make suitable for Defense application. The R&D team has completed the development of the first release candidate of the company’s Tensor drop in EM transmitter / Receiver.

The company’s most recent product, the “Pegasus” allows MWD service companies with existing Tensor-based MWD Mud pulse strings to upgrade their existing kits to EM/Dual telemetry Kits with minimal effort and changes to their existing MWD processes and training regime.

The Pegasus acts as an independent channel that the client programs independently of the DIM thus allowing both the mudpulser and EM transmitter to work independently of each other.

Preferences / Requirements for Potential European Partner(s)

The following are the important aspects MWDPlanet and Lumen Corporation is looking for in a European partner company:

• Ideally, the partner would be able to develop all the three components and deliver a high-temperature MEMS 3-axis sensor assembly.
• MWDPlanet would complete the sensor package which would include this 3-axis sensor assembly, power supply, processor, and enclosure.
• Additionally, MWDPlanet would complete the calibrating procedures and create the error modeling firmware and research needed.
• Ideally, the IP plan would grant MWDPlanet the exclusive right to utilize the sensor assembly in a downhole environment (and perhaps other oil and gas applications in general).
• The partner would retain the right to commercialize the sensor assembly for other applications.