Spherical projectiles may be used to form one or more holes in geologic or other material. These holes may be used for drilling, tunnel boring, excavation, and so forth.

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media of which the method includes obtaining a knowledge graph comprising elements and relationships that connect together the elements, receiving a raw oilfield data, generating structured oilfield data based on the raw oilfield data, wherein the structured oilfield data represents information about the raw oilfield data, and generating unstructured oilfield data based on the raw oilfield data, the structured oilfield data, and the knowledge graph. The unstructured data includes data about the raw oilfield data, and one or more of the elements, one or more of the relationships, or both.

Systems and methods presented herein facilitate operation of well-related tools. In certain embodiments, a variety of data (e.g., downhole data and/or surface data) may be collected to enable optimization of operations related to the well-related tools. In certain embodiments, the collected data may be provided as advisory data (e.g., presented to human operators of the well to inform control actions performed by the human operators) and/or used to facilitate automation of downhole processes and/or surface processes (e.g., which may be automatically performed by a computer implemented surface processing system (e.g., a well control system), without intervention from human operators). In certain embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may enhance downhole operations (e.g., milling operations) by improving the efficiency and utilization of data to enable performance optimization and improved resource controls of the downhole operations.

A ground drilling device with a drivetrain for rotating a drill string, wherein at least one section of the drivetrain is configured to form a channel between a force transmission element of the drivetrain and the drill string, wherein the channel projects through the force transmission element and the force transmission element may be driven radially in the drivetrain.

A wellbore reamer tool for use in downhole oil well operations includes two helical impellers, two cutting portions, and an integral blade stabilizer. The first helical impeller is positioned at a downhole end for cleaning the wellbore of formation cuttings in advance of reaming by the cutting portions, and directing the formation cuttings to a desired position on the first cutting portions. The first and second cutting portions include radially insertable cutter inserts having cutters for reaming the wellbore to yield the formation cuttings. An integral blade stabilizer is positioned between the cutting portions for supporting the tool while driving uphole flow of the formation cuttings. A second helical impeller is positioned above the second cutting portions for cleaning the wellbore and boosting newly incorporated formations cuttings uphole towards surface.

Tops of geological layers can be automatically identified using machine-learning techniques as described herein. In one example, a system can receive well log records associated with wellbores drilled through geological layers. The system can generate well clusters by applying a clustering process to the well log records. The system can then obtain a respective set of training data associated with a well cluster, train a machine-learning model based on the respective set of training data, select a target well-log record associated with a target wellbore of the well cluster, and provide the target well-log record as input to the trained machine-learning model. Based on an output from the trained machine-learning model, the system can determine the geological tops of the geological layers in a region surrounding the target wellbore. The system may then transmit an electronic signal indicating the geological tops of the geological layers associated with the target wellbore.

Described herein are new methods and systems for profiling tunnels. A method comprises moving a shuttle within a shuttle track extending between a boring apparatus (inside a tunnel) and a base station (outside the tunnel). The shuttle is equipped with a movement sensor, which records various movement parameters (e.g., linear and/or angular accelerations) while the shuttle moves within the shuttle track. These movement parameters are then transferred to a tunnel profiler (e.g., a base station) and the profile of the tunnel is determined based on these movement parameters. For example, a shuttle track can be a flexible tube (e.g., continuous or segmented) with the shuttle positioned within the tube. The shuttle can be removed from the tube or remain in the tube while the movement parameters are transferred and, in some examples, while the shuttle is recharged.

A wellbore reamer tool for use in downhole oil well operations includes two helical impellers, two cutting portions, and an integral blade stabilizer. The first helical impeller is positioned at a downhole end for cleaning the wellbore of formation cuttings in advance of reaming by the cutting portions, and directing the formation cuttings to a desired position on the first cutting portions. The first and second cutting portions include radially insertable cutter inserts having cutters for reaming the wellbore to yield the formation cuttings. An integral blade stabilizer is positioned between the cutting portions for supporting the tool while driving uphole flow of the formation cuttings. A second helical impeller is positioned above the second cutting portions for cleaning the wellbore and boosting newly incorporated formations cuttings uphole towards surface.

A method for monitoring and controlling a downhole pressure of a well during formation of a borehole of a well is provided. The method can include monitoring a downhole pressure of a well during formation of a borehole of the well using a millimeter wave drilling apparatus including a waveguide configured for insertion into the borehole. The monitoring can include determining the downhole pressure. The downhole pressure can include an amount of pressure present at a bottom of the well. The method can also include determining a lithostatic pressure of rock surrounding the well at the bottom of the well. The method can further include controlling the downhole pressure relative to the lithostatic pressure of the rock surrounding the well at the bottom of the well. Related systems performing the methods are also provided.

A system for monitoring borehole parameters and switching to millimeter wave drilling based on the borehole parameters is provided. The system can include a mechanical drilling apparatus for forming a first portion of a borehole of a well. The first portion of the borehole can be formed based on a permeability of the first portion of the borehole and a temperature within the first portion of the borehole. The system can also include a millimeter wave drilling apparatus configured to inject millimeter wave radiation energy into a second portion of the borehole of the well via a waveguide. The second portion of the borehole can be formed via the millimeter wave drilling apparatus in response to determining the permeability of the first portion of the borehole is below a permeability threshold value and the temperature within the first portion of the borehole exceeds a temperature threshold value.