The Performed by Schlumberger program was introduced almost 15 years ago to recognize the people behind the Schlumberger projects that demonstrated outstanding teamwork, innovation, and business impact—for the customer and for Schlumberger. In 2014 there were 660 project submissions, from which the GeoSphere reservoir mapping-while-drilling service received the highest honor—the Schlumberger Chief Executive Officer’s Award.

The GeoSphere reservoir mapping-while-drilling service is a major technology milestone in the extensive line of Schlumberger logging-while-drilling (LWD) services, which were first introduced in the 1980s as a new approach to finding reservoir zones in oil and gas wells. LWD technology measures formation properties during the drilling of the well, or shortly thereafter, through the use of tools that make up part of the bottomhole assembly. Today’s advanced LWD technology delivers measurements and images in real time to make drilling more efficient while keeping the well in the reservoir, even in the most difficult-to-reach locations.

The GeoSphere service represents the industry’s first-ever LWD technology that helps map oil and gas reservoirs using measurements made much deeper into the reservoir formation and processed with a novel mathematical inversion methodology.

With a range of investigation that extends more than 100 ft from the wellbore, GeoSphere service is used by customers to reduce drilling risk and position wells more accurately without the need to drill a pilot hole—thereby saving considerable cost.

In addition, the reservoir mapping-while-drilling service makes it possible to place wells away from fluid boundaries and unproductive formations to increase reservoir contact. GeoSphere data also enables geoscientists to refine seismic interpretation as well as geological and structural modeling to reduce uncertainty and minimize risk in locating productive zones.

The GeoSphere service has been field tested by over 30 customers in more than 160 wells worldwide, including locations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Australia. In these and other locations, GeoSphere technology has enabled customers to acquire reservoir knowledge to optimize hydrocarbon recovery, increase initial production rates and achieve significant economic return on investment.