Patent attributes
A method for determining a rate of change of longitudinal direction of a subterranean borehole is provided. The method includes positioning a downhole tool in a borehole, the tool including first and second surveying devices disposed thereon. The method further includes causing the surveying devices to measure a longitudinal direction of the borehole at first and second longitudinal positions and processing the longitudinal directions of the borehole at the first and second positions to determine the rate of change of longitudinal direction of the borehole between the first and second positions. The method may further include processing the measured rate of change of longitudinal direction of the borehole and a predetermined rate of change of longitudinal direction to control the direction of drilling of the subterranean borehole. Exemplary embodiments of this invention tend to minimize the need for communication between a drilling operator and the bottom hole assembly, thereby advantageously preserving downhole communication bandwidth.
