Sampling techniques to detect hydrocarbon seepage
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorsMahdi A. AbuAli, Maher I. Almarhoon, Khaled Arouri
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for detecting seepage of hydrocarbons in subterranean zones. In one aspect, a method includes detecting hydrocarbon seepage at multiple different sampling depths from a surface in a surveyed geographic region, comparing each of the hydrocarbon seepage at the multiple different sampling depths, wherein hydrocarbon seepage at a reference depth is known, and determining hydrocarbon seepage through the surveyed geographic region based on a result of the comparison.
Claims25
A system to detect hydrocarbons, the system comprising:
- a plurality of gas sampling probes configured to be inserted into a subterranean formation, such that each of the plurality of gas sampling probes is inserted at a location different than the rest, wherein the plurality of gas sampling probes comprises a first gas sampling probe, a second gas sampling probe and a third gas sampling probe, wherein the first gas sampling probe is inserted at a first sampling depth from a surface in the surveyed geographic region, the second gas sampling probe is inserted at a second sampling depth from the surface, the second sampling depth deeper than the first sampling depth, and the third gas sampling probe is inserted at a third sampling depth from the surface, the third sampling depth deeper than the second sampling depth;
- a plurality of gas collection and concentrating devices, each of the plurality of gas collection and concentrating devices being removably attached to the plurality of gas sampling probes and being configured to collect, at a first time instant, a first set of geochemical data associated to the respective locations and at a second time instant, a second set of geochemical data associated to the respective locations;
- and
- a processor configured to determine a spatio-temporal map based on the first set and the second set of geochemical data and to determine seepage of hydrocarbons based on processing the spatio-temporal map, wherein the processor is configured to process the spatio-temporal map by differentiating between active and passive seepage.
A method for detecting hydrocarbons in a surveyed geographic region, the method comprising:
- inserting a plurality of gas sampling probes into the surveyed geographic region, such that each of the plurality of gas sampling probes is inserted at a location different than the rest;
- detecting, at a first time instant, with each of the plurality of gas sampling probes a first set of geochemical data associated to the respective locations;
- determining, by a processor, a first spatial map based on the first set of geochemical data;
- detecting, at a second time instant, with each of the plurality of gas sampling probes a second set of geochemical data associated to the respective locations;
- determining, by the processor, a second spatial map based on the second set of geochemical data;
- generating, by the processor, a spatio-temporal map based on the first spatial map and the second spatial map;
- and
- determining, by the processor, a difference between active and passive seepage of hydrocarbons based on processing the spatio-temporal map.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.