Continuous water pressure measurement in a hydrocarbon reservoir
AssigneeHydrophilic AS
InventorsTrond Arne Rolfsvåg, Gilberto Toffolo
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Abstract
A device for continuous water pressure measurement in a hydrocarbon reservoir comprising a pressure sensor, a hydrophilic membrane positioned between a reservoir formation and the pressure sensor, the hydrophilic membrane having a surface area A, and a biasing device pushing the hydrophilic membrane against the reservoir formation with a force equal to, or larger than, the pressure difference between a hydrocarbon phase Po in the reservoir and the water (Po-Pw) multiplied with the probe membrane contact area. Methods of installing the device in a hydrocarbon reservoir are also disclosed.
Claims16
A device for continuous water pressure measurement in a hydrocarbon reservoir, comprising
- a pressure sensor;
- a reservoir for a hydrophilic fluid;
- a hydrophilic membrane which, when the device is installed in the hydrocarbon reservoir, is positioned between a reservoir formation and the pressure sensor, the hydrophilic membrane having a surface area (A), wherein the hydrophilic membrane allows the flow of the hydrophilic liquid towards the formation, but prevents the flow of hydrocarbon in the opposite direction;
- and
- a biasing device for pushing the hydrophilic membrane against the reservoir formation with a force (F) which is equal to or greater than the pressure difference (P) between a hydrocarbon phase (Po) and the water phase (Pw) multiplied with the surface area (A) of the contact surface of the hydrophilic membrane wherein the force of the biasing device is greater than the force that the movable hydrocarbon of the formation applies against the membrane, such that the membrane remains in constant contact continuously with the rock of the formation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.