Method for determining the amount of oil in a sponge core
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsRocco DiFoggio, William E. Ellington, Kailash C. B. Dangayach
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The oil lost by the core sample and captured by the sponge during sponge coring is extracted from the sponge using a solvent selected from the group consisting of cycloalkanes, ethers, and freons.
Claims15
For use in determining the oil saturation of an earth formation by means of sponge coring, a method for extracting oil from the sponge without substantially affecting the sponge, comprising:
- (a) extracting the oil from the sponge by dissolving the oil in a solvent selected from the group consisting of cycloalkanes, ethers, and freons, and
- (b) determining the amount of oil dissolved into the solvent by evaporation of the solvent, by near infra-red spectroscopy, or by supercritical fluid chromatography.
For use in determining the oil saturation of an earth formation by means of sponge coring, a method for extracting oil from the sponge without substantially affecting the sponge, comprising:
- (a) extracting substantially all the oil from the sponge by dissolving the oil in a predetermined quantity of cyclopentane, and
- (b) determining the amount of oil dissolved into the solvent by:
- (i) preparing a standard solution of oil in another quantity of the selected solvent, and
- (ii) using supercritical fluid chromatography, comparing the concentration of the oil extracted from the sponge in the predetermined quantity of solvent with the concentration of the oil in the standard solution.
For use in determining the oil saturation of an earth formation by means of sponge coring, a method for extracting oil from the sponge without substantially affecting the sponge, comprising:
- (a) extracting the oil from the sponge by dissolving the oil in a solvent selected from the group consisting of cycloalkanes, ethers, and freons, and
- (b) determining the amount of oil dissolved into the solvent by evaporating the solvent from the oil.
For use in determining the oil saturation of an earth formation by means of sponge coring, a method for extracting oil from the sponge without substantially affecting the sponge, comprising:
- (a) extracting the oil from the sponge by dissolving the oil in a predetermined quantity of a solvent selected from the group consisting of cycloalkanes, ethers, and freons, and
- (b) determining the amount of oil dissolved into the solvent by:
- (i) preparing a standard solution of oil in another quantity of the selected solvent, and
- (ii) comparing the concentration of the oil extracted from the sponge in the predetermined quantity of solvent with the concentration of the oil in the standard solution, using near infra-red spectroscopy to determine the concentrations of the oil.
For use in determining the oil saturation of an earth formation by means of sponge coring, a method for extracting oil from the sponge without substantially affecting the sponge, comprising:
- (a) extracting the oil from the sponge by dissolving the oil in a predetermined quantity of a solvent selected from the group consisting of cycloalkanes, ethers, and freons, and
- (b) determining the amount of oil dissolved into the solvent by:
- (i) preparing a standard solution of oil in another quantity of the selected solvent, and
- (ii) comparing the concentration of the oil extracted from the sponge in the predetermined quantity of solvent with the concentration of the oil in the standard solution, using supercritical fluid chromatography to determine the concentrations of the oil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.