Method to characterize microfractured hydrocarbon reservoirs by artificially induced anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility

Abstract

Subterranean hydrocarbon reservoirs are analyzed by characterizing the relative presence and character of microfractures in rock samples from the reservoirs. Core samples are saturated with a suspension of magnetite particles of known concentration. The samples are then subjected to an applied magnetic field of known strength. The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, or AMS, of the samples is then observed, providing a measure of grain orientation in the samples. The characteristics of the microfractures in the samples are thus available to characterize the reservoirs, and in particular the contribution of the microfractures to the porosity and permeability of formations in the reservoirs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.