Method of tracing flow of hydrocarbon from a subterranean reservoir
AssigneeJohnson Matthey PLC
InventorsPaul Hewitt, Jonathon Dean Spencer, Vincent Brian Croud
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of tracing flow of hydrocarbon from a subterranean reservoir including forming a dispersion, injecting a hydraulic fracturing fluid containing the dispersion down a well penetrating a hydrocarbon reservoir, thereafter collecting a sample of hydrocarbon fluid flowing from the reservoir, and analyzing the sample to determine whether the tracer compound is present in the sample. The dispersion includes a discontinuous condensed phase having a hydrocarbon-soluble tracer compound and a continuous phase which includes an aqueous liquid.
Claims26
A method of tracing flow of hydrocarbon from a subterranean reservoir comprising the steps of forming an emulsion comprising a discontinuous organic liquid phase and a continuous liquid phase, said discontinuous organic liquid phase comprising a hydrocarbon-soluble tracer compound and said continuous liquid phase comprising an aqueous liquid, by adding the tracer compound or a solution of the tracer compound in a non-water miscible solvent to a hydraulic fracturing fluid and mixing he tracer or said solution of the tracer with hydraulic fracturing fluid during injection of the fracturing fluid down a well penetrating a hydrocarbon reservoir, thereafter collecting a sample of hydrocarbon fluid flowing from the reservoir and analyzing the sample to determine whether the tracer compound is present in the sample.
A method of tracing floe of hydrocarbon from a subterranean reservoir comprising the steps of:
- (a) forming at least two tracer emulsions, each tracer emulsion comprising a discontinuous phase comprising a hydrocarbon-soluble tracer compound in a continuous phase comprising an aqueous liquid and each tracer compound having a tracer characteristic which is different from the tracer characteristic of the tracer compound of each other tracer emulsion where each emulsion is formed in situ by adding the tracer compound or a solution of the tracer compound in a non-water miscible solvent to a hydraulic fracturing fluid and mixing the tracer or said solution of the tracer with a hydraulic fracturing fluid during injection of the fracturing fluid down a well penetrating a hydrocarbon reservoir, where the subterranean reservoir is fractured in stages and each emulsion is formed during injection of a different stage,
- (b) collecting a sample of hydrocarbon fluid flowing from the reservoir after injecting said hydraulic fracture fluid containing the tracer emulsion and
- (c) analyzing the sample to determine whether any of the tracer compounds is present in the sample.
A method of identifying a flow of a hydrocarbon from a first location in a subterranean reservoir to a well located at a second location in said reservoir comprising the steps of:
- a) forming an emulsion of at least one hydrocarbon-soluble tracer compound in an aqueous liquid, by adding the tracer compound or a solution of the tracer compound in a non-water miscible solvent to a hydraulic fracturing fluid and mixing the tracer or said solution of the tracer with hydraulic fracturing fluid during injection of the fracturing fluid down a well penetrating a hydrocarbon reservoir at said first location,
- b) thereafter collecting a sample of hydrocarbon flowing from the well located at said second location,
- c analyzing the sample to determine whether the tracer compound is present in the sample and
- d determining, from the results of said analysis, whether a flow of hydrocarbon has occurred from the first location to the second location.
A method of confirming a presence at a first location in a well of a barrier which would, if present, restrict flow of a hydrocarbon from a location in a well upstream of said first location to a location downstream of said first location, comprising the steps of:
- a) forming an emulsion of a hydrocarbon-soluble tracer compound in an aqueous liquid, by adding the tracer compound or a solution of the tracer compound in a non-water miscible solvent to a hydraulic fracturing fluid and mixing the tracer or said solution of the tracer with a hydraulic fracturing fluid during injection of the fracturing fluid down a well penetrating a hydrocarbon reservoir at said location upstream of said first location,
- b) thereafter collecting a sample of hydrocarbon flowing from the reservoir at a location downstream of said first location,
- c analyzing the sample to determine a presence or an absence of the tracer compound in the sample,
- d inferring from the presence or absence of tracer compound in the sample whether said sample contains hydrocarbon which has flowed from said location upstream of said first location, thereby to determine whether said barrier exists at said first location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.