--> Abstract: Evolution in Thermal Oil-Gas Petrophysics Due to Development of Optical Scanning Technology, by Yuri Popov; #90105 (2010)

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AAPG GEO 2010 Middle East
Geoscience Conference & Exhibition
Innovative Geoscience Solutions – Meeting Hydrocarbon Demand in Changing Times
March 7-10, 2010 – Manama, Bahrain

Evolution in Thermal Oil-Gas Petrophysics Due to Development of Optical Scanning Technology

Yuri Popov1

(1) Schlumberger, Moscow, Russian Federation.

Reservoir thermal properties play an important role in thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods, temperature logging data interpretation, and the modeling of heat and mass transfer in reservoirs and wells. Nevertheless, up to now it has proved complicated to obtain reliable data on reservoir thermal properties.

The situation changed when an optical scanning method and two optical scanning instruments were developed for measuring thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and the volumetric heat capacity on full cores and core plugs at laboratory conditions. Optical scanning has allowed us to record the variations of thermal conductivity and diffusivity along the inhomogeneous sample and to determine thermal conductivity and diffusivity tensor components for three-dimensional anisotropy.

The other merits of optical scanning include:

  • high precision (1.5 %) and accuracy (1.5 %) of thermal conductivity measurements within the range of 0.1-70 W/m*K,
  • high precision (2 %) and accuracy (2 %) of thermal diffusivity measurements within the range of (0.1-5)*10-6 m2/s,
  • freedom from constraints on sample size (within 1 cm and up to 70 cm in sample length) as well as freedom from constraints on the shape and quality of the mechanical treatment of the sample surface,
  • a contactless mode of measurements,
  • short measurement time (10-30 s) for every sample.

The optical scanning technology has provided numerous measurements on more than 80,000 cores from 12 deep continental scientific boreholes and 15 oil and gas fields. The qualitatively new information on the thermal properties of reservoirs and formations has been obtained. It has been established that thermal rock anisotropy is essential in many cases and thermal properties vary significantly in rock formations (often by several times) even within cores and short depth intervals (of few meters). Close correlations have been revealed between thermal rock properties and porosity, permeability, acoustic velocities, electric resistivity, fracturing of rocks, and type of pore-saturating fluids.

The author would like to acknowledge the generous support of Schlumberger Oilfield Services - an international company servicing the oil and gas industry, and also recognize the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.