Restack inter-well tracing technology
Outline
• Introduction to RESTRACK
• Introduction to tracing technology
• Inter-well tracing
• Water
• Gas
• Interpretation approaches
• Combining Inflow tracers and inter-well tracers
Institute for Energy Technolgy
Nuclear Technology Nuclear Safety and Safety Man-Technology- Energy and Environ - Petroleum
and Physics Reliability Organisation mental Technology Technology
Brit S. Farstad Margaret McGrath Jon Kvalem Arve Holt Tore Bjerkelund Gimse
is a spin-off from IFE, and a world
leading tracer service company
Legacy
1950ies IFE started work with
radioactive tracers, ground
water studies
1983 – 86 offshore use of tracers at
Ekofisk started
1991 – development for application of
chemical tracers
1994 – consecutive frame agreements
with Statoil and ConocoPhillips.
1995 – world-wide project expansion
2011 – deployment of Single Well
Chemical Tracer Test
(SWCTT)
2012 – introducing Partitioning Inter-
well Tracer Test (PITT)
A few facts and figures
40 Unique water tracers 118 Fields analysed since 2000
15 Unique gas tracers 650 Tracer injections since 2000
6 Unique oil/water partitioning tracers 150000 Tracer analyses since 2000
World-wide operations Ultra-sensitive analysis Interpretation
Field experience
Algeria BP, CEPSA, Hess
Angola BP, Total
Congo Perenco
Equatorial Guinea Hess
Mauritania Petronas, Woodside
Nigeria Total
Brazil Chevron
Canada Glencoe
Colombia BP, Equion Energia, Petrobras
USA BP
Venezuela PDVSA, Perenco
Australia Woodside
China ConocoPhillips
Turkmenistan Burren
Demark Dong Energy, Hess, Maersk
Germany RWE-DEA, Wintershall
Netherlands Gaz de France, Shell
Norway BP, ConocoPhillips, Statoil, Talisman
Turkey Perenco
Qatar Maersk
Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco
Syria Total
Yemen DNO, Dove Energy, Total
Customers:
Company Countries Tracer Type
Statoil Norway Water and gas tracers
ConocoPhillips Norway, China Water tracers
CEPSA Algeria Gas tracers
Total Angola, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen Water and gas tracers
Wintershall Germany Water tracers
Glencoe Canada Gas tracers
Hess Algeria, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea Water and gas tracers
Saudi Aramco Saudi Arabia (4 fields) Water tracers
PDVSA Venezuela Water and gas tracers
BP Angola, Colombia, USA, Algeria, Norway Water and gas tracers
Equion Energia Colombia Water and gas tracers
Perenco Venezuela, Turkey, Congo Water and gas tracers
RWE-DEA Germany Water tracers
Shell Netherlands Gas tracers
Woodside Mauritania, Australia Water tracers
Burren Turkmenistan Water tracers
Gaz de France Netherlands Gas tracers
Petrobras Colombia Water tracers
Chevron Brazil Water tracers
Talisman Energy Norway Water tracers
Petronas Mauritania Water tracers
Dong Energy Demark Water and gas tracers
DNO Yemen Water tracers
Dove Energy Yemen Water tracers
Maersk Denmark, Qatar Water and gas tracers
Restrack value chain
Planning
• Project evaluation
• HES evaluation
• Tracer selection
Operations
• Tracer injection
• Sampling strategy
• Tracer analyses
Interpretation
• Communication
• Sweep efficiency
• Reservoir characterisation
TRACERS - INTRO
A simple large scale tracer test
(http://beachcombersalert.org/RubberDuckies.html)
Information from tracers
Producers
Injectors Injector
• Injection water is "colored" by tracers
• Water from specific injector identified
• Additional constraint – can exclude wrong models
Customer recommendations
ources:
• Allan Mathieson JIP Programme Manager CGS Conference – Ankara, Turkey, 14 June 2012
• Giuseppe Galli, eni Reservoir Management, Workshop: Use of chemical tracers for water and
gas injection performance and EOR – 29th November 2012
INTERWELL
TRACER
TECHNOLOGY
13 6 July 2019
Basic interwell tracing for IOR
Improving reservoir understanding
• Track fluid movement
• Identify flow channels
• Reduce water production
Responses P-17
1.8E-04
1.6E-04
I-7 tracer#1
1.4E-04
Concentration (g/l)
1.2E-04
1.0E-04
Breakthrough time : 160 days
8.0E-05
6.0E-05
4.0E-05
2.0E-05
0.0E+00
01.09.2002 14.01.2004 28.05.2005 10.10.2006 22.02.2008 06.07.2009 18.11.2010 01.04.2012 14.08.2013
Date
Tracers in reservoirs
Reservoir layer
Thight layer
Sealing or
conducting fault?
Various tracers
Chemical water-tracers
TRACERS: COOH COOH
2-FBA H F H H
4-FBA
2,6-DFBA H H H F
3,4-DFBA H H
2,4,5-TFBA Current count :
COOH COOH
IFE-WT-9….IFE-WT-16 40 H COOH
F H H
COOH
IFE-WT-20/30
COOH COOH
H
IFE-WT-50
F H H H H F F
F H F F
IFE-WT-40….IFE-WT-43
H H
IFE-WT-1….IFE-WT-8
H F H H H H H H
H H F H
IFE-WT-60….IFE-WT-64
COOH COOH COOH COOH
H F H H H H H F
Precise Chemical Analysis is critical
Identification through
ultra-sensitive 3-step
analysis (GC/MS/MS):
250ml
water samples
Purified extract
Ultra sensitive tracer analysis
Traditional GC-MS Noise
method GC-MS
Tracer signal
RESTRACKTM Example: Tracer signal
GC-MS/MS 400 parts per trillion tracer in
method produced water sample
Detection limit : 50ppt
Chemical Gas tracers
Health and Safety
• Non-radioactive
CARBON
• Non-flammable
• Liquids at standard conditions FLUORINE
• Approved for use in lung
ventilation studies and
as blood substituting agents
Properties
Current count :
• Stable up to 400°C 15
PMCH
• Insoluble in water
• Soluble in HC gas and
liquid/supercritical CO2
Gas tracer technology –
past and present
Simplified logistics Less environmental impact
• Small sample size
• No MSDS required
• Shipping time < 1 week
Sampling of Gas Tracers
Bleed valve Plastic syringe
CAT
Flow line Sampling – mini separator
PFC gas tracer Analysis
Tracers analysed by GC-MS using CAT-method (Chemical
Adsorption Tube)
Detection limit below 1 ppt
RestrackTM Gas tracer analysis
18000
Traditional method
PMCP
• Sample noise 16000
interfering with ECD response
tracer 14000
12000
10000
Retentiontime [min]
12000
RESTRACKTM
10000
method
PMCP
• Pure tracer signal 8000
Abundance
6000
4000
2000
0
Retentiontime [min]
PMCP concentration 100ppt range
Detection limit : below 1ppt
Sensitive measurements
Detection limit 50 ppt –
enables more information
Detection limit 1 ppb –
“blind” for lower levels
06.07.2019
Ensure frequent sampling
Original data
Infrequent sampling
Infrequent sampling with
high detection limit
06.07.2019
Sampling
• Start sampling before you expect tracer breakthrough.
Avoid this kind of
production curve
Time
• Consider re-injection: consequences should be carefully
evaluated, samples from injection fluids are valuable.
06.07.2019
COMBINING
INFLOW AND
INTER-WELL
TRACERS
06.07.2019
Combining Interwell and inflow
Technology
• Risk free
• No interferences
between Restrack and
Resman tracer systems
ZONAL INJECTION
06.07.2019
Example: 3 Different tracer Injected
Using DIACS sleeves
• Injector equipped with 3 DIACS Fault Throw
sleeves
• DIACS used to control injection
interval DIACS
Zone 3
• 3 different tracers injected, one in
each interval to measure zonal
contribution to the producers DIACS
Zone 2
• Extensive Restrack experience with
Statoil, both sub-sea and platform
wells DIACS
Zone 1
CASE STUDIES
Flow patterns
Recovery of gas tracer in Snorre
(calculated from concentrations and gas
production rates)
Summarized in an arrow plot, with
arrow widths corresponding to recovery
for individual wells
Recovery of 15 kg gas tracer injected in P-28
P-04 0.122 kg 0.8 % 5%
P-09 0.262 kg 1.7 % 10%
P-13 0.097 kg 0.6 % 4%
P-18A 0.609 kg 4.1 % 23%
P-29 0.658 kg 4.4 % 24%
P-40 0.959 kg 6.4 % 35%
2.71 kg 18.0% -
Reservoir model improvement
Water from wrong source
Measured and simulated water-cut matches, but no match
of tracer data in the base-case
I.e. wrong water source for producer P-A in the model
Reservoir model improvement
Water from correct source
After modification of channel widths, tracer match is
significantly improved
The water source for producer P-A in the model is now
correct
(Huseby et al.: Using tracer data to improve petroleum reservoir models. IAEA Tracer5 conf. Tiradentes, Brasil, 2-6 Nov, 2008)
Simulation of tracers - compare
with data
ARTSim
tracer concentration in
Norne reservoir case
Tracer concentration
0 6e-7 1.2e-7
PLANNING OF
PROJECT
Flowchart for tracer operation
• Reservoir volumes are calculated based on known or estimated
reservoir data
• Identification of suitable tracer based on temperature and other
conditions
• Calculation of necessary tracer amounts
• Application for use of tracer chemicals (if applicable)
• Injection of tracer
• Sampling of produced fluids
• Shipment of samples to lab
• Analysis of samples and reporting of results
• Evaluation of data
• Take necessary actions
Tracer injection
• Typically a flexible high pressure hose (1/4 or ½ inch ID) is
connected to the well head using a check valve with a
block and bleed manifold
• Tracer solution is pumped at a rate of a few liters per
minute for 2-12 hours (depending on tracer amount)
• The pump used is a Injection point
temporary high pressure
pneumatic pump
• Water or MEG is used for
leak/pressure testing of
rig-up
Temporary tracer
06.07.2019 injection line
Tracer Injection
Thank you for your
attention!
Contact:
Sven Hartvig
(sven.hartvig@restrack.no)
Mobile: +47 995 35 162
www.restrack.no
