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Reservoir and Source Rock Evaluation Services

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Thermal extraction of hydrocarbons from reservoir and source rock samples

G9+ provides customers with the characterization of liquid hydrocarbons in drill cutting samples through the application of detailed gas chromatography. It can be applied in reservoir rocks to detect and characterize oil occurrence and in the source rocks to define source type and properties. Newly acquired cuttings at the wellsite can be analyzed in a very short time preventing any loss of lighter hydrocarbons.

Resources
Benefits
  • Liquid hydrocarbon detection even in the presence of oil based   muds
  • Identification of reservoir oil properties to better evaluate the economics of the asset (gravity, viscosity, biodegradation)
  • Relative abundance of liquid hydrocarbons aids in reservoir evaluation and completion design
  • A complementary fluid contact identification method (GOC, OWC)
  • Reservoir connectivity for improved reserves evaluation and completion design
  • Identification of source rock type and maturity for asset and regional evaluations
  • Evaluation of source rock maturity
  • Oil-source rock correlation
Challenges
& Solutions

Thermal Extraction Gas Chromatography from cuttings is a well-known technique but GEOLOG is unique in bringing this type of analysis to the well site to supply real-time information about oil properties. In this way it is not necessary to use solvents and perform time consuming chemical extractions to analyse liquid hydrocarbons in cuttings. One of the major problems currently in fluid characterization is contamination by oil based muds (OBMs).

G9+ is able to distinguish between mud contamination and hydrocarbons, thus revealing information about oil properties and the relevant variations in the reservoir.

Applications

G9+ is suitable for exploration, appraisal, and development projects in areas where liquid hydrocarbons are presents. In the early phase of activities (exploration) it can be used to characterize source rocks and to assess the presence of oil and fluid contacts in reservoirs.
In appraisal and developments phases it can supply and confirm important information about oil properties, reservoir compartmentalization and multi well correlations. Due to the short time between sample retrieval and analysis, fresh samples exhibit very low levels of hydrocarbon evaporative loss.

“This was the first time a deep spectrum of fluid characterization (from C1 to C30) was performed at the well-site, allowing us to better understand the type and complexity of fluids in our reservoirs.”

Chevron

Case History

Fingerprinting Fluid Properties Direct from Cuttings over Multiple Fields

G9+ provides detailed analysis of cuttings for fluid characterization. As shown in the graphs above, the thermal desorption process can distinguish different fluid characteristics, helping the reservoir engineer better understand the reservoir fluid properties.
These unique fingerprints can easily identify the presence of pay zones and oil-to-water contacts, can help trace the connectivity of reservoirs, and provide a fast proxy for the determination of the biodegradation index.



Figure 1. Well defined oil signature in the presence of oil based mud.

Figure 2. Chromatographic signatures of different fluid typologies.

Specifications
G9+

G9+ Analysis

C9 – C27

Minimum Sample Required

50-500 mg*

Analysis Time

40 minutes

*dependent on fluid richness of sample