An Application of Cemented Resistivity Arrays To Monitor Waterflooding of the Mansfield Sandstone, Indiana, U.S.A.

Abstract

In 1999, an oilfield experiment was initiated to test the application of electrical measurement technologies to permanent reservoir monitoring. The principal objective of the experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring water movement between an injection and an observation well. This paper describes the interpretation of the data provided by the resistivity arrays and discusses the data quality and reliability of the measurements.Two wells were drilled into the Mansfield sandstone reservoir in Indiana, U.S.A. The D-8 injector well was located in the center of four development wells. The OB-1 monitoring well was offset 233 ft to the southwest in a location midway between the D-8 injector and the No. 3 production well. The injector was instrumented with a 16-electrode resistivity array that was run on the outside of insulated casing and cemented into the annulus of the well. A similar array was cemented into the annulus of the monitoring well.In March 1999, the D-8 well was perforated and acidized. A surface gauge was used to monitor injection rates and pressures. Initially, injection proceeded at a rate of approximately 20 B/D, increasing to 90 B/D after fracture stimulation. The D-8 array records responses to wellbore operations and injection. It clearly distinguishes the movement of the waterfront in different zones. The OB-1 electrical array clearly indicates early water breakthrough by means of an induced fracture. The data show good signal-to-noise ratio and high reciprocity.The experiment has demonstrated the viability of using permanently installed resistivity arrays to monitor the movement of oil/ water contacts and salinity fronts that are some tens of feet away from the wellbore. Results demonstrate the feasibility of using such arrays to monitor oil/water contact movements remote from injection, monitoring, and production wells.

Streaming potentials at hydrocarbon reservoir conditions

“…The expected level of background electric noise, then, is crucial in determining whether a set of reservoir parameters will be suitable for streaming-potential monitoring. Bryant et al (2002) monitor streaming potentials downhole with electrodes mounted on the outside of an insulated steel casing. The electrodes were cemented in place to give them both an electric contact with the reservoir fluids, and also a relatively stable environment to minimize the common problems of potential drift and electrode polarization.…”

Estimation of axisymmetric spatial distributions of permeability and porosity from pressure-transient data acquired with in situ permanent sensors

“…In 1999, a field experiment was conducted to test the feasibility and reliability of pressure, DC resistivity, and fiber optic measurements for permanent reservoir monitoring (Raghuraman and Ramakrishnan, 2001;Bryant et al, 2002a). In this experiment, two wells were drilled into the Mansfield sandstone reservoir to a depth of approximately 305 m in the Ashworth lease, Indiana, onshore USA.…”

“…The principal objective of the experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring waterfront movement between an injection and an observation well. Bryant et al (2002a) describe results and interpretation of the cemented resistivity array data and show how the movement of the fluid front could be tracked at the injector well. Raghuraman and Ramakrishnan (2001) focus their interpretation work on the measurements acquired with a cemented in situ permanent pressure gauge along the observation well.…”

“…We also assess the applicability of the inversion algorithm to the interpretation of actual field data acquired during a field experiment conducted to test the deployment and reliability of pressure, electric, and fiber optic measurement technologies for permanent reservoir monitoring (Bryant et al, 2002a;Raghuraman and Ramakrishnan, 2001). The spatial distributions of permeability, in some cases estimated simultaneously with porosity, are subsequently compared to core and wireline data.…”

Reservoir monitoring using borehole radars to improve oil recovery: Suggestions from 3D electromagnetic and fluid modeling

“…It is a typical reservoir scenario produced by a horizontal well under the drive of strong bottom water pressure, as depicted in Figure 8. This model is a simplified representation of a thin oil reservoir in Indiana, USA (Bryant et al, 2002), and it has been frequently used in smart well production studies (Raghuraman et al, 2003;Bryant et al, 2004;Addiego-Guevara et al, 2008;Dilib and Jackson, 2013 Table 3. Capillary pressure is neglected, whereas wellbore friction is considered.…”