Gravimetric monitoring of the first field‐wide steam injection in a fractured carbonate field in Oman – a feasibility study

Abstract

A B S T R A C TGas-Oil Gravity Drainage is to be enhanced by steam injection in a highly fractured, low permeability carbonate field in Oman. Following a successful pilot, field-wide steam injection is being implemented, first of this type in the world. A dedicated monitoring program has been designed to track changes in the reservoir. Various observations are to be acquired, including, surface deformation, temperature measurements, microseismic, well logs, pressure and saturation measurements to monitor the reservoir. Because significant changes in the reservoir density are expected, timelapse gravimetry is also being considered. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of gravimetric monitoring of the thermally enhanced gravity drainage process at the carbonate field in Oman. For this purpose, forward gravity modelling is performed. Based on field groundwater measurements, the estimates of the hydrological signal are considered and it is investigated under what conditions the groundwater influences can be minimized. Using regularized inversion of synthetic gravity data, we analyse the achievable accuracy of heat-front position estimates. In case of large groundwater variations at the field, the gravity observations can be significantly affected and, consequently, the accuracy of heat-front monitoring can be deteriorated. We show that, by applying gravity corrections based on local observations of groundwater, the hydrological influences can to a large extent be reduced and the accuracy of estimates can be improved. We conclude that gravimetric monitoring of the heat-front evolution has a great potential.

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