Fluid Profiling with Downhole Fluid Analysis

A Modern Technique for Reservoir Characterization

Michael OKeefe
Principal Reservoir Engineer
Schlumberger

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl
 Primary funding is provided by

The SPE Foundation through member donations

and a contribution from Offshore Europe

The Society is grateful to those companies that allow their

professionals to serve as lecturers

Additional support provided by AIME

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl
Agenda
1. Focused Sampling
2. Downhole Fluid Analysis (DFA) the measurements
- Density, Viscosity, H2S + CO2, pH, Composition, GOR

3. Fluid Profiling the application

- Compartmentalization, Compositional grading

4. A New Equation of State - for modelling Asphaltenes

5. Integration of Fluid data into the Geologic Model
6. Conclusion
3
Objective Accurate Fluid Data
Fluid properties are critical to the production life of an oilfield
Material specification (H2S, CO2, pH)
Flow assurance (asphaltenes, wax, hydrates)
Completion design (perforation strategy)
Facilities design (H2S, Hg, Gas-Oil Ratio, FVF)
Corrosion and Scale strategy (pH, sulfides, Ions)
Reservoir simulation (EOS modelling)
Reserve estimates (SEC)
Field Development Plan (number of wells, connectivity)
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

Scale in production tubing 4

 Ideal Fluid Sample

Representative of Reservoir Fluid

Single phase

No asphaltene precipitation

No contamination

5
Focused Sampling

6
Wireline Fluid Sampling Open hole

Conveyed by Wireline cable, Drillpipe (realtime telemetry), or Tractor

Exit Port Sandface Inlet = Probe or Dual Packer
PVT Sample bottles
Large-volume Chamber
Fluid Analyzer

Sample Pump

Focused Probe
Fluid Analyzer
Guard Pump / Exit Port
7
GC of sample contaminated by SOBM filtrate

Effect of SOBM contamination prominently visible in C11 to C16 8

 Effects of drilling mud -filtrate contamination
DBR Fluid Properties Inc. 30.0

25.0
H2S Scavenging
Power of Transmitted Light

Psat
450cc PVT sample with 20ppm H2S

Concentration (ppm)
20.0
and 5cc KCL mud filtrate
15.0 At 6000 psi, 100 DegC
Asphaltene precipitation Contamination 10.0
onset pressures (live oil basis)
2.6 wt %
5.0
7.6 wt %
14.2 wt %
19.4 wt % 0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Time (min)
4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000
Pressure (psia)

5.00
330

4.50
VISCOSITY
310
GOR 10% Contamination 11%
4.00
290 Error or more (unknown)
10% Contamination 12% Error
Viscosity (cp)
GOR (m3/m3)

270 3.50

Values @ Sat. Pressure

250 3.00
Values @ 4500 psia

230 2.50

210 2.00

190 1.50

170 1.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Wt% Mud Contamination Wt% Mud Contamination
9
Focused / Cocentric Probe Design

Sample Flow Area

Sample Flow Area

Guard Flow Area

Conventional Probe Focused Sampling Probe

10
 Focused Sampling - to remove contamination

Formation fluid is isolated from the mud filtrate

Split Flowline Dual synchronized pumps
Cleanup time is reduced
Zero% contamination is possible with Wireline

100%

Guard

Sample
0%

11
Wireline Fluid Sampling Open hole

Conveyed by Wireline cable, Drillpipe (realtime telemetry), or Tractor

Exit Port
PVT Sample bottles
Large-volume Chamber
Fluid Analyzer

Sample Pump

Probe or Dual Packer

Fluid Analyzer
Guard Pump / Exit Port
12
Power +
Telemetry
Cartridge
Downhole Fluid Analysis (DFA) measurements
PVT

Sensor Measurement
bottles
+ Larger
Sample

Hydrocarbon composition: C1, C2, C3-5, C6+

chambers

Sample
Fluid
Analyzer
Grating Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR)
Spectrometer
Upper Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Sample Filter Spectrometer
Pump Formation water pH
Colour Spectrometry: asphaltene gradient
pH dye
injection Fluorescence
chamber
& Gas Detector OBM filtrate contamination
Hydraulics

P/T
Pretest
Probe
Density Downhole Fluorescence
Sensor Speed of Sound
Focused
Sampling
Probe
Viscosity Flowline pressure and temperature
Guard
Sensor Fluid Density
Fluid + others
Analyzer Fluid Viscosity
Lower NMR fluid measurements, etc.
Pump
13
In-Situ Density

14
Fluid Density can be found by Pretest Gradient

15
Pretest Gradients define Free-Water Level
 Downhole Fluid Density
Vibrating device measures the In-situ at reservoir conditions
Accuracy +/- 0.01 g/cc, resolution +/- 0.001 g/cc
Verify accuracy of pretest gradient from a single depth
Define Fluid contacts with greater accuracy
Thin-bed analysis: where gradients are not possible

17
In-Situ Viscosity

18
Viscosity A critical parameter for productivity

Some Typical Viscosities (cP @20 C)

Hydrogen 0.0084 Motor oil(SAE 50) 540
Air 0.0174 Heavy Oil >1000
Acetone 0.3 Glycerin 1490
Methanol 0.6
Maple syrup 3200
Water 1.002
Bitumen >10,000 (SEC)
Ethanol 1.2
Treacle 20,000
Mercury 1.5
Peanut butter 250,000
Linseed oil 28
Window putty 100 x 10^6
Olive oil 84
Pitch 230 x 10^9
Motor oil(SAE20) 125
Glass 10^43 (?)
19
The Pitch Drop Experiment
Started in 1927 at University of Queensland, Australia
Large droplets form and fall over the space of ~decade
The worlds longest continually running experiment.
The 8th drop fell in November 2000
.. with a calculated viscosity of ~ 230 Billion cP
To date, no one has ever actually witnessed a drop fall.
A webcam has been set up to record the event
Live feed to the internet: http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment

Theres enough pitch to continue for another hundred years ...

far worse than watching grass growing Professor Thomas Parnell

M. OKeefe, Page 20
 The Ninth has Fallen !

The first drop to be witnessed after an 84year wait !!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAFRzAGnFs4#t=11

Well it didnt actually drop

it just collided with the 8th at the bottom of the container, so is still connected above
- However just a little to late for John Mainstone, who oversaw the experiment for more
than 50 years at the University of Queensland
- He missed the falling of Drop #6 by a day in 1977
- He missed the falling of Drop #7 by just 5 minutes in 1988
- Most annoyingly, he missed the falling of Drop #8 in 2000 when the webcam that was
recording the event was hit by a 20min power outage
- Unfortunately John left this world in late 2013, just months before the fall of the Ninth.
M. OKeefe, Page 21
Viscosity Heavily temperature dependant
Water
Dynamic (Absolute) and Kinematic Viscosity of Water - SI Units

Temperature Dynamic Viscosity Kinematic Viscosity

-t- -- --
(oC) (Pa s, N s/m2) x 10-3 (m2/s) x 10-6
0 1.787 1.787
5 1.519 1.519
10 1.307 1.307
20 1.002 1.004
30 0.798 0.801
40 0.653 0.658
50 0.547 0.553
60 0.467 0.475
70 0.404 0.413
80 0.355 0.365
90 0.315 0.326
100 0.282 0.29
22
Viscosity Black oil Correlations

Numerous correlations (>22)

available in commercial
software packages.
All are based on Dead Oil
Different algorithms for
saturated or under-saturated
Tuning parameters:
Tb: boiling temperature
Kw: Watson k-factor
v: kinematic viscosity

23
How reliable are Viscosity correlations?

24
InSitu Viscosity Downhole measurement at P & T
Effect of Viscosity on Flowrate (courtesy of Statoil) Vibrating Wire
Principle

Data 20
20 Data
Fit Fit
10
10

Voltage

Voltage
0 0

-10
-10
-20
-20
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15
Time (ms) Time (ms)

Low Viscosity (5.6 cP) High Viscosity (50.9 cP)

Vibrating Wire Accuracy +/- 10%

Applications
Realtime measurement at Reservoir pressure & temperature
Critical measurement for permeability calculations
Important fluid property for Productivity / Economics
Map the variation with depth / between formation zones
Optimize completions / production across multi-layered reservoir
Tar mat boundary identification
25
In-Situ Viscosity variation - Biodegradation

Reference: Mapping and Modeling Large Viscosity and Asphaltene Variations in a

Reservoir Undergoing Active Biodegradation (SPE 170794)

M. OKeefe, Page 26
In-Situ Fluorescence

27
Review Types of Hydrocarbons

Separator

28
Downhole Fluorescence: Near-critical Fluids

1.2 20

Fluorescence and Reflection

0.9 Fluorescence

Pumping Volume, L
Reflection
Volume
0.6 10
Pressure

0.3

0 0
2,000 2,800 3,600 4,400
Elapsed Time, s
Temperature Fluorescence cleanup plotted for GOR ~3100 scf/STB

It is challenging to correctly identify the phase of a near-critical fluid

Is the Reservoir Fluid a Volatile Oil or Retrograde Condensate?
High Fluorescence & Low Reflection proves that the Reservoir fluid is a
retrograde gas condensate 29
Fluorescence Gas Condensate precipitation

Rich gas condensate (GOR = 3980 scf/stb) is de-pressurized from 7kpsi

Fluorescence increase shows phase separation at ~3860sec
Dew point found at 3590psi.
psi unitless InSitu Pro Crossplot - IFA Fluorescence and Reflection
15000 0.15

SOIPRES_IFA1(psi),IFA 1 SOI Gauge Pressure

FL0_IFA1(unitless),IFA 1 Fluorescence Channel #0
FL1_IFA1(unitless),IFA 1 Fluorescence Channel #1
FLR_IFA1(unitless),IFA 1 Fluorescence Reflection
12500 0.10

10000 0.05

7500 0.00

5000 -0.05

2500 -0.10

0 -0.15
3300 3400 3500 3600 3700 ETIM
3800(s) 3900 4000 4100 4200 4300

ETIM (s)
Acid Gases

31
Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)
Origin: Inorganic gas produced by:
Organic matter transformation: oxidizing organics or molecular hydrogen whil reducing sulfate
Bacteria Sulfate reduction (T<80 degc), Thermochemical Sulfate reduction (T>115 degC)
Safety: H2S is highly toxic
Safety of personnel during drilling, well testing, and production operations.
Corrosion:
Appropriate materials required for downhole and surface piping and equipment.
Onsite process design:
An onsite sweetening plant may be required as part of the production process.
Downstream process plant:
Sulfur compounds poison catalysts in oil and gas refining and cracking plants
The production of byproducts must be managed.
Sales gas specifications:
Tight controls on sulfur compound concentrations in HC.
Sampling Requirement:
Reduce metal scavenging in PVT bottles and flowlines, also eliminate filtrate contamination
 H2S is scavenged by Mud filtrate contamination
Lab Experiment Setup: Component Mol%
CO2 9.941
Inert-coated 450cc sample PVT bottle H2S 0.003
The following gas was synthesized with 30ppm H2S N2 1.658
C1 82.509
5cc Mud filtrate put inside 450cc PVT bottle
C2 4.915
Downhole conditions simulated for Pressure & Temperature C3 0.977

WBM filtrate: 5 cc KCL filtrate at 6000 psi, 100 DegC OBM filtrate: 5 cc at 500psi / 77 degC
30.0 60

25.0 50
Concentration (ppm)

20.0 40

H2s ppm (v)

15.0 30

10.0 20

5.0 10

0.0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0.1 1 10 100
Time (hrs)
Time (min)
 Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
An acid gas sometimes present in aquifers, reservoir oils & gases
Occurrence of CO2 can be of primary and/or secondary origin
More than 40% of the world's conventional gas reserves are in reservoirs
that contain significant amounts of H2S and CO2.
Critical for corrosion & scaling strategy, wellstream mixing, sales gas
CO2 compartmentalization in the Gulf of Thailand (SPE 146110)

35
Formation Water

InSitu pH

36
Analytical Requirements for Scale & Corrosion
Anions Cations Dissolved Gases
- Chloride - Sodium - Sulphide
- Bromide - Potassium - Dissolved Oxygen
- Sulphate - Calcium - Carbon Dioxide
- Carbonate - Magnesium - Nitrogen
- Bicarbonate - Barium
Other
- Hydroxide - Strontium
- pH
- Phosphate - Iron
- Manganese - Temperature
- Borate - Pressure
- Carboxylic Acids - Total Dissolved Solids
Contribution from Mineralogy
K+ shale, clay, feldspar, mica, bitterns
Na+ feldspar, evaporites
Ca2+ calcite, sulphate, fossils, plagioclase
Mg2+ dolomite, chlorite, bitterns
Fe2+/3+ siderite, chlorite, pyrite, biotite, oxy-hydroxides
NH4+ illite, coal
Ba2+ barite. K-feldspar
HCO3- carbonates, evaporites, organics, hydrocarbons
SO42- evaporites, oxidized pyrite
SiO2 biogenic silica, silicates
Formation Water pH
Formation water pH has significant Economic consequences on production
It is an essential parameter for both Scale strategy and Corrosion strategy
Management / disposal issues of produced water (Govt regulations)
pH measurement in the Lab is generally not representative
Flashing the sample causes loss of acid gases (CO2 & H2S), Increases the pH
Precipitation of salts due to temperature reduction (eg. Ba + Str Sulfates, CaCO3)
Organic acids eaten by microbes
Iron oxidation of Fe2++ with residual oxygen in sample bottle
Applications for downhole measurement:
Accurate measurement for chemical analysis
Differentiation of aquifers vs. connate water, injection
Characterize deep invasion (carbonates, faults)
is produced water from WBM filtrate or formation?
 Spectroscopic pH Measurement
Inject pH-sensitive dye into the flowline
Allow mixing with formation fluid through Pumpout module
Measure resulting colour with Optical Spectrometer
Accuracy to within 0.1 pH unit

1.2 0.8 1.2

1.0 pH=7.4 1.0
0.8
0.6 experiment
predicted 0.8
OD

OD

0.6

OD
0.4 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2
0.2 0.2
0.0 0.0 0.0
400 500 600 700 400 500 600 700 400 500 600 700
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
40
Optical Spectroscopy

41
 Hydrocarbons: -> oils aint oils
Source kerogen, depositional environment, charge history, etc.

42 42
What does an Optical Spectrometer measure ?

Optical Density gives fluid opaqueness at a given wavelength

I I : Transmitted light
OD log10
I0 I0 : Incident light

OD = 0 100% light transmission

OD = 1 10% light transmission
OD = 2 1.0% light transmission
OD = 3 0.1% light transmission

43
Optical Absorption Spectrometry

44
Realtime log example of hydrocarbon compostion
Cleanup: Pumping formation fluid versus time

45
Application of DFA for Fluid Profiling

- Compartmentalization

- Compositional Grading

46
 75% of fields in the Gulf of Mexico underperform!
-> primarily due to unrecognized compartmentalization

Mullins, O.C., Zuo, J.Y., P.S. Hammond, P.S., et al.. The Dynamics of Reservoir Fluids and Their Substantial Systematic Variations
2014 SPWLA 55th Annual Symposium, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 1822 May
M. OKeefe, Page 47
 GOR Inversion Compartmentalization
0

0 GOR (scf/stb) 2000

Depth (ft) 500
Dry Gas
Condensate 1,000
Oil
Water
1,500

2,000 A 860 scf/stb

2,500

B 1070 scf/stb
3,000 C 1300 scf/stb

3,500

Equilibrated pressure over geologic time does not guarantee flow communication during production time
The chemical content of the entire reservoir needs to mix to reach fluid compositional equilibrium
In contrast, only limited mass flow is needed for pressure equilibration 48
Compositional Variation North Sea (SPE 145643)

4.5m!

49
 Fluid Profiling Compositional Grading
5 stations were sampled in continuous hydrocarbon column
x+
x x+x

Sample here?
Depth, ft

Depth, ft
or here?

x+500 x+500
0.49 0.52 0.55 2,200 2,800 3,400
Density, g/cm 3 GOR, scf/STB

Compositional gradient was identified in real time

Common thermodynamic behaviour for a near-criticalhydrocarbon
Interpreting with a straight-line pretest gradient does not suffice
Sampling a single depth from this oil zone will not be representative (!)
DFA in real time provides DEPTH RESOLUTION to quantify extent of gradient
50
Compositional Gradient Fluid contacts extended

Gas-Oil Contact from DFA

Gas-Oil Contact from Pretests

Actual Pressure
Gradient is curved!

Oil-Water Contact
from Pretests

51
Reservoir models require compositional knowledge
Uniform Oil Properties Compositional Gradients
GOR

Complete fluid characterization is critical for reservoir development

Size surface facilities appropriately
Manage production below bubble point over the lifetime of the field
Optimize production strategy on the correct model

52
 Applications of Downhole Fluid Analysis
Wireline Fluid Analyzer
1) Sample Assurance
Representative of true reservoir fluid
Downhole samples Minimal filtrate contamination
Optimize
Single-phase fluid

2) Fluid Properties
Analyze
Composition, Gas-Oil-Ratio
H2S, CO2, Fluorescence, Colour
Density, Viscosity
Characterize pH, SoundSpeed, NMR

3) Reservoir Characterization
Compartmentalization
Compositional gradients
Thin Bed evaluation
Fluid Contacts

53
Introducing a NEW
Equation of State
for Asphaltenes

54
Compositional Grading is Not limited to Critical fluids

Black Oil
Uniform Hydrocarbon Composition
Vapor Liquid
Uniform liquid Density EOS
Peng Robinson, SRK,
Uniform Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR)

Non-uniform due to gradient of Flory Huggins Zuo

EOS
dissolved Asphaltenes

55
Reservoir Fluids - Equations of State
Gas Liquid Solid

Cubic EoS: Gas-Liquid

Ideal gas law
in 1834 What about solids ?
Pv RT
Liquid

Tc, Pc (Gas=Liquid)

HC gases
Asphaltenes
- No gas
Van der Waals EoS in 1873 - No liquid
a - No Tc, Pc, Vc
P 2 v b RT
v

Peng-Robinson EoS in 1976

v b RT
a
P
v(v b) b(v b)
56
Asphaltenes are Colloidal in Crude Oil
Colloids: discrete phase (1nm to 1 m) dispersed within continuous phase
Dispersed Phase
Gas Liquid Solid

none
Gas

Liquid

Crude Oil

Solid

Pumice
57 57
57
 Gravity and Size
Hirschberg (1988) suggested to use the Flory-Huggins theory to model
asphaltene gradients, but we did not understand asphaltene size in crude oil
at that time. Thus, we could not model asphaltene gradients predicatively.

The hails fall through the air due to gravity Small fogs can remain suspended in the air
 Yen-Mullins model determines Size.
The Yen-Mullins model has codified the size of asphaltenes in crude oil.
Molecule Nanoaggregate Cluster

~1 nm ~2 nm ~5 nm
Condensate Stable black oil Movable Heavy Oil
With their size accurately measured, the gravity term is now resolved.
1. At low concentration, asphaltenes exist as molecules ~7 fused aromatic rings (FAR) and a peripheral chain of alkanes.
2. At higher concentrations, the molecules adhere to each other forming Nanoaggregates. The fused aromatic rings (FAR)
of the molecules form an imperfect stack because of intermolecular attraction. The peripheral alkanes interfere with close
approach of fused aromatic rings (FAR) due to steric repulsion, thereby limiting size to ~6 molecules or 2-3 nm diameter.
3. In Movable heavy oil, asphaltene nanoaggregates stick to each other forming clusters. The size of the clusters is limited
because they can be stably suspended in oil for geological time.
The lab and field data show asphaltene cluster contain ~7 nanoaggregates and 4~6 nm in diameter
 Flory-Huggins-Zuo Equation of State model
Paul John Flory

Model Gravity Term Solubility Term Entropy Term

Size counts High GOR - low power to

(Yen-Mullins model) Mixing process
dissolve asphaltenes

Not dissolved

Flocs

gravity Low GOR - high power to

dissolve asphaltenes

Flory-Huggins
model
buoyancy Dissolved

60
Flory-Huggins-Zuo (FHZ) model predicts the colour gradient
Equilibrium asphaltene gradients in oil columns

Gravity Entropy Solubility

Fluid color
Asphaltene size / Size / Composition /
gradient
fluid density GOR / density

There are four parameters to be determined: Oil vm and m and Asphaltene va and a
These can be characterized from measurements made by a downhole fluid analyzer
The only undetermined parameter is the asphaltene size
which is determined by fitting DFA color gradients to the Yen-Mullins model
Therefore, the parameter has physical meaning, and the model has predictability.
61
 Gradients of Heavy Oils - matches FHZ EoS

Gulf of Mexico Ecuador HO Persian Gulf HO

Correlation 0 Exp. 8040 Lab
29850
Laboratory FHZ (5.2 nm) FHZ (5.6 nm)

FHZ (4.1 nm)

29950 20 6 cp
Relative Depth, ft 8060
TVDss, ft

TVD, ft
30050 40

8080
30150 60

200 cp
30250 80
8100
0 10 20 30 5 10 15 20 25 30
10 20 30 40
Asphaltene, wt% Asphaltene, wt% Asphaltene wt%
62
 Fluid Profiling - Reservoir Architecture
Equilibrium asphaltene distributions imply connectivity
Nonequilibrium Equilibrium

Fluid charge
Massive fluid
flow

Permeable rocks

Fluid Compartmentalization
Discontinuous pressure gradients
Density inversion
Stair-step discontinuous fluid properties
Asphaltene color inversion
Fault Block Migration seen by Asphaltenes & DFA x
0.2
Fluid color (OD)
2.2
Well 1
0
Actual DFA Color 1
Actual Faulted Reservoir A 4 Wells
1
x B
TVD 2
Well 2
250
2 FHZ EoS A
x (w/ Nanoaggregate)

Relative TVD (m)

3
Well 3
B
3 A

x B
500
Well 4
4
2nd Faulting
4 A
x

B
1 750
x
2 Expected = Actual !
Fluid color (OD)
3 0.2
Expected DFA
Reconstructed ColorColor
DFA 1.2
x 0 1
Well : 1
2
2 4 Wells
3 4

4 A 3
A
x A 4
1st Tilt B
B A
B
TVD
250

x FHZ EoS B
Relative TVD (m)

Initial Stacked Reservoirs x

4 Wells
1 2 3 4 500

x 750
Introducing Fluid Properties to the
Geologic Model

65
Fluid Profiling Mapping the distribution of reservoir fluids

66
Introduce Fluid properties to the Geologic Model
Populate Petrel with Pressure & Fluids data: Optical Density, EOS-
decontaminated Composition, GOR, Density & Viscosity
Well-to-Well correlation in Appraisal / Development
Full integration with Petrel
Address Pressure or Fluid Compartmentalization directly back to Structural
map / fault blocks
Conclusions
We have reviewed what is possible with some of the available DFA measurements
Hydrocarbon Composition (C1, C2, C3-5, C6+) and Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), H2S, downhole Fluorescence
Fluid Density & Viscosity, pH of formation water

Determination of Compartmentalization & Compositional grading:

For optimizing wireline sampling program
Conventional approach of sampling a single zone can underestimate complexity
For planning perforation strategy and/or the Well Test
For reservoir modelling & characterization
Introduced a new Equation of State for modelling dissolved Asphaltene distribution
An indicator of Connectivity between wells

Fluid Profiling is the modern technique to assist in defining reservoir architecture

Integration into Geologic model to determine an appropriate Field Development Plan
 Primary funding is provided by

The SPE Foundation through member donations

and a contribution from Offshore Europe

The Society is grateful to those companies that allow their

professionals to serve as lecturers

Additional support provided by AIME

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Distinguished Lecturer Program
www.spe.org/dl