Computational Techniques to Determine Fluid Properties and Porosity Using Elastic-Wave Velocities

31 Computational Techniques to Determine Fluid Properties and Porosity Using Elastic-Wave Velocities--GeoMechanics International, 2250 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306-1532; (415) 322-6506 Dr. Daniel Moos, Principal Investigator Dr. Colleen Barton, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82385 Amount: $72,691 Large amounts of oil still remain to be extracted from mature oil fields within the continental United States and throughout the world. Much of this oil was bypassed during initial production and can still be extracted from existing wells. To exploit this oil it is necessary to locate it and to quantify relevant reservoir properties including porosity and oil saturation. Previous work has shown that it is possible to differentiate oil rich zones from those that are not by using acoustic logs recorded within existing cased wells. Phase I of this project will refine existing models and test those models quantitatively using previously acquired data. Computational tools will be developed that can be used by operators who have data from oilfield service companies. Phase II will comprise one or more staged field experiment(s) carried out in collaboration with the oilfield operators to apply these techniques to wells containing potentially exploitable bypassed oil. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: This project will provide computational tools to help oilfield operators maximize their production from existing wells, resulting in greater return on investment with relatively little additional cost. The techniques are applicable to most of the currently operating oilfields within the continental United States and to a significant number of fields worldwide. The techniques can be applied to crosshole or surface seismic data to map hydrocarbons away from existing wells. These same techniques can also be used in shallow geophysical investigations that utilize acoustic or seismic data to determine saturation and soil properties and the locations of fluid contaminants.