Reservoir sample chain-of-custody

• US 7,379,819 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2006
• Issued: 05/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ABB AB (ABB Limited), Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Original Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Schlumberger NV)
• Inventors: Mathews, Syriac George, Nighswander, John Allan, Betancourt, Soraya Sofia, Davies, Tara, Mullins, Oliver C., Hammami, Ahmed, Raghuraman, Bhavani, Gustavson, Gale, Reid, Lennox
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, Jr.; John E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Toan M
• Application Number:
  US11/561,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20070143023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 702/11, 702/12, 702/22, 702/23, 702/27, 702/30, 731/520.7, 731/520.9, 731/521.1, 7315223-15224, 731/522.8, 175/58, 166/264
• US Class Current: 702/11
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/08 Obtaining fluid samples or testing fluids, in boreholes or wells
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/00 Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2001/007 Devices specially adapted for forensic samples, e.g. tamper-proofing, sample tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/28 Oils , i.e. hydrocarbon liquidsgaseous fuels G01N33/225; edible oils or edible fats G01N33/03
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2823 raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures hydrocarbon content of earth materials G01N33/241; prospecting G01V; drilling per se E21B

Abstract

Methods of assuring that a representative formation and/or fluid sample of a subterranean reservoir is obtained are provided. One method of validating a reservoir fluid sample obtained from a wellbore includes the steps of acquiring a reservoir fluid sample in the wellbore; measuring a property of the fluid sample downhole with a technique to obtain a measured downhole fluid property; replicating the measuring technique used to obtain the measured downhole fluid property to obtain at a remote location from the wellbore with a technique to obtain at least one measured remote location fluid property; validating the fluid sample through comparison of the measured downhole fluid property and the at least one measured remote location fluid property.

Claims

1. A method of assuring acquisition of a representative sample of a reservoir formation from a wellbore, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a reservoir formation sample having a formation sample property;

measuring the formation sample property at a point of acquisition in the wellbore with a technique to obtain a measured point of acquisition property;

measuring the formation sample property at a remote location from the point of acquisition with a technique to obtain a measured remote location property; and

validating the formation sample by comparing the measured point of acquisition property to the measured remote location property.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reservoir formation sample is a sidewall core.

3. The method of claim 1, the formation sample property is mass density.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reservoir formation sample is a sidewall core.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the measured remote location property is obtained by replicating the measuring technique utilized to obtain the measure point of acquisition property.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring technique includes at least one of gamma ray attenuation, nuclear magnetic resonance, acoustics, optical or electromagnetic.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of validating includes at least one of confirming the provenance of the formation sample, confirming correspondence of the measured remote location property with the measured point of acquisition property, or transformation of the formation sample since acquisition of the formation sample.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the reservoir formation sample is a sidewall core.

9. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of:

recording the measured point of acquisition property in an electronic database archive;

recording the measured remote location property in the archive; and

providing a chain-of-custody page by the archive displaying validating parameters for the formation sample.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the reservoir formation sample is a sidewall core.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the reservoir formation sample is a sidewall core;

the formation sample property is mass density; and

the measured remote location property is obtained by replicating the measuring technique utilized to obtain the measure point of acquisition property.

12. The method of claim 11, further including the steps of:

recording the measured point of acquisition property in an electronic database archive;

recording the measured remote location property in the archive; and

providing a chain-of-custody page by the archive displaying validating parameters for the formation sample.

13. A method of assuring acquisition of a representative sample of a subsurface reservoir from a wellbore, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a reservoir formation sample having a formation sample property;

measuring the formation sample property at a point of acquisition in the wellbore with a technique to obtain a measured point of acquisition formation property;

measuring the formation sample property at a remote location from the point of acquisition with a technique to obtain a measured remote location formation property;

validating the formation sample by comparing the measured point of acquisition property to the measured remote location property;

recording formation sample validating parameter in a database archive;

acquiring a reservoir fluid sample in the wellbore;

measuring a property of the fluid sample downhole with a technique to obtain a measured downhole fluid property;

measuring the property of the fluid sample at a remote location from the wellbore with a technique to obtain a measured remote location fluid property;

validating the fluid sample through comparison of the measured downhole fluid property and the measured remote location fluid property; and

recording fluid sample validating parameter in the archive.

14. The method of claim 13, further including the steps of:

recording the measured point of acquisition formation property in the archive;

recording the measured remote location formation property in the archive;

recording the measured downhole fluid property in the archive; and

recording the measured remote location fluid property in the archive.

15. The method of claim 13, further including the step of providing a chain-of-custody page by the archive displaying the formation sample validating parameter and the fluid sample validating parameter.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the database archive is web-based.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the database archive is web-based.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the measured downhole fluid property includes downhole gas-oil ratio; and

the measured remote location fluid property includes lab spectrum gas-oil ratio and lab gas-oil ratio.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of validating the fluid sample includes the step of identifying measuring technique trends if the lab gas-oil ratio does not substantially equal the measured downhole gas-oil ratio.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the fluid sample validating parameter includes one of substantial correspondence between the measured downhole fluid property and the measured remote location fluid property or an identified supporting measuring technique trend.

21. A method of validating a reservoir fluid sample obtained from a wellbore, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a reservoir fluid sample in the wellbore;

measuring a property of the fluid sample downhole with a technique to obtain a measured downhole fluid property;

replicating the measuring technique used to obtain the measured downhole fluid property to obtain at a remote location from the wellbore with a technique to obtain at least one measured remote location fluid property; and

validating the fluid sample through comparison of the measured downhole fluid property and the at least one measured remote location fluid property.

22. The method of claim 21, further including the steps of:

recording the validated fluid sample property in a web-based archive; and

providing a chain-of-custody page by the archive displaying the validated fluid sample property.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of validating includes the step of identifying measuring technique trends if the measured downhole fluid property and at least one of the at least one measured remote location fluid sample properties do not substantially correspond.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the measured downhole fluid property is gas-oil ratio and the at least one measured remote location fluid property includes lab gas-oil ratio and lab spectrum gas-oil ratio.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of validating the fluid sample includes the step of identifying measuring technique trends if the lab gas-oil ratio does not substantially equal the measured downhole gas-oil ratio.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the replicating step includes the step of converting a pathlength of the remote location measuring technique to substantially match a pathlength the downhole measuring technique.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the replicating step includes the steps of correcting spectral data of the remote location measuring technique to correspond with the downhole measuring technique.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of correcting the spectral data includes the steps of:

correcting for reflective losses;

correcting pathlength; and

eliminating scattering in the downhole measuring technique.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the replicating step includes:

providing a remote location testing system having a spectrometer functionally connected to a multiple testing cell having sapphire windows;

connecting the fluid sample in the testing system;

reconditioning the fluid sample to reservoir pressure and temperature;

charging the testing system with a pressurized inert gas at the reservoir pressure and temperature;

purging the inert gas from the system;

introducing the fluid sample into the cell; and

obtaining the at least one measured remote location fluid property with the spectrometer.