Method for predicting petroleum expulsion

• US 8,352,228 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2009
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Inventors: Walters, Clifford C., Freund, Howard, Kelemen, Simon R., Ertas, Mehmet Deniz, Symington, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Thangavelu, Kandasamy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Cedric D
• Application Number:
  US12/571,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20100161302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 703/10, 703/12, 702/6
• US Class Current: 703/10
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/00 Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells applicable only to water E03B
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/24 using heat, e.g. steam injection
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 49/00 Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells

Abstract

A method for predicting petroleum production is provided. An exemplary embodiment of The computer-implemented comprises computing a first approximation of an amount of generated petroleum that is retained with a complex organic product using a Threshold and a Maximum Retention value. The exemplary method also comprises revising the first approximation by approximating a process of chemical fractionation using at least one partition factor to create a revised approximation and predicting petroleum production based on the revised approximation.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production,the method comprising:

computing using a computer a first approximation of an amount of generated petroleum that is retained with a complex organic product using a Threshold value and a Maximum Retention value;

revising using a computer the first approximation by approximating a process of chemical fractionation using at least one partition factor to create a revised approximation; and

predicting petroleum production based on the revised approximation.

2. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the complex organic product comprises a kerogen.

3. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the complex organic product comprises an asphaltene.

4. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the first approximation is generated by modeling a closed system.

5. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value describe a degree of swelling corresponding to an amount of bitumen the complex organic product can retain.

6. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value are expressed in Hydrogen Index units.

7. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the first approximation represents the effects of thermodynamic parameters including a solubility parameter, a cross-link density, and a native swelling factor.

8. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value respectively define a minimum and a maximum amount of bitumen that may be retained within the complex organic product as a function of thermal alteration.

9. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value respectively define a minimum value of generated products below which there is no expulsion and a maximum amount of generated product that may be retained within the complex organic product.

10. The computer-implemented method for predicting petroleum production recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one partition factor is a number whose value reflects a tendency of a chemical lump within the complex organic product to partition or to be expelled.

11. A computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons from an oil and/or gas field, the method comprising:

computing using a computer a first approximation of an amount of generated petroleum that is retained with a complex organic product using a Threshold value and a Maximum Retention value;

revising using a computer the first approximation by approximating a process of chemical fractionation using at least one partition factor to create a revised approximation;

predicting petroleum production based on the revised approximation; and

extracting hydrocarbons from the oil and/or gas field using the predicted petroleum production.

12. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the complex organic product comprises a kerogen.

13. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the first approximation is generated by modeling a closed system.

14. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value describe a degree of swelling corresponding to an amount of bitumen the complex organic product can retain.

15. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein at least one of the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value are expressed in hydrogen index units.

16. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the first approximation represents the effects of thermodynamic parameters including a solubility parameter, a cross-link density, and a native swelling factor.

17. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value respectively define a minimum and a maximum amount of bitumen that may be retained within the complex organic product as a function of thermal alteration.

18. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the Threshold value and the Maximum Retention value respectively define a minimum value of generated products below which there is no expulsion and a maximum amount of generated product that may be retained within the complex organic product.

19. The computer-implemented method for producing hydrocarbons recited in claim 11, wherein the at least one partition factor is a number whose value reflects a tendency of a chemical lump within the complex organic product to partition or to be expelled.

20. A tangible, non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions which when executed on a computer, perform a method comprising:

computing a first approximation of an amount of generated petroleum that is retained with a complex organic product using a Threshold value and a Maximum Retention value;

revesing the first approximation by approximating a process of chemical fractionation using at least one partition factor to create a revised approximation; and

predicting petroleum production based on the revised approximation.