Title
GPR monitoring of oil displacement - A laboratory study
Author
Miorali, M.
Slob, E.C.
Arts, R.J.
Publication year
2011
Abstract
In this paper we present laboratory experiments where we address the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) capability of monitoring oil displacement processes in porous media. This has significant applications in near-subsurface environments where remediation of contaminant such as oil-derived liquids is considered one of the major technical, economical and environmental challenges. Potential applications extend to oil reservoir fields, where technique capable of detecting the water advance towards production well is strongly required. An oil saturated sand box is flooded by water and the process is continuously monitored by a GPR placed at the sand surface and by impedance measurements taken along the sand box height. Strong radar reflections in conjunction with sharp impedance changes occur in the higher oil saturated sand layers. The displacement process is poorly described when the water goes through the lower oil saturated layers due to the reduced electromagnetic contrast. In addition, we present water flooding experiment when the sand initially presents residual water saturation. Overall, the GPR results give a good understanding of the flow dynamics in the sand box.
Subject
Earth & Environment
SGE - Sustainable Geo Energy
EELS - Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences
Geosciences
Box height
Displacement process
Environmental challenges
Flow dynamics
Ground penetrating radars
Impedance measurement
Laboratory experiments
Laboratory studies
Oil displacement
Oil reservoirs
Potential applications
Production wells
Residual water saturation
Saturated sand
Engineering exhibitions
Engineers
Experiments
Ground penetrating radar systems
Monitoring
Petroleum engineering
Petroleum reservoirs
Porous materials
Radar
Sand
Petroleum reservoir evaluation
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6ea99c1c-4d4c-43af-9526-1efc23a71126
TNO identifier
435987
ISBN
9781617829666
Source
73rd European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Conference and Exhibition 2011 - Incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2011, 23 May 2011 through 26 May 2011, Vienna, 3, 2182-2186
Series
Society of Petroleum Engineers - 73rd European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers Conference and Exhibition 2011 - Incorporating SPE EUROPEC 2011
Document type
conference paper