A review of tracer testing techniques in porous media specially attributed to the oil and gas industry

Abstract

The significance of the tracer testing technique is widely accepted in reservoir performance analysis in hydrology as well as in hydrocarbon exploration and production. The subsurface reservoir delineation for hydrocarbon exploration and optimum production is one of the most critical aspects of petroleum system analysis. The quality of the reservoir and its performance prediction require extensive knowledge of qualitative reservoir geology, its depositional environment, facies heterogeneity and engineering properties of subsurface formations. Tracer testing is amongst the few techniques available in the oil and gas (O&G) industry, which stands up to these expectations and is successfully used for quantitative determination and analysis of sub-seismic scale structural and stratigraphic heterogeneities. Tracer testing is also being utilized in determining residual oil saturation (Sor) and lateral correlation of reservoir properties in the subsurface. Apart from the O&G industry, the concentration-based applications of tracer testing have been proved in hydrology, geothermal and medical science. A comprehensive review is presented to explain the application of tracer testing technique to investigate porous media, mainly in O&G industry. The type of tracers used, their selection criteria, concentration, and natural versus gradient and qualitative to a quantitative application are discussed in the current review. Generally, two types of tracers (chemical and radioactive) are preferred in the petroleum industry for gas/fluid flow assessment, waterflood optimization and establishing connectivity between multiple wells. The current paper reviews both types of tracer tests, namely single well and inter well, in detail discussing the objectives, calculations, designing, injection, sampling, laboratory analysis and knowledge integration. The preliminary aim was to provide a review of the tracer testing technique used in reservoir evaluation and well-to-well connectivity analysis.

Study on Connectivity Analysis and Injection–Production Optimization of Strong Heterogeneous Sandstone Reservoir Based on Connectivity Method

“…The reservoir parameter analysis method infers the fluid connectivity between different wells by analyzing the differences in oil and gas composition and physical parameters of different wells. Patidar et al [6] analyzed the relative content of alkanes such as C1-C5 by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography. Zhang et al [7] evaluated the reservoir properties and inter-well static connectivity of different well sections by analyzing the parameters such as liquid production, gas production, and water content of different well sections.…”

Utilizing a Paper-Based Platform for Oilfield Applications: Time-Resolved Fluorescence Imaging and Detection of Interwell Chemical Tracers

“…Chemical tracers have become indispensable tools in the oil and gas industry for the purpose of reservoir characterization and production optimization. − Through the injection of tracers into injection fluids and subsequent monitoring of their presence in adjacent production wells, tracer tests yield a wealth of information pertaining to reservoir well connectivity and heterogeneity. Recent advancements in tracer technology have significantly accelerated the process of data acquisition and analysis.…”

Application of micro-substance tracer test in fractured horizontal wells

“…Murayri (2019) described a single well chemical tracer test conducted in Sabriyah and Raudhatain fields and Sanni (2018) introduced a simultaneous test of a distributed tracer and a non-distributed tracer, which can provide better descriptions of the reservoir. The application of tracer testing technology is not limited to reservoirs but also used in gas reservoirs (Sanni et al 2017;Patidar et al 2022). Shook (2003) proposed the residence time distribution method to estimate the flow geometry of fractured geothermal reservoirs, which was further studied in subsequent work (Shook and Forsman 2005;Shook 2017).…”