Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Live Oil Sample Acquisition and Downhole Fluid Analysis

  • Chapter
Asphaltenes, Heavy Oils, and Petroleomics

Abstract

All aspects of crude oil production depend on the proper acquisition and analysis of petroleum samples from subsurface formations. The analyses of hydrocarbon samples that are acquired in exploration wells guide the subsequent production strategies and facility designs. Nevertheless, hydrocarbon sample acquisition and analysis have been subjects of considerable uncertainty, contributing to a frequent inability to predict properly fluid (and volumetric) production parameters. This mismatch can be inordinately costly in important production arenas such as deepwater oil development, thus new solutions are mandated. The recently developed technology Downhole Fluid Analysis (DFA) is significantly improving several problematic processes involving fluid samples. The technology is suffi- ciently cost-effective to be routinely utilized in many economic settings. DFA can identify unwanted phase transitions and determine unacceptable contamination levels, thus is indispensable for sample acquisition. In addition, DFA can readily identify fluid differences at various points in the reservoir (those that have been penetrated by a well), thus DFA can uncover fluid complexities that are now appreciated to be common. It has long been recognized that fluid analysis can identify different reservoir production units known as compartments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Witt, C.J., A. Crombie, and S. Vaziri (1999). A Comparison of Wireline and Drillstem Test Fluid Samples from a Deepwater Gas-Condensate Exploration Well, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 56714.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Whittle, T.M., J. Lee, and A.C. Gringarten (2003). Will Wireline Formation Tests Replace Well Tests, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 84086.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Smits, A.R., D.V. Fincher, K. Nishida, O.C. Mullins, R.J. Schroeder, and T. Yamate (1993). In-Situ Optical Fluid Analysis is an Aid to Wireline Formation Sampling, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 26496.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Fujisawa, G., O.C. Mullins, C. Dong, A. Carnegie, S.S. Betancourt, T. Terabayashi, S. Yoshida, A.R. Jaramillo, and M. Haggag (2003). Analyzing Reservoir Fluid Composition In-Situ in Real Time: Case Study in a Carbonate Reservoir, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 84092.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Williams, P. and K. Norris (2001). Near-Infrared Technology: In the Agricultural and Food Industries, 2nd ed. American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul, MN.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Brown, C.W. and S.-C. Lo (1993). Feasibility of on-line monitoring of the BTU content of natural gas with a near-infrared fiber optic system, Appl. Spectrosc. 47, 812.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mullins, O.C., T. Daigle, C. Crowell, H. Groenzin, and N.B. Joshi (2001). Gas-oil ratio of live crude oils determined by near-infrared spectroscopy, Appl. Spectrosc., 55, 197.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Atkins, P. W (1983). Molecular Quantum Mechanics, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Mullins, O.C., N.B. Joshi, H. Groenzin, T. Daigle, C. Crowell, M.T. Joseph, and A. Jamaluddin (2000). Linearity of alkane near-infrared spectra, Appl. Spectrosc. 54, 624.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. van Agthoven, M.A., G. Fujisawa, P. Rabbito, and O.C. Mullins (2002). Near-infrared spectral analysis of gas mixtures, Appl. Spectrosc. 56, 593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Fujisawa, G., M.A. van Agthoven, F. Jenet, P.A. Rabbito, and O.C. Mullins (2002). Near-infrared compositional analysis of gas and condensate reservoir fluids at elevated pressures and temperatures, Appl. Spectrosc. 56, 1615.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Mullins, O.C. (1998). Optical interrogation of aromatic moieties in crude oils and asphaltenes. In: O.C. Mullins and E. Y. Sheu (eds.), Structures and Dynamics of Asphaltenes. Plenum Press, New York, Ch. 2.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mullins, O.C., S. Mitra-Kirtley, and Y. Zhu (1992). Electronic absorption edge of petroleum. Appl. Spectrosc. 46, 1405.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Mullins, O.C. and Y. Zhu (1992). First observation of the Urbach tail in a multicomponent organic system, Appl. Spectrosc. 46, 354.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Tissot, B. P. and D.H. Weite (1984). Petroleum Formation and Occurrence, 2nd rev. edu. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Turro, N.J. (1978). Modern Molecular Photochemistry. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing, Menlo Park, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Downare, T.D., O.C. Mullins (1995). Visible and Near-Infrared Fluorescence of Crude Oils. Appl. Spectrosc. 49, 754.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Ralston, C.Y., X. Wu, and O.C. Mullins (1996). Quantum yields of crude oils, Appl. Spectrosc. 50, 1563.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhu, Y. and O.C. Mullins (1992). Temperature dependence of fluorescence in petroleum, energy and fuels, Energy & Fuels 6, 545.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Mullins, O.C., G.F. Beck, M.E. Cribbs, T. Terabayashi, and K. Kegasawa (2001). Downhole Determination of GOR on Single Phase Fluids by Optical Spectroscopy, SPWLA 42nd Annual Symposium, Houston, TX, paper M.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Dong, C., P.S. Hegeman, H. Elshahawi, O.C. Mullins, G. Fujisawa, and A. Kurkjian (2003). In-Situ Contamination Monitoring and GOR Measurement of Formation Samples, SPWLA 44th Annual Logging Symposium, paper FF.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Malinowski, E.R. (1991). Factor Analysis in Chemistry, 2nd edn. Wiley-Interscience, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mullins, O.C., J. Schroer, and G.F. Beck (2000). Real-time Quantification of OEM Filtrate Contamination in the MDT using OFA data, SPWLA 41st Annual Logging Symposium, Houston, TX, paper SS.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Mullins, O.C., R.J. Schroeder, and P. Rabbito (1994). Gas detector response to high pressure gases, Applied Optics, Appl. Opt. 33, 7963.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Betancourt, S.S., G. Fujisawa, O.C. Mullins, K.O. Eriksen, C. Dong, J. Pop, and A. Carnegie (2004). Exploration Applications of Downhole Measurement of Crude Oil Composition and Fluorescence, SPE Asia Pacific Conference, SPE 87011.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Hammami, A., C.H. Phelps, T. Monger-McClure, and T.M. Little (2000). Asphaltene precipitation from live oils: An experimental investigation of onset conditions and reversibility, Energy & Fuels 14, 14–18; N.B. Joshi, O.C. Mullins, A. Jamaluddin, J. Creek, J. McFadden, Asphaltene Precipitation from Live Crude Oils, Energy & Fuels 15, 979, (2001)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Betancourt, S.S., J. Bracey, O.C. Mullins, G. Gustavson, G. Syriac. Chain of Custody via Spectroscopy for Oil Field Samples, Submitted to Applied Spectroscopy.

    Google Scholar 

  28. England, W.A. (1990). The organic geochemistry of petroleum reservoirs, Org. Geochem. 16, 415–25.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Koopmans, M.P., S.R. Latter, C. Zang, B. Mei, T. Wu, and Y. Chen (1999). Biodégradation and Mixing of Crude Oils in the Liaohe Basin, In: Proceedings of the 19th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry, Istanbul, extended abstract 63–64.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Fujisawa, G., S.S. Betancourt, O.C. Mullins, T. Torgersen, M. O’Keefe, T. Terabayashi, C. Dong, and K.O. Eriksen (2004). Large Hydrocarbon Compositional Gradient Revealed by In-Situ Optical Spectroscopy, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 89704.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Elshahawi, H., M.N. Hashem, O.C. Mullins, G. Fujisawa (2005). The missing link—identification of reservoir compartmentalization by downhole fluid analysis, SPE 94709.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Mullins, O.C., H. El-Shahawi, M. Hashem, and G. Fujisawa (2005). Identification of Vertical Compartmentalization and Compositional Grading by Downhole Fluid Analysis: Towards a Continuous Downhole Fluid Log, SPWLA 46th Annual Logging Symposium, paper K.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Mullins, O.C., G. Fujisawa, M.N. Hashem, and H. Elshahawi (2005). Identification of Vertical Compartmentalization and Compositional Grading by Downhole Fluid Analysis: Towards a Continuous Downhole Fluid log, Int. Petrol. Technol. Conf. Nov. 2005, Qatar, paper 10036.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Mullins, O.C., M. Hashem, H. Elshahawi, G. Fujisawa, C. Dong, S.S. Betancourt, and T. Terabayashi (2004). Hydrocarbon Compositional Analysis In-Situ in Openhole Wireline Logging, SPWLA 45th Annual Logging Symposium paper FFF. June 6–9, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Hashem M.N., H. Elshahawi, G. Ugueto (2004). A Decade of Formation Testing—Dos and Don’t and Tricks of the Trade, SPWLA 45th Ann. Log. Symp. June 6–9, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Go Fujisawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Oliver C. Mullins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Schlumberger-Doll Research, 36 Old Quarry Road Ridgefield, Connecticut, 06877, United States

    Oliver C. Mullins

  2. Vanton Research Laboratory, Inc., 7 Olde Creek Place, Lafayette, California, 94549, United States

    Eric Y. Sheu

  3. Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Edmonton, Alberta, T6N 1M9, Canada

    Ahmed Hammami

  4. Chemistry and Biochemistry, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University, 1800 East Paul Dirac Drive, Tallahassee, FL, 32310-4005, United States

    Alan G. Marshall

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Fujisawa, G., Mullins, O.C. (2007). Live Oil Sample Acquisition and Downhole Fluid Analysis. In: Mullins, O.C., Sheu, E.Y., Hammami, A., Marshall, A.G. (eds) Asphaltenes, Heavy Oils, and Petroleomics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-68903-6_22

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation