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Water tracers in oilfield applications: Guidelines

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, ISSN: 0920-4105, Vol: 98, Page: 22-39
2012
  • 113
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 115
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    113
    • Citation Indexes
      112
    • Patent Family Citations
      1
      • Patent Families
        1
  • Captures
    115

Review Description

A key parameter in tracing tests is the selection of the molecules used as water tracers. Many previous tests have failed because of improper selection of these molecules. To address this issue, the first part of this paper provides guidelines, offering data and advice for choosing the best possible tracers for a tracing campaign. This part of the paper presents the different types of water tracers proposed and used in oilfield applications, from the first qualitative tracer study in the 1960s to tracer studies in the 2000s, with their respective advantages and drawbacks. The oil industry began to conduct interwell tracer tests with molecules already successfully used in hydrology. These compounds included radioactive species and stable isotopes, chemicals such as fluorescent dyes, and inorganic ions. Some of the early chemical tracers have been rejected because of issues with adsorption onto the rock. Radioactive species, with a low detection limit, a low reactivity, and a low presence in the environment, have been widely used. However, their use has become more restricted throughout the world in response to the radioactive hazards associated with their use. Therefore, new types of non-radioactive tracers were developed and tested in the 1990s. Currently, however, few chemical molecules possess characteristics matching the selection criteria of an effective water tracer (with regard to environmental and economic aspects, etc.). The most effective molecules currently used as water tracers are the fluorinated benzoic acids (FBA); these molecules can be detected with very low limits of detection (LOD) using analytical techniques such as gas chromatography or ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometers (GC/MS and UHPLC/MS-MS, respectively).

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