Case history of radioactive tracers and techniques in Fairway field

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1970 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5376417

Calhoun, T G ^[1]; Hurford, G T

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1. Calhoun Engineering Co

Radioactive tracers have been useful in tracing the movement of injected gas in the Fairway alternate gas-water miscible recovery project. The configuration of the gas displacement fronts and variations in sweep patterns with changing reservoir pressure gradients, as well as the source of breakthrough in producing wells, can be inferred from tracers detected in produced gas samples. Radioactive tracer measurements also indicate that high pressure gas injection is yielding additional oil recovery either through swelling of the oil or by partial miscibility even though the Fairway project has always operated at pressures lower than the miscibility pressure determined by laboratory tests. The detection of radioactive tracers in wells which are producing at essentially solution GOR's at current reservoir conditions indicated that injected gas has either gone into solution or become miscible with the reservoir oil. The capability of measuring relative velocities of the injected fluids behind the flood fronts through radioactive techniques may ultimately prove useful in determining the optimum gas-water injection ratio at Fairway. Radioactive tracer techniques may also provide important clues which will improve knowledge of flow conditions when 2 displacement mechanisms are operating simultaneously.

• OSTI ID: 5376417
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States) Journal Volume: SPE-2853
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
070204 -- Radiation Sources-- Industrial Uses
Radiometric
DETECTION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLOW RATE
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
OIL WELLS
PRESSURE GRADIENTS
RADIOACTIVE TRACER LOGGING
RADIOACTIVITY LOGGING
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR PRESSURE
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WELL LOGGING
WELLS