Wellbore Study
Completion
The TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Wellbore Study tracer techniques have been developed in response to our customers needs to provide a reliable method of monitoring the progress and effectiveness of a range of completion operations on their reservoirs. The completion tracer services available are:
- Cement squeeze and grouting position determination
- Perforation Confirmation
- Oil Flow Determination
Cement Squeeze and Grouting Position Determination
In the case of grouting or cement squeeze operations, a tracer may be added to the cement material at surface. Following cement setting, a logging tool can be lowered downhole and an accurate profile obtained of the cement position. Unlike conventional temperature or electronic surveys, this technique can be used when more than one steel tube wall lies between the cement and the logging system.
Perforation Confirmation
This techniques allows the perforation location to be established together with confirmation that all of the expected charges have triggered. This allows definitive data on the success of the perforating operation to be gathered quickly and safely. In addition, this technique has also been used to assess the level of subsidence over time within a reservoir zone.
Flow Determination
This patented tracer application has been developed in order to obtain oil flow verification from a well upon clean up and first production. The principle of the technology involves the positioning of a number of different tracer materials, each to specific locations along the length of tubing prior to lowering downhole. The tracers are selected to be soluble only in crude oil. Upon well start up samples are taken at the surface over a short period of time. Samples are subjected to analysis to determine tracer presence. The presence of one or a combination of unique tracers within the oil and the known location of each tracer downhole allows a qualitative profile to be generated of oil flow. For further information please refer to our Flow Profile Tracers page.
Tracerco has developed a number of tracer techniques to allow our customers to accurately profile both the solid and the liquid phases during stimulation operations:
- Sand fracturing, gravel pack and acid solid/fluids positioning.
- Confirmation of correct acid placement.
Stimulation - Fracturing, Gravel Pack
Tracerco can provide our customers with tracers for both the fluid and solid phases in a typical operation so as to obtain the movement and final positions of both the injection fluid and proppant. It allows an accurate determination of vertical fracture height, changes in solid positioning during the fracturing programme and the presence of solids slumping.
Stimulation – Acid
When using acid to stimulate a well, the use of a tracer allows the confirmation of correct acid placement during different phases of the programme as well as the effectiveness of injected diverting agents.
Chemical Treatment
Tracerco has developed a tracer technique that allows corrosion and scale inhibitor chemical position to be monitored to achieve the most effective treatment conditions:
- Determine drop time in batch treatments
- Erosion rates from production
- Position/distribution within production tubing
- Mass balance following squeeze operations
Chemical Treatment
A variety of effect chemicals such as corrosion and scale inhibitors are added to wells either by continuous or batch injection methods. Our tracer is manufactured by the attachment of a gamma emitting isotope to the unsaturated hydrocarbon tail of the molecule. This allows the material to be traced whilst maintaining its chemical properties. Following the addition of the tagged material to a batch of chemical, a downhole logging tool or surface sampling of production fluids can be used to determine parameters such as: Chemical drop time in batch treatments, Chemical erosion rates from production tubing, Position and distribution of chemical within production tubing and Mass balance of chemical following squeeze operations.
 Mud Tagging
The TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Mud Tagging technique, enables our customers to eliminate any drilling fluid contamination in their core and bottom hole sampling.
The technique involves the addition of a specific tracer to the mud system during drilling operations through critical reservoir zones. During this time tracer concentration is kept constant within the mud system. Subsequent cores or fluid samples taken from the well are assessed for the presence and amount of the tracer. This in turn is used to calculate drilling fluid contamination levels.
Benefits of the TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Mud Tagging Service
The TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Wellbore Study - Mud Tagging provides the following benefits to our customers:
- The service offers accurate assessment of the drilling fluid contamination level during core fluid compositional analysis.
- Allows the quantity of drilling fluid to be measured in a specific phase of bottom hole samples.
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