NMR Application to Shale EOR Evaluation

Presenter: Dr. Ali Tinni, University of Oklahoma

Bio: Dr. Ali Tinni is a faculty in the Petroleum Engineering Department of the University of Oklahoma. His current research interests include fluid flow and storage as well as EOR in unconventional reservoirs. Dr. Ali Tinni has developed several workflows involving the use of analytical tools such as NMR to evaluate unconventional reservoirs. He holds Master’s and PhD degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma

ABSTRACT:  Hydrocarbon production from unconventional shale reservoirs is characterized by steep production decline and primary production recovery factors lower than 15%. To sustain their production, operators are increasingly relying on Huff-n-Puff enhanced oil recovery (EOR). However, the implementation of Huff-n-Puff EOR in shales requires a good understanding of how the injection gas will react with the remaining hydrocarbon and how the reservoir properties will affect the EOR process. Such knowledge can only be obtained from laboratory Huff-n-Puff EOR experiments. However, classical experimental methods to evaluate EOR processes are subjected to large errors when they are applied to shales. These errors are essentially due to the small pore volume of shale core samples. To circumvent this issue and improve our understanding of EOR in shales, we have developed an NMR based workflow for shale EOR evaluation. Using this NMR based workflow we have evaluated the effect of gas injection pressure, soaking time and gas composition on the producible fluid volumes. Along with the workflow designed for shale core samples, we will also share the results of NMR measurements of oil swelling and diffusion coefficients in order to better predict EOR performance.

Morning:  Tuesday, May 4th, 8am – 9am US Central Time
Evening: Wednesday, May 5th,  7pm – 8pmUS Central Time.