Commercialization of a new single-well tracer test methodology to assess increased oil recovery potentials

The oil and gas industry recovers on average about 35 % of the oil from the reservoirs - i.e. about 65% of the oil is left in the reservoirs. In a challenging price-regime it is crucial to evaluate the cost efficiency of methodology that can improve the recovery of oil from existing fields. One such evaluation technique is the so-called single well chemical tracer test. In this test water containing a specialized tracer chemical is injected 3-5 meters into the reservoir rock from an oil well and left to react for about 3 days. During this shut-in period the tracer partially degrades to an alcohol. Water containing the remains of the injected tracer as well as alcohol is then produced from the well. The injected tracer has an affinity to oil and therefore lag behind the alcohol during back-production, and this lag is directly related to the amount of oil remaining in the well. In this verification project, Kjeller innovation (project leader) and Restrack AS will collaborate to develop a business solution based on new tracer materials for single well chemical tracer tests. The tracer materials, developed at Institutt for energiteknikk (IFE) in a previous project funded by Research Council of Norway (RCN) and seven oil companies, will be verified for field application and the new test will be provided by Restrack as an integrated single-well chemical tracer test service. The project is funded by RCN through the FORNY 2020 program and by Restrack.