US 11,656,211 B2
Systems and methods for identifying gas migration using helium
Zhenzhu Wan, Dhahran (SA); and Khaled Arouri, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Sep. 21, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/26,717.
Prior Publication US 2022/0091082 A1, Mar. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. G01N 33/00 (2006.01); E21B 47/10 (2012.01); E21B 49/08 (2006.01); G01V 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 33/0031 (2013.01) [E21B 47/10 (2013.01); E21B 49/0875 (2020.05); G01N 33/0075 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for identifying migration direction of natural gases from source to reservoir in a petroleum exploration environment, the system comprising a network of 4He gas sensors and a migration monitoring hub, wherein:
the network of 4He gas sensors are positioned at a plurality of reservoir wells in the petroleum exploration environment and are operable to detect 4He concentration in gas samples at the reservoir wells in a range consistent with levels of radiogenic helium in the gas samples from 10 ppm to 2,500 ppm;
the migration monitoring hub is in communication with the network of 4He gas sensors and comprises a user interface and a processor in communication with the network of 4He gas sensors;
the communication between the migration monitoring hub and the 4He gas sensors enables the migration monitoring hub to process mapped 4He concentration data for manipulation and display at the user interface;
the processor is operable to determine a direction of increasing 4He concentration between selected ones of the reservoir wells based on the detected 4He concentration at the reservoir wells and map increasing 4He concentration in the petroleum exploration environment based on the direction of increasing 4He concentration between selected ones of the reservoir wells;
the user interface is in communication with the processor, wherein the user interface comprises an input/output device for manipulating and displaying mapped 4He concentration data, and illustrates the plurality of reservoir wells comprising individual 4He gas sensors, migration lines identifying the migration direction of natural gases from source to reservoir in the petroleum exploration environment, and the increasing 4He concentration in the petroleum exploration environment, as determined by the processor; and
the user interface of the migration monitoring hub comprises prompts that are configured to allow a user to select certain ones of the network of 4He gas sensors for the processor to consider in mapping increasing 4He concentration in the petroleum exploration environment such that a specific area is focused on within the petroleum exploration environment by selectively choosing individual 4He gas sensors to be considered by the processor.