US 12,253,644 B2
Fluid flow monitoring in hydrocarbon reservoirs using magnetic nanoparticles
Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji, Abu Dhabi (AE); Vassilios Tzitzios, Paraskevi (GR); Georgios Papavassiliou, Paraskevi (GR); Marina Karagianni, Paraskevi (GR); Athanasios Anastasiou, Paraskevi (GR); Savvas Orfanides, Athens (GR); Michael Fardis, Paraskevi (GR); Dimitrios Gournis, Ioannina (GR); and Mohammed Subrati, Abu Dhabi (GR)
Assigned to Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi (AE)
Appl. No. 17/783,884
Filed by Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi (AE)
PCT Filed Dec. 30, 2019, PCT No. PCT/GR2019/000092
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 9, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/136949, PCT Pub. Date Jul. 8, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0009402 A1, Jan. 12, 2023
Int. Cl. H01F 1/44 (2006.01); G01V 3/08 (2006.01); G01V 3/30 (2006.01)
CPC G01V 3/081 (2013.01) [G01V 3/30 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of monitoring fluid flow in a hydrocarbon reservoir, the method comprising:
introducing a fluid tracer containing a homogeneous dispersion of ultrastable hydrophilic citric acid-capped iron oxide γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles into a hydrocarbon reservoir, wherein the dispersion of the nanoparticles in the tracer fluid is stable at pressures in excess of 32,000 kPa (320 bar) at 100° C.;
emitting a first series of EM signals through the hydrocarbon reservoir by a transmitter from a first transmission depth located along a first bore;
receiving the first series of EM signals by a receiver at a first plurality of receiving depths located along a second bore spatially separated from the first bore;
emitting a second series of EM signals through the hydrocarbon reservoir by the transmitter from a second transmission depth along the first bore;
receiving the second series of EM signals by the receiver at a second plurality of receiving depths located along the second bore;
generating a first set of EM permeability data for a region between the first bore and the second bore, based on the received first series of EM signals and based on the received second series of EM signals, indicative of variations in magnetic permeability between the first bore and the second bore; and
generating, based on the first set of EM permeability data, a first magnetic permeability map of the region between the first bore and the second bore that is indicative of a location of the tracer fluid.