Petroleum Africa
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Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Release
Reservoir Group member company Kirk Petrophysics, has developed new innovative systems associated with heavy oil sands core analysis – making the complex process more efficient than existing techniques.
The company has developed its solid phase multi-sample extraction method – CEPSat – as a rapid and economical oil recovery tool which can help inform critical decisions for operators within the heavy oil arena.
Other commonly-used processes include single-sample solvent distillation method Dean Stark (DS) and Low field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LNMR) – both of which have been proven to be less efficient than the CEPSat technique.
Jean-Valery Garcia, managing director of Kirk Petrophysics, said: “Heavy oil sands are of critical importance to the global energy industry and optimizing operations is at the front of mind for all operators, particularly as demand for the commodity rises.
“The CEPSat system provides decision-makers with vital information allowing them to make informed decisions more efficiently than had previously been the case.”
CEPSat applies existing technology, taken from the forensics and pharmaceutical industry, for the determination of oil (So) and water (Sw) saturation. This pioneering technique gives clients access to profile Sw / So data taken across much higher sample sets over a cored interval, and In a fraction of the time that standard Dean Stark measurements take.
In addition, with measurements possible up to every 1 cm, the Sw / So profile generated allows specific areas of interest to be identified within an interval and sampled for further Dean Stark analysis. The technology is portable, requires 1 medium sized fume cabinet, 1 operator and can run up to 80 samples in one sitting.
The company recently undertook a project in Madagascar on behalf of a large operator where the CEPSat system was tested against the DS method. During the project, thousands of CEPSat tests were carried out against DS measurements for QC, proving the new tool not only achieves the same results at DS, but does so 10 times faster, using a significantly smaller laboratory footprint.
Mr Garcia added: “Following the Madagascar analysis, we expanded our study to different levels of grade oil sands from various North American locations. Again, the technology was effective, with the ability to extract all the bitumen out of the core to the same degree as DS.”
The progressive technology has been at the heart of the company’s growth and the increase in activity using the CEPSat process has seen the company upgrade its Guildford facility, which houses technology for the CEPSat process.
JV continues: “The innovation is powerful for our clients across the globe, enabling just one operator to run multiple analyses in one sitting and in a fraction of the time that standards methods take.
“A lab equipped with two units can run up to 400 samples per day, ultimately allowing stricter control on exploration operations.”
Kirk is due to carry out further study into the extraction capabilities of the coring innovation ahead of their presentation at the Symposium of Core Analysis, NapaValley, in September this year.
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