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Mapping Groundwater at Oil and Gas Operations

When you are responsible for oil and gas operations, you need detailed insight into the presence of groundwater in the field. AquaTrack can help you to manage subsurface oil reservoirs which are subjected to water and/or steam flooding and to map the subsurface water paths. It provides significant advantages over other geophysical technologies, including:

• Maps deeper (to depths greater than 1km)
• Non-intrusive
• Delivers greater accuracy and resolution
• Creates more value per dollar spent

AquaTrack is a patented non-intrusive geophysical technique capable of mapping groundwater at depths exceeding 3500 feet (1 kilometer) over large areas. The water body to be mapped is energized and the electrical current flows preferentially through saturated subsurface materials, creating an induced magnetic field that is measured at multiple points on the ground surface, typically in a grid pattern.

The measured magnetic field data are processed, contoured, and correlated to other hydrogeologic data, resulting in enhanced definition of the extent of saturation associated with the groundwater body.

The information obtained from this survey can help you understand how water flood practices are likely to influence oil production within the area of investigation.

Case Study

Willowstick Maps Preferential Flow Paths of Water Flooding Operation at RMOTC

In August of 2005, Willowstick Technologies, LLC performed an AquaTrack™ study at the Teapot Dome oil field near Casper, Wyoming. The project was performed together with the assistance of the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC), a unit of the United States Department of Energy. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate how the AquaTrack technology can be applied to subsurface oil reservoirs which are subjected to water and/or steam flooding and to map the subsurface water paths.

Figure 1 - Map shows approximate location of the Teapot Dome oil field and location of AquaTrack survey

For this pilot study, Willowstick chose to target the Shannon Formation, which lies approximately 400 feet below the surface of the ground. This formation has been the target of numerous different EOR activities including firefloods, water floods and steam floods.

Survey Strategy

The survey encompassed about 48 acres of land and used five existing wells in which to place electrodes. Data was collected over a period of two weeks.

Figure 2 - Willowstick team member taking readings at the RMOTC site with the AquaTrack instrument

The groundwater in the Shannon Formation was energized from two different perspectives, using well 55-66-SX (an injection well) for electrode placement and using a pair of wells (producer wells) to the west and east of the main survey area as return electrode placements. A 100 ft X 100ft grid was set up along the surface of the ground, above the oil reservoir.

Survey Results

The two survey perspectives showed similar anomalies suggesting the existence of three major hydrogeologic barriers, which indicate the presence of four distinct saturated zones, which trend north to south.

Figure 3 - Final interpretation map of the AquaTrack data showing three distinct hydrogeologic boundaries and north-south saturation trends

Analysis of historical production data along with reservoir studies of the Shannon Sandstone, confirm that the hydrologic boundaries detected by the AquaTrack likely exist.

These boundaries or zones are probably due to geologic changes across the formation, which affect permeability. The information obtained from this survey can facilitate the understanding of how water flood practices are likely to influence oil production within the area of investigation.

For more information about how Willowstick can help address your specific needs,

Contact us today