Coring and core plug washing

Coring and core plug washing

3. Coring methods:
1.2.1 Rotary method:

A typical assembly for the rotary coring method includes a coring bit (generally diamond tipped to provide
strength for penetrating the formation), a core barrel, and a core catcher. The coring bit has a hole in the
center allowing drilling around a central rock cylinder, which is collected in the core barrel. A mechanism
exists to apply tension to the drill string to break away the collected core, which is eventually lifted to the
surface. The core retrieved using the rotary method is called as the whole core.

1.2.2 Sidewall coring:

Taking a full core from a formation by the rotary method is an expensive operation; hence, the other
inexpensive coring method called as sidewall coring is used. The method employs hollow cylindrical core
barrels (also called as bullets), which can be shot in sequence, from the gun into the already drilled openhole
formation. The orientation of the cores obtained in this case is parallel to the bedding planes as opposed to
the rotary method in which the whole core is perpendicular to the bedding plane. The sidewall coring
method typically obtains smaller samples, up to 1 in. in diameter and 2 in. in length. Disadvantages of
sidewall coring method include possible nonrecovery because of lost or misfired bullets and a slight
uncertainty about the sample depth. The samples of formation obtained by this method are called as sidewall
cores and can be categorized as core plugs.

1.2.3 High-pressure coring:

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The two conventional methods discussed earlier suffer from some inherent problems. Formation samples
recovered are subject to loss of fluids due to pressure reduction as these are brought to the surface and
exposed to ambient conditions. This may affect the in situ fluid saturation determinations. However, the
high-pressure coring method attempts to circumvent this problem. Although this method is relatively
expensive, it does offer some distinct advantages. The pressure barrel collects the reservoir fluids in their
natural container, that is, the reservoir rock, by maintaining the core specimen at bottom hole or reservoir
conditions, until the core fluids can be immobilized by freezing. Additionally, pressure coring offers a
method for obtaining representative in situ reservoir fluid (gas, oil, and water) saturations. The technology
used in cutting a pressure core is essentially the same as capturing a conventional core. The use of a
pressure-retaining core barrel is certainly not new. Sewell of Carter Oil Company reported the first design
and application of such a core barrel in 1939. Various other investigators have also reported the use of
pressure core barrel. Coring rates and core recovery are comparable to conventional coring since the
pressure core barrel retains the basic structure of conventional equipment. An additional requirement in
high-pressure coring is the necessity of freezing the core in order to immobilize the hydrocarbon fluids
within the core. Once these fluids are immobilized, the core can be removed from the barrel after
depressurization and subsequently transported (in a frozen state) for laboratory analysis, without the loss of
valuable in situ fluid saturation information. Trienen et al. have reported the successful use of pressure core
for in situ liquid and gas composition determination for Prudhoe Bay oil field, Alaska.

1.3 Important issues related to coring methods:

Despite the fact that core samples recovered are representative of the physical properties of the given
formation, the petroleum reservoir fluid contents of that particular core sample are not necessarily 100% of
those of the native rock. Basically, two different factors play an important role in effecting the changes that
take place in the recovered reservoir rock sample. First, the core sample on its trip to the surface experiences
a reduction in pressure as well as temperature, thereby allowing the fluids contained within the formation
to expand and be expelled from the core. Second, drilling fluids (reduce frictional heat and provide
overbalance) used in recovering the core samples may also interact with the fluids contained within the pore
spaces of the core sample (and also the formation), which may cause the displacement of native core fluids
by the drilling fluid. Therefore, as a net effect, the recovered core sample may not contain the representative
petroleum reservoir fluids, and additionally the wetting preferences may also be altered. The problem of
loss of native reservoir fluids due to pressure and temperature changes is, however, greatly alleviated in the
pressure coring system where formation fluids are kept intact within the core sample. The invasion of
drilling fluid/mud filtrate to some extent can be mitigated by selecting appropriate drilling muds or by using
special techniques to encapsulate the core.

1.4 types of coring:

Generally, petroleum reservoir rock properties can be measured either on whole core samples or small core
plugs that are drilled from the whole core samples or the sidewall cores. A brief discussion regarding whole
core and core plug samples is provided in the following two sections.

1.4.1 Whole core:

A whole core sample is basically a complete section of a conventionally drilled core from a given
formation. The importance of whole core analysis lies in the fact that small-scale heterogeneity (e.g., for
variations in rock properties as a function of position) may not be appropriately represented in
measurements on small core plug samples. The advantage of whole core analysis is that it measures

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properties on a larger scale, somewhat closer to that of the reservoir. Currently, many commercial
laboratories are equipped to conduct various rock property measurements on whole core samples. The
determination of rock properties using whole core samples is, however, a much more demanding task
considering the sample dimensions, larger size equipment, and additional time are necessary, and hence the
control of experimental conditions, such as stabilizations, flow rates, pressure, temperature, and so on, can
be rather tricky. Moreover, cleaning of whole cores can also be difficult and time-consuming, and laboratory
analysis is generally significantly more expensive than conventional core plug analysis. In summary, whole
cores or full-diameter cores are tested only when there is a reason to believe that smaller samples (core
plugs) do not reflect average properties.

1.4.2 Core plug:

A core plug sample refers to a much smaller portion or subsample of the whole core sample. A core plug
sample is obtained by cutting cylindrical plugs of typically 1 or 1.5 in. in diameter and of lengths up to 3
in., from a whole core. All necessary rock properties are typically measured on a number of such core plug
samples. Generally, core plugs are cut from whole core samples in two different orientations: perpendicular
or parallel to the axis of the whole core. These core plugs, when drilled from a whole core from a vertical
well bore, are called horizontal and vertical plugs, respectively. The determination of rock properties using
core plugs has some distinct advantages such as relatively short amount of test duration and ease of
maintaining experimental conditions. A diagrammatic representation of core plugs cut from a whole core
sample is shown in Figure 1.1. The measurement of rock properties on core plugs is probably the most
common practice in the petroleum industry. [1]

Figure1: Core plugs drilled from a whole core sample. [2]

1.5 Cleaning and washing:

Before measuring porosity and permeability, the core samples must be cleaned of residual fluids and
thoroughly dried. The cleaning process may also be a part of fluid saturation determination.

1.6 Cleaning methods:

1.6.1 Direct Injection of Solvent:

The solvent is injected into the sample in a continuous process. The sample is held in a rubber sleeve thus
forcing the flow to be uniaxial. Figure 2.1 shows a core holder and its main parts those will be needed for
direct injection of solvent.

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Fig.2: Typical sample holder for direct solvent injection [3]

1.6.2 Centrifuge Flushing

A centrifuge which has been fitted with a special head sprays warm solvent onto the sample. The centrifugal
force then moves the solvent through the sample. The used solvent can be collected and recycled.

1.6.3 Gas Driven Solvent Extraction

The sample is placed in a pressurized atmosphere of solvent containing dissolved gas. The solvent fills the
pores of sample. When the pressure is decreased, the gas comes out of solution, expands, and drives fluids
out of the rock pore space. This process can be repeated as many times as necessary.

1.6.4 Soxhlet Extraction

A Soxhlet extraction apparatus is the most common method for cleaning sample, and is routinely used by
most laboratories. As shown in Figure 2.2, toluene is brought to a slow boil in a Pyrex flask; its vapors
move upwards and the core becomes engulfed in the toluene vapors (at approximately 110 C). Eventual
water within the core sample in the thimble will be vaporized. The toluene and water vapors enter the inner
chamber of the condenser, the cold water circulating about the inner chamber condenses both vapors to
immiscible liquids. Re-condensed toluene together with liquid water falls from the base of the condenser
onto the core sample in the thimble; the toluene soaks the core sample and dissolves any oil with which it
come into contact. When the liquid level within the Soxhlet tube reaches the top of the siphon tube
arrangement, the liquids within the Soxhlet tube are automatically emptied by a siphon effect and flow into
the boiling flask. The toluene is then ready to start another cycle.

A complete extraction may take several days to several weeks in the case of low API gravity crude or
presence of heavy residual hydrocarbon deposit within the core. Low permeability rock may also require a
long extraction time.

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Fig.3: A schematic representation of a Soxhlet extractor [4]

The Dean-Stark distillation provides a direct determination of water content and also could be used for
cleaning core plugs. The oil and water area extracted by dripping a solvent, usually toluene or a mixture of
acetone and chloroform, over the plug samples. In this method, the water and solvent are vaporized,
recondensed in a cooled tube in the top of the apparatus and the water is collected in a calibrated chamber.
The solvent overflows and drips back over the samples. The oil removed from the samples remains in
solution in the solvent. Oil content is calculated by the difference between the weight of water recovered
and the total weight loss after extraction and drying. A Dean-Stark apparatus setup is shown in figure 2.3.

Fig.4: Dean-Stark apparatus setup. [5]

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1.6.6 Vacuum Distillation

The oil and water content of cores may be determined by this method. As shown in Figure 2.4, a sample is
placed within a leak-proof vacuum system and heated to a maximum temperature of 230 C. Liquids within
the sample are vaporized and passed through a condensing column that is cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Fig. 5: Vacuum distillation Apparatus. [6]

1.7 Summary

The direct-injection method is effective, but slow. The method of flushing by using centrifuge is limited to
plug-sized samples. The samples also must have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the stress
imposed by centrifuging. However, the procedure is fast. The gas driven-extraction method is slow. The
disadvantage here is that it is not suitable for poorly consolidated samples or chalky limestones. The
distillation in a Soxhlet apparatus is slow, but is gentle on the samples. The procedure is simple and very
accurate water content determination can be made. Vacuum distillation is often used for full diameter cores
because the process is relatively rapid. Vacuum distillation is also frequently used for poorly consolidated
cores since the process does not damage the sample. The oil and water values are measured directly and
dependently of each other.

In each of these methods, the number of cycles or amount of solvent which must be used depends on the
nature of the hydrocarbons being removed and the solvent used. Often, more than one solvent must be used
to clean a sample. The solvents selected must not react with the minerals in the core. The commonly used
solvents are:

- Acetone
- Benzene
- Benzene-methol Alcohol
- Carbon-tetrachloride
- Chloroform
- Methylene Dichloride
- Mexane
- Naphtha

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- Tetra Chloroethylene
- Toluene
- Trichloro Ethylene - Xylene

Toluene and benzene are most frequently used to remove oil and methanol and water is used to remove salt
from interstitial or filtrate water. The cleaning procedures used are specifically important in special core
analysis tests, as the cleaning itself may change wettabilities.

The core sample is dried for the purpose of removing connate water from the pores, or to remove solvents
used in cleaning the cores. When hydratable minerals are present, the drying procedure is critical since
interstitial water must be removed without mineral alteration. Drying is commonly performed in a regular
oven or a vacuum oven at temperatures between 50 C to 105 C. If problems with clay are expected, drying
the samples at 60 C and 40 % relative humidity will not damage the samples. [7]

2- References:
1. Abhijit Y. Dandekar," Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties", page 12-14, Taylor & Francis
Group, 2013.

2. Abhijit Y. Dandekar," Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties", page 15, figure 2.1, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2013.

3. http://petrowiki.org/File%3AVol1_Page_757_Image_0001.png

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soxhlet_extractor

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean-Stark_apparatus

6. O. Torsæter and M. Abtahi, "Experimental reservoir engineering laboratory work book", page 5 – figure
2.2, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2000.

7. O. Torsæter and M. Abtahi, "Experimental reservoir engineering laboratory work book", page 3-6,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2000.

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