How can Isotopic Fingerprinting help your company?

The routine determination of hydrocarbon and water saturations from geophysical well logs is one of the most commonly encountered, and economically significant, applications of hydrochemistry in petroleum exploration and production. Water saturation calculations require, and depend on, an accurate estimate of the resistivity of pure formation water (Rw) present in the reservoir. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to differentiate pure formation-water from drilling-fluid contaminated formation-water. Values of Rw for a reservoir are measured in the laboratory on formation water samples taken from the reservoir (during a DST or swabbing). Thus, significant errors in water/oil saturation calculations can result if the Rw value from the laboratory being derived from a contaminated fluid sample. Stable isotope analysis provides a decisive and accurate evaluation of the nature of the DST fluid. As a result companies may establish with certainty the reliability of their reservoirs potential estimate.