Geochemical-based methods for production monitoring and allocation are much lower-cost than use of production logging tools because no additional rig time or extra personnel are required at the well site. Additionally, no intervention to the production of hydrocarbons from a well is required, reducing operational risk. The complete paper summarizes these approaches and provides examples and describes a best practice that avoids a one-size-fits-all approach.
Introduction
Production allocation from petroleum geochemistry is defined here as the quantitative determination of the amount or portion of a commingled fluid to be assigned to two or more individual fluid sources at a particular moment in time based on fluid chemistry. It requires knowledge of the original chemical compositions of each of the fluids before mixing (referred to here as the “end members”) and the ability to identify statistically valid differences in their chemistries.
