Fluid flow monitoring of EOR process by electrical prospecting

An advanced geophysical technique for reservoir monitoring by electrical prospecting has been developed by the joint research works of Kyushu University and JAPEX on the EOR Project in Canada. The method has been applied to monitor fluid-flow behaviors during steam injection operations. With an automatic recording system controlled by a personal computer, charged potentials and spontaneous potentials can be simultaneously measured as a function of time at multiple stations surrounding an operating borehole. Fluid-flow behavior in the subsurface was visualized as a function of time by means of contour maps of the residual potential and the relative changes of apparent resistivity during the thermally enhanced oil recovery process at Hangingstone test site in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.