Numar Corp., Malvern, Pa., plans to introduce an advance in technology for its magnetic resonance imaging logging (MRIL) tool this fall.
The Malvern, Pa., company will commercially introduce an MRIL "total porosity" application at the Society of Petroleum Engineers technical conference Oct. 6-9 in Denver.
The application will allow the tool to determine total fluid contained in all subsurface formations, Numar said. It cited successful field tests of the technology in Shell Oil Co. and Amoco Production Co. wells.
Numar believes that after a period of testing by the industry, the MRIL tool may begin to replace the use of neutron and density logging tools in complex reservoirs. Those latter tools, combined with a resistivity log, form the "triple combo," the most frequently used suite of open hole logs.
"In addition to being capable of performing similar measurements as these portions of the triple combo, the MRIL tool performs functions such as determining free vs. bound fluid," said Melvin N. Miller, Numar chairman, president, and chief executive officer.
Numar said the MRIL tool also measures directly the presence of oil and gas. Unlike the neutron and density tools, the MRIL tool does not use radioactive sources.
Numar said it is talking over plans with a major oil company to further develop MRIL technology.
It also is discussing with various companies joint development of the MRIL tool for use in formation evaluation while drilling (FEWD). With start of such a development project this year, commercial introduction of an MRIL-FEWD product would require 3-4 years, Numar said.
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