Advanced techniques for determining thermal properties on rock samples and cuttings and indirect estimating for atmospheric and formation conditions

Abstract

A set of advanced methods and instruments was developed to improve essentially quality of experimental data on reservoir thermal properties (thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, volumetric heat capacity, coefficient of linear thermal expansion) at atmospheric and reservoir thermobaric conditions. The new thermal core logging technique provides continuous high-resolution profiling rock thermal properties along wells accounting for rock anisotropy and multi-scale heterogeneity. Integration of the technique application results with standard well logging data leads to possibilities of high resolution profiling porosity, rock matrix thermal properties, elastic wave velocities and modulus, rock density, etc. New approaches are described that allow indirect determination of the reservoir thermal properties from standard petrophysical logging data accounting for formation anisotropy. A new laser optical scanning instrument, enhanced theoretical modeling of effective thermal properties and special workflow opened a way to determination of combination for rock thermal properties on rock cuttings at formation temperatures. The new experimental basis improves reliability of data on physical properties of reservoirs, results of specific heat flow determination and reservoir thermal regime modeling within prospecting, exploration and development of geothermal energy fields.