SDG SHORT COURSE III ON GEOTHERMAL RESERVOIR

CHARACTERIZATION, WELL LOGGING, WELL TESTING AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

ORGANIZED BY UNU-GTP AND LAGEO, IN EL SALVADOR DURING SEPTEMBER 16-22, 2018

SAMPLING AND DATA COLLECTION

DURING WELL TESTING.

Edwin Melara
LaGeo, El Salvador.
 CONTENT.

- Chemical Sampling in different conditions:

- TFT
- Downhole Sampling.
- Production test.

- Preservation of Samples

- Chemical Analysis

- Quality Control
 SAMPLING OF GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS.
Sampling of geothermal fluids presents some
problems not encountered when sampling
surface and non thermal ground waters.

Specific collection techniques are required to

obtain representative samples because of the
elevated temperature and boiling of these
fluids, the effect of exposing them to the
atmosphere and cooling of the samples.

Some components in geothermal fluids

remain stable upon storage, others will react
and change their concentrations. This has to
be taken into account during sampling, and
the samples treated appropriately to preserve
them.

ARNÓRSSON, 2006
 SAMPLING OF GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS.

The method of sample collection and

sample treatment on site to preserve the
samples until analysed depends on which
elements are to be determined and by
which analytical methods.

It is essential to decide which components

should be determined in geothermal fluids
and by which methods before sampling.

When sampling wet steam wells, both the

liquid and the vapour fractions should be
collected at the same fluid separation
pressure.

ARNÓRSSON, 2006
 SAMPLING OF GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS.

Some physical data are required for the

interpretation of the chemical and isotopic
composition of geothermal fluids. It is
necessary to have information on wellhead
pressure, sampling pressure and
separating pressure.

The credibility and usefulness of

geochemical data depend on the methods
used and the care taken in the collection
samples.

If the sample conditions are not well know,

the significance of analytical results may
not be fully appreciated.

ARNÓRSSON, 2006
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.

(TFT) has been developed for the on-line measurement of brine and steam
flows and total enthalpy within a pipeline carrying two phase geothermal
fluid.

Brine and steam phase tracers are injected into the pipeline at known
concentrations and dose rates. To simplify methods the two tracers are
mixed to make a composite steam / brine tracer comprising 10% benzoate
and 50% isopropanol

SKM, 2005
TRACER FLOW TESTING.

ThermoChem, 2012
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.

SKM, 2005
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.
Brine collection :
Fill a 100 ml PE bottle (for
benzoate) and a 30 ml glass
bottle (for isopropanol). Acidify
the benzoate samples
immediately with 10 drops of
50% HCl.

Condensate collection:
Fill a 30 ml glass bottle(for
isopropanol). Treat the
isopropanol samples with ~0.3 g
of analytical grade sodium
fluoride (antibacterial agent)
and 0.1 ml (2 drops) of 1M zinc
acetate (to precipitate H2S).

SKM, 2005
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.

Muestreo TFT.wmv
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.

Gas chromatography. Liquid chromatography.

Analysis of condensate. Analysis of brine.
 TRACER FLOW TESTING.

From the concentration of tracers measured in the samples, steam and brine flow are
calculated for the pipeline pressure at which the sampling was done.

The expression for calculating brine flow is:

Steam flow is calculated as follows:

10%B
50%IPA

SKM, 2005
DOWNHOLE SAMPLING.
 DOWNHOLE SAMPLING.

A sample device is lowered down the well

and samples are collected from various
depths. Samples collected are cooled
within the sampling device and are directly
representative of the reservoir fluid at the
point of sampling.

The sampling bottle can hold a high

vacuum, preventing the samples becoming
contaminated with air.

A fitting attached to the needle valve

allows a sample to be removed from the
sample chamber .

Ellis and Mahon, 1977

 DOWNHOLE SAMPLING.

Specifications
Capacity 600 cc
Maximum Temperature 450°F
Maximum Pressure 10,000 psi
Length 87"
Diameter 1.5 "
Seal Material Viton
Material 17 - 4 PH / SS Monel
PH 2, 9 - 9
Salinity 300,000 ppm
Transfer Method Mercury Equilibrium
Clocks Programmable For 1,2.5 and 6 hours

Muestreo profundo.wmv
DOWNHOLE SAMPLING.
 SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.

Chemical samples, collected during production tests at different wellhead pressures,

have the main objective of trying to identify the chemical composition of the possible
different feed zones in a production well.

Well production tests are performed when the plant is in maintenance, the wells go
out of operation and are derived to the silencer.

The well to be evaluated is allowed to flow freely , when the total discharge of the well
has stabilized, it is sampled in the wellhead or in a two-phase pipe and in a the
weirbox.

Renderos , 2002
 SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.
Samples of water and steam are extensively collected from wet-steam well discharges
worldwide with the purpose of:

(1) Establishing the chemical characteristics of the discharged fluid

(2) Evaluate specific reservoir characteristics
(3) Monitoring the response of exploited reservoirs to the production load.

Various methods have been applied to collect samples of water and steam from wet-
steam well discharges. They have been described by Ellis and Mahon (1977) and
Arnórsson et al. (2000). One method involves the use of a webre separator, which is
connected to a two-phase pipeline by the wellhead. It allows separate collection of
water and steam samples at the same pressure.
 SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.
Another method involves sampling of the separated phases from a wellhead steam
separator or from a steam separator at a separator station, also allowing water and
steam samples to be collected at the same pressure. However, the most common
method of sampling involves collection of steam samples under pressure from webre
or wellhead separators and water samples at atmospheric pressure from weirboxes.
 SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.

To obtain representative samples of the

well discharge, it is necessary to collect
the liquid water and steam phases
separately.

This may be done with a wellhead

steam separator, which separates the
total well discharge, or by a small
Webre separator which is connected to
the two-phase pipe that conveys the
discharged fluid from the wellhead.

When collecting samples using the

Webre separator, it is important that
steam samples are not contaminated
with liquid water and, in particular,
that water samples are not
contaminated with steam.
SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.
 SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.

ARNÓRSSON, 2006
 PRESERVATION FOR GEOTHERMAL SAMPLES.

Ármannsson, 2007
SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.
SAMPLING DURING PRODUCTION TEST.
PRESERVATION FOR GEOTHERMAL SAMPLES.
ASTM E947(2002).
ASTM E947(2002).
ASTM E1675 (2004).
ASTM E1675 (2004).
 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Potentiometric methods: HCO3, CO3, Cl, E.C., F, NH3, H2S, CO2.

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Colorimetric methods: B, SO4, SiO2.

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Ion chromatography: Cl, SO4.

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Gas chromatography: H2, He, Ar, O, N2, CH4, CO.

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Stable isotopes: Deuterium, O18

 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: Na, K, Ca, Mg, Li, B, SiO2, Fe, Al, Pb, As.
 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS.

Inductively Coupled Plasma: Na, K, Ca, Mg, Li, B, SiO2, Fe, Al, Pb, As.
 QUALITY CONTROL.

The quality control implemented in the most of the analytical technique are:

1) Precision:
*) Duplicates of samples
2) Accuracy:
*)Standard additions - %Recovery
*)Reference standard – RCM
0.290

0.280

0.270

0.260

0.250

0.240

0.230

0.220

0.210
 QUALITY CONTROL.

The quality control implemented in the most of the analytical technique are:

3) Ionic Balance:
 QUALITY CONTROL.

4) Inter-laboratory
Comparison:
 CONCLUSIONS.

1) Specific collection techniques are required to obtain representative samples in

geothermal sampling.

2) The level of confidence in geochemical data depend on the care taken during the
sampling and sample preservation.