Determining oil viscosity from NMR logging

An SPE reference on the application of NMR logging for oil viscosity determination.

As a continuation to previous discussions on the use of nuclear-magnetic-reso­nance (NMR) logging in the determination of in-situ heavy oil viscosity, SPE paper 101689 reviews the effectiveness of NMR logging in the Mangala, Aishwariya, and Bhagyam fields of Rajasthan, India.

 Oil viscosity is a main factor controlling the performance from these high-perm, paraffinic reservoirs – similar challenges are found in determining the oil viscosity of many heavy oil reservoirs which is crtical to successful reservoir planning and optimization.

The paper points out that NMR logging was effective in determining in-situ viscosity variations and allowed quick and accurate calculation of vertical oil-viscosity profiles thus reducing the need for time-consuming geochemical measurements.

I’d also recommend our recent feature article series on well logging and interpretation in heavy oil along with our article, Keys to Heavy Oil: Characterizing Fluids in the Reservoir, as good references on the potential of NMR logging and approaches to fluid characerization.

Kambiz.