Rock physics company expands into Brazil

Houston-based digital rock physics company Ingrain recently announced plans to open a new digital rock physics lab in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This lab, the company's second, will provide advanced three-dimensional (3D) imaging and computational methods to Brazilian clients who want fast and accurate measurement of a range of reservoir rock properties.

Ingrain's digital rock physics lab employs micro- and nano-resolution computerized tomography (CT) scanners to digitize the fabric of rock samples and create a high-resolution 3D image of the actual pore network and grain structure. These rock samples can be core plugs—including those altered by drilling fluids—or drill cuttings. Unlike physical lab experiments, the Ingrain method does not destroy or alter the rock samples.

The method can be used to image a variety of rock types, including conventional rock samples, tight gas sands, and oil sands, all of which are typically imaged at one micron resolution. For shales and complex tight gas sands, Ingrain uses its nanometer-scale CT scanning equipment, reportedly the only application of this equipment in the oil and gas industry. The equipment achieves a resolution of 50 nanometers, which is required in the imaging and computation of the tight pore networks and grain structure in these rock types.

A digital simulation of oil displacing water provided by Ingrain's multiphase flow algorithms.

Ingrain then uses various algorithms to compute rock properties from the 3D images. The following physical properties are provided for each sample: porosity; absolute permeability; electrical conductivity; and elastic properties such as bulk and shear modulus, compressional velocity, and Poisson's ratio.

For rock samples in which multiphase-flow analysis is required, Ingrain has algorithms that provide two-phase relative permeability, which includes water-oil, gas-oil, and water-gas displacement at different wettability indices and viscosity values. The analysis also includes a measure of irreducible water saturation and residual oil saturation, as well as an optional two-phase relative permeability in three axial dimensions.

The company states that its algorithms compute multiphase flow at the pore scale in an accurate digital representation of the pore space. In addition, the algorithms can operate at any desired boundary and saturation condition, as well as at varying fluid viscosity and wettability contrasts.

In announcing the new Brazilian laboratory, Ingrain Chief Executive Officer Henrique Tono said, "The opening of Ingrain's lab in Brazil shows that technology leaders in the oil and gas E&P industry are embracing digital rock physics." The company plans to continue this expansion into other oil and gas regions, including the Middle East and Canada.

To learn more about Ingrain's digital rock physics technology and services, please visit the Ingrain website.

Ted Moon is the Technology Editor of JPT Online. He brings information on emerging technologies, R&D successes, new field applications, updates from SPE papers about recent innovations, and more. If you have a question or suggestion for future article topics, email Ted at teched@spe.org.