Heavy oil sands core analysis innovations

Kirk Petrophysics has developed new innovative systems applicable to heavy oil sands core analysis – making the complex process more efficient than existing techniques. The company has developed its solid phase multi-sample extraction method – CEPSat – as a rapid and economical oil recovery tool which can help inform critical decisions for operators within the heavy oil arena. Other commonly-used processes include single-sample solvent distillation method Dean Stark (DS) and Low field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LNMR) – both of which have been proven less efficient.

CEPSat applies existing technology for the determination of oil (So) and water (Sw) saturation. This pioneering technique gives clients access to profile Sw/So data taken across much higher sample sets over a cored interval, and in a fraction of the time required for standard Dean Stark measurements. In addition, with measurements possible up to every 1 cm, the Sw/So profile generated allows specific areas of interest to be identified within an interval and sampled for further Dean Stark analysis.