ML20247L302

Requests Commission Review of Proposed Issuance of License to Cambridge Isotope Lab,Inc Involving Export of Deuterium (Heavy Water).Application Being Referred to Commission Per 10CFR110.40(b)(3)

ML20247L302
Person / Time
Issue date:	04/16/1998
From:	Stoiber C NRC OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS (OIP)
To:
References
SECY-98-081, SECY-98-081-01, SECY-98-081-R, SECY-98-81, SECY-98-81-1, SECY-98-81-R, NUDOCS 9805220362
Download: ML20247L302 (28)

Text

-__

j RELEASED TO THE PDR f

,\\

_ Y n/ W f/D data Initials

?

s g

%,...../

POLICY ISSUE April 16, 1998 (Notation Vote)

SE W 8-081 FOR:

The Commissioners FROM:

Carlton R. Stoiber, Director Office of International Programs

SUBJECT:

PROPOSED LICENSE TO EXPORT HEAVY WATER TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (XMAT0392)

PURPOSE:

To request Commission review of the proposed issuance of a license to Cambridge isotope Laboratories, Inc. involving the export of deuterium (heavy water). The application is being referred to the Commission in accordance with 10 CFR 110.40(b)(3).

DISCUSSION:

On April 19,1996 Cambridge isotope Laboratories, Inc. applied for a license (Attachment 1) to export to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) up to 7,500 kilograms of heavy water per year for a total of 22,500 kilograms over a three year period for use as a coring fluid tracer in oil wells.

In response to NRC's request for views on the proposed export, the Executive Branch, in a letter dated January 12,1998 (Attachment 2), recommends that the license be issued to Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. The authorized end users are all U.S. oil exploration and production companies operating in the UAE. The letter notes that, as a party to the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), the UAE has committed itself to maintain lAEA safeguards on all of its peaceful nuclear activities and has pledged not to produce or otherwise acquire any nuclear explosive device, therefore satisfying criteria (1) and (2) of Section 109b of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended, for exports of nuclear components, substances and items. The remaining criterion, agreement not to retransfer any of the U.S.-supplied heavy water without prior U.S.

O consent, has been satisfied by the receipt of a diplomatic note from the UAE Ministry of Foreign

/

Affairs dated November 1997. Accordingly, it is the judgment of the Executive Branch that the proposed export will not be inimical to the common defense and security of the United States and that the export is consistent with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

/)g' amended by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Act of 1978, provided that the license is conditioned to limit individual shipments of heavy water to a maximum of 500 kilograms. No other conditions have been placed on the export by the Executive Branch.

CONTACT:

NOTE:

To be made publicly available

9. L. Wright, OIP/NEMR when the final SRM is made available 415-2342 9805220362 980416 Y

D' p(f) y [

PDR SECY 99-081 R PDR

Cw7M, y

. l CONCLUSION:

l The staff concurs with the Executive Branch judgment that the proposed export would not be inimical to the common defense and security of the United States and also meets the three specific export licensing criteria of Section 109b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

There are no applicable international safeguards or foreign physical protection requirements for the proposed export.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Commission authorize the issuance of the requested license to Cambridge isotope Laboratories, Inc.

bh Carlton R. Stoiber, Director Office of International Programs Attachments: 1. 4/19/96 Cambridge isotope Laboratories, Inc. Export License Application 2.1/12/98 DOS Ltr RJStratford to CRStoiber

3. 6/18/96 NMSS memo TSSheer to RHauber Commissioners' completed vote sheets / comments should be provided directly to the Office of the Secretary by c.o.b. Thursday, April 30, 1998.

Commission staff office commens, if any, should be submitted to the Commissioners NLT April 23, 1998, with an information copy to SECY.

If the paper is of such a nature that it requires additional review and comment, the Commissioners and the Secretariat should be apprised of when comments may be expected.

DISTRIBUTION:

Commissioners OGC OCAA DIG OPA 01T OCA CIO CFO EDO SECY

A eomu 7 r'

U.S. NUCLEA2 EseULATOAY COMMIS$ low

. APPROED SY OMS; NO. 310041K1 I

EXPUES H144 toCPRH0

(,

ESTIMA. SUMEN PEA SESPONSE TO COMPLY WITH TM INFORMATION COLLECTION 14 QUEST: 1 HOUlt FORWAfC APPLICATION FOR LICENSE TO EXPORT NUCLEAR COMMENT $ REGARD.NG SURDEN ESTIMATE TO THE MORMATION AN RECom8 MANAGEMENT SAMO4 SANDS TM4. U.S.

MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT NUCLEAR REoutATORY COuuiSBcN. WASHINGTON. De noses.

(Set instructions on ReterW)

AND TO THE PAPERWORK fEDUCTION PROJECT pisodwf) i OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND SUDGET. WASHINGTON DC 2ae03

1. APPLICANT'S la.DATE OF APPLICATION

b. APPLICANT'S REFERENCE 2.NRC

a. DOCKET NO..

b. LICENSE NO.

. ff@ Qp(7 y pgpQ uSE 1 4/19/96 uSE

3. APPLICANT'S NAME AND ADDRESS l200, -

4. SUPPLIER'S NAME AND ADORESS ggg (C-oiere if nRannt i nor num-oIanora.r>

.l CAMBRIDGE ISOTOPE LABORATORIES, INC.

,6

b. STREET ADDRESS s.NAME j

50 FRONTAGE ROAD

'L

c. CITY STATE ZIP G)DE

b. STREET ADDRESS ANDOVER MA 01810

d. TE LEPHONE NUMSE R (Aree Code -

- hrensen)

c. CITY STATE ZIP CODE (508)749-8000 i 9 L S. FIRST SHIPMENT E. FINAL SHIPMENT

7. APPLICANT'S CONTRACTUAL S. PROPOSED LICENSE

9. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SCHEDULED SCHEDULED DE LIVE RY DATE EXPIRAT3ON DATE CONTRACT NO. (If Known)

UNDETERMINED UNDERTERMINE D UNDETERMINED 6/30/99

10. ULTIMATE FOREIGN CONSIGNEE l RIS

11. ULTIMATE END USE l LSE CODE _

j (inca,w canc,= n-e)

SEE ATTACHED ADDENDUM SEE ATTACHED (2) ADDENDUMS

b. STR E ET ADDRESS (fac///ty Stre) l

c. CITY

d. COUNTRY 11a.DATE REOUIRED

12. INTERMEDIATE FOREIGN CONSIGNEE R18

13. INTERMEDI ATE END USi lUSECODE -

s.NAME

b. ST REET ADD 9ESS (fees /try Site)

c. CITY

d. COUNTR Y 13s.DATE REOUIRED

14. INTERMEDIATE FORE'GN CONSIGNEE RIS

15. INT ERMEDIATE END USE

[USE CODE s.NAME

b. STREET ADDRESS (fac//ity Site)

c. CIT Y

d. COUNT R Y 18e. DATE REOUIRED

16. COM

17. DESCRIPTION

15. MAX. E LEMENT

19. MAX.

20. MAX. ISOTOPE 21.

CODE (Incimie chemical and physmal form of nuclear morerint;give doIIer selve of WEIGHT WT,%

WEIGHT UNIT l

nucteer equipment endsom,onents)

()

, p.

%tMM VIW DEUTERIUM OXIDE (D, 99.5%) " HEAVY WATER" 22s'5UUI ~ ~

2,250 KGI KILOGRAMS D0 2

4

'APPROXIMATELY 7,500 KG/YE4R 3

I s,

I c

1

22. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.-

l,

23. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.-SNM l

24. COUNTRIES wHICH ATTACH l

SOURCE MATERIAL WMRE ENRICHED OR PRODUCED SAFEGUARDS (If Known)

CANADA i CANADA e

25. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CONSIGNEES, END USES, AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION (One asperere v4 nn.TeDe5 Dil s(M gc-28, The applicent sortifes that this application is propered in conformity with Titte 10 fF 'eral eguistions, and that ett information y this appisention as sorrest to the best of his/her knowledes.

]

[

f

27. AUTHORIZEDOFFICIAL LEONARD J.

JR PURCHASING AGENT tuc comu 7 ts.eti

D Q

NRC Form 7

(

ADDENDUM for 10. ULTIMATE FOREIGN CONSIGNEE 10A) Baker Hughes/INTEQ f

0 g

17015 Aldine Westfield N

Houston, TX 77073

Contact:

Ms. Zetti: Eversole Phone:(713)625-4204 Fax:(713)625-5225 10B) Baker Hughes/INTEQ P.O. Box 7621 Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Contact:

Mr. Karim Loza g

Phone:(971)2-792428 i

Fax:(971)2-722483

/

10C) Security DBS (Diamant Boan Stratabit)

P.O. Box 1518 gg i(

Dubai, U.A.E.

Contact:

Ms. Najia Rouphael Phone: (971)4-837050 Fax:(971)4-837079 10D) Core Laboratories P.O. Box 8503 Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

q

Contact:

Mr. Ercan Ozer

('

Phone:(971)2-554428 i

Fax:(971)2-559010

• • ALL SHIPMENTS ARE SHIPPING TO:

Oilfield Supply Center -

Building B-15 Security DBS h

Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone Bubai, U.A.E.

Contact:

Chris Reynolds (971)4-837050 01 : Ilv S285 96 Wh mappgmum

L dITIMATE ENt/ lA SE naxsa FAX MFSSAGE INTEG3 l

LOGISTICS & INVOICING GROUP 17015 Aldine Westfield Houston, Texas 77073 Telephone: 713425-4204, Fax: 7134254225 l

TO:

Grace O' Conner DATE:

March 15,1996 FROM:

Zettle Eversole PAGES:

8

SUBJECT:

Your fax of March 12,1996 As you requested, following is a copy of one of our Technical Data Sheet and an article on the use of Deuterium Oxide in the oil exploration business.

We estimate that the volume of Deuterium oxide that we would use on an annual basis to be approximately 1200 Kilograms which would primarily be used within the United Arab Emirates.

Our intention would be that Cambridge isotope be the license holder and not ourselves. We would use you as the supplier and exporter of the Deuterium Oxide under your license once approved.

Please keep us advised of the progress.

Sincerely, 01 : liv S21MV 96

.mcg gypnum 1

l

Page1l INTEGE Technical Data Sheet Deuterium Oxide Mud Tracer 4

e

=

~

Page 2]

GeneralDe'scription Deuterium oxide can be used as a coring fluid tracer for determining the extent of filtrate invasion and, therefore, Sw. Deuterium Oxide occurs in nature (in formation and sea water in varying concentraUons -

around 100-150 ppm. North Sea = 14715 ppm) If this materialis to be used as a tracer, the concentration required would be a minimum of twice the background.

Both MRI(NMR) and Mass Spectroscopy are the analytical tools used to determine the presence and concentration of D20. Resolution of these instruments, which will dictate the concentration (and therefore the cost) of tracer needed in the mud, varies from type and manufacture. The availability in the particular geographical area in question is to be considered as well.

In general, the isotope Ratio Mass Spectroscope (IRMS) is preferred because the precision is greaterin our application. IRMS can detect Deuterium Oxide in concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm. (Phil Johnson, BSIA Ltd. Brentford, England. BSIA supplies the D20 and performs the lab determinations for Core Labs in much of the world). Therefore, a dispersed concentration in the mud of 300 ppm, or twice the background, should be adequate.

Example What would be,the cost of Deuterium Oxide added to a mud system?

Assume:

a concentration of 300 ppm D2O needed in the mud, a mud system size of 2000 bbts = 84,000 gal.,

a 10 lb/ gal mud, 84,000 gal x 8.33 lb/ gal of water /10 lb/ gal = 70,000 gal vol of water in system weight of water in system = 70,000 x 8.3 lblgal = St 3,000 lbs.

If 30d ppm D2O required for detection 300/1,000,000 = x/583,000 = 175 lbs Price = $385/kg. (fob ISOTECH,3858 Banner Rd., Mlamisburg, Ohio 45342 Ph 1-800-448-9760).

e 200 - 250 British Pounds /kg., depending where in the world it is going.

Therefore:

175/2.2 lb/kg = 80 kg x $385/kg = *$30,800*

I l

MAR. 'IS'96(FRll 10:56 BAKERHUGFSINTE0 TEL:713 62S 522S P.004 v

m,.--

J l

1 Tracers in the Petroleum Industry Tracer Technology Finds Expanding Applications by J.L. Taylor III and T.R. Bandy, Pyrotechnics InternationalInc., Houston, Tez.

Trace,s a,e becomin, a com.

physica1 states (s 1id. iiquid.,as.

te,ia must be conside,ed; the most i

monly used tool to study the pro-eous)and a myriad ofchemicalcom-important factor is the accuracy duction, injection, and processing positions of each are available. Most with whleh the tracer willfollow the of oil field fluids. Additionally, oil field tracer applications require material being traced. Partitioning tracers evaluate the placement me.

downhole detection via wireline of the tracerinto aphase other than chanies of well completion fluids conveyed instruments; thus, the the one of interest has resulted in and slurries.8 Other related fields, use of gamma-ray emitting radioac-many invalid tracer tests. Also, the such as geothermal energy, hydrol-tiv:isotopesis quite common (Figs.

amount of tracer used must be suffi-ogy, and underground storage-1 and 2). In other applications such cient to account for the following:

disposal, have also applied tracers as interwell tracer testing, the col-

• Naturally occuning concentra.

to aidinthe understanding and sub-lection of produced fluid samples tions of the tracer species.

sequent optimization of their specir:

and subsequent direct analysis re-

• Adsorption onto tubulars or for-le operations. Not unexpectedly, quire the use of many different mation during transport.

the phenomenal advances in elee-types of tracen. Generally, tracers

• Molecular diffusion, fluid disper-tronic instrumentation and com-can be categorized as follows:

sion, and dilution.

puter science have brought about

• Gamma-ray emitting radioactive

• Ch'emical and biological an evolution in the detection of tracers (can be detected degradation.

traeen and analysis of tracer tests, downhole).

• Radioactive decay (halflife).

The Random House Dictionary

• Particle emitting radioactive

• Interference of othermatterwith defines a tracer as a substance, tracers,(cannot be detected detection techn!que.

usually radioactive, traced through downhole).

Additionally, in downhole detec.

l a biological, chemical, or physical

• Chemical tracers (both organic tion ofgamma-rsyemitting tracers.

system to study the system." In-and inorganic).

the distance between the tracer and deed, tracers of every conceivable

• Optical tracers (dyes and detector and the shielding values of form have been formulated to satis-fluorescent).

the materials separating them must fy the requirements of this defini-When selecting various tracers be considered. Radiation intensity tion. Thus tracers of all three for specific applications. certain cri-follows the lnverse square law with 14 toc II' W r<.nnoe cetectave

-[

II 3 M Cs.nhalt cctectacle g3 g q.

80 34 3 M Ingwcant gamma E lagelsvu gamma to..

k a= = f

{50 t

1 7

53

}so i

2 L

5 o

< ed cesium ut iniium rH3: coun so coun 57 sd.u tiom souier 25 sana.i,m ine.dn 22 anaeny tocae tai coio na e

a6 Q4 flg.1. Halflives of radioactive tracers - long lived Fig. 2; Halflives of radioactive tracers - short-lived

isotopes, isotopes.

- sedbretive Trccus

()

)

respect to distance; thus, if tha dis-radial quantification of such near-cored, and the whole cores are s:nt I

' tance between a gamma-ray cmit-wsil bore treatments as primary to the laboratory for entlysis. At ting tracer and the detector is cementing and gravel packing.

the laboratory, vertical core plugs increased frm 2 to 4 ft, the gamma-In downhole welllogging, the in-are cut at varying distances from ray Intensity will be only one-fourth dustry has used gamma ray detee-the center of the whole cores, and the criginal value. Furthermore, tors for many years to measure the water extracted from the plugs drnse materials (such as steel pipe) naturally occurring radiation fol-is analyzed for the traer.

I cen greatly diminish radioactive lowed by processing of the spectral Permanent tubular markers. In i

trae:r detectability.

data into potassium, uranium, and certain completions, particularly l

Because of these two factors, thorium equivalents.These natural highly deviated or hodzontal wens, j

downhole ~ detection of gamma ray gamma ray spectroscopy instru-placing long lived radioactive j

emitting tracers is generally limit-ments, historically housed in large marken in the casing stdng before l

cd to within a foot or so in terms of diameter tools (34in. OD)have re-runningit in the hole is highly desi-

)

depth of investigation; however, cently been augmented with small.

rable. In harsh environments (for example, H S and COs) where non-sufficiently high concentrations of er diameter (1 win. OD) tools so 2

trnestcan be applied safely and eco-that through tubing operations now ferrous tubulars are required, such namically for most applications.

can be conducted.

markers are valuable because con-l Indeed, slow logging speeds (less Additionally, calibration of these ventional correlation using mag-i than 10 ft/ minute) coupled with spectroxopy tools for use in differ-netle collar locators does not work.

extrsmely sensitive, computer-entiating multiple gamma ray emit.

These downhole markers can be enhanced electronics improve the ting tracera, and their placement used to correlate depths in subse-near-well bore detection of many relative to the well bore (inside ver-quent well operations, thus elimina-e:mbinations of gamma ray emit.

sus outside)have been conducted in ting the need for cable stretch ting tracers at extremely low the laboratory. All these recent ef-estimates.

concentrations.

forts have resulted in numerous This marker technique consists of In the past 3 years, downhole field-proven services, readily placing exempt quantities of gam ~ '

dettetion of gamma ray emitting available throughout the industry.

ma radiating material (as required tracers has undergone considerable Drilh.ng and Completion mission) in either very small holes by the Nuclear Regulatory Com-improvement, beginning with tech-niqu:s for discerning relative place-Depth of filtrate invasion stud-drilled into the tool face of easing ment cf tracers inside the we!! bore les.' Tracers are occasionally used couplers, or into the set screws versusin the formation:(Fig.3)and to measure the depth ofinvasion of used to attach externalcasing hard-diff;rentiation technigues for mul-drilling mud filtrate into the forma.

ware (centralizers, scratchers, tiple tracen (Fig. 4). Two works tion. Either tritiated water or etc.). Normally, long halflife iso-published within the last year de-chemical tracers are used to bring topes are used to achieve the per-scribe an analytical spectrum un-the entire drilling mud volume to a manent downhole reference l

folding technique,' and a relative desired tracer concentration just (Fig.1).

5 distr.nce measurement technique before drilling through the interval Prirrary cement measure-which ultimately shouldlead to true of Interest. The interval is then ments. Many types of tracers -in-110 20, 100 18 90-16 2 r

80-Gold I

~

Formation.

is.

I 7

h Fi2:

N to {

50 i

g3 Cement annutus Irid'um 6

30 4

Borenole fluid 20 u

a M mony 2

00'O.'2'0[4'O.6'0[8 1.0 ' th ' 1.'4 ' 1.6 ' 150 ' 2.0 0

20 4'O 60 8'O 100 120 140 Camma energy. Ment Channel number Tip. 3. gamma spectroscopy armultiple tracers - sim ulta.

Fig. 4. Determination of tracer location - relative dis-Ketus measurement of four isotopes.

lances for Scandium 46.

32 PrTRnd F1fu FN(UNCC A 6.arew teans. 8flade game l

---

m z

~

~

c)

Radiohe Tracers D

eluding vixually evid:nt dyes-hava j

.c been added as pulses to theleading volume of primary cementjobs and searched for in the annular return W

line so as to verify positive cement returns. Indeed, this technique has i

been adapted forusein dri!!ing mud to actually measure annular vol-umes during circulation before N 8 "99'd " 8' primary cementing. Pulses of gamma-ray emitting tracers often T

have beenirdected at the interfaces

(;

No h erer cf differing cement slunies toindi-l-

heism Proppedtractureneign:

zonet cate the v erticallocation and degree

?

2

~

F 1

cf dispersion following the ce-PP"' "80'd "i"' "d I

menting operation.

38 riuid tagoed with *so _

Kline et al' described efforts to actually establish a material bal-ance relationship between the pri-zone 2

,f nctuN,g Prooped heture height 1

t._

mary cement and hole volumes.

N This technique involves measuring Proopant tagged whh "au v

the hele volume using caliper log, ging, the accurate addition of a gamma-ray emitting trseer through-outthe cementingoperationand the subsequent gamma-ray logging.

Fig. s. In a staged frac treatment. the operator can tag the durerent nuido The more recent relative distance proppan ts seith rudioac tive truces to help determine ezectplacement oft measurement techniques described

• ^ d #P""88-P by Gadeken and Smith' offer the po-cluded. In these early years of analysis indicate this is usually the tential of actually computing the propped fractunng, when the aver-exception rather than the rule.

cement sheath radius, age treatments consisted of placing While more complex pseudo three-have been applied to the study of less than 5,000 lb of sand with low dimensionalmodels vary the height Gravelpack operations. Tracers gravel pack placement similarly to viscosity fluids, the sole motive for

,value, measurements of this critical the primary cementing applications using tracers was to ascertain that parameter usingboth direct andin-the sand bank height was sufficient direct methods have shed much just discussed. The use of gamma to cover the entire producing light on the assumptions made in radiating tracers have long been these stimulations, interval.

Because they are easyto conduct used in qualitatively determining With the advent of MHF treat-and are cost effective, tracer and gross gravel pack treatments.

ments in low permeability zones, temperature surveys are by far the However, recent applications of multiple tracers have enabled engi-where the intent is to create high most commonly used techniques in neers to differentiate vadous treat-conductivity contract fractures evaluating fracture height. The ment stages as well as prepack with lengths approaching the total confidence of the interpretation of perforation treatments.8 drainage radius, the motive for these two techniques is maximized tracing the treatments has changed rs, the gravelpack tracen must be considerably. In these low perme-by running both types of surveys Again, as with the cement trace-encapsulated within partfeles hav-ability zones where the success of together.The major complaint with ing similar density and mesh size as the completion is solely dependent stimulationtracer surveyshas been that traditionally only a single on stimulation, major attempts to the gravel pack sand so as to aceu-model the fractudng process have phase of the treatment (for exam-These partic!'es must possess negli-been made so that optimizing these ple, either proppant or fluid) could rately tag the intended operation.

costly treatments canbe conducted.

be tagged and identified, and that gible tracer wash-off so no measur-Conventional hydraulic fracture no discrimination could be made be-tween tracer materialleft inside the l

able tracer can become dissolved in design models require inputting a well bore and the material actually the fluids transporting the gravet fixed value for fracture height so placed in a fracture. As earlier Well stimulation treatments, Perhaps the most frequent oil field that length and width can be caleu-stated, both objections have been application of tracers has been it; lated volumetrically. These early, overcome by new gamma-ray the study of stimulation treat-primitive models assumed that the spectroscopy technology (Fig. 5).

ments. Flagg et al' documented the fractures did not extend vertically The selection and concentration

~

use ofIridium192 to tagfrae sandin into the bounding layers; thus, es-of specific isotopes involve several j

1954, and a brief discussion of the timates of fracture geometry were steps which must be followed o, a n

pros and cons of tagging tiie entire usually based on heights equal to well by-well basis. The relative treatment venus tagging only the the perforated interval. Field

" tail end" of the treatment was in-experience and fracture mechanles gamma-ray intensities, fluid vol.

1 91 l

aw as w orau v au er sanen uu"""*

m ces. m m a Rad

tive Tracers 8E S

10US ume.to expected fracture height ra-tio, expected time before logging, isotope half-life, and numerous other factors must be taken into consideration when designing these ABOUT PUMPS treatments.

When injecting radioactive Bowieindustn.es rnakes a BronzeHousings a Stainless tracers into the fracturing system!

pump for weryapphcabon.

Steelor Fabgue Proof Shat:ing it s important to keep the concen Pumps that operate inlimited

= Bronze or Teflon Lon9-tr2 tion ofliquid tracer in the frac-Wearing turing fluid and solid tracer in the space under extreme tem-p Bushings proppant constant so the post-peraturo Conditions. Pumps a inboard or treatment log interpretation will that move liquids - fluid Outboard eventually become quantitative.

p or slurry, high orlow T

Roller Thus, the proppant and fluid tracer Injection rates must be contro!!ed in viscosity, Bearings -

independently. Fortunately, so-even wi:h moreinformati[on phisticated Injection equipment to Callorwrite or soiid or supp rt this technology is available abrasive contents.lfit today. If you're

-~

flom.Bowiecan pumpit. -

e mm r Choosethe configuration serious about pumps, getthe g the example of the use of that s oght for your needs.

pump that s made for serious multiple tracers would be to evalu-o Castironor AluminunV performance-ate the isolation of staged stimu-lation treatments. These tracer techniques also can be applied to BOWlE INDUSTRIES, INC.

2 *lv s,t s**# "J 'e"rt 3 *n'J W d

P. O Bos B31Mc Texas 76230 in matrix seidizing, the accurate Tonfree.180H13 o934 sin Texas:1817-872 22S6 eTed 88754 height measurements required in calibration fracture tests, and the y,.

placement of high strength prop-circle t te pant " tail-ins."

8-Production and EOR Operations Tr>eers aise can be used ia a va>4-Arugged ety of production and enhanced

e very perati ns such as:

M M eter

• Inj.ection profiling-mechan,ical i"t'*7 '**'i"5-

- thatwlHlast

• Measurement of residual oil saturations.

• Interwelltracer tests.

• Hydrocarbon custody studies.

t Reptace problem meters.'.'

• Measurementofretentiontimein Insta11 new rne4ers that wt!!!astl su2 face equipment.

04 ear's proportional veloch These topics willbe discussed in a meter is dessned,for probtem liquids. It's a rugged, trouble free forthcoming article on production flowmetet that toferates the and EOR applicat. ions of tracers.

harshest environments.

Processing, Shipping e LoNG LIFE t rge c'la'arances and the sophisticated bene 5Ls of an e,,

and Handhng T c twadngs contribute to long irte evon tronic register in separate assemblies in the presence or dirt, grit and sand.

arf convenient?y coused in the metea Generally, with the exception of e RN STOCIC-Meters areimmediateY radioactive materials, all tracers e OVERHANGING - 0" set charnber cesign and magnetic coupiing atlow sys]lable from Mock.

are commonly available chemicals.

Comparatively high level overhanging The rad.ioact.tve tracers require wemut camage to meter or readout speelal processing, shipping, and e sMALL AND COMPACT-Easity re-E handhng which can be undertaken paces existhe probie,n meters.

only by thoselicensed by the Nucle-

'EU'l fles!Es r p *,

BALL PRODUCTS ar Regulatory Agency and other T

appropriate authorities. Fortu-I e

230a soutn 51st street nately, the demand for specialized CALLTotL FREE MNautee,blS.1219 radioactive tracing has 'groa n 1 m s58-6636 rapidly in recent years, making thi.t l

Clrcle 11s prTone ci su CNalNFEn i=Tr suahomat../UNE 1989

h.eadioactiva Tr ctrs

( ) " ~"

~ ~~~ 7 C.

"=

(,

service ecmmercially frasible in have been increduced. Industry

• p,"y'3I,hdN s"lk'D$'.$"/

most geographic cnas. Prevnusly, engin:ers have reacted quckly an minathn cf Fr:.eture Height by Spectral l

the research departments of the applying these n w tracer tech-Gamma Leg Analysis? SPE 15439, pn.

sented at the tist Annual Technical Con-j l

mahr E&P corporations were the niques due to their effielent and "g*,r th Sjtgr l

only source for radioactive tracing cost-effective characteristics.

Q *ad E 4

g, I

3 3, ig3g),

sermes.

in summary, the use of tracers m noterenen

3. cadeken, L. L., and Smith. H. D., Jr.:

the petroleum industry has con.

1. Dag. A. H.. Myns. J. E. Terry, J. M..

"Tracerscan-A Spectrucopy Technique tributed to the understanding of and Mardock. E. S.:-Radioactive Trace-for Determining the Distribution of h*" O'"*',6cactin Traum in Dom Muhiple Ra

'S 18 Ol! Production Problemsy Petw insny complex processes. Tracer I'"

• B "'h ^

• E * *'" *" *b" Annual SFWLA' Symposium. Houston

***"d " 'h' **'h technofogy has undergone con.

424 C pnsented at the tall meeting of the siderable evolution in recent years, petroleum Branch or AtxE. san Antereo (June 1966).

4. Pe mpe r, R. R.. Flecker. M. J.,

and many new field-proven services (oct. tuo. tsss).

McWhirter, V. C., and Oliver. D. W.:-Hy-dnutic Fracture Evaluation with Multi.

ple Radioactive Tracers," Geophysics,

51. Number 10 (October 1988) 13231333.

s. Cadeken. L. L., and Smith. H. D.,Jr.: A Relative Distance Indicator from Carnma Ray Measurement with Radioactive Tracers? SPE 17962. presented at the 6th SPE Middle East Oil Technical Con.

l retence and Exhibition, Manama, y.- JJ Bahrain (March 11 14.1989).

e

.y

6. Brown. A., and Marriott. F. 'E:"Use of r

.y " ' #

Tracers to Investigate Dri!!ing-Fluid and Oil Flushing During Coring 7 SPE Reservoir Engineerias (Novernber D

19sB>tst7-t322.

Q A

'l Kline, W. E., Koelan, E. M., and Smith, '

L g

W. E.:"Evahtation of Cementing Prac-

,j V

tices by Quantitative Radiotracer Mea-surements."! ADC/SPE 14778. presented at the 19S61ADC/SPE Drilling Confer-enee (February 1966).

B. Hall, Bobby E.: personal commun* cation h'

involving the use of trsens in gravel pack NOW anC mX0VOC

.osh C'ircu'a,10D.

-dcrmi e - mua-1988 to April 1989).

Di Sions.os" Circu a ion'...

Aboutthe Authors f'

ProLects Va uale Producing :orma; ions

- > T +,a s de - - -

ogyfor ProTechnses int.rrnational Inc.

Higher productivity, Tailored to in Houston. u*eu Ac n respow61efor the dmtopment and applicanon of Lower Costs your needS tmcer technologyfor the petroleum, geo-BRIDGESAL-PLUS sus.

Versatile BRIDGESAL-PLUS thermal, and environmental industries.

pended salt system provides can be precisety matched to Prior tojoinin Pyrotechnics in 1986, he uns a member of the engineering staff viscosity, suspension, bridging your formation requirements of The Western Co. ofNorth Amedca in and fluid loss control in one by changing particle size distri,

^

uniquely effective package:

bution with PLUG. SAL additives.

f""

'/,g" #[d

'Q y7 y

Neutral pH tor formation In 3

.InC *** P'*dUC' Gulf Oil after studying Petroleum Engi-U

• C'*n

'En9* Of neering at Texas A&M University. He b e

compatibility applications: lost c.srculation a member ofSPC. SPWLA, UIPC, and

, Thixotropic pofymers ther-pUls, fracturing pre-and post b currently servinc as vice chairman of many stable up to 300*F gravel packing, underrsaming, the Geotherrnal Technical organnathm.

Improved suspension washing and sand packing.

Pyrotechnics intenzahonalInc. Prr,n of Tom Bandy is the chairma perforating, and diverting for

• Superior fluid loss control stimulation treatments.

or to

• No tignosulphonates or founding Pyrotechnics in 190. he uns a senior production engineer with Snyder magnesium onlde M

Oil C. in Denver. He w rked as a reser-Compatible with acid.

~ - ~. - ~ ~

sutr engtneer wnth Getty Oil Co. sn Den.

i e

[

butters and sequestenng 3nc.g,;n,ge yerg,,,,97gg,,,g,,,,gu.;ggpggggg, p

agents 2o00 west loop Soum. Suite 990 Perroteum in Norway prior to 197s. He Houston. Tesas 77027 = (713) 677 2727 has a BS degree in petroleum engineer.

Can tocay for two cetatts.

iqfrom Montana Tech,and b a member of SPE, UIPC. and the National Environmental Council.

E Circle t17 PETROLEUM ENGINEER NTramanom44 JUNE 1989 36 E-___ _

T (h

J s)

Society of Petroksn Engineers SPE 29809 Successful Field Evaluation of the Efficiency of a Gas Gravity Drainage Process by Applying Recent Developments in Sponge Coring Technique in a Major Oil Field Marc Durandeau *, Medhat El-Emam *, ADMA4PCO, and Abdel-Hamid Anis *, Gianni Fanti *, Security DBS

• SPE Members copynee.

s. some.y, n - Enemosm. w.

This paper wee prepared ter ;

si Sw SPE Heddie East os show head m Servam.1114 anarch 1985.

The paper eres selected tur ;.

by an SPE Pvoyam Commmee tonowing review at Hermalen cornamed in an absses admmed by the ausharts). Cornerus el she paper, as presented. have am been reviewed by the $ocamy el Petrosem Eng6neers and are especI to correcten by the authorte) The moiertel, as presemed. does not -

2, teneci any poenian et sie Gecasey el 7

.- Engmoers, as emeers. er eneneers Papers presensed al SPE meetm0s ano subpect to pelication sowww by Ednarial Commmees allhe $ocemy i

at Potteleum Engmeers E t>enpy a mancted to an abaracI er as more than 300 words Musemens ciwy nm be coped. The absena showed contam ent-m= acementedgmers sf where and by whom to paper a presemed. Wme Lawanea, SPE, P.o. Ses833836. Hamascean. TX 750sMS36. USA, Tetoa.163245 $ PEUT.

/

/

ABSTRACT data representaths of in-situ reservoir rock properties. The time and money spent to proiide the high quality information his paper describes the application and integration of new needed, after all, is certainly cheaper than an EOR project technologies and recent developments in Sponge coring and failure.

presents the methodology used to carry out successfully tle urious phases of well designed Sponge coring project, The selection of efficient techniques for determining ROS is including the coring phase, the on-site measurements and the based on the formation and utllbore conditions of the well to full evaluation of the Sponge core samples. A field case is be tested. There are a variety of reasons why computation of presented where a Sponge coring project was accomplished to oil or water saturation from logs is sometimes extremely obtain accurate fluids distribution and evaluate the gas gravity difficult. Formation parameters (porosity, cementation factor, drainage efficiency in one of the ArabD sub-reservoirs of a saturation exponent, etc.) influence the accuraq cf logs for majur oil field offshore Abi Dhabi.

ROS determination.

A Sponge coring technology team was created to optimize the Data from cores represent the only direct measurements of methodology used during Sponge coring and minimize the reservoir rock properties. All other information and data are uncertainties which persisted on some of the presious indirect evaluations of these propetties. De best starting operations. The effectiveness of the technique is discussed, point is a truly rep;esentative core sample.

with comparison to open hole logs and SCAL data.

To evaluate the gas gravity drainage efficiency in one of the Realistic petrophysical parameters were obtained from non-Arab D sub-reservoirs, some logging techniques were im aded, native-state core samples. The, effective oil saturation previously imestigated and tested to hate access to the obtained from the Sponge core arulysis results showed that effectist value of the residual oil saturation after gas the gravity segregation mechanism has been very active and displacement. RFT and TDT logging techniques showed l

cfficient to recover the oil in the reservoir, some evidence for gas influx into the area with coricsponding flushing of the oil originally present before production

[

started, but the TDT results could not be regarded as reliable 1.

INTRODUCTION due to the numerous assumptions required to carry out the interpretation.

The use of Advanced Reservoir Management techniques right from the start of field development and exploitation prosides The in-situ measurements from openhole logs indicated that a information that is vitally important for engineering and gas effect made it impossible to accurately quantify the controlling future EOR processes. It is fundamental to obtain residual oil saturation. The uncertainty of the resuhs was l

References and illustrations at end of paper 367

0 O

2 SUCCESSFUL ITELD EVALUATION OF T11E EIT1CIENCY OF A GAS GRAVITY DRAINAGE SPE 29809 PROCESS BY APPLYING FICENT DEVE!DPMENT3 IN SPONGE CORING TECl!NIQUE IN A MAJOR OIL FIEID unacceptable for ROS to implement any future additional Extensive review of the exigine techniaues was made. with development plans.

emphasize on the followine main tarcets :

1.

De performance of the Sponge material under various Sponge coring projects conducted recently proved comenient, coring conditions.

emnomic and reliabic and provided amaluable information to ansuct one of the main questions before considering any EOR 2.

He capability of the oil-wetness and high storage project in a field: *llow much oil still remains in the capacity of current sponge material to trap the oit j

I reservoir, where is the residual oil, and how much of it could expelled from the core at different oil saturation levels.

be recovered 7",

3.

%c effectiveness of the techm.que in formation with including large varims p tr physical properties, He Sponge wring technique was applied to evaluate the va n5 n Pennc8 78 Pomsuy, hent QR emciency of the gas grasity drainage and prmide reliable r8

5. 8 e Presence oUree gas.

l fluids saturation distribution. A team of reservoir evaluation, Sponge coring specialists supenised all the phases of the 4.

De emciency of the achanced, low-im3sion corcheads operation, and prmided the synergy needed to design and in the various applications, and the effcc of ROP on the fulfill this successful project. De interpretation and amount of mud filtrate invasion.

evaluation of the results called for the joint effort of all team 5.

He accuracy of determination of mud filtrate im3sion and its effect on the estimation of oil flushing during the coring process 2.

SPONGE CORING TEC11NOIDGY 6.

Surface handling of the Sponge are liners and the performance characteristics of the preservation metigis ',

BARREL DESIGN - OVERVIEW :

for Sponge core and plug samples.

The Sponge coring technique uses a sponge-sleeve modification to a mnventional core barrel. The sponge sleeve "I' I' is made of oil-wet (or water-wet) polyurethanc material, with a 70-80 % interconnected porosity and 2 Darcy air permeability (Fig.1) From the operational point of siew, the j

It-arWA m TT Sponge core barrel is handled similarly to the standard core SNNGE barrel. During the coring operation, the core enters and fits NE tightly inside the spongc liners. As the core is brought to the sponge surface, hydrostatic pressure drops and gas comes out of solution inside the core, expelling oil out of the are.

$.$$i.

Everience has shown that trapping of the oil by the liners is emcient. with no oil loss during retrieval to surface. The oil bleeding from the core is collected in the sponge and reconstituted back into the core porosity to correct the oil saturation for bleeding. The amount of oil in the core and sponge is comerted to in-situ conditions try app!)ing the current oil formation volume factor. Pore volume in the mre

~

is adjusted for compaction using the stress correction factor.

Fig.I TECilNOLOGY TEAM - PILOT OBJECTIVES :

Eponet Material:

The Sponge material was verified to be chemically inert and To ottain exceptional core quality, and prmide accurate stable under most coring conditions, with operr,tions reservoir data, a Sponge coring technology team was formed Performed at depths greater than 18,000 ft and bottom hole to resiew and process a large number of previous Sponge temperatures exceeding 165'C.

operation and analysis, with a fundamental objectise to optimize the existing methodology used and augment the Oil Retention :

effectneness of the technique. This multi < disciplinary team consisted of specia;its in reservoir evaluation coring, Applications conducted in Sirgin' oil-tx:aring zones, with So reservoir engineering, core analysis, and geology. Additional levels exceeding 80%, were esamined and confirmed the lab egettise was sought as required (mud engineering, mud tests where emeient retention of the oil by the sponge w2s l

tracers & tracer analysis, etc.).

evident, particularly when tight fit of the core inside the sponge liners is observed which secures good capillary l

l contact betu cen the core and sponge.

368

O O

SPE 29809 M. DURANDEAU, M El EMAM, AH ANIS,G. FAMI 3

sandstone and shale, with zones of permeability varying from Invasion & Oil flushine :

a few md to several hundred md, and. porosity in the range of Any im2sion may compromise fluid saturation analysis carried out on the core. Therefore, the use of proven low-invasion coring technology is critical to the success of Sponge ON-SITE PLUG SAMPLING technique. It is assumed that filtrate im2sion must take place for any oil to be flushed. Situations can exist, howestr, wherc

)

filtrate imasion can take place with no oil flushing. Careful O

evaluation of the amount ofinvasion and flushing mechanism is imperative to assess and compensate, when necessary, for

{%p

]

any mud filtrate invasion and oil flushing during the coring e

process. This type of analysis requires good knowledge and 1

expertise in core analysis for reservoir engineering.

7 Evaluation of several mud tracing techniques indicated that f[

2.5, isotopic tracers utre superior to chemical tracers, and much f

more accurate. This evaluation was based on the fact that effective use of chemical tracers always required extensise r

/

investigations to ensure compatibility with the application.

/ le 5'

The tracers must :

)

Not occur naturally in formation fluids.

e Be compatible with formation rock and fluids

{.

i e

Be detectable at low concentrations, from small volumes.

4 e

Not degrade with time or under coring conditions.

\\

e

\\ \\.. g. \\. -"

l' The natural presence of Deuterium Oxide (D20) in consistent i

concentrations of 145-155 ppm in nature has been prmen 1"

through many field tests. Deuterium Oxide represented the Fig. 2 best selection for water-based mud tracing programs, as one of the most stable, non-radioactive tracers available which can Results also indicated that at low residual oil saturation be analyzed in the laboratory to an accuracy of

• 0.5 ppm.

(< 10 %). and even when GOR is extremely imv, notable Tolumes of oil expulsion from the core was experienced due to Sophisticated mud tracing programs, using Deuterium Oxide gas expansion typically occurring while pulling the core out tracer and on-site plug sampling & trimming technique, were of hole.

therefore integrated with Sponge technology, associated to a relevant analysis program which is carried out on both whole Effect of ROP :

core and on-site plug samples. The on-site plug sampling Evaluation of the coring parameters in the examined technique (Fig. 2) prmides inner (norma!!y represent nathes-8pP cations showed that the effectheness of the advanced li state sampic) and outer core plugs drilled from freshly meheads used was consistent, not relying mainly upon recmcred Sponge core samples at the rig Site.

achieving low-imasion by increasing the ROP. Even at highly changing penetration rates. ranging from 6-120 ft/hr, To enhance the quality of information obtained from the n ne to mimmal smasion uns obs:ntd.

technique a low-imusion plug taking & trimming desice was especially developed and field tested to ensure that plugs can Low-Invasion Technotory ;

be cut at the wellsite with no im2sion or flushing of core fluids. The design of the new equipment allows the use of Elimination of the mud invasion that can take place during d frerent cooling methods, ranging from air, air brine mist or the coring process is the major influencing factor in the neutral oil, with the option to employ liquid nitrogen cooling.

success of low-imasion coring. Once a low-imusion core sample is inside the inner tube, then any further scepage mud I

l Effect of Petrophysical Properties :

filtrate im2sion can be considered insignificant because :

Accurate quantification of invasion was accomplished using g

g g; g g g

,g the reliabic imasion profiles obtamed. Analysis of the impenious barrier.

im2sion profiles from sestral recent Sponge coring projects showed zero to minimal mud filtrate invasion. The examined 2.

The core, during pulling out of hole, is continuously in a applications covered limestones and dolomites which state of gas expansion. giving rise to higher pressures e.hibited difTerent nature (fractured. vuggv), and interbedded inside the core w hich prevems scepage mud losses.

i I

369

{.

o o

4 SUCCESSFUL FIELD EVALUATION OF T1IE ETTlCIENCY OF A GAS GRAVITY DRAINAGE SPE 29809 PROCESS DY APPLYING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SPONGE CORING TEClINIQUE IN A MAJOR OIL FIEll) ne Flush Internal Diameter permits the protective filter cake ne advanced corcheads tested performed the main low.

on the core to remain intact as the core passes through the invasion functions of permitting the protective filter cake on core bit throat (Fig. 3).

the core to remain intact as the core passes through the core bit throat, significantly reducing the differential pressure on ne Internal Lip on the pilot shoe overlaps with an internal the core, with further reduction in the exposure time of the lip on the core bit, creating a labyrinth-type seal between the core to the mud by increasing the rate of penetration during shoe and the core bit which eliminates direct flow impinging coring. A significant aspect of the design is that the upon the core and reduces the differential between the mud significant increase in ROP is achieved hydrauhcally, and the core. The optimization work resulted in flow independent of the number of cutters on the bit repartition of 99% through bottom discharges and 1%

through the inner space (Fig. 3).

ne Face Discharee Ports are angled from the inside of the LOW-INVASION TECHNOLOGY, core bit forwards the outer diameter and & rect the flow of drilling fluid away from the core. The curvature of tie flow FLUSH INTERNAL Port, in combination with the profile of the core bit body, creates the unique hydraulic characteristics, with a suction DIAMETER that removes the d illed cuttings from the face of the bit. With the sealing effect o'the internal lip, they carry almost all the fluid flow. He redt -tion of the mud pressure around the core e

' MN.Q lowers the tendency br imasion (Fig. 3).

-~.

Ig M d.':'

FLOW h3 A DIRECTION Surface Handline & Preservation :

[ U}

+

To further minirnize the core's exposure to the atmosphere f

I il and spcod up the retrieval operation, a disposable aluminium I

i

,b inner tube is used and casily cut to retrieve the liners for l

F4 immediate preservation. This also climinated the water s

yg g p

ANGLED FACE leakage problems presiously experienced while pumping the

\\

f e

\\

DISCHARGE liners out of the inner tube. The recent development of the h Ti5 PORTS Sponge barrel allowed quick and easy corwersion of a standard core barrel into a Sponge bartcl making it possible 7

to utili/c standard inner tubes.

C In applications for oil saturation determination, filling of the PVC tubes with brine resulted in significant imbibition y

between the in-filling brine and the core. His phenomenon p

did not however affect the oil saturation results. To minimizes DEFLECTOR the imbibition. and effectively preserve the resenoir ERM UP characteristics. a high performance preservat, ion package w2s BOTTOM used, comprising sleeves made of the field proven Plastic /

DISCilARGE Alun n um 18" n8E P nE neu 8r put sto k %

Fig, 3 Tight Scalod' PVC tubes after evacuating the air out of the sleeves.

The unioue desien features (Fie 31 which crosided the low To maintain the plug samples in the best condition during im asion capabilitv of the used corcheads were :

' hot-shot

• transport to the laboratory, the plugs arc imtially o Flush internal diameter (!D) wrapped in non reactive film, then put into emtlops made of o Internallip the same Plastic / Aluminium laminate. Final storage inside Angled face discharge ports.

cool boxes ensured maintaining low temperature to prevent o

cuporation and drying out.

Recent development was focused on optimizing the flow Distribution, and influence of port positioning flow rate, port nc newl3 implemented presenstion package proved stry section, flow repartition (between the bottom discharges and resistant to chemical alteration and degradation, and provided inner space), and port diameter.

impermeable barrier to water vapour and gases, maintaining the fluids content of the core and preventing changes in properties such at the wettability of the core.

l 370 l

l

I p

O O

kPE 298o9 M. DURANDEAU, M. ILEMAM, AH. ANIS, G. FANT1 5

t l

Diffusion & Imbibition :

ARABD S U_ B - R E S E R V _O I R_

F LU ID S D IST R IB U TIO N If any mud filtrate imasion takes place. (typically in the most (Ai TE R G A s G R A VIT Y D R AIw A G L) i j

outer part of the core), then during transportation of the core daffusion of the mud filtrate will occur within the core. This n 3 s ni 3,,y n uill result in mixing of original brine and mud filtrate across o n in x A. o.o.c.

fnx.

^ T

• 8 8 5 ' U

the core sample. Derefore, the on-site plug sampling &

trimming technique is applied to isolate the water in individually presened core plugs, which when using low-imusion coring prmides centre plugs with representathe

,,, g, a g c y,,.

water saturation.

g,.. s,s 6 2 ti.se se s.6 3 2 re.se R siist A. o.

To quantify the amount of Imbibition taking place between

,,g

"" \\ D 818" N the Sponge pre-saturation fluid and core brine, the j,,,,,,, y :, o to 7

methodology was enhanced by using a 6fferent tracer to trace the Sponge pre-saturation fluid. Tracer analpis is then carried out on the core extracted water. Comparing the results with tracer background level in formation brinc and Sponge pre-saturation fluid. it was possib!c to assess the amount of I' R t s i: x T o.o.c.

,3,,.

Imbibition.

A T, s,6 u n.se 7geta o i1. H1 A RiN G

..p;Q.%.

]M~M

/ O N 1.

/

3.

APPROACil

~T:is.1I The control of the different processes in all the phases of a Successful field evaluation was of prime importance to Sponge coring project is critical to the success of the understand the current resenoir mechanism, and define technique. Presious experience indicated that less than possibic EOR target projects, which is essential in the desirable outcome has resu'ted in most cases due to poor evaluation and impicmentation of any desclopmem plan for the resenoir.

improper application of any one procedure. De importance of conducting all operations in the right fashion can not be underestimated.

The excellent planning including discussion and preparation in advance of the program corresponding to each phase of the Careful evaluation of numerous Sponge coring jobs indicated peration with the releuint operating and contractor that even if all aspects of technology remain consistent. not pers nnel, and the attitude of top management towards having full control on all the phases of a Sponge wring rescnoir engincenng problems, were key factors in the project would have dherse impact on the results.

success of Sponge coring projects.

He new approach ensured excellent team work, which 4.1 RESERVOIR CilARACTERISTICS together with effecthe mmmunication were key facsors to the success of recent Sponge jobs, ne work is managed in a manner that ensures the joint effort of all team members is His resenoir has been produced for more than 30 years and optimized to prmide the synergy needed to design and fulfill is mainly composed of limestone with dolomite occurrences successful Sponge mring project, from planning and field and anhydritic barriers.

operation to interpretation and evaluation of the results.

FONO$tM d fTJrnfrARillTY 9e V HOtJ (TJMf.

4 FIELD CASE The Sponge mring technique was applied to one of the Arab D sub-resenoirs of a large offshore Abu Dhabi field, in

\\,-d**

' ' ' - * '~**

an area where gas-cap gas was expanded into the oil rim, in order to evaluate the gas gravity drainage efficiency.

a l

The resenoir has been produced during its initial development stage under unbalanced replacement condition l

which created an expansion of the gas-cap gas noticeable by I~

~ " ~ ~

l early gas breakthrough in some up-dip producers (Fig. 4).

371

0 0

6 SUCCESSFUL FIELD EVALUATION OF TifE E}TICIENCY OF A GAS GRAVITY DRAINAGE SPE 29809 PROCESS BY APPLYING RECENT DEVIlDPMENTS IN SPONGE CORING TECIINIQUE IN A MAJOR OIL }1 ELD De porosity is generally high with values of 10% to 25%

• • ' " ^"^" ""'

De permeability ranges from a few md to several hundred md(Fig.5,6). De initial gas oil and oil. water contacts were defined at 8,550 A.ss and 9,200 A ss, respectively.

. "

• e.. A; A E" \\ ;.jW,~ 'v!" ~

romaan a nnuunum

-a nm mmu p

A...

e 1

,. p..

v :.u mv

[*

l, 5 5 ".q : f-17,. 7

T

';;I De non-damaging, polymer coring fluid planned for the application provided the desirable parameters for Sponge coring. with sized CaCl salt used to give the required mud 2

density. With a mud density of 10.0 ppg. dictated by the i. im,wo.. an.u.w..u w formation pressure gradient through the open hole, a differential pressure of approximately 500 psi prevailed ^

"E "I'

4.2 PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION The optimized methodology used can be summarized in The planning phase of the ArabD Sponge coring started 6 main points -

early enough to ensure that the decisions made at this stage are based on careful assessment and complete understanding 1.

Use of advanced corcheads to achieve low invasion of the cf the application, together with the end users of the data to core as well as high recovery emeiency, be obtained and contractor personnel. The design of the 2.

Use of highly oil. wet Sponge liners to trap the expelled project ensured that the capabilities of Sponge coring will

,;; g,,, g,, g match.the expectations of the end users. This is entical to the sticoess of such projects.

3.

Trace the mud using sophisticated tracing technology.

"" # E EE E "E.

An upper area producer, located in the c9ected area. was associated to mud tracing analys. "to provide sa: urate is selected and proposed to conduct field measurements using information on the invasion profile of the core.

the Sponge coring technique, as a secondary objective for the i

well The initial reservoir oil of the Arab D sub-resenoir was 5.

Centrifuge the inner plug samples to estimate any mobile i

expected to be gas flooded by the expansion of the gas-cap gas fluids present in the reservoir rock.

Et this location (Fig. 4).

6.

Analysis of oil saturation of whole core, plug and sponge samples associated with their rock characteristics.

A Sponge coring project was initiated and the design of all 4

the phases disciased with the coring specialists and all parties imotved, including :

A total of 90 A of Sponge core was cut below the Original Gas Oil Contact in three runs, 30 A cach, from 9,948 A to End users : Reservo. Engineer, Geologist, petrophys.. t 10,038 A BRT (log depth), corresponding to 8,562 A to l

ir icis DriHing department 8,632 Ass Fig. 4), using two types of advanced design Mud engmeenng corchcads, size 8%x3%', with different cutting structure.

l Core cnalysis cx>mpany The first run used a Thermal Stable Diamond corchead, while An (seessment was made of the well conditions, formation a pt>lycrystallin: Diamond Compact corchend completed the characteristics, and mud properties to determme compatibility other 2 runs. ROP averaged 20 A/hr, with excellent recovery with Sponge Coring.

and efficiency of 100% (Fig. 7,8). Both corcheads were in

. Pre-coring meetings invohing all parties were conducted to '

~

discuss the procedures of all the stages and achien agreement that the job can be performed as planned without adwrsely affecting other aspects of the well.

372

O O

SPE 29909 M. DURANDEAU, M. El EMAM, AH. ANIS,G. FANT1 7

From the plotted results (Fig. 9), the following conclusions

- dra-A consistent D2O level of

• 275 ppm was maintained in l

the mud system, ranging between 257-291 ppm.

j

,. g There is almost no difference betuten the tracer

)

g concentration content in the inner and outer plugs. The tracer concentration level in the plugs is comparable to

{

the prevailing formation water level (* 153 ppm). Nonc to minimal rnud filtrate imssion took place during the s

sponge coring process.

== a.

Ie..,,,,,,-

0,,,,,,,.,

..., -. r..,,,,i,,,

affected tw mud filtrate imasion.

De deuterium oxide tracer was mixed in the mud sptem, j

l maintaining consistent concentration of

• 275 ppm that was

)

sufficiently higher than the background iciel, which has been emm,mm measured at i 150 ppm for the Arab D sub-rcservoir, for good analytical data. The higher Icvels of D2O used in the past resulted in dilution of the samples prior to measurement, I

adding unnecessary work and wasted resources.

)..e b b... # A b.~ b l

Before coring, the inner tube containing the Sponge liners i

o,,,

t was filled with actual formation brine as the pre-saturation fluid. This process invohes scaling the inner tube at both N

ends and evacuating the air inside to create a vacuum. If any air is lea in the inner tube, the sponge will be compressed by

]

the hydrostatic pressure in the well allowing the drilling fluid i

.,,,,_,.,u,,,

,,,,,,,,,,y to enter the inner tube and contaminate the sponge. When coring wss completed, the barrel was tripped out of the hole, WATER SATURATION RESULTS j

and the Sponge core liners retrieved, and immediately stored inside the PVC tubes. The plug sampling & trimming Sever teen presencd inner plug samples were centrifuged technique was carried out, before final presentation of the prior to Dean-Stark analysis in order to estimate any mobile plug samples and uhole core.

fluids present in the resenoir rock. At the 3 different capillary pressures. (i.e. 17,30 & 60 psi), applied to simulate To establish a reliable invasion profile, and determine the 3 different heights abose the Gas Oil Contact. No oil was Mobile State of core fluids. on-site plugging sampling and produced during the centrifuge test, however a certain amount trimming was implemented to compliment the mud tracing of water was produced and measured (Fig.10).

technique, associated to a relevant analysis program which was carried out on both whole core and on-site plug samples.

cum-n ew w ci Hvm A highly accurate invasion profile was established after the interpretation of the Deuterium Oxide tracer analysis results.

"7"" "

4.3 RESULTS

\\~

f 3.

bU*

TRACER ANAINSIS RESULTS Thirty plugs were collected on-site and trimmed in threc

,, l l

pieces, two outer and one inner piccc, to evaluate the mud filtrate imasion of the core. Water was extracted from inner and outer plugs as well as from 18 mud samples using Dean-Stark analysis technique. These water sampics were analysed for deuterium oxide.

It is iraportant to note that a capillary pressure of 17 psi is j

equivalent to the expected variation of the gas oil contact A representative sample of reservoir formation water and level, i.e.100 ft at reservoir condition, the oil and gas analytical grade toluene used during the water extraction gradient being equal to o.28 and o.ll psi /A, respecthtly.

process were also analysed.

The produced water from centrifuge tests. together with extracted water from Dean-Stark tests, was used to calculate j

373 I

l,

S g

was 8

StlCCESMt.1 iD;;W. ;,t;ATlON OF 11E EFHCIENCY OF A GAS GRAVITY DRAINAGE SPE29809 PROCESS 13Y APPLYl% iW.L 7: 4 YLLOPENT3 IN SPONGE CORINO TECl{NIQUE IN A MAJOR OIL lli'tD the initial water saturation for inner plugs and the capillary the same trend of the plugs samples (Fig. II). Deir results pressure trend for each plus.

are howcwt more accurate than plug samples due to the amount of fluid present in the core sample during these tests.

Water was also extracted by Dean Surk technique from 54 Results from whole core samples should be preferred to those whole core samples to evaluate the unter saturation profile of plus samples.

End comparc with the plug saturation data

"""M" De results merc aseraged per gwloInal unit. clearly a.rv indicating the following points:

e Some mobile water was present m the core at the time the corc arrived on the sig floor and plugs cut, m.

The u3ter saturation of the inner plugs was honeser, N-

[A lower than the wmer saturation of the outer plugs and of

^

V q

the whole core samples.

The gas saturation initially present m the rescesoir core at

~

~

~"

the time of coring. seems to hase been partialb replaced by

~ ~ ~ " ~ " ~ '

water due to imbibition mechanism between' the sponge, initially saturated with formation bnne. and the core associated with a good contact besucen sponge and core in Oil saturation data (in-situ condition) were aseraged for each,

the corebarrel. His phenomenon does not houcter aNect the geological unit corresponding to the core description (Table oil saturation results.

1). De oil saturation, remaining in the Arab D middic la3tr.

is in the range of 5.5 to 16.7 % PV, with an awrage of 11 %

Subsequent applications emplo>ed pre-saturation fluid tracing PV, howewt no effective trend can be found with the depth or with the rock characteristics.

l program and imbibition study, and resulted in successfully quantif)ing the amount of unter imbibition to enhance the quality of water saturation data as util. On-site plug samples showed zero to minimal amounts of imbibed uscr.

4.4 DATA INTEGRATION To evaluate the gas gravity drainage cfliciency in the Arab D

' OIL SATURATION RESULTS sub-reservoir, some logging techniques were imestigated and tested to han access to the effective value of the residual oit De volume of oil, cstracted during the cicaning process saturation after gas displacement.

undertaken at the end of the Dean-Stark test, was collected End recorded for all whole core and Sponge samples as well ts inner and outer plug sampics to determine the oil RFT DATA saturation in surface and in-situ condition.

The interpretation of the pressure measurements, carried out The oil saturation data derived from inner and outer plugs with the RFT tal, shows that, at the coring depth location, (Fig. II) shows only a wry slight discrepancy and are in the continuous phase is the gas phase with a gas gradient of agreement with the results of the traccr analysis showing 0.11 psi / ft. No differential depiction is obscrwd between the none or minimal imusion of the corc by the mud filtrate.

different sub-zones of the Arab D sub-reservoir and the gas oil contact is accordingly moved from an original level of No oil was produced during spinning at the 3 different

• 3,550 fL ss, to the currerllevel of

• 8.634 fLss. due to the j

Capillary Pressures applied to simulate 3 dsfierent heights espansion or the gas-cap gas (84 fi down dip).

l I

abmt the Gas Oil contact, which suggests that no mobile oil l

is present.

1 SCAL DATA 1

De results of the anal sis of the Sponge indicate that the De Sorg obtained from SCAL analysis, carried out on sewral l

3 tmount of oil recmcred in the Sponge is minimal with an oil samples covering the different Arab D units, ranged between saturation usually less than 0.5 % PV and in few exception 38-60 % PV. averaging 42 % PV (Table 1). These results are between 1.5 - 2.5 % PV. These results confirmed the plug relarrd to 2 main points :

centrifuge analysis results which indicate that no mobile oil wts present in the wred zonc under such capillary pressure.

1.

Only Viscous forces were applied during laboratory measurement, at ambient condition.

Reservoir The global saturation. determined from whole core analysis performance, where gas-grasity drainage is the major efter adding the oil volume collected into the sponge. shows force, is nca simulated in the lab.

374 o

O O

SPE 29809 M. DURANDEAU, M. El-EMAM, AH. ANIS, G. tat 41 9

2.

He rock samples are not in nativentate, and therefore time for drainage to occur and also because of the greater not representadve of reservoir properties (Fluids height abost the cunent Gas Oil Contact.

Distribution, Saturation, Saturation History, and Wettability). %e samples (oil-wet carbonate rock) were Track 4 shows the lithology and porosity as calculated by cicaned during the Dean-Stark cxtraction pmocss ELAN but also as measured during the previously described core analpis without any conection for overburden pressure Residual Oil Saturation but after core depth matching.

(SCAL : Viscous Forces, Refined Oil-Brine, g

g

& Ambient Condition)

Using the presious plots, tic gas effect is clearly no6ceable on Mah SCAL Data Soonte Cort these logs and it is possible that its magnitude is related to the Bh So_rg Egg residual oil saturation. No useful conciation is apparent when cmss plo ng e m ual satwatbn fan me data against 1

0 40 90 8** """' b8' I b I' "*'

2 38 OI44 0 15.2

• prising since ik gas eNect is simngh & pendent on ne 1

3 38.0 -42 0 16.7 degree and duration of the invasion which is generally 4

40.0-450 8.4 unpredictabic. It is not possible, in particular, to quantify the 5

38.0 -40.0 12.8

• !""Y"8

• ***I I"" I

• ""d 6

35.0 -48.0 11.0 cake has built up. His phenornenon is particularly important 7

40 0 - 60.0 8'.4 n gas ng nuanon, Weh h tk me h, buse d 8

42 0-45.0 10.5 the high mobility of the gas. Hydrocarbon saturations are 9

400 43'0 5'5 clearly defined by open hole logs, howeser it is impossible to,

TRI have access to the residual oil saturation afW '

Splacement or to Merentiam quandtaWely se d W gas COMPARISON TO OPENff 01 E LOG RESULTS phases ne objective of this comparison is to confirm the reliability of the Sponge core results and / or to evaluate the capability of it is possible that the MSFL tool could indirectly measure this logs to determine the residual oil saturation in such residual oil saturation since any oil saturation might be conditions.

cxpected to increase the total residual hydrocarbon saturation on the assumption that the residual gas saturation is not Core Depth Matchine affected by the presence or absence of residual oil.

Unfonunately slumping is still a problem and can lead to Porosity conclation, using :: ore porosity data and CPI porosity an ma! usly high MSFL readings, particularly in the more data. has been established to calibrate tie depth data and pomus knnanons when tk gas is noe mMe. W mis indicated a discrepancy of 18 ft. Eighteen feet have to be e CCI 5 appamnt on Og.12) whem Ac greamst apparent added to the measured and reported core depth to be identical

'"" "" "'".scen in the higher porosity bed to the logging depth in it. BRT (14g Depth = Core Depth +

towards the base of the interval shown in the figure. It is 18 ft)'

much more likely that filtrate slumping has occurred in this bed than that it really has a higher residual gas saturation Onen Hole IAES than the poorer porosity beds atxnt it.

He results of the ELAN ana!ysis of the open hole log data are presented on (Fig.12). De density and neutron logs aAer emironmental conection are plotted on track 2 and the 5.

CONCLUSION _1 crosscn er has been shaded to highlight the gas cKect.

1.

A Sponge coring project was successfully accomplished, Track 3 show the standard ELAN saturations but, in implementing a new optimized methodology, to evaluate addition, the gas effect is represented in porosity units, aAer the gas gravity drainage efficiency in a major oil field.

conecting for the presence of dolomite, betnen the density The cNecthe oil saturation results showed that the and neutron logs. De zero gas effect is indicated by the first gravity segregation mechanism has been very acthe and of the strtical grid lines, the majority of the formation is efficient to roomer the oil in the reservoir.

consequently gas affected but with the tendency to a greater 2.

The excellent planning, including discussion and gas effect touirds the base of the interval shown on (Fig.12) preparation in advance of the program corresponding to where the porosity is higher. The core residual oil saturation cach phase of the operation with the relevant operating data from whole core and plugs samples are also represented and contractor personnel is a key factor in the success of on this track 3, the scale is such that the second vertical grid Sponge coring projects.

lanc indicates 2cro residual oil saturation. It is apparent that there is a slight trend towards lower residual oil saturations at 3.

Realistic petrophysical parameters were obtained from shallower depth as might be espected based on the greater non-invaded native-state core sampics.

375

O O

10 SUCCESSFUL FIELD EVALUATION OF THE EFHCIENCY OF A GAS GRAVI 1Y DRAINAGE SPE 29809 PROCESS BY APPLYING RECENT DEVEIDPMEN13 'N SPONGE CORING TECHNIQUE IN A MAJOR OIL FIELD 4.

Centrifuge Analysis was carried out on the inner plug 2.

Pallatt, N., Stockd:n, LL.M., Mitchell, P.S.H., and samples. No oil was produced during spinning which Woodhouse, R., " Low invasion Coring gives ' Native

• suggested that no mobile oil is present.

Reservoir Water Saturations," European Society of 5.

The use of latest technology, field proven low.

Professional Wellleg Analysis,lendon,1991.

nyasion core heads resulted in none to minimal mud filtrate 3.

Park, A., and Devier, C.A.,

Improved Oil Saturation im2sion during the caring process.

Data Using Sponge Core Barrel", SFC !!$50. Feb. 27 6 4 'al on-site plugging sampling and trimming

-pment was developed and successfully used to cut on.

4 Maleas, A., "The use 4 Sponge Core For ROS site plugs, without invacng or flushing the core.

Determination in the Midale Field",

The N'*

"N"#*

E '*' "'**

7.

Sophisticated mud tracing technology was implemented, using Deuterium Oxide tracer, and prmidcd axurate 5.'

Chierici, G.L.,

" Advanced Reservoir Management imusion profiles.

Aspects of Enhanced Oil Recovery", First Technical 5

"'" 'I 8.

Recent optimization of the Sponge coring methodology, in oil-wet Sponge applications, allowed the quantification of water imbibition to provide accurate water saturation 6.

Brown, A., and Marriott, F.T., "Use Of Tracers To and complete fluids distribution profile. This was Investigate Drilling Fluid Invasion And Oil flushing cshieved by tracing the Sponge pre-saturatien brine.

During Coring", SPE 1317, Nov.,1988.

9.

Oil typically expelled from the core while pulling out of 7.

Van Poelgeest, F., Koninklijke, Rijswijk, sliko,' H., The hole was completely trapped by the strongly oil-wet Hague, Medwid, A.R., " Comparison of Laboratory And

~

spnge material used in-Situ Measurements of Waterflood Residual Oil

10. A comparison has been made with in-situ measurements 89*

from openhole logs and indicated that a gas effect can be observed on log, which was also in agreement with 8.

Kennaird, T., " Residual Oil Saturations Determined by Sponge core results, but is so far impossible to aaurately Core Analysk, OSEA 88175, Feb 2,1988.

quantify the residual oil saturation from logs, due most 9.

Carr, L.A., Bentreau, R.I., Corrigan, M.P., and van likely to slumping of the filtrate away from the wellbore because of the high mobility of the gas phase.

Doorno, G.G., "The Successful Characterization of a Complex Reservoir Using 3-D Seismic. Geostatistical Reservoir Description And Sponge Core Analysis", SPE

/

16780, Sept. 27,1987

^

10. Auman, J.B.,

"A Laboratory Evaluation Of Core EOR

= Enhanced Oil Recovery eservati n Materials", SPE 15381, Oct. 5,1988.

ROS

= Residual Oil Saturation iI. Hunt P.K., and Cobb, S.L., "A New High-Performance GOR

= Gas Oil Ratio Core Preservation Package", SPE 15382 Oct. 5,1988.

ROP

= Rate of Penetration

12. Georgi, D.T.,

Core Laboratories, Cullen, M.P.,

rg i

1 Saturation due to Gas Flooding Contributions to the Cessford Shallow Gas Pilot,,"*'"*

Sorgo

- Residual Oil Saturation due to Gas Gravity Expansion

13. Anderson, G. William, " Wettability Literature Survey -

Part 5: The Effects of Wettability on Relative ACKNOss EDGMENT Permeability", Journal of Petroleum Technology, November 1987.

The euthors wish to thank ADMA.OPCO and Security DBS for agreeing to the publication of this paper. We also ep

14. Chierici Gian Luigi, Agip S.P.A., " Novel Relations for our appreciation to the field personnel and Core Laboratory Drainage and Imbibition Relative Permeabilities", SPE who contributed to the success of this project.

10165* Oct.1981'

15. Heavcide, J., and Salt, H.J., British Petroleum Co., "A Systematic Approach The Key to Successful Core REFERENCES Analysis", SPE 18385.

1.

Clydesdale, G., Ixscultre, A., and Lamine, E., " Core Bit Design Reduces Mud Imssion, Improves ROP", Oil &

Gas Journal Aug. 8,1994, p. 51.

376

(

1 s.

O.

O A

ie I

l l

PLAYBACK OF RDS ELAN SHONING GAE EFFECT DEPTHS ARE FTBRT ZONE PLOTTED IS CPLOT-0.5 POROSITY c.o 0.0 ArnHDR s TE

.o 0.0 CGI 60.0 2.0,, _F>oO _ _3;0 2.5 RHCA 3.0 0.42 t#H1

-0.18

-0.1 DOORR CASEF O.40.0 DOLOdi TC t.o

~ ~~~~~~~~~~~

0.0 LlhC$ fort s.o 0.0 PORO$tTV g,o

,=,c ys,o L, sA,1,i.s i.o,a;ac,Poesity o.o i.o o

[

h

f:5

-?'

f M-:

-:i-f.

f:i

,I

-9::g.:.,.

-;i

-;9; '

1 7

/

p MM:

._ a 6

l I

,...d A

h[fh:. -5..,.

' - [i

-i 5:h N

Y

'I'

'..u 3/

ww -

C mw.+: ' = : -:. :-

e*Q.-,

Q.:

.._.7-,

s o

~

a MM%:-

e N

p t

-f

- een.e ecoc I

(

$.::.:: }

gg.;.

'Q 4

- ^

L

e:-

-..msw:

p 0

g g

l 1,

f:'

$~

(('

)

j

(.

j '.

M::

(

f f{

M: ::s::

!$5i

_ _ _. ' - ^.

(

"' y

qy:-

1

-::(-

h +~:.

.-:.).

.:.c

+

. JQ I

m bh

.'f,~

l

._i: ^.:

/

(,

(

g.;

h[.

(

ik fl )

?

~

{(*,

,3

l. I>

.:. t

.k

^ w. N@

I[.

1 i

., ' ' ' ' ' ' {6M[

f.f p' ::..:

y j

(h

[h

M : M M '

E f

l (5

. Q1 N::.

=

I'!: CAS EFFECT Ik6dOOILE COR CAS E MMDRef[

POROSITV s 40/E0 H/C 00LodiTE i

,(lf! j'.

WATER t ikT51CINC Iis. 12 l 377

1 g.

United States Department of State 1

L, Owj Washington, D.C.

20520 January 12,1998 g/f//bI"M b72 Mr. Carlton R. Stoiber Director, International Programs

• /g/8 d gjg g 7 i

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission f id ku.d, Rockville, Maryland

Dear Mr. Stolber:

l l refer to the letter from your office dated May 29,1996, requesting the views of the l

Executive Branch as to whether issuance of an export license in accordance with the application hereinafter described meets the applicable criteria of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978:

NRC No. XMAT0392 - Cambridge isotope Laboratories Inc. has applied for authorization to export to United Arab Emirates (UAE) up to 7,500 kilograms of heavy l

l water per year for a total of 22,500 kilograms over a three year period for use as a coring fluid tracer in oil wells.

l l

It is the judgment of the Executive Branch that the proposed export will not be l

inimical to the common defense and security of the United States, and is consistent with i

the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by the Nuclear Non.

l Proliferation Act of 1978, provided that the license is conditioned to limit individual shipinents of heavy water to a maximum of 500 kilograms.

As a party to the NPT, UAE has committed itself to maintain IAEA safeguards on all of its peaceful nuclear activities and has pledged not to produce or otherwise acquire l

any nuclear explosive device, therefore satisfying criteria (1) and (2) of Section 109b of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended, for exports of nuclear components, substances and items. The remaining criterion, agreement not to retransfer any of the U.S.-supplied heavy water without prior U.S. consent, has been satisfied by the receipt of a diplomatic note from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated November 1997, a copy of which is enclosed.

On the basis of the foregoing, the Executive Branch recommends that the license be issued.

Sincerely, l

{C i

3 y cy mm Richard J.K. Stratford Director Office of Nuclear Energy Affairs

Enclosure:

as stated.

25 :$ )'d j 5 j!if C01 diC Chisi.;

i

... m - o

==== = =...................

INITED ARAB EYIRATES Wh:LgEgtais ABU DHABI

.,).,

.-9)

-)

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS &

STUDIES i

NO.

DAIE :

November, 1997 TRANSLATION The U.A.E. Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its compliments to U.S.A. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, and has the honour to refer to the Embassy's Note No.480 dated 17 September, 1997 refering to its earlier Note No.454/96, regarding the proposed export of heavy water f rom the United States to the United Arab Emirates to be used as an oil well coring fluid tracer.

In response to the request of the Department of State, in accordance with the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, that an assurance should come from the U.A.E. Governmnet that the heavy water would not be retransferred to the jurisdiction of another State or States without prior consent of the U.S.A. Government, the U.A.E. Government makes the following assurance :

"The Government of the United Arab Emirates hereby confirms that the heavy water proposed for export to the United Arab Emirates for use as an oil well coring fluid tracer will not be retransferred to the jurisdiction of any other nation or group of nations without the prior approval of the United States."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs requests the esteemed Fabassy to notify the Department of State the above-stated assurance.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates avails itself of this opportunity to rene N h b$e OsNe M Embassy the.sssurances of its highest consifgrationg;Q

~ _ _.

-o u

UNITED ARAB EERATES Qt@id6mq;?

\\.,d)

1. d MINIFIM OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS h.)

O L.mt.3.!!j h f lill dj % l I laj g

g O /,;;,_ g t y g /y/y / g 3,3 : g,j e a iltA/S/'\\ : $; L:: I I

( \\Mb/ \\/L : 35 s, J l

(

l J

.: Jat E C I QfJl cl,,L.y i IJ.,a Q,,, t./. ;; f j, y.L4J l

. %.d1out LL A Is w i oty p ;;ti

,e! y w is.Ly Q J f -?;

19W/i/tY g;W 1A-y; t 4.J f.1

)I t

L

.J l ; L* J l,,

33e M/1a1 y; % L.J l QJf.1 j 1

4 l

• L.J l s.g L4.7 Jl

%f YI IWl c Q Y,J l 3,

AI

.,1 ; L. Y l AJ ja g

,'1fI is L: mJ l j 4.J ')_ : Y 5.13 : I I QgI L.J "y b 1,3 4

4 f I I c 1,, L. Y I 4

,.C

3. W ;I.L,te 3,,, U J l 3 f.L. p 2,,,,,

l Y I s*,,.) t $ J) g) I &I s L II & (.La a, s.,,p, n:.y,t f).LJJ E.LO.L J l

%f Yi

,,r a i 3

ii w i,.Ji w L. i y.J i.!.u 3, Af Yl i g.3,3.J l 4.5LJn3I c.,J Li c ',* -:--

Q ; Lid i 3,,,1 J,, s G 4

l 4 sJ l c I _; C 4 I 5

,C.r. ( l y.3 I E }.p J l i,,, G J l f.e )I p 5 ; Li_.) 1 i j.L. ) >, !,1 i < a: e ; y LzJ l.Ls.m.sJ Le i.L> r J l t 6.* I y.J l SS #3WI 4 sad I c I, I.e T I 3

,.C*

0I "

s.t

J i o y y,3 i y u,,.u]

.,.ea cpi w a. L~l 1 3 Le

.,I., b.s 1 LJ s 3 a)I %33 MI

.4I

) s.3 W.L 4 %/ 4I

'I t.u I,.J l c,3.t.!

gfI swI o Q 1,J l

2. / -

de

%f YI a /Jl f %.e i s r., J l

, u_.s I y f,7,

% _,, y i s

I l

gg :51:d 1E it l' E65l

~

l

~ 5 CF TCP6 e o co.

a n.a e o o..,.......

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Qi@);gy-f; m/9)/s $e.)J es unasrRY or roRUGN AFFAIRS o t w s,r t t u

..u on.

l 4.,u.-.se zz u s s. u on.e s d* 3,p-.3 t J l 3; Li U v,=.tJ 4 Lt f I e.La 3,,, I 3,,) I ;:r 4 Ipl, Lax.LU JJ Li r

kkf

, m e c..

4c* ss*

.,un

'L*C

1. 1.%

i 3

4 e

25 :5 13 1l li.I' E651 d10 0~.d/d30~.:.a

o t50080u 3*

1 UNITED STATES j

j NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 2

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20558 4001 o% *****/

June 18, 1996 l

MEMORANDUM T0:

Ronald Hauber, Director Division of Non-Proliferation, Exports and Multilateral Relations Office of International Programs FROM:

Theodore S. Sherr, Chief Y Regulatory and International Safeguards Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

SUBJECT:

XMAT-392, EXPORT OF DEUTERIUM OXIDE (HEAVY WATER) TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FOR USE AS " MUD TRACER" IN OIL EXPLORATION We have reviewed the subject application and note that there are no foreign physical protection requirements applicable to this export.

The pertinent NRC regulation for this application (10 CFR Part 110.42 (b))

stipulates that deuterium be subject to IAEA safeguards as required by Article III (2) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, we note that the deuterium oxide will be used in a non-nuclear end use, i.e., in a mud tracer used in oil exploration.

In export cases such as this one, the deuterium oxide is not subject to IAEA safeguards while located within an NPT State such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

_ _ _ _ _ _ _