Pressure coring provides innovative approach

Pressure coring offers the industry a new perspective in tertiary recovery project evaluation. Engineering of experimental tests requires innovative thinking and results in a higher degree of data reliability. Residual water saturation after waterflood should be the primary objective of the experimental project. The project manager should not consider the pressure core as a sole source of data. By combing drilling, corring, logging and production data, the engineer can determine the best possible values for tertiary recovery project evaluation. During late 1979, Gruy Federal Inc., under contract to DOE, participated with the operator in pressure coring operations in Texas Pacific Bru No. 310, Bennett Ranch unit, Wasson field, W. Texas. Engineers planned the well as part of a program to continue development of the waterflood unit on 20-acre spacing. In all, workers cut 26 cores over a 210-ft interval of the San Andres dolomite. The cored interval extended 50 feet below the estimated original oil-water contact, allowing evaluation for CO/sub 2/ floodable oil saturation in the transition zone. Analysis of the pressure coring data provided valuable information that could not be obtained from conventional cores or logs. 14 references.