Harold J. Vinegar

NMR imaging of materials

NMR imaging methods are provided for determining the spatial petrophysical properties of materials. These methods employ the generation of separate Mo, T1 and T2 images from which various petrophysical characteristics may be obtained, such as free fluid index, porosity, pore sizes and distributions, capillary pressure, permeability, formation factor and clay content.

Analytical methods and apparatus for measuring the oil content of sponge core

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for determining oil saturation in sponge coring using solvents which dissolve substantially all of the oil but none of the sponge. Two classes of such solvents are specified. One is aprotic, and the resultant concentration of oil in it is measured by proton NMR spectroscopy. The other has no C--H bonds, and the resultant concentration of oil in it is measured by infrared spectroscopy.

Petrophysical applications of NMR imaging.

A system for obtaining high-resolution NMR images of oil field cores is described. Separate proton density and T2 relaxation images are obtained to distinguish between spatial variations of fluid-filled porosity and the physical nature of the pores. Results are presented for typical sandstones.