ABSTRACT

recorded by a receiver antenna. This trace or waveform con-

tains a first arrival signal as well as other signals eventually
produced from reflections or refractions of the radiated waves.
The waves are affected in terms of traveltime and amplitude by
variations in their propagation speed due to losses caused by
traveling through different media. This effect is governed by
the dielectric permittivity (), magnetic permeability () and
electrical conductivity () of each medium. As the EM waves
travel from transmitter to receiver, the time delay of the first
arrival signal peak recorded at the receiver is used to determine
the velocity of wave propagation. The difference in time delays
with respect to a given medium can be inverted to build a to-
mographic representation of the medium
9-11
.
The review of prior works discussing traveltime tomogra-
phy showed that all approaches were based on mapping elec-
trical conductivity or permittivity. None considered mapping
variations in magnetic permeability. In our approach, we ex-
tended the prior works in a new way by employing variations
in magnetic permeability to generate new fluid imaging capa-
bilities using Magnetic Nano-Particles (MNPs).
Magnetic NanoMappers (MNM) is a new approach ex-
ploiting the use of MNPs as contrast agents for mapping the
flood front inside hydrocarbon reservoirs. This approach em-
ploys EM wave traveltime tomography coupled with MNPs to
map the subsurface and so enable real-time monitoring of the
injected water in reservoirs. It can also be used as a tool to
locate bypassed oil, monitor the oil-water contact, and detect
super-K zones and fracture corridors prior to early water
breakthrough at producing wells. The MNM research pro-
gram is a multidisciplinary solution that comprises the iterative
parallel development of chemical materials (the MNPs), hard-
ware including EM sources, receiver antenna arrays and data
acquisition components as well as software, including signal
processing, forward modeling and inversion.
This article reports progress to date on the road to develop-
ing the MNM program, which will be subsequently deployed
in real reservoirs. In the lab, EM waves were used to success-
fully map a container of high permeability MNPs buried
within a 2,000 liter laboratory demonstration reservoir model
of water and sand that simulated field conditions. The first
arrival traveltimes of EM waves passing through the air, wet
sand, water and MNPs were measured and processed to generate
The ability to map injected fluids in hydrocarbon reservoirs
with high resolution is a key goal for reservoir engineering and
optimization. Saudi Aramco is developing tools and method-
ologies to map the flood front, locate bypassed oil, monitor the
oil-water contact, and detect super-K zones and fracture corri-
dors prior to early water breakthrough at producing wells. The
use of Magnetic NanoMappers (MNM) is a new approach ex-
ploiting Magnetic Nano-Particles (MNPs) as contrast agents
for mapping the flood front inside the hydrocarbon reservoir.
This approach takes advantage of the fact that the speed of
electromagnetic (EM) waves slows down when they pass
through magnetic media. Localizing MNPs within an injected
fluid could provide a detailed map of the fluids movements.
Lab tests have recently demonstrated the capability of MNM
to locate MNP volumes hidden within a 2,000 liter tank (reser-
voir model) with high resolution. This article will outline the
MNM concept, laboratory test bed, results and future plans.
INTRODUCTION
Tomography is a noninvasive imaging technique that allows
the visualization of a slice or section of the internal structures
of an object by using penetrating radiation. The technique is
based on the mathematical principle of tomographic recon-
struction, first developed by Johann Radon in the early 20
th
century
1
. Traveltime tomography is widely used in geophysical
studies to image subsurface velocity variation, mainly for seis-
mic waves. It uses first arrival traveltime information from the
transmitted wave as input data to construct earth structure and
velocity models
2
.
Traveltime tomography measurements can be accomplished
using different kinds of waves, such as acoustic or electromag-
netic (EM) waves. The basic theory of cross-well EM tomography
has been studied and detailed in many papers
3-5
. Also, several
types of equipment have been developed for cross-hole EM
tomography
6
. Most of this equipment uses a low frequency
controlled source EM (CSEM) method and system to image
subsurface and subsea conductivity
7, 8
.
To conduct traveltime measurements using EM waves, a
signal is launched into a medium by a source antenna and is
40 FALL 2013 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY
Illuminating the Reservoir:
Magnetic NanoMappers
Authors: Abdullah A. Al-Shehri, Dr. Erika S. Ellis, Jesus M. Felix Servin, Dr. Dmitry V. Kosynkin,
Dr. Mazen Y. Kanj and Dr. Howard K. Schmidt
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 2:11 PM Page 40
an accurate 1D image of the MNP volume within the lab scale
reservoir. 3D imaging and inversion experiments using the
same test bed are currently ongoing. The next step is to
demonstrate the concept in shallow wellbores in the field. This
article will outline the MNM concept, experimental test bed,
results and discussion.
MAGNETIC NANO-PARTICLES (MNPS)
MNPs are the enabling element in MNM technology. They are
used as contrast agents due to their super paramagnetic (high
) properties. Once they are injected (with the fluid) into the
fracture/reservoir, they will significantly slow the propagation
of EM waves between the transmitter and receiver as the waves
pass through the front. A matrix of traveltimes collected over
the entire reservoir should differentiate between sand/rock,
injection fluid and MNP-loaded volumes. We expect to use the
resulting matrix of time delays, with inversion, to create a 3D
image of the flood front.
The MNPs were selected because of the ease of preparing
them in large amounts, their high chemical stability in water in
the absence of oxygen and their high magnetic permeability,
Figs. 1 and 2. We adapted the preparation procedure described
in Lu, et al. (2007)
12
, to prepare a mixture of MNPs at a con-
centration of 10,000 ppm.
THE CONCEPT OF THE MNM PROGRAM
The MNM approach capitalizes on the MNPs super paramag-
netic property to delay the propagation of EM waves while
passing through the injected fluid. EM waves travel at c =
3.010
8
m/s in a vacuum, but they slow down substantially
when they pass through a medium and interact with the atoms
of the medium. This interaction denotes the permittivity and/or
permeability of the medium. Equation 1 describes the speed of
the EM waves in a given medium.
(1)
where c is the speed of light in a vacuum, V is the speed in the
medium,
r
is the relative magnetic permeability of the
medium, and
r
is the relative electrical permittivity of the
medium.
According to the above equation, as the EM waves pass
through the MNP concentration with high , the propagation
speed will decrease, showing an increased time delay in the
received signal along the MNP front. Figure 3 illustrates the
transmitter receiver array configuration of MNM across a
fluid injected in the reservoir and the resulting time delay as the
EM waves pass through the MNP front. A pulsed transmitter
is located in a borehole to emit the EM waves. The radiated
waves propagate through the reservoir and are detected at the
receiving array located in a parallel borehole. The first peak
arrival time information (first significant received signal peak
from the receiver array) is used to produce a matrix of travel-
time vs. antenna position throughout the reservoir, which can
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2013 41
Fig. 1. TEM image of MNPs.
Fig. 2. Super paramagnetic MNPs are attracted to a magnet outside the sample jar.
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 1:19 PM Page 41
be processed by 3D inversion software to produce the spatial
tomography maps
11
.
3D TOMOGRAPHY OF RESERVOIRS USING MNM
As previously mentioned inversion software is needed to
process and interpret the time delay measurements produced
from a MNM test and to produce tomographic maps of the
flood front. A tomographic inversion method that uses first
arrival traveltime information is the appropriate method to
analyze MNM collected data and surveys. There are many
inversion methods developed to extract the first arrival travel-
time and amplitude spectra information from cross-hole radar
measurements to reconstruct electromagnetic velocity and
attenuation distribution in earth materials. These methods in-
clude straight-ray tomography
13
, curved-ray tomography
14
and traveltime tomography
11
. Since the goal of MNM is to
map the variations in magnetic permeability using first arrival
traveltime information, the traveltime tomographic inversion
method will be used.
EXPERIMENTAL TEST BED
The experimental setup used a 2,000 liter tank half filled with
wet sand as a reservoir model. In addition, a PVC pipe was
placed through the center of the tank to mimic the borehole
for the transmission source, as depicted in Fig. 4. The tank was
divided into four quadrants, three of them containing a buried
five gallon plastic container each (diameter of 27 cm) filled with
different media: air, water and MNPs. The last quadrant was
empty, containing wet sand only. For each quadrant, the total
distance from the borehole (transmitter) to the volume side
was 13.5 cm. The distance from the opposite side of the vol-
ume to the outside wall of the tank was also 13.5 cm. There-
fore, for shots directly through the volumes, the EM wave
traveled through 13.5 cm of wet sand and 27 cm of volume
medium plus an additional 13.5 cm of wet sand to the receiver
antenna (a total distance of 54 cm). This is depicted in Fig. 5.
An in-house built 1 kV spark gap with 3 cm loop was used
to generate 2 GHz pulsed EM waves with a wavelength of 15
cm, Figs. 6a and 6b. A single loop of 3 cm magnetic wire
42 FALL 2013 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY
antenna was attached on top of and normal to the face of the
spark gap to record the magnetic portion of the transmission
waveform. The spark gap and its antenna were fixed to a
moveable sliding plate attached to a wooden slat placed down
the center of the PVC pipe (borehole) to easily change the posi-
tion of the transmission source. The receiver antenna was
made of a 3 cm single loop of magnetic wire and placed out-
side the tank, positioned 90 radially from the spark gap face
to obtain the maximum far field magnetic signal. An Agilent
DSO7104 oscilloscope capable of 4 GHz time capture was
used to monitor transmission and receiver waveforms. Lab-
view 2010 was used to control the scope and capture wave-
form data. MatLab software was used to filter and process the
Fig. 4. 2,000 liter tank (reservoir model).
Fig. 5. Top-down schematic of volume placement in tank.
Fig. 3. Schematic cross section of the transmitter receiver array configuration
across a fluid injected in the reservoir and the corresponding delay in the received
waveform as the EM waves pass through the MNP front.
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 1:19 PM Page 42
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2013 43
data; it includes a first arrival peak picking routine. For each
data set, 100 shots from the scope were captured and averaged
to improve the signal to noise ratio.
The experiment was performed in two phases. The first
phase of the experiment was to determine the time delays
based on the different media contained in the buried volumes.
For these tests, the transmitter and receiver antennas were
fixed on the tank with the EM waves shooting directly through
the middle of the buried volume (i.e., the signal passing
through both wet sand and the volume medium). This data
showed the basic differential time delays for air, sand, water
and MNPs, which inversely compared their respective material
properties (permittivity and permeability).
The second phase of the experiment was to create a 1D
image of a single quadrant of the tank to find the buried vol-
ume with respect to the vertical position of the transmitter and
receiver. In this case, the transmitter (spark gap) and receiver
antenna positions were varied over 10 vertical positions down
the tank in 10 cm increments, starting with air, moving
through the buried volume and then going below the volume
through wet sand only. This data presented a 1D vertical im-
age of the MNP volume based on the time delay differences as
the transmitter and receiver moved vertically down the tank.
Figure 7 shows a schematic of the 1D imaging experiment.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The first phase results show fundamental time delay differ-
ences and corresponding material properties for four different
media: air, sand, water and MNPs. Figure 8 (top) shows the
signal from the spark gap transmitter antenna (Tx), and Fig. 8
(bottom) shows the entire received signals shot from Tx
through the center of each buried volume for each of the four
tank quadrants. The red dotted line represents the beginning of
the transmission pulse (time = 0). The first peak for each wave-
form was determined by a statistical Matlab subroutine and is
shown for each quadrant (medium) in Fig. 8 (bottom). The
time at which the first peak appears in Rx is the time delay for
the transmitted EM wave to travel through 27 cm of wet sand
plus 27 cm of volume medium. Note that although the entire
Tx and Rx waveforms are shown in Fig. 8, the area of interest
is the first peak of the Rx past Tx time = 0. The rest of the
waveform is ignored for traveltime tomography.
Fig. 6a. In-house built 1 kV spark gap with 3 cm loop used as a pulsed DC
transmission source.
Fig. 6b. Actual photo of the in-house built 1 kV spark gap.
Fig. 7. Experimental schematic of 1D MNP volume imaging in the lab scale
reservoir.
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 1:19 PM Page 43
Table 1 shows the measured time delays (first peak from
Fig. 8 waveforms) and calculated time delays for EM waves
traveling through the air, wet sand, water and MNP volumes
in addition to the wet sand surrounding the volumes. The EM
waves traveled a distance of 54 cm; part of it was within the
volume medium, while the other part was in the wet sand sur-
rounding the volume on both sides, as previously illustrated in
Fig. 5. Comparative time delay values for each medium were
calculated based on Eqns. 1 and 2 using the published values
of and for air (1, 1.3), water (1, 80), wet sand (1, 25) and
MNP (2, 80), respectively.
t =
d
__
V
(2)
where t is traveltime, V is the speed in the medium, and d is
the distance.
The of wet sand was chosen as 25 for our calculation, from
published values that vary from 20 to 30 depending on the type
of sand
15
. The of MNPs was the same as for water, 80, while
the could not be measured due to the large paramagnetic
properties of the fluid, but it was estimated to be 2.
It is noted that the delay for the air volume quadrant was
smaller than expected because the calculated time was a line-
of-sight estimate neglecting multipath, refraction and air-short
effects. Such effects are apparently non-negligible in the case of
the air volume. In this case, the EM waves should have trav-
eled through two different media (wet sand and immersed air
volume) in three stages: from the transmitter through 13.5 cm
of wet sand, then through the immersed air volume, and finally
through 13.5 cm of wet sand from the other side, Fig. 5. Sub-
sequently, it seems that it traveled through the shortest path.
For the other three quadrants and for the entire air medium in
the top of the tank, the measured and expected delays are in
general agreement. This data show that the lab scale system
can accurately model propagation speeds of EM waves
through selected medium based on differences in their and .
To verify known medium permeabilities with measured time
delays, a back calculation of Eqns. 1 and 2 was used to solve
for . The calculated values are shown in Table 2.
It is obvious that the back calculated for the air volume is
44 FALL 2013 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY
Fig. 8. The Tx signal (top) and the Rx signal (bottom) for each of the four main
quadrants showing different measured arrival times for air, sand, water and
MNPs.
Fig. 9. Vertical position vs. arrival time for the MNP quadrant of the tank
showing a 1D image of the MNP volume.
Medium
Time
Delay (ns)
Measured
Time
Delay (ns)
Calculated
Air only through 54 cm
near top of the tank
2 2
Air volume (27 cm) plus
wet sand (27 cm)
3.5 5
Wet sand (54 cm) 9.5 8-10
Water volume (27 cm)
plus wet sand (27 cm)
12 12
MNP volume (27 cm)
plus wet sand (27 cm)
24.5 16









Table 1. Measured vs. calculated time delays of different media in lab scale system














Medium
Calculated from Measured
Time Delay
Air only 1.0
Air volume 1.1
Water volume 1.0
Wet sand 1.0
MNP volume 6.2
T
Table 2. The back calculated values of from measured time delays in the
reservoir model
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 1:19 PM Page 44
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2013 45
higher than the known permeability (Eqn. 1) for the same
reason as given for the difference between calculated and
measured time delay, as was seen in Table 1.
The second phase of the experiment was to image the vol-
ume of MNPs vertically through the tank, starting with the air
in the empty space at the top of the tank, moving down
through the volume and finally moving through the wet sand
underneath the volume. Figure 9 illustrates the vertical posi-
tion of the transmitter and receiver vs. arrival times for the
MNP quadrant of the tank. The first five stations correspond
to wave propagation through air only. Stations 6 and 7 show
the time delays getting longer as the wave starts moving
through the neck, tapering off the volume, while the largest
time delay (24.5 ns) occurs at Station 8 when the wave moves
through the entire 27 cm diameter of the volume. Station 9 at
the interface of the bottom of the volume with the wet sand is
reflected in the time delay as the wave moves partially through
the MNPs and partially through wet sand. At Station 10, the
wave travels through the wet sand only, with the same time de-
lay as obtained in the first phase of the experiment at 9.5 ns.
The plotted data thereby revealed a 1D image of the volume of
MNPs through the received time delays.
The success in accurately differentiating time delays with re-
spect to different reservoir-like model media and the ability to
create a 1D image of the MNPs using traveltimes demonstrate
the concept of using MNPs in the injected fluids to spatially
map the flood front inside the reservoir.
CONCLUSION
Lab tests have demonstrated the capability of using traveltime
tomography to differentiate between different media in a 2,000
liter tank (reservoir model). The first arrival traveltimes of EM
waves passing through air, wet sand, water and MNPs were
accurately measured and processed to generate a 1D image of
the container within the lab scale reservoir at good resolution.
This achievement is a big step forward on the road to exhibiting
the concept in shallow wellbores in the field. The next phase
involves 3D vertical imaging of the tank quadrants using the
MNM system and specialized bh_tomo software to automate
first peak picking, data sequencing and inversion to create an
accurate 3D image of the lab scale reservoir. The first field test
in shallow wellbores is planned for the second quarter of 2013.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the management of Saudi
Aramco for their permission to publish this article. We would
also like to acknowledge the valuable assistance received from
Jim J. Funk and Mohammed H. Subahi.
This article was presented at the SPE Middle East Oil and
Gas Show and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain, March 10-13,
2013.
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46 FALL 2013 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY
BIOGRAPHIES
Abdullah A. Al-Shehri joined Saudi
Aramco in 2002 as a Communications
Engineer. He first worked with the
Communication Engineering &
Technical Support Department.
Abdullah undertook a number of
advanced development projects as well
as the design and implementation of the latest technologies
related to satellite and wireless communications systems.
In late 2009, he moved to the Exploration and
Petroleum Engineering Center Advanced Research
Center (EXPEC ARC) and joined the in situ sensing and
intervention focus area of the Reservoir Engineering
Technology Team. Abdullah participated in industry
leading research on nanotechnology to employ the concept
of sending nano-agents (Resbots) through the reservoir
to collect data for engineering functions. Also, he worked
on the Magnetic NanoMappers research program in an
effort to develop new technology for tracking flood front in
the reservoir.
Abdullah received his B.S. degree from King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia, in 2002, and his Applied Science M.S. degree
from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
both in Electrical Engineering.
Dr. Erika S. Ellis is a Petroleum
Engineer working in Saudi Aramcos
Reservoir Engineering Group
researching nano and micro electro-
mechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS) to
help illuminate oil reservoirs. Prior to
joining the company in 2013, she
spent 9 years at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago,
IL, developing thick-film gas micro-sensors for a variety of
applications. Erika spent the last 14 years in R&D in
Dallas, TX, developing and characterizing new materials
and process integration schemes for MEMS applications
for Fortune 500 semiconductor companies.
She received her B.S. degree in Applied Physics from
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL, and her M.S. degree in
Applied Physics from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb,
IL. Erika then received her Ph.D. degree in Materials
Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at
Arlington, TX.
Jesus M. Felix Servin has been working
with Saudi Aramcos Reservoir
Engineering Technology Team focused
on in situ sensing since February 2012.
In this short time, he has made major
contributions in the ongoing success of
the Magnetic Nano-Mappers project,
including hardware design and in-house fabrication, instru-
mentation, computer programming and data processing.
Jesuss interests include the development of nano-scale
strategies for reservoir illumination and electromagnetic
methods for reservoir description and monitoring.
He received his B.S. degree in Engineering Physics from
Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey,
Monterrey, Mexico, and a M.S. degree in Chemical and
Biological Engineering from King Abdullah University of
Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Dmitry V. Kosynkin is a Petroleum
Engineer in Saudi Aramcos Reservoir
Engineering Technology Division.
Before joining Saudi Aramco, he
worked as a Research Scientist at Rice
University, Houston, TX, studying
synthesis and applications of hybrid
nanomaterials.
Dmitry received his M.S. degree in Chemistry from M.V.
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, in
1989 and then received his Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry
from the University of Houston, Houston, TX, in 1997.
Dr. Mazen Y. Kanj is a Petroleum
Engineering Specialist with the
Reservoir Engineer Technology Team
of the Exploration and Petroleum
Engineering Center Advanced
Research Center (EXPEC ARC). He is
the focus area champion on reservoir
in situ sensing and intervention. Before joining Saudi
Aramco in 2003, Mazen held a Senior Scientist position
with the Poromechanics Institute of the University of
Oklahoma, Norman, OK. He was an invited member of
the Poromechanics Committee of the American Society of
Civil Engineers and an Associate Editor for the Society of
Petroleum Engineers SPE Journal.
Mazen received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the
American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, and a
Ph.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma, Norman,
OK, all in Civil Engineering.
65165araD7R1_65165araD7R1 8/7/13 1:19 PM Page 46
SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY FALL 2013 47
Dr. Howard K. Schmidt is a Petroleum
Engineering Consultant with the
Reservoir Engineering Technology
Team of the Exploration and
Petroleum Engineering Center
Advanced Research Center (EXPEC
ARC). He leads the Magnetic
NanoMappers project within the In-Situ Sensing and
Intervention (ISSI) focus area. Prior to joining Saudi
Aramco, Howard was at Rice University where he served
as Senior Research Fellow in the Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering Department and Executive
Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory. While
there, Howard also served as the founding Senior
Nanotechnology Advisor to the Advanced Energy
Consortium (AEC).
He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in
1980, and his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry in 1986, both
from Rice University, Houston, TX.
Howard has 50 peer-reviewed publications and a dozen
issued patents.
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