Understanding the significance of flaring in offshore, refinery, and petrochemical operations

Flaring has long been an integral part of offshore oil and gas, refinery, and petrochemical operations, serving as a critical safety mechanism to manage excess gas. However, with increasing environmental regulations and economic pressures, operators are scrutinising their flaring practices to minimise emissions and maximise efficiency..

Topics: Gamma Scanning, tracers, Tru-Scan, leak tests, gamma ray inspection, flare system tracers, excessive flare flow, leak detection, increase production rates, optimising oil and gas production, oil processing, gas processing

In January 2025, Tracerco partnered with World Oil to host a webinar on the latest innovative advancements in tracer technology for reservoir management. As part of the session, industry leaders shared insights on how low-risk, non-intrusive chemical tracer technology is reshaping the approach to phase production and well communication. Here’s a breakdown of the top 3 questions discussed during the Q&A section of the event:

Topics: Flow assurance, reservoir analysis, reservoir characterisation, tracers, well communication, chemical tracer technology, inflow tracer

In the high-stakes world of oil and gas production, every second counts. A minor disruption in operations can have a domino effect, leading to significant financial losses.

Topics: neutron backscatter, Gamma Scanning, tracers, Tru-Scan, gamma ray inspection, oil production, PhaseFinder, separator study, oil in water, water production, oil residence time test, increase production rates, optimising oil and gas production, gas undercutting, oil processing, gas processing, separator systems, liquid carry-over, hydrocarbon separation train

Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, interwell, reservoir characterisation, fluid inflow, tracers, oil inflow, water inflow, inflow measurement, inflow, waterflood, injected water, water breakthrough, water production, water tracer, chemical tracer technology, wellbore, mature offshore field, waterflood injection, residual oil saturation, polymer tracer technology, reservoir fluid inflow, inflow tracer

Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, interwell, reservoir characterisation, fluid inflow, tracers, oil inflow, water inflow, inflow measurement, inflow, waterflood, injected water, water breakthrough, water production, wellbore, mature offshore field, waterflood injection

Tracer technology is proven to be critical to assess remaining oil saturation measurement in a reservoir following secondary recovery. It allows the measurement of remaining oil saturation between wells, rather than just surrounding a wellbore. This technique is normally used before and after an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project to establish changes in crude oil saturation.

In this blog we will discuss using a case study example, how our range of specialist chemical tracers can allow operators to identify the amount of remaining oil saturation in a mature waterflood and determine the effectiveness of specific enhanced oil recovery techniques at reducing remaining oil to residual levels.

Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, interwell, reservoir characterisation, fluid inflow, tracers, oil inflow, water inflow, inflow measurement, inflow, waterflood, injected water, water breakthrough, water production, water tracer, chemical tracer technology, wellbore, mature offshore field, waterflood injection, residual oil saturation, remaining oil saturation

In this blog post we will highlight and discuss, the top five questions we are asked about a Tracerco™ Interwell Study.

Topics: chemical tracers, reservoir, reservoir analysis, interwell, reservoir characterisation, tracers, smart tracers, tracer technology, well development

Selection of the stimulation target in unconventional shale formations is an important factor that impacts well productivity. In thick unconventional formations, it is essential that operators quantify the production of each stage of hydraulic fracturing executed in the well, in order to establish the most productive rock. It is also important for operators to be certain that every section of the stimulated well is effectively contributing to overall well production and clean-out of all stages has been achieved. In addition, other development challenges include optimal spacing between perforation clusters, stages and wells, allowing operators to optimize drilling and completion costs and maximize enhanced ultimate recovery (EUR).

This Blog describes the application of chemical tracers in a multi-stage horizontal well to gain insight on stage productivity in order to plan an optimal field development strategy.

Topics: chemical tracers, unconventional wells, reservoir, fracking, reservoir characterisation, tracers, unconventional oil and gas, smart tracers, tracer technology, frac wells, shale, shale production, well development

Tracerco, patented, pioneered and continues to enhance technology that enables the measurement of individual gas, oil, and water stage production along the length of a wellbore, without well intervention. This inexpensive technology provides confirmation that a wellbore is open to flow, identifies and quantifies stage flow contribution of each phase, and provides measurement of drainage area connectivity - simply by adding small amounts of unique chemical tracers to each stage’s stimulation fluid.

Topics: chemical tracers, unconventional wells, reservoir, fracking, reservoir characterisation, tracers, unconventional oil and gas, smart tracers, tracer technology, frac wells, shale, shale production, well development

A customer wanted to test two different lithologies and compare the performance of both, in the gas window of the Neuquén Basin, in Argentina. For that reason, a slanted two-horizon target well was drilled, distributing 10 stages in the upper zone, and 10 stages in the lower zone. The intermediate zone, which was not considered a main target, received one stage.

21 unique organic gas and water tracers were added to each of the different stages of the well during stimulation. The injection was controlled and care was taken to tag all stages in the same way, ensuring that the tracers would penetrate deep into the fracture structure and make contact with formation hydrocarbons. Subsequent flowback and sample analysis for the presence of the injected tracers allowed relative gas and water flow from the different stages to be evaluated.

Topics: chemical tracers, unconventional wells, reservoir, fracking, reservoir characterisation, tracers, unconventional oil and gas, smart tracers, tracer technology, frac wells