Patent ID: 6831470
Filing Date: 2004-12-14
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A method of estimating water conductivity in a multiphase mixture of water and other substances comprising the steps of:obtaining values representing the mixture permittivity and mixture conductivity of the multiphase mixture; obtaining a relationship between water conductivity and water permittivity; and estimating water conductivity of the multiphase mixture using at least the values representing mixture permittivity, mixture conductivity, and the relationship between water conductivity and water permittivity, wherein when the mixture is substantially water continuous, the ratio of the mixture conductivity to the mixture permittivity is assumed to be approximately eaual to the ratio of water conductivity to water permittivity, wherein when the mixture is substantially oil continuous, a trend of the ratio of the mixture conductivity to the mixture permittivity is matched with a theoretical prediction of the ratio for a given water conductivity, and wherein when the mixture is intermittently oil and water continuous, the ratio of values representing water-rich segments of mixture conductivity to mixture permittivity is assumed to be approximately equal to the ratio of water conductivity to water permittivity.