SkyGeo technical paper cover with power lines and a satellite dish, describing how InSAR monitoring protects linear infrastructure and energy networks.

In-situ Combustion Front Monitoring and Tracking Using InSAR

Technical Paper

This paper details the use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to locate the combustion front during In-Situ Combustion (ISC) enhanced oil recovery.

 

  • Learn how Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can be used to accurately locate the combustion front during in-situ combustion (ISC) enhanced oil recovery.

  • Understand the unique time derivative signature—the maximum rate of surface deformation (surface velocity)—that pinpoints the combustion front's exact position.

  • Discover the expected range of lateral surface deformation, which is typically on the order of 1-100 mm/year, varying with reservoir depth and overburden.

  • See a practical demonstration of the methodology successfully applied to the Suplacu de Barcau Field in Romania, with results matching historical data for 2006 and 2010.

  • Grasp the principle, confirmed by both numerical and analytical models, that the maximum surface deformation rate corresponds precisely to the location of the thin, high-temperature combustion front.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Reservoir engineers, EOR project teams and operators running in-situ combustion projects who need a clearer view of where the combustion front is moving.

  • How InSAR measurements of surface movement can be used to locate and track the combustion front during in-situ combustion, supported by numerical and analytical modeling.

  • The front sits beneath the point where the ground surface is moving fastest. Mapping surface velocity with InSAR shows where that peak is, and so where the front is.

  • Typically 1 to 100 mm per year, depending on reservoir depth and overburden.