HIGH RESOLUTION RESISTIVITY IMAGING OF FLUID INJECTIONS

The ability of earth materials to conduct electricity will vary, often significantly, as a result of the injection of fluid. Thus, observing the volumetric variation in resistivity with respect to time results in time sequenced images of the wetting front as it advances through a rock pile or into a geologic formation. In some instances, the hydraulic conductivity can be derived directly from the time series electrical data. The High Resolution Resistivity method (HRR^TM)has been successfully adapted to the monitoring of a surfactant flood experiment in an oil field as well as a high pressure injection of a lixiviant into a gold heap leach stack.