As a conservative contaminant, chlorides move through the hydrologic cycle as a result of physical processes. Objectionable because of undesirable physical effects (taste, odor, corrosion), chlorides survive most processes that remove other ions from naturally occurring waters. Finding the cause of increasing chloride concentrations in a fresh-water aquifer has long been an environmental concern. While chloride contamination can occur as a result from many sources, natural and manmade, in oilfield areas production brines are often blamed as the sole source of the problem. Existing literature or guidance on the subject of brine source identification usually describes academic or government studies too area-specific and expensive to be useful for the average investigation. This talk will describe some of the successful investigation strategies the authors have used, including a simple brine investigation method developed by the authors and presented at the 1995 SPE/EPA E&P Environmental Conference. The emphasis will be on low-cost approaches and procedures that can be used to differentiate among the many possible chloride contamination sources and oilfield brines.

End_of_Record - Last_Page 11---------------