Formation fluid samples provide valuable information for field development. However, drilling mud filtrate contamination reduces the sample quality drastically, and the current industry technique to obtain clean fluid samples requires a long pumping time. This can be costly, especially in deep offshore wells. This paper presents a new formation fluid sampling apparatus which separates filtrate contamination efficiently from the virgin reservoir fluid; the fluid sample cleans up much faster than with the conventional approach. In addition to the new sampling apparatus, downhole fluid characterization techniques, including contamination monitoring, composition measurement, and single-phase assurance, are presented. These provide real-time fluid property information, and help ensure that representative samples are obtained. Field test results show the value of these new techniques to the sampling process.
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