Introduction To Reservoir Petrophysics

INTRODUCTION TO
RESERVOIR
PETROPHYSICS
MUHAMMAD SHOAIB (ROLL # 22)

HAFIZ MUHAMMAD BILAL (ROLL # 04)
INDEX
S.NO
TITLE
PAGE NO
POROSITY
04
COMPRESSIBILITY
13
SATURATION
26
PERMEABILITY
41
FORMATION RESISTIVITY
72
FORMATION VOLUME FACTOR
85
SOLUTION GAS RATIO
92
RESERVES IN PLACE
94
WETTABILITY
103
10
CAPILLARY PRESSURE
108
Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)
Page 2
RESERVOIR PETROPHYSICS
It is basically the study of physical, mechanical, electrical and thermal
properties of reservoir rocks that describe the behavior and occurrence
of rock soil and fluids and their interaction.
RESERVOIR ROCK
Porous and permeable rock containing oil and gas trapped within void spaces of this rock
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RESERVOIR ROCK
Porosity
Permeability
Fluid saturation
Compressibility
Wettability
Capillary pressure
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Page 4
POROSITY
It is the ratio of pore volume to the bulk volume
Porosity = = Vp / Vb = (Vb Vgr)/ Vb
Where;
Vb= bulk volume
Vgr= Sand grain volume
Vp= pore volume
According to this definition, the porosity of porous material could have any value, but porosity of most
sedimentary rocks is generally less than 50%.
FACTORS GOVERNING THE MAGNITUDE OF POROSITY
Uniformity of grain size
If small particles of silt and clay are mixed the large sand particles, the effective porosity will be
constantly reduced as shown in figure. These reservoirs are referred to as dirty or shaly.
Degree of cementation
The highly cemented sandstone has low porosity whereas the soft unconsolidated rocks have high
porosities. Cementation takes place within the void spaces which reduces porosity.
Amount of compaction
Generally porosity is lower in deeper, older rocks due to overburden pressure with increase in depth.
Method of Packing
With increase in over burden pressure, poorly soughed angular grains show a progressive change from
random packing to a closer packing due to the crushing and deformation of sand particles.
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ENGINEERING CLASSIFICATION OF POROSITY
Absolute Porosity
It is the ratio of total void spaces in the sample to the bulk volume of that sample.
Effective Porosity
It is the ratio of interconnected void spaces in the sample to the bulk volume of that sample.
GEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF POROSITY
Primary Porosity
It is the porosity of rock sample that was developed at the time of deposition of sediments. It can be
classifies as;
Inter crystalline:
These are voids between cleavage planes of crystals, voids between crystal lattice. These voids are sub
capillary that is less than 0.002mm in diameter, this porosity is called microporosity.
Inter Granular:
These are voids between grains that are interstitial voids of all kinds in all types of rocks. These openings
range from sub-capillary to super capillary that is voids greater than 0.5mm.
Bedding Plane:
These voids are parallel to bedding planes, bedding plane voids are caused by the differences in
deposition of sediments, particle size and arrangement and the environment of deposition.
Secondary Porosity
It is the result of geological processes after the deposition of sediments.

It can be classified as;
Solution Porosity:
Channels due to the solution of rocks by circulating warm or hot solution, openings are caused by
weathering such as enlarged joints and later enlarged by solutions.
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Dolomization:
The process by which limestone transforms into dolomite as:
2CaCO3 + Mg+2
CaMg (CO3)2 + Ca+2
When the magnesium ions pass through the pore spaces of limestone, it displaces calcium ions of
limestone and converts into dolomite. Since the ionic size of Mg is smaller as compared to ionic size of
Ca so calcium ion replaced by magnesium ion occupies less space and porosity increases.
It can mathematically be explained as;
Porosity = (VBULK VGRAIN) / VBULK
Since the bulk volume remains same but the grain volume decreases so porosity increases.
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LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS OF POROSITY

Two of the three parameters are required for calculating porosity.
1. Bulk volume
2. Matrix volume
3. Pore volume
BULK VOLUME
From dimensions
For cylindrical core; VB = r2h
Displacement method
VOLUMETRIC (measure volume)
Weigh core sample a

To prevent test liquid to go into sample, coat it with paraffin
Weigh paraffin coated sample b
Weight of paraffin = b-a
Volume of paraffin = weight /density of paraffin (0.9 gm/cc)
Place paraffin coated sample in test liquid and observe change in volume.
Change in volume of testing liquid will be the sum of bulk volume and paraffin volume.
Bulk volume = change in volume of testing liquid volume of paraffin
GRAVIMETRIC(measure mass)
Weigh saturated core sample (actual weight)
Immerse in liquid in Russel tube and its weight will reduce (apparent weight)
Weight of liquid displace = actual weight apparent weight (Archimedes principle)
Bulk volume = weight of liquid displaced / density of displacing liquid
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MATRIX VOLUME
In case of clean formation like clean sand, densities of formation are known so
VM = dry weight/density of formation
Densities of formations (in gm/cc)
Sandstone 2.65, limestone 2.71, dolomite 2.87
These are matrix densities of core sample having 0% porosity.
Displacement method
Reduce core sample to particle size.
VM
Place it in liquid to obtain change in volume
Change in volume will be matrix volume
Porosity obtained from this method will be total porosity
BOYLES LAW (Helium porosimeter)
P1
closed
He
evacuated
Chamber 1
Chamber 2 is evacuated
Chamber 1 is filled with He gas at pressure P1
Valve between the chambers is closed
Volume of chamber 1 is VX
Volume of chamber 2 is VY
State of gas at initial condition is; volume of gas = V1 = VX and pressure of gas = P1
Place core in chamber 2 and open valve
P2
Chamber 1
Chamber 2
open
Chamber 2
Helium gas goes into chamber 2 and pressure decreases to P2 (it will be the pressure in both
chambers)
State of gas at final condition is; volume of gas = V2 and pressure of gas = P2
By using Boyles law P1 V1 = P2 V2, V2 can be find. V1 is known as it is the volume of first chamber
Both the pressures can be known from gages.
Note that for Boyles law pressure should be in absolute so convert it by adding 14.7
(atmospheric pressure).
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Volume occupied by the gas at final condition is volume of chamber 1 + volume of chamber 2
matrix volume. Gas goes into the pores
V2 = VX + VY VM
VX + VY = VT (Total volume of both chambers)
VM = VT V2 (Matrix volume)
Note: In practical, chamber 1 was console, chamber 2 was matrix cup and valve was HV02.
PORE VOLUME
Gravimetric method
VP = (Saturation weight dry weight) / density of saturation fluid
BOYLES LAW
Hassler sleeve core holder is evacuated

Chamber 1 is filled with gas at pressure P1
Valve between them is closed
Volume of chamber 1 is VX
State of gas at initial condition is; volume of gas = V1 = VX and pressure of gas = P1
Place core sample in Hassler sleeve core holder which has same dimensions as that of core and
open valve.
Gas goes into pores of core sample and pressure decreases to P2

State of gas at final condition is; volume of gas = V2 and pressure of gas = P2
By using Boyles law P1 V1 = P2 V2, V2 can be find. V1 is known as it is the volume of first chamber
Both the pressures can be known from gages.
Note that for Boyles law pressure should be in absolute so convert it by adding 14.7
(atmospheric pressure).
Volume occupied by the gas at final condition is volume of chamber 1 + pore volume
V2 = V1 + VP
VP = V2 V1 (Pore volume)
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CALCULATION OF MATRIX DENSITY

In order to determine density of solid portion of rock (its grain density), the rock has been crushed using
an impact crusher (not a grinder). An appropriate size pycnometer, whose volume is known, is dried and
weighed, and then volume and mass of a portion of sand grains is determined using pycnometer.
Procedure
Fill the pycnometer with a liquid (hydrocarbon or water), and obtain its mass (Mpyc +M1)
Empty and dry the pycnometer
Place a sample of crushed rock in the pycnometer (about one-half the volume of pycnometer)
and determine the mass (Mpyc +Mgrains)
Fill the pycnometer (containing sand grains) with the liquid used in step 1 and determine the
mass (Mpyc +Mgrains + M1)
The sand grain density is calculated from data as follows:
Sample calculation
Known volume of pycnometer (Vpyc = 10.0cm3)

Mass of pycnometer that is measured (Mpyc = 16.57gm)
Obtain the mass after filling the pycnometer with liquid (Mpyc +M1 = 26.58gm)
Mass of liquid which is filled in known volume of pycnometer (10.0cm3) is obtaines by;
M1 = (Mpyc +M1) Mpyc = 26.58 -16.57 = 10.01gm
Density of liquid is obtained by; 1 = M1/V1 where volume of liquid is volume of pycnometer
1 = M1/Vpyc = 10.01/10.0 = 1.01gm/cm3
Fill the empty pycnometer with crushed sand grains and measure
Mpyc + Mgrains = 20.59gm
The space that is left in pycnometer is filled by adding same liquid that was used before and
measure mass i.e.
Mpyc + Mgrains + M2 = 29.175gm
Where M2 is mass of liquid that is added above crushed grains
Mass of grains can be calculated by;
Mgrains = (Mpyc +Mgrains) Mpyc = 20.59 -16.57 = 4.02gm
Mass of liquid that is added above crushed grains can be calculated by;
M2 = (Mpyc +Mgrains + M2) (Mpyc + Mgrains) = 29.175 20.59 = 8.585gm
Volume of liquid that is added above crushed grains can be calculated by;
V2 = M2/1 (1 is used as liquid is same)
V2 = 8.585/1.01 = 8.50cm3
Volume of grains can be calculated by;
Vgrains = Vpyc V2
Because volume of pycnometer is occupied by grains and liquid
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Vgrains = 10.0 8.50 = 1.50cm3

Density of grains (matrix density) can be calculated by;
(grains) = Mgrains / Vgrains = 4.02/1.50 = 2.68gm/cm3
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Page 13
TYPES OF FLUID
COMPRESSIBLE FLUID
A fluid in which volume changes with respect to pressure is called compressible fluid.
dV/dP 0
A fluid in which density changes with respect to pressure is called compressible fluid.
d/dP 0
With increase in pressure, volume decreases but with increase in pressure density increases
Density is mass per unit volume. With less pressure P1 , molecules are far so mass in unit volume is less
while mass in unit volume in case of high pressure P2 is greater so, density is less in case of pressure P1
and density is high in case of pressure P2.
INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID
A fluid in which volume does not change with respect to pressure is called incompressible fluid.
dV/dP = 0
A fluid in which density does not change with respect to pressure is called incompressible fluid.
d/dP = 0
COMPRESSIBILITY
Compressibility is basically the measure of ability of matter to be compressed under the action of
pressure.
Page 14
If we increase pressure, the volume get decrease and if we decrease pressure, the expansion will take
place. Compressibility is helpful in studying the drive mechanism of reservoir.
ISOTHERMAL COMPRESSIBLITY
It can be defined as:
The fractional change in volume per unit change in pressure at constant temperature
Our reservoirs are at constant temperature but varying pressure state.
Mathematically;
C = - (dV/dP)T / V
Reason for taking fractional change in volume
It is because change in volume depends upon initial volume of fluid which can be understand by
example that if we take 1scf from reservoir and place it in chamber of volume 1ft3 and 2ft3. If we apply
unit pressure on both chambers then volume decrease in 2 ft3 chamber will be more as compared to 1
ft3 chamber but if we calculate V/V (fractional change in volume) then it will be same in both cases and
formula become generalize i.e. if we calculate compressibility of reservoir (infinite extent) or if we
calculate compressibility of core sample, both will be same.
GAS COMPRESSIBLITY
The relation of gas compressibility and reservoir pressure (or simply the pressure) is given
below:
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The graph shows that at any particular value of pressure, how much the gas compressible is. As it is seen
from the graph that at a state of low pressure, the gas is highly compressible means with unit change in
pressure V/V (fractional change in volume) will be large as molecules are so far apart. At moderate
pressure, the compressibility is moderate and at high pressure, the compressibility is negligible (gas
behaves as incompressible) i.e. with unit change in pressure V/V (fractional change in volume) will be
small as molecules are very close to each other.
DERIVATIONS
For ideal gas
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For real gas
GRAPH OF Z (Gas deviation factor)
The graph is drawn at particular temperature. Initially when the pressure increases Z decreases as
Z=Vactual/ Videal, Vactual decreases with increase in pressure. But the time come when molecules
come very close to each other and repulsion starts and Vactual starts increasing thus Z increases.
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NUMERICAL
Find the compressibility of gas at 1000psi, 2500psi and at 4500psi assuming
Gas to be ideal
Gas to be real
SOLUTION
Ideal gas
At 1000psi: Cg = 1/1000 sip
At 2500psi: Cg = 1/2500 sip
At 4500psi: Cg = 1/4500 sip
Real gas
Cg = 1/P (dZ/dP)T /Z
At 1000psi: Cg = 1/1000 (-127x10-6)/0.83 = 1.15x10-3 sip
At 2500psi: Cg = 1/2500 0 = 1/2500 sip
At 4500psi: Cg = 1/4500 (110x10-6)/0.9 = 1x10-4 sip
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COMPRESSIBLITY OF OIL
The graph of compressibility of oil vs. pressure (reservoir pressure) is given below which can be studied
in two phases:
Above Bubble point pressure

Below Bubble point pressure
The graph is plotted in the same manner as that was plotted in case of gas compressibility such that we
take samples at different pressure and apply unit change in pressure to the sample to obtain V/V.
Above Bubble Point Pressure
When the reservoir pressure is above bubble point pressure such that in under saturated condition, the
gas remains dissolved in it and as the pressure is depleted, the free space is left which is soon occupied
by oil due to gas expansion in it hence change in volume or we can say increase in oil volume will be
there as pressure is decreasing due to expansion of dissolved gas in oil. The change in volume will not be
significant if the pressure change is occurring far above bubble point pressure but as soon as the
pressure reaches near to the bubble point pressure, the increase in oil volume will be seen significantly
showing a significant rise in compressibility value as we can see from graph.
At bubble point pressure as we can see the dramatically change of graph; this is due to variable changes
in the values of compressibility of oil at this pressure due to sudden evolution of gas.
Below Bubble Point Pressure
Below bubble point pressure, a gas cap starts forming above the oil. In this phase, as pressure is reduced
more and more gas will evolve from the oil and the volume of gas cap will increase and the volume of
liquid oil will decrease but the volume should increase with decrease in pressure and compressibility
should increase and this is what the graph is showing so the case is that however the volume of oil is
decreasing due to decrease in pressure but the volume of mass that was originally liquid occupying the
Page 19
reservoir volume (oil + dissolved gas) is increasing so the total volume change in reservoir below bubble
point will be the sum of volume change of oil and volume change of free gas (we will be taking the
volume of both because at one instant both were the same entity, gas and oil were the same thing), so
as pressure will decrease, increase in the volume will be seen rapidly with every pressure decrement
due to escaping of gas due to which the total volume of the mass will rise.
The following diagram shows how the volume increases by decreasing the pressure below bubble point
pressure.
In the above figure, V1 is the volume of mass that was originally (oil + dissolved gas) but as the pressure
is decreased below bubble point the volume increases to V2 of the same mass but now the same mass
contains both oil (with dissolved gas) and free gas and it is seen clearly that due to pressure drop the
mercury level will drop and volume increases by the mass expanding i.e. V2>V1. Volume of oil is
decreased but the volume of mass i.e. oil (with dissolved gas) + free gas increases.
DERIVATION
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NUMERICAL
The volume of sample of oil at reservoir condition at 5000psig was 59.55cc. The volume was 60.37cc at
4000psig. Calculate Co?
SOLUTION
BUBBLE POINT
Bubble point is a point at which first vapor escapes from oil. Bubble point pressure changes with
temperature.
PHASE DIAGRAM
Phase diagram is a conditions of temperature and pressure at which different phases exist.
Phase diagram for pure substance
Critical point is an upper limit of vapor pressure line and at this point, liquid and gas states are identical.
Triple point is a point at which three phases exist.
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Oil and gas reservoirs are differential on the basis of critical point. If the reservoir temperature is higher
than critical temperature then it is gas reservoir and if the reservoir temperature is less than critical
temperature then it is oil reservoir.
Bubble point pressure changes with temperature. At higher temperature T2, bubble point pressure PB2 is
greater as compared to bubble point pressure PB1 at low temperature T1.
This two phase diagram can be made after collecting samples as critical point and different parameters
are different for different reservoirs. The application of this phase diagram is that by samples, we know
phase at that time but as we know pressure of reservoir declines so by phase diagram we can predict
the phase of reservoir after some time.
Our work is not on pure substance and with reservoir, phase diagram also changes.
Retrograde reservoir is a reservoir that converts from gas to oil after some time.
FORMATION COMPRESSIBILITY (PORE COMPRESSIBILITY)
Our reservoirs are present at some depth from the surface under a pressure of overlying rocks called
overburden pressure. The overburden pressure is balanced by two pressures which are:
Fluid pressure or pore pressure (also called reservoir pressure)
Rock matrix pressure
These two pressures overcome the overburden pressure. Initially the reservoir is in the geological
equilibrium such that no deformations has occurred and the overburden pressure is balanced by the
above two mentioned pressures. As we take production, the fluid expels out from the pores and the
pore pressure such that the pressure that fluid due to its mass was applying on the rock strata or the
reservoir pressure decreases, but since the overburden pressure is constantly applying and exist there
so the pressure has to be balanced for which the rock matrixes will bear extra pressure due to which the
deformation of rock grains will take place which could either be from any of the following:
Page 22
1)
2)
3)
4)
For platy grains (like in clay) and non- platy grains (like in quartz, feldspar), due to compaction rotation
and closer packing takes place such that grains come closer to one another to reduce porosity.
In ductile grains, the deformation of grains take place and some grains may elongate under pressure to
block pore spaces.
If grains are brittle, then large grains may break into smaller ones and reduce porosity.
There may be a condition of pressure solution happen which basically means that due to overburden
pressure of rocks, there might be dissolution of rock grains such that they may dissolve into each other
or gets mixed.
The deformation of grains will reduce the porosity and as the pore volume decreases such that grains
are compacted, the bulk volume also reduces with approximately same amount provided that negligible
increase in the volumes of grains that are expand as a result of compression.
So we can say that matrix compressibility is nearly zero and pore, formation and bulk compressibility are
same such that (Cp=Cb=Cf (in general)).
Due to overburden pressure, volume in axial direction decreases and volume in lateral direction
increases in small amount but since the reservoir is completely covered by the surroundings so the
change in area is negligible and the only significant change that will occur will be in thickness which will
cause subsidence.
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DERIVATION
NUMERICAL
Calculate the porosity at 4500psi when the initial pressure and porosity are 5000psi and 18%
respectively? Pore compressibility is 10 x 10-6sip.
SOLUTION
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REASON
Q. Why compressibility of water is negligible?
Compressibility of oil is due to presence of gas in it. Gas in oil expands and contract and volume of oil
with change in pressure increases or decreases. But solubility of water is negligible as it is polar
compound and contains partial positive and partial negative ion,
H+ OHWhile gas is non- polar compound so polar compound (water) and non-polar compound (gas) cant be
soluble. On the contrary, gas and oil both are non-polar compounds so they are soluble and the
solubility of gas in oil is the reason of compressibility of oil.
Solubility depends upon pressure (increase with pressure), temperature (may increase or decrease) and
nature of solvent; hydrophilic (water loving) and hydrophilic (water hating).
APPLICATIONS OF COMPRESSIBILITY
1) Porosity can be calculated
2) Volume can be calculated
3) Understanding reservoir drive mechanism
If formation compressibility is more, initial production will be more. Recovery will be due to drive
mechanism and also due to compressibility.
4) For abnormally pressured reservoirs
Abnormal pressure reservoirs are those reservoirs whose pressures are higher than normal because of
various geological factors. Importance of this is for reservoir engineer is that production is higher in early
stages of life of field because as we produce formation compresses so we have production because of
two factors. One is Darcy forces and other is due to compaction but the production due to compaction
will deplete after certain time period. If we estimate reserves in early life, we would have wrong (large)
reserves.
5) Compressibility also helps to calculate that if reservoir pressure is depleted, the stresses may be
increased so much that it will break rock and sand starts producing.
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Page 26
SATURATION
Saturation is defined as fraction or percentage of the pore volume occupied by a particular fluid OR
It is the relative volume of fluids in a porous medium
We assume that reservoir is in state of phase equilibrium i.e. equilibrium between the phases has been
achieved; gas at top, oil at middle and water at bottom.
Phases are three i.e. gas, oil and water. Components are different like, oil with dissolved gas. We take
free water as insoluble as water is polar so its solubility is negligible.
Due to secondary migration, oil and gas displace water as we assume that our reservoir is formed in
marine environment. Initially, water is present in source rock which is displaced by oil and gas due to
difference in specific gravities in reservoir rock. When gas and oil displace water, some water remains as
water which is present around grains (stick to grains) cant be displaced as grains are rough and water is
polar compound so the saturation of water which left around grains is known as irreducible water
saturation or connate water saturation.
It means oil and gas will contain initial water saturation.

CONNATE WATER
The word connate means from birth or beginning. Connate water is the irreducible water present in oil
and gas zone. It depends on lithology like; connate water saturation in high permeability zone is low.
Page 27
INTERSTITIAL WATER
Water present in the rock, whether it is present in pores, grains or around grains, is called interstitial
water. In interstitial water, pore water, connate water and bound water all three are included. Pore
water is free water present at water zone, connate water is water present around grains and bound
water is water which dissolves in grains in crystal lattice is called bound water or water of crystallization.
Grains possess many crystals and the crystals contain water. Like in shale, water dissolves in its grains
and shale expands. Saturation of interstitial water in oil and gas zone is 10 to 40% while in free water
zone, saturation is 100%.
TRANSITION ZONE
The area between oil and water at inter-phase is known as transition zone. This zone contains both oil
and water.
In transition zone, with increase in depth water saturation increases
At the top of transition zone, connate water saturation is present but as depth increases (in graph it
increases downward), saturation of water increases and it reaches to maximum value i.e. 100% at the
bottom of transition zone and remains 100% in free water zone. If difference in density is more than
transition zone will be less like in case of mercury and water transition zone will be less as mercury and
water are nearly insoluble.
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CRITICAL OIL SATURATION

It is the minimum saturation below which oil will not flow in reservoir. Assume dry core sample,
If oil is entered into dry core sample at 10% saturation then it will first adhere to rock grains due to
wettability and if saturation is increased to 15% then oil will store in between grains but if further
saturation is increased like up to 20% then the coming oil will provide energy to already present oil so oil
flows so critical oil saturation is 20% which is the minimum saturation for the oil to flow in reservoir.
CRITICAL GAS SATURATION
The gas is non-wettable but the case is same as that in oil i.e. if saturation is increased pressure
increases such that pressure reaches the value at which flow starts so saturation at which flow of gas
starts is known as critical gas saturation. It will obviously be very small as compared to critical oil
saturation.
Consider a core saturated with oil and dissolved gas. When the pressure reaches bubble point pressure
then first bubble escapes from oil but bubble has not enough pressure to flow but as the pressure
further declines, its saturation increases and bubbles after escaping from oil starts accumulating and
results in larger bubble which has high pressure so the pressure of gas increases with increase in
saturation although the pressure of reservoir is declining and finally it reaches to saturation when the
pressure of gas increases from capillary pressure (minimum pressure for flow) which is known as critical
gas saturation.
DRIVE MECHANISMS
Solution gas drive

Rock and fluid expansion
Gas cap drive
Water drive
Combination drive
Gravity drainage
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RESIDUAL OIL SATURATION

The remaining oil left in the reservoir after displacing process (after drive mechanism) is called residual
oil and the saturation is known as residual oil saturation.
There are three types of forces in reservoir;
Gravity force
Darcys force
Capillary force
Gravity forces are due to different phases as densities of fluids are different. Darcys forces are based on
pressure difference. In case of more pressure difference, flow will be more.
Initially we discover reservoir and perforate against oil zone. At that time, gravity forces and Darcys
forces are equal.
But as we start production, pressure difference between the reservoir and well bore increases so,
Darcys forces increases and gravity forces decreases. Due to difference in pressure, oil flows. As we now
that viscosity of oil is greater than water and gas so with same pressure difference, water and gas will
flow more as compared to oil so, gas and water starts coming towards perforation which is known as gas
coning and water coning respectively. In this way, gas and water will produce and in the end oil remains
in the reservoir which is known as residual oil.
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MOVEABLE OIL SATURATION

The oil saturation that could be produced by primary drive mechanism is called moveable oil saturation.
RESOURCES
DISCOVERED
PRODUCABLE
RESERVES
UNDISCOVERED
UNPRODUCABLE
CUMMULATIVE
PRODUCTION
Movable oil saturation is given by;
Somovable = 1 Swconnate Socritical

Where Swconnate is connate water saturation and Socritical is critical oil saturation which is the minimum
saturation of oil for flow.
Consider oil reservoir in which 30% is the saturation of connate water then saturation of oil will be 70%.
Out of 70%, 15% is the critical saturation then movable oil saturation is 55%.
Somovable = 1 Swconnate Socritical

Somovable = 1 0.3 0.15 = 0.55 = 55%
Unproducable means which cant be produced like we cant produce tight gas as permeability is low.
Techniques are required which are not economical in current situations.
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SATURATION
Saturation of oil, gas and water is given by;
So = Vo / Vp
Sg = Vg / Vp
Sw = Vw / Vp
Vp is the pore volume of reservoir and it will be same in all three cases. Vw is the volume of free water
and connate water both. Vo is volume of oil only which we obtained by subtracting connate water
volume which we get by different techniques. So obtained will include critical oil saturation.
HOW INITIAL SATURATION IS CALCULATED?
In development phase, when we want to know initial saturation say saturation of oil then we should find
Vo and Vp.
CALCULATION OF Vp
To calculate Vp, we require Vb and as Vp = Vb
Initial calculation of bulk volume
Initial bulk volume of reservoir is obtained by knowing thickness and area for which we have different
methods;
Isopachous method
Contour map
Planimeter
Initial calculation of porosity
Log methods
Neutron porosity
Density porosity
Sonic porosity
Core analysis
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Now, we can calculate pore volume as

Vp = Vb
CALCULATION OF Vo, Vg and Vw
For that we should know gas oil contact and oil water contact for which we use geophysical properties.
OIL WATER CONTACT

Conductivity of water is more due to salinity i.e. due to presence of Na+ and Cl- ions. To get oil water
contact, we do resistivity log and as water is conductive than oil so resistivity of water will be less.
This resistivity log technique is known as Quick Look Technique.

FOR GAS OIL CONTACT
To obtain oil gas contact, we do neutron logging and density logging.
Neutron logging and density logging
As hydrogen content in gas is less as compared to oil so we do neutron logging. We do density logging as
well as density of gas is less as compared to oil. In neutron logging, we bombarded neutrons from
radioactive methods and from hydrogen neutron slows down so neutrons becomes more slow in case of
oil as hydrogen content is less in oil as compared to gas.
AVERAGE SATURATION
If we have different wells in an area like, 92 wells in SUI then parameters (properties) of each well
varies. Porosity of a reservoir can vary due to different compaction from top at different places and
thickness of reservoir can also vary.
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Now, to calculate saturation of whole reservoir, we calculate average saturation which is given by;
Where So is the oil saturation that varies as connate water saturation also varies in different wells. h is
the thickness and is the porosity that varies in different wells.
PROBLEM
Calculate average oil and water saturation for reservoir whose sample properties are given?
SAMPLE
1
2
3
4
5
6
SOLUTION
h
1
1.5
1
2
2.1
1.1
SAMPLE
1
2
3
4
5
6
10%
12%
11%
13%
14%
10%
h
0.1
0.18
0.11
0.26
0.294
0.11
1.054
So
75%
77%
79%
74%
78%
75%
hSo
0.075
0.1386
0.0869
0.1924
0.2293
0.0825
0.8047
Sw
25%
23%
21%
26%
22%
25%
hSw
0.025
0.0414
0.0231
0.0676
0.0647
0.0275
0.2493
Average saturation of oil will be;

So = 0.8047 / 1.054
So = 0.763 = 76.3%
Average saturation of water will be;
Sw = 0.2493 / 1.054
Sw = 0.237 = 23.7%
Average saturation of water can also be calculated by (1 So) as in the reservoir only oil and water is
present as the data suggests.
Page 34
LABORATORY METHODS OF MEASURING SATURATION

In order to determine saturation of any fluid, we should know its volume in the pores of the core and
the total pore volume of the sample core. For pore volume we know the porosity of the core samples as
we know average porosity of the region from where cores are extracted (which can be determined by
either density or sonic or neutron log) and we can find the bulk volume of each core by measuring the
dimensions through Vernier caliper and Vp=Vb.
Now for oil volume (for oil saturation) and for water volume (for water saturation) we can use either
from the following two Methods or equipment in the laboratory. We cannot find gas volume because
gas no longer remain in pores and escape during extraction of core and we find gas saturation indirectly
from Sg=1-Sw-So).
In Retort (distillation of both oil and water takes place in it)

In Dean stark apparatus (extraction of only water takes place and oil volume is determined
through gravimetric method).
RETORT APPARATUS
Page 35
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Retort means a tube used for distillation. Distillation is a method of separating mixture based on
difference in their volatility in boiling liquid mixture. It is a physical separation process and not a
chemical reaction.
Heating element converts electricity into heat energy through the process of joule heating. Joule heating
is a process by which the passage of an electric current through resistor creates heat (heat generates
due to resistivity of material). Heating element could be of Nickel or chromium.
Q I2R
Thermocouple is a temperature sensor and it works opposite to heating element (means in this heat
energy is converted into electric energy and it gives us the temperature on digital screen is shown). It is
put in between two metal plates, one at low temperature (known value) and the other is at temperature
of retort heater when the temperature difference is greater, and the voltage difference is greater and
hence current flows which gives us temperature with reference to the other metal.
Thermo controller acts as same as fuse in our houses such that whenever temperature gets increased
above the desired temperature or allowable temperature, the fuse gets melted and heating stops as
electrical circuit through heating element breaks (it may be a thermostat to control temperature by
using bimetallic strip).
Screens are present to restrict the solid contents so that they may not fall at bottom causing increase in
the fluid volume (inaccuracy comes in reading).
PROCEDURE
In retort we work in two stages:
Heating is done at first at 200oC at which all water in pores (connate water and free water) and also
the bond water (water in the crystals) vaporizes and after condensation collected in the centrifuge
tube (that is calibrated to give the extracted volume of the fluid).
In the second stage, heating is done at 600oC at which all oil is vaporize (except those of heavy
contents that forms carbon residue after thermal cracking instead of being vaporized, which stick to
the grains), after being vaporized, the oil is condensed and collected in the centrifuge tube above
the water collected.
DRAWBACKS
The water collected in the centrifuge tube is more than the water in the pores of the rocks (as
bound water is also vaporized along with the pore water and collected in the tube and we are only
concerned with pore water)
Page 36
The volume of oil collected in the tube is smaller than that present in the pores (as heavy oil
contents form solid residue that remain stick to the grains and we are concerned with total volume
of oil in the pores whether heavy or light).
FORMULAE FOR CORRECTION OF VOLUME
For the correct volume of oil and water, we use correction method for which following formulae are to
be noted:
Co = Fraction of oil left in the rock with respect to the total oil recovered, mathematically:
Correct oil volume = (1+Co) x oil recovered

Cw = Amount of excessive water recovered due to dehydration with respect to dry mass,
mathematically:
Correct water volume = volume recovered (mass of dry core x Cw)
REASON OF DIVISION
Co and Cw is divided by volume of oil recovered and dry mass of core respectively on which they
depend.
PARAMETERS FOR CORRECTION VALUES
In the first stage we work for calculating the correction values for which we take random core plug from
the plugs achieved from large core piece and dry it by some method (but it will be containing bound
water), the sample (calibrating sample) will be crushed to inch sizes and we saturate it be pouring
some known amount of water first through pipette over the crushed sample, from the poured amount,
some quantity will be absorbed and some will flow down into the centrifuge tube from which the
amount of unabsorbed water can be seen and hence the difference between pored volume and
unabsorbed volume will give us the volume introduced for water and then we do the same for oil, the oil
will displace water (we saturate it first by water and then with oil as same thing happens in the reservoir
as the reservoir is initially water saturated) and hence the volume of introduced oil and water are
calculated, now we follow the procedure of retort experiment (first heating at 200oC and then at 600oC)
finally we observe the volume of oil and water recovered that will be containing errors and then we
calculate correction value given by formula in theoretical background.
Page 37
Once the correction values are calculated, now we work on other core samples (such that test
specimen) and observe from them the in corrected oil and water volume and then by applying
correction we can get the right results from all the core samples and then calculate oil, water and gas
saturations as So=Vo/Vp, Sw=Vw/Vp and Sg=1-So-Sw. (Vw does not include bound water as we
required).
ILLUSTRATION OF FORMULAE FOR CALCULATING THE CORRECT VOLUME
Once we have calculated the correction factor from the calibrating sample then while using the formula
of the correction factor on test specimen, we know correction factor (same for all cores) and volume
recovered from that sample (different for different cores and can be observed in centrifuge tube after
extraction), now if we multiply the Co value and volume recovered we get (volume introduced-volume
recovered) or in general the unrecovered volume of oil so adding this unrecovered volume (Co x volume
recovered) to volume recovered then we will get total oil volume in pores or the correct volume such
that:
Correct volume = (Co x volume recovered) + volume recovered or (Co+1) x volume recovered.
Same is the case with correct water volume formula such that Once we have calculated the correction
factor from the calibrating sample then while using the formula of the correction factor on test
specimen, we know correction factor (same for all cores) and dry mass of that sample (different for
different cores and can be calculated by using weighing balance and putting the core on which the
experiment has been performed on it), now if we multiply the Co value and dry mass we get (volume
recovered-volume introduced) or in general the excess volume of water or bound water so subtracting
this (Cw x mass of dry sample) from volume of water recovered will give us the actual water volume in
the pores as:
Cw= volume of water recovered-(Cw x mass of dry sample)
Page 38
EXTRACTION METHOD
In this method we also find water volume occupied in the pores and oil volume in the pores (through
gravimetric measurement as only the extraction of water is possible in this experiment by this apparatus
and not of oil), the heat provided to the pore water to vaporize is not provided directly (as we did in
retort) but in this case we have a solvent in the tub at the bottom (usually toluene), the solvent could be
any hydrocarbon but it should possess all following three properties:
Its B.P>B.P. of water.

It should be immiscible with water.
Must be lighter than water.
Page 39
The heating element in the bottom region generates heat by Joule heating process and this heat is
transferred to toluene which raises its temperature until it B.P. is achieved, the toluene vapors thus
forming flow to upper region and strikes with the core sample and exchange their heat with water in the
pores of the core due to which water also vaporizes (that is why we have kept BP of solvent greater than
BP of water otherwise solvent will not be able to achieve the temperature required to boil water as if
Boiling temperature of solvent would be small as compared to that of water because at boiling point
the temperature becomes constant). The toluene vapors after exchanging some of their energy with
water flow along with water vapors into the condensing tube region (where temperature is kept low by
flowing cold water in surrounding tubes and heat always flow from hotter region to colder region), the
vapors of water and toluene after being condensed are accumulated in the graduated tube that gives us
the volume of water in the pores (we will note the reading when the increase in water volume in the
tube gets stopped). In this experiment, only the extraction of water and indeed the pore water (free and
connate water) has taken place as we have not kept a very high boiling temperature solvent and from
water volume we can calculate water saturation as Sw=Vw/Vp where pore volume can be calculated as
described earlier. Now for oil saturation we use gravimetric measurement as described below:
GRAVIMETRIC MEASUREMENT
Since, So=Vo/Vp or So= (mo/o) Vp
Or So = (mass of saturated core mass of dry core mass of water)/ oVp
In above formula, the mass of saturated core can be taken when the core plug is freshly prepared (large
core is extracted from reservoir and is cut into small plugs which are being used in the experiment and
we find their weight when they were initially saturated with water and hydrocarbons when taken from
reservoir before performing the experiment), now after the experiment has been performed, the core
will be containing oil in the pores, the oil can be removed by keeping the core in the sun or keep it
overnight as oil is volatile and evaporate and then we achieve dry core, we find its mass (dry mass) and
the mass of water can be determined through:
Mw=w x Vw; if w= 1 g/cc then mw=Vw.
IMPORTANCE OF SATURATION
1)
2)
3)
Amount of hydrocarbons can be calculated.

Moveable and residual oil saturation can be calculated.
Important in all decision making factors like no. of wells required to drill and sizing of the well
Page 40
Page 41
PERMEABILITY
It is the property of the porous medium that measures the capacity and ability of formation to transmit
fluid
It is the measurement of ease with which a liquid can flow through a porous medium
Permeability is the property of rock when we are only concerned with absolute permeability and when
we talk about effective and relative permeability then we consider it as property of fluid and rock as
well.
TYPES OF PERMEABILTIES
ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY
If the rock is saturated with one fluid then permeability is known as absolute permeability denoted by
K. It only depends on rock properties because we calculate absolute permeability when only a single
fluid exists in the pore and by the formula provided by Darcy as V = KdP/L ; since in this formula we
have already defined the parameter of viscosity such that nature of the fluid so no matter with which
fluid the core is 100% saturated, the absolute permeability will come to be same and that is why we do
not use o,w or g in suffix of K when used for absolute permeability as it is independent of nature of
fluids. There is no use of absolute permeability in our reservoirs as the oil and gas zones of our
reservoirs also contained connate water saturation that hinders the flow of gas or oil and decreases
their permeability (and the new permeability is the effective permeability), we only study the absolute
permeability in order to study the relative permeability. Absolute permeability remain constant for a
reservoir but effective and off course the relative permeabilities are changed during taking production
as saturation of oil and gas continue to change.
EFFECTIVE PERMEABILITY
The ability of one fluid to flow when other immiscible fluids are present in rock is known as effective
permeability.
When more than one immiscible fluids will be present, the other fluids will provide hindrance in the
path of the other particular fluid flow such that decreasing its flow area and hence the permeability of
that particular fluid will get decreased as compared to absolute permeability and the new permeability
obtained for that particular will be called as effective permeability which will always be less than
absolute permeability of rock. It depends on both rock and fluid properties such that in the presence of
more than one fluids, one fluid can travel much faster than the other due to low viscosity and hence its
permeability will be more (like gas as compared to oil) so it is depending on nature of fluids and also the
grains shape and size affect the permeability in general so it is depending on the rock type also.
Page 42
Effective permeability is denoted by Ko, Kg and Kw for oil, gas and water. The effective permeability of a
fluid is a strong function of the saturation of that particular fluid in the pores and hence during
production the saturation changes so the effective permeabilities are also changed.
RELATIVE PERMEABILITY
It is the ratio of effective permeability to absolute permeability of a fluid.
Kro = Ko / K
Krw = Kw / K
Krg = Kg / K
We use the concept of relative permeability when more than one effective permeabilities exist in the
rock pores.
CONCLUSION AND EXAMPLE
The concept of absolute permeability comes when a single fluid exists in the pores which are not
possible in the reservoir condition due to presence of connate water so to study this core samples are
dried and then a single fluid is allowed to pass through the rock pores.
If more than one fluid exists in the pores (which are the case of our reservoir) then the concept of
effective and relative permeabilities come as permeability of each fluid will become of smaller value as
compared to the absolute permeability value of rock.
If only one effective permeability exists in the pores (such that one fluid is flowing and all other have
saturation less than critical saturation) then the concept of only effective permeability will exist and not
relative permeability because no use of it as no other effective permeability is existing so their relative
permabilities will also be zero and only one relative permeability will exist just like effective so no need
to use relative permeability concept. The concept of effective permeability exists because however
other fluids are not flowing but still they provide hindrance in the flow of the particular fluid (that is
flowing) by reducing its flow area and reducing its permeability below absolute value.
If more than one effective permeabilities exist (more than one fluid are flowing) then we use relative
permeability concepts which is the modification of effective permeability concept.
For example
Above bubble point pressure, no gas is free to move and all the gas dissolved in the oil so the
permeability of only oil exists and not of gas and water also, as connate water is not flow able but still
the permeability of oil is not equal to absolute permeability of rock because the saturation of oil is not
100% in the rock pores due to presence of connate water which reduces the flow area of oil in pores
reducing its permeability (here we use effective permeability concept of oil).
Page 43
At bubble point, some gas molecules escape from oil which reduces the effective permeability of oil
further more (see effective permeability of a fluid does not remain same during production, as now both
connate water and gas molecules will be present in pores reducing the flow area much more but in
previous case there was only connate water in pores) but still the effective permeability of only oil exists
as gas has saturation below critical value and is not flowing (here we also use effective permeability
concept).
After critical gas saturation has been achieved, the two effective permeabilities are now present (one of
oil and the other of gas) so now we use relative permeability concept and the relative permeability of oil
is decreased further more (quickly) due to increase in relative permeability of gas (as effective
permeability of gas will have more value as compared to oil, so gas travel faster than oil occupying more
pore spaces in less time and continue to leave less space for oil molecules to occupy due to which the
relative permeability or effective has decreased very quickly (but in previous two cases the matter was
not so severe as gas was not flowing and its effective permeability was zero).
CRITERIA OF RESERVOIR:
Poor K<1md
Fair..1md<K<10md
Moderate10md<K<50md
Good..50md<K<250md
Very Good..K>250md
The larger the value of K, the lager the area covered by each well for giving production and hence lesser
the no. of wells required to drill in an area reservoir.
FACTORS AFFECTING ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY
The factors that affect porosity may also affect absolute permeability (both are properties of rocks), the
factors are:
1)
Cementation
The cementing material could be limestone, dolomite, bauxite, hematite, clay, etc. The presence of
cementing material reduces the pore area and hence by decreasing the flow area, it decreases the
permeability of rock.
2)
Grain Size
The larger the grain size, the larger the gap between grains and hence less resistance will be offered by
the rock grains in the flow of a fluid while the presence of small grains can cause much hindrance in the
flow of fluid.
Page 44
3)
Grain Shape:
The spherical grains have the greatest porosity while angular grains give small porosity value so the
permeability in rocks of grains of spherical shape is the greatest taking into account the shape of grains.
In case of four flat grains that are closely packed, permeability is less.
In case of four circular grains that are closely packed, permeability is high.
SECONDARY PERMEABILITY
Secondary permeability results from the alteration of rock matrix by;
Compaction (due to this large grains are converted into small ones and also shape of grains
change due to deformation)
Cementation
Fracturing
Solution
These are the four factors that can change the permeability such that cause secondary permeability.
Secondary permeability could be either greater or lesser than the original (primary permeability) such
that due to compaction and cementation increase, it always decreases but due to fracturing it may
increase or decrease. If the initial permeability is more, then due to fracturing secondary permeability
increases and vice versa if the initial permeability is less. Due to solution, secondary permeability
increases.
DIRTY SAND
Sand in which shale is present is called dirty sand. In sandstone formation (sandstone lithology) we have
shale presence in either of the following forms that decrease the permeability of sandstone as shale is
impermeable:
Laminar Shale
They are the thin beds of shale deposited between layers of clean sand.
Dispersed Shale
It is the shale that is adhering and coat on sand grains.
Page 45
Structural Shale
They exist as grains of clay (shale) forming part of solid matrix along with sand grains (means just
like sand grains, the shale grains are also present but in lesser amount as the lithology is sandstone due
to its dominant presence).
If we arrange them in order of increasing permeability then it would be

Clean sand>Structural Shale> Laminar Shale > Dispersed Shale
Permeability Porosity Relationship
There is no relationship between porosity and permeability for example, shale is porous and
impermeable but if we talk specifically for a particular reservoir then we could say that as porosity
increases, permeability also increases
Page 46
DRAINAGE PROCESS
It is generally assumed that reservoir rocks are deposited or formed in marine environment where water
is present initially and after that oil encroaches into pores until water saturation becomes connate water
saturation. When discovered, the reservoir pore spaces are filled with connate water saturation and oil
saturation. The laboratory procedure is to first saturate the core with water, then displace the water to
a residual or connate, water saturation with oil. This process is called drainage process. In the depletion
process, the non-wetting phase fluid is continuously increased, and the wetting phase fluid is
continuously decreased.
Drainage process is used to simulate the initial saturation distribution in the reservoir. Drainage process
occurs at the time of formation of reservoir.
IMBIBITION PROCESS
The reverse of the drainage process is imbibition process but it is not exactly reverse of drainage process
as in drainage process, 100% water is present initially but after imbibition process 100% water cant be
achieved. The imbibition process is performed in the laboratory by first saturating the core with the
water (wetting phase), then displacing the water to its irreducible (connate) saturation by injection oil.
This drainage procedure is designed to establish the original fluid saturations that are found when the
reservoir is discovered. The wetting phase (water) is reintroduced into the core and the water (wetting
phase) is continuously increased. This is the imbibition process and is intended to produce the relative
permeability data needed for water drive or water flooding calculations.
Some oil remains in the end and saturation of that oil is known as residual oil saturation.
It describes the residual oil saturation of the reservoir after the water flooding or natural water influx.
Page 47
Sum of relative permeabilities is equal to or less than one.
Kro+ Krw + Krg 1

Consider only oil is present between the pores
oil
K = 15 md (which is same for the rock)

Ko = 15 md
So, Kro= 1
If connate water is present with oil then
oil
K = 15 md and Ko = 13 md
So, Kro< 1
And Kcw = 0 (as connate water does not flow) so Krcw =0
In this case, Kro+ Krw< 1
Hence,
Kro+ Krw 1
Page 48
TWO-PHASE RELATIVE PERMEABILITY

When a wetting and a non-wetting phase flow together in a reservoir rock, each phase follows separate
and distinct paths. The distribution of the two phases according to their wetting characteristics results in
characteristic wetting and non-wetting phase relative permeabilities. Since the wetting phase occupies
the smaller pore openings at small saturations, and these pore openings do not contribute materially to
flow, it follows that the presence of small wetting phase saturation will affect the non-wetting phase
permeability only to a limited extent. Since the non-wetting phase occupies the central or larger pore
openings which contribute materially to fluid flow through the reservoir, however, small non-wetting
phase saturation will drastically reduce the wetting phase permeability. In water-oil system, water being
considered as the wetting phase.
Point 1
Point 1 on the wetting phase relative permeability shows that a small saturation of the non-wetting
phase will drastically reduce the relative permeability of the wetting phase. The reason for this is that
the non-wetting phase occupies the larger pore spaces, and it is in these large pore spaces that flow
occurs with the least difficulty.
Page 49
Point 2
Point 2 on the non-wetting phase relative permeability curve shows that the non-wetting phase begins
to flow at the relatively low saturation of the non-wetting phase and the saturation of the oil at this
point is called critical oil saturation Soc.
Point 3
Point 3 on the wetting phase relative permeability curve shows that the wetting phase will cease to flow
at a relatively large saturation and this is because the wetting phase preferentially occupies the smaller
pore spaces, where capillary forces are the greatest. The saturation of the water at this point is referred
to as the irreducible water saturation or connate water saturation (both terms are used
interchangeably).
Point 4
Point 4 on the non-wetting phase relative permeability curve shows that, at the lower saturations of the
wetting phase, changes in the wetting phase saturation have only a small effect on the magnitude of the
non-wetting phase relative permeability curve. The reason for the phenomenon at Point 4 is that at the
low saturations the wetting phase fluid occupies the small pore spaces which do not contribute
materially to flow, and therefore changing the saturation in these small pore spaces has a relatively
small effect on the flow of the non-wetting phase.
ILLUSTRATION
From point 4 to point 2

Initially saturation of oil is 100% and when saturation of oil is decreased and saturation of water is
increased initially, relative permeability of oil has not much effect as water occupies smaller pores which
do not contribute much to flow. As saturation of oil is decreased, relative permeability goes on
decreasing until it reaches critical oil saturation (saturation at which oil does not flow).
From point 1 to point 3

Initially saturation of water is 100% and when saturation of oil is increased, it occupies larger pore
spaces (due to its non-wetting behavior) and it is in these large pore spaces that flow occur with least
difficulty and relative permeability of water decreases rapidly and relative permeability of water
becomes zero at connate water saturation because at that saturation water stops flowing.
Page 50
GAS OIL RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CURVE
In the reservoir along with oil and gas, connate water is present as well. Oil is present in smaller pores as
it is wetting phase in case of gas. Gas occupies larger pore spaces as it is non-wetting phase. The relative
permeability of connate water is zero so, relative permeability of oil and gas are drawn on graph.
Relative permeability of oil Kro
Initially liquid saturation is 100% and the relative permeability of oil is 1 (we have taken assumption that
relative permeability of oil is 1 as connate-water is present with oil at 100% liquid saturation which
provides hindrance so in actual case relative permeability cant be one). When the saturation of gas
increases then relative permeability of oil rapidly decreases as gas occupies larger pore spaces and in
these large pore spaces that flow occurs with least difficulty. Now, the relative permeability of oil value
becomes zero when saturation of oil reaches residual oil saturation (saturation at which oil cant flow)
and saturation of water is connate water saturation. Total saturation of the liquid, at which relative
permeability of oil is zero, is connate water plus residual oil saturation.
Relative permeability of gas Krg
Initially saturation of gas is 100% and relative permeability of gas is 1. When the saturation of liquid is
increased, relative permeability of gas has not much effect as liquid occupies smaller pores which do not
contribute much to flow. Now, the relative permeability of gas value becomes zero when saturation of
gas reaches residual gas saturation (saturation at which gas cant flow)
Page 51
TYPES OF FLOW IN RESERVOIR
Linear flow
Radial flow
Spherical flow
LINEAR FLOW
Linear flow occurs when flow paths are parallel and fluid flows in single direction and cross-sectional
flow area is constant.
In inclined reservoir, flow can also be linear.
RADIAL FLOW
In a radial flow, fluid moves in all direction to the wells and converges at the well bore which means flow
occurs between two concentric cylinders, flow area changes at every location. Actually in reservoir,
radial flow is present. One larger cylinder is reservoir (diameter is drainage diameter or reservoir
diameter) and smaller cylinder is of well (diameter is well bore diameter). Drainage radius is the radius
up to which well can produce.
Flow occurs from reservoir to well bore due to difference in pressure.
Flow area is decreasing as radius is decreasing because A = 2rh
Page 52
Darcy derived formula for linear flow and for radial flow, we need some modification. Darcy was
hydrologist and give law for purification of water. When petroleum engineers used it then with time
they require modifications.
DARCYS LAW
Apparent velocity of fluid is directly proportional to pressure gradient and inversely proportional to
viscosity of fluid
Negative sign shows that with length, pressure decreases.
This law is only applicable for some assumptions.

ASSUMPTIONS OF DARCY LAW
Flow is linear.
Rock is 100% saturated with flowing fluid.
Isothermal condition prevails.
Porous rock is homogeneous.
Flow is laminar.
Gravity forces are negligible.
Steady state condition exists.
Incompressible flow.
Isothermal condition means temperature remains constant because with temperature increase, velocity
also increases. Gravity forces are negligible because due to gravity, flow restricts. Incompressible flow
means with change in pressure, volume remains constant i.e. dV/dP=0. Homogeneous means all the
properties are same i.e. if porosity is 20% at one point then it is same for a reservoir and if the connate
water saturation is 10% then it will remain 10%.
Laminar flow and Turbulent flow
In laminar flow, the motion of the particles of fluid is very orderly with all particles moving in a straight
line parallel to pipe wall. It occurs at low flow rate. In turbulent flow, particles move haphazardly and
velocity is high so molecules collide with greater velocity due to which friction is increased and we get
Page 53
more pressure drop. Darcy law is only valid for laminar flow and in case of turbulent flow; velocity is
directly proportional to square of pressure gradient.
Steady, unsteady and semi-steady state flow

If there is no change in pressure of fluid with respect to time then it is called steady state flow i.e.
dP/dt=0. If the change in pressure w.r.t time is constant then it is called semi-steady flow and if there is
no relation between pressure and time then it is called unsteady state flow.
Oil reservoirs having water aquifer is a steady state reservoir because pressure does not drop there.
DARCYS LAW FOR LINEAR FLOW
Page 54
As much pressure gradient is present, more will be the flow. If viscosity is high, flow will be less. K is
absolute permeability and it is independent of fluid flowing i.e. it is constant for any formation. For same
pressure gradient, whether oil or gas is present, flow will be same. q is apparent flow rate here as Darcy
considered total cross-sectional area.
Darcy considered flow from whole core (piece) but actually in reservoir, fluid only flows from pores so if
we multiply the total area with porosity which is dimensionless quantity then we get pore area i.e.
Pore area = A
Now, this pore area will give actual flow rate rather than apparent flow rate which is considered by
Darcy.
Page 55
UNITS IN C.G.S SYSTEM
FIELD UNITS
Now,
As the units we get in field are different as compared to the units that are applicable for formula i.e. CGS
units but we can convert these CGS units into field units.
It is because formula can only be used for CGS units.

Now,
Page 56
Field units are;
PROBLEM
Brine is used to measure the absolute permeability of a core plug, the core sample is 4cm long and 3
cm2 in cross-section, the brine has a viscosity of 1 cp and flowing at constant rate of 0.5 cm 3/sec under
2 atm pressure difference. Calculate absolute permeability?
Solution:
PROBLEM
Rework the above example assuming that an oil of 2 cp is used to measure the permeability under the
same differential pressure. Assuming flow rate is 0.25 cm3/sec.
Solution:
Page 57
Conclusion:
The above two numerical shows that absolute permeability is independent of fluid flowing. With any
fluid the rock is 100% saturated, absolute permeability comes to be the same.
DARCYS LAW FOR RADIAL FLOW
Page 58
UNITS IN C.G.S SYSTEM
Now, for field units
Field units are;
Page 59
AVERAGING ABSOLUTE PERMEABILITY

In Darcys law, it is assumed that reservoir is homogeneous i.e. same properties throughout. It means
absolute permeability remains constant but if our reservoir is heterogeneous then its properties like
absolute permeability changes. Change in absolute permeability may be due to change in compaction or
may be due to shale that comes in between pore spaces.
In many cases, the reservoir contains distinct layers, blocks, or concentric rings of varying permeabilities.
Also, because smaller-scale heterogeneities always exist, core permeabilities must be averaged to
represent the flow characteristics of the entire reservoir or individual reservoir layers (units). The proper
way of averaging the permeability data depends on how permeabilities were distributed as the rock was
deposited. There are three simple permeability-averaging techniques that are commonly used to
determine an appropriate average permeability to represent an equivalent homogeneous system. These
are:
Weighted-average permeability
Harmonic-average permeability
Geometric-average permeability
WEIGHTED-AVERAGE PERMEABILITY
This averaging method is used to determine the average permeability of layered-parallel beds with
different permeabilities.
LAYERED RESERVOIR WITH SAME WIDTH

Consider the case where the flow system is comprised of three parallel layers that are separated from
one another by thin impermeable barriers, i.e., no cross flow, as shown in figure. All the layers have the
same width W. Vertical changes in permeability takes place in case of layered reservoir.
It is similar to parallel resistances electrical circuit;
Page 60
Qt is the total flow rate which will is equal to the sum of flow rates through each layer. Flow will be more
where permeability is high.
Qt = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 ----- (1)
Where; Q1 is the flow rate through K1, Q2 is the flow rate through K2 and Q3 is the flow rate through K3.
Similar to parallel circuits in which current distributes in three resistances and current will pass more in
the resistor where resistance is low.
Pressure difference in different layers is same similar to voltage difference that remains same in all three
resistances in parallel circuit.
Width is same so W1 = W2 = W3 = W
The flow from each layer can be calculated by applying Darcys equation in a linear form
Where;
Qt= total flow rate

Kaverage= average permeability for the entire model
W = width of the formation
ht= total thickness
Put the values in (1)
The average absolute permeability for a parallel-layered system can be expressed in the following form:
Page 61
LAYERED RESERVOIR WITH VARIABLE AREA

Consider the case where the flow system is comprised of three parallel layers that are separated from
one another by thin impermeable barriers, i.e., no cross flow, as shown in figure. All the layers have
different width and thickness but pressure difference in layers is same.
Qt is the total flow rate which will is equal to the sum of flow rates through each layer.
Qt = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 ----- (1)
Where; Q1 is the flow rate through K1, Q2 is the flow rate through K2 and Q3 is the flow rate through K3.
The flow from each layer can be calculated by applying Darcys equation in a linear form
Page 62
PROBLEM
Given the following permeability data from a core analysis report, calculate the average permeability
of reservoir?
DEPTH, ft
3998
4002
4004
4006
4008
PERMEABILITY, md
200
130
170
180
140
SOLUTION
THICKNESS hi, ft
4
2
2
2
2
hi =12
Ki
200
130
170
180
140
hi ki
800
260
340
360
280
hiKi =2040
Page 63
HARMONIC-AVERAGE PERMEABILITY
FOR LINEAR FLOW

Permeability variations can occur laterally in a reservoir
as well as in the vicinity of a well bore. Consider figure
which shows an illustration of fluid flow through a series
combination of beds with different permeabilities. For a
steady-state flow, the flow rate is constant and the total
pressure drop P is equal to the sum of the pressure
drops across each bed, or
P= P1+ P2+ P3
Substituting for the pressure drop by applying Darcys
equation;
By simplifying, we get;
The above expression can be expressed in more general form as;
If permeability is more, pressure drop will be less and flow rate remains constant as
q = (KA P)/ L
It is similar to series electrical circuit in which current remains same in all resistances (equivalent to flow
rate that is same for each bed) and total voltage drop will be equal to sum of voltage drop across each
resistance (equivalent to pressure drop across each bed).
Page 64
PROBLEM
A hydrocarbon reservoir is characterized by five distinct formation segments that are connected in
series. The length and permeability of each section of the five bed reservoirs are given below;
LENGTH, ft
150
200
300
500
200
PERMEABILITY, md
80
50
30
20
10
SOLUTION
Li, ft
150
200
300
500
200
1350
Ki
80
50
30
20
10
(L/K)i
1.875
4.000
10.000
25.000
20.000
60.875
FOR RADIAL FLOW

Radial flow is a flow between two concentric cylinders. Radial
flow is also similar to series electric circuit as in it lateral changes
in permeability occur. Pressure changes in lateral direction with
change in permeability but flow rate remains same.
P = P1 + P2 + P3---- (1)
Darcys law for radial flow;
Page 65
From (1) we get
Flow rate will be same although flow area decreases as we come toward well bore but at the same time,
velocity increases so, Q = AV (flow rate will be same).
Since, A1> A2 but V2> V1 therefore, flow rate remains same i.e.
Q=A1 V1 = A2 V2
Page 66
PERMEABILITY DETERMINATION METHOD

Permeability is calculated through Darcys law. Absolute permeability is the property of rock and it is
independent of fluid flowing.
From Darcys law;
K = qL
AP
For determining absolute permeability, apparatus called Hassler Sleeve Core Holder is used.
Total area of core sample and length of core sample can be known easily. We create pressure difference
for the fluid to flow (P1 P2) and viscosity of fluid is known as well. Now,
Kq
For flow rate, liquid is allowed to pass through core and collected in particular time in graduated
cylinder.
Q = V / t, in cm3/sec
Where V is volume of fluid collected in particular time t.
Absolute permeability can be calculated now as;
Page 67
CALCULATION OF K BY USING GAS

Permeability measured with air or gas as the flowing fluid show different result from permeability
measured with liquid as a flowing fluid. The permeability of a core sample measured by flowing air is
always greater than permeability measured with liquid as a flowing fluid. This is because due to the
phenomenon called slippage because gases do not have a zero velocity at the contact of solid.
One of the conditions for the validity of Darcys law is the requirement of laminar flow. At low gas
pressure, this condition is broken. At low pressure, gas molecules are so far apart that they slip through
the pore channel almost without any interaction. At low pressure, gas molecules are moving randomly
so laminar flow does not exist.
In case of a liquid due to adhesive forces, velocity of liquid at solid contact is zero as it wets the solid
surface so; the molecules of liquid at solid contact do not contribute in flow rate.
At high pressure, gas is almost incompressible so it behaves as liquid and shape of curve is same and the
velocity is very low (not zero) at solid contacts.
At low pressure, when the gas molecules strike solid grains, it does not wet the solid surface so velocity
is not zero and energy is transferred back to the gas molecules at center which is used for the
movement of gas molecules. This is called slippage so the flow rate of gas is greater than flow rate of
liquid.
This effect is called Klinkenberg effect.

With increase in pressure, viscosity of gas increases so; absolute permeability in this case is dependent
on q whereas, L/AP is constant. In case of high pressure, viscosity of gas is constant as gas behaves
like liquid and then absolute permeability only depends upon flow rate.
Correction of Klinkenberg effect
Gas permeability and liquid permeability comes different due to effect called Klinkenberg effect.
Page 68
Pm = (P1 + P2)/2
At Pm and 1/Pm =0, gas permeability and liquid permeability becomes equal as shown in graph. With
increase in pressure i.e. decrease in 1/Pm error decreases. As in graph, error at 1 is less than error at 2
and error at 2 is less than error at 3. At 1/Pm = 0, error becomes zero.
Pm and pressure difference are independent of each order which can be explained by following example;
Pressure difference in both cases are same i.e. 200 100 = 10000 9900 but Pm in both cases are
different.
Pm in (1) = (100 +200)/2 = 150
Pm in (2) = (9900+10000)/2 = 9950
Pm in (2) is higher so it contains less error.
Correction of Klinkenberg effect is;
Kg = KL + c (1/Pm)
Which is obtained by slope equation y = c + mx
Page 69
HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PERMEABILITY

A permeability which is in horizontal plane is known as horizontal permeability (KH) and the permeability
which is in vertical plane is known as vertical permeability (kV).
Generally, KH is greater than KV. If KH is greater than KV so it is better to drill vertical well.
If KV is greater than KH then it is better to deviate the well
Page 70
ISOTROPIC PROPERTIES
Same properties in all direction are called isotropic properties. In case of isentropic reservoir;
KH = KV
On the contrary, properties are different in all direction in case of anisotropic reservoir so,
KH KV
Difference between homogeneous and isotropic
Homogeneous means same properties throughout while isotropic means same properties in all
direction. Consider reservoir is divided into two axes X and Y. It shows porosity of reservoir in X and Y
direction.
If the porosity of reservoir is same in X and Y direction say 20% then it is called isotropic and
homogeneous reservoir and if the porosity is different in two directions but same along one direction
say 20% along X axis and 10% along Y axis then it is called homogeneous and anisotropic reservoir.
Page 71
Page 72
FORMATION RESISTIVITY AND WATER SATURATION

Current is the flow of charges. For the flow of charges, free electrons are necessary that is why current
cant pass through wood.
Sedimentary formations are capable of transmitting an electric current only by means of the interstitial
and adsorbed water they contain. They would be nonconductive if they were entirely dry. The
interstitial or connate water containing dissolved salts constitutes an electrolyte capable of conducting
current, as these salts dissociate into positively charged cations, such as Na+ and Ca2+, and negatively
charged anions, such as Cl- and SO42-.These ions move under the influence of an electrical field and carry
an electrical current through the solution. The greater the salt concentration, the greater the
conductivity of connate water is. Freshwater, for example, has only a small amount of dissolved salts
and is, therefore, a poor conductor of an electric current. Oil and gas are nonconductors.
The electrical resistivity (reciprocal of conductivity) of a fluid-saturated rock is its ability to impede the
flow of electric current through that rock. Dry rocks exhibit infinite resistivity. The resistivity of reservoir
rocks is a function of salinity of formation water, effective porosity, and quantity of hydrocarbons
trapped in the pore space. Relationships among these quantities indicate that the resistivity decreases
with increasing porosity and increases with increasing petroleum content. Resistivity measurements are
also dependent upon pore geometry, formation stress, and composition of rock, interstitial fluids, and
temperature. Resistivity is, therefore, a valuable tool for evaluating the producibility of a formation.
More the salinity is present; more the amount of current can pass through and as the amount of current
is more, less will be the resistance as R=V/I. If resistance is less than resistivity will be less as well
because = (RA)/L. Conductivity can now easily measure by taking the reciprocal of resistivity i.e.
Conductivity = 1/ Resistivity
Or
k = 1/
Dry rocks exhibit infinite resistivity. A rock that contains oil and gas will have more resistivity as
compared to rock that is completely saturated with formation water.
Oil bearing rock has some conductivity which is due to presence of connate water in it.The greater the
connate water saturation, the lower the formation resistivity.
Page 73
RESISTIVITY MEASUREMENT
The resistance of brine in a container of length L and cross-sectional area A to the flow of electricity is
measured by applying a voltage E, in volts, across the liquid and recording the amount of current I, in
amperes, that will flow, as shown in figure. According to Ohms law the resistance, rW is equal to:
rW = E/IW
The resistivity of the brine is:
Now consider a block of porous rock (clean sand) of the same dimension A and L, and 100% saturated
with the same brine. On applying the same voltage E across the block of sand, a current Io will flow. The
resistivity of this porous rock sample, R0 is:
RW is the resistivity of brine while RO is the resistivity of rock containing brine. The reason for calculating
resistivity instead of resistance is that we generalize the result for lab and reservoir after calculating per
unit length in case of resistivity. It means resistivity will be same if we take small core sample or
calculate for whole reservoir.
At a given voltage, R0 is greater than RW as solid grains in case of R0 has infinite resistivity.
Divide equation (2) by (1)
R0 / RW = IW / I0
Archie defined this ratio as the formation resistivity factor FR
FR = R0 / RW
Page 74
For a given value of E, IW will be greater than I0. Hence, R0 will be greater than RW and FR will always be
greater than unity. FR remains constant for a particular rock because as RW increases R0 increases with
same proportion.
FR is essentially constant for clean sand and limestone. For dirty or shaly sand, FR decreases as brine
resistivity RW increases. It is due to presence of clay in grains which is conductive so resistivity of grains
decreases and hence R0 decreases for particular RW so FR decreases.
TRUE FORMATION RESISTIVITY FACTOR
Resistivity of formation containing oil and irreducible water (connate water) is called true formation
resistivity denoted by Rt.
RESISTIVITY OF SHALE
When shale is present, it plays an active role in conductivity and FR is no longer constant. In shale, clay is
present so electricity is conducted in two ways:
Through pore water

Through clay itself
Clay consists of stacked silicate which in presence of water becomes negatively charged. Clay may in fact
be considered to act like a salt dissociating into an immobile negatively charged framework and positive
current conductive ions.
Limestone, sandstone are insulator because mineral present in them do not dissociate into water. In
case of shale, clay is present which contains layers (solid particles) of sodium silicate (NaSiO2) which
dissociates into Na+ and SiO2- ions in presence of water. Na+ ions are free to move and are conductive
while negative ions SiO2-act as immobile framework i.e. they are not able to move.
In case of sand, current only passes through brine present in pores while in case of shale, current passes
through clay which is in contact with water due to Na+ ions as discussed. Hence, resistivity in sand is
greater than resistivity in clay.
Page 75
Clay is like an inverted electric cable which is conductive from inside and insulator from outside due to
presence of rubber (insulating material). Inside part of clay acts as insulator while outside part which in
contact with water acts as insulator.
When shale is present in resistivity log, its value come less so, we compare the results of different logs
like, gamma ray log and others and conclude the formation to be shale.
If in shale, we increase resistivity of brine RW then R0 does not remain constant here as current will pass
more through less resistivity area i.e. through clay then high resistivity of brine.
RESISTIVITY OF DIRTY SAND
Sand in which shale is present is called dirty sand like, laminar shale, structural shale and dispersed
shale. Generally the presence of clay (shale) in a sand bed lowers the true formation resistivity factor as
clay is conductive so it lowers the resistivity.
Oil, gas and matrix (grains) are considered insulator so they have high resistivity.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RO AND Rt
Ro is the resistivity of rock containing brine while Rt is the true resistivity i.e. resistivity of rock containing
hydrocarbons along with connate water.
RELATION BETWEEN FR AND SW
RW which is the resistivity of brine is constant while RO depends upon saturation as resistivity is a
function of water saturation. If the water saturation is less then resistivity will be high. In case of true
formation resistivity, hydrocarbons are insulators or water saturation is less so for the same porosity, Rt
will be higher than RO.
Page 76
When a formation is porous and contains salty water, the overall resistivity will be low. When the same
formation contains hydrocarbons, its resistivity will be very high so a high resistivity log value indicates a
porous hydrocarbon bearing formation and it is called Quick look technique.
Archie determined experimentally that the resistivity factor FR of formation partially saturated with
brine can be expressed by the following relation:
SW = (RO/Rt)1/2
SW = (FR RW/Rt)1/2
It is initial water saturation and by that we can calculate reserves as;
SO + SW + Sg = 1
DETERMINATION OF RW, RO & Rt
RW FROM LAB
With temperature, resistivity of brine decreases.
Page 77
NaCl concentration increases downward. Every line on graph represents one value of NaCl
concentration. From graph, it can be seen that with decrease in concentration at same temperature
(10000C in graph), RW increases.
Rt FROM LOG
During drilling, overbalance technique is used i.e. hydrostatic pressure is maintained above formation
pressure. Due to that mud invade into the formation and in formation three zones are formed.
For convenience, the invasion of a porous and permeable bed by mud filtrate is divided into three zones.
Closest to the bore hole behind the mud cake is flushed zone where the mud filtrate has replaced all but
a small volume of original volume of oil in place. Gradually further and further away from bore hole, the
volume of invading mud becomes less and less until only original formation fluids are found. This is
transition zone which gives way to un-invaded virgin formation.
Flushed zone contains 100% mud filtrate and virgin zone contains 100% formation fluid and transition
zone contains both mud filtrate and formation fluid.
Page 78
We want less mud invasion because formation can damage so the flushed zone should be minimum
(usually 6 inches).
Resistivity tool can measure resistivity of three zones. Resistivity tool (laterolog) has one source and
different detectors and detector which is near will measure near zone resistivity. Resistivity tool can only
function in well containing conductive muds i.e. mud mixed with salt water. They cant be run in oil
based mud or fresh water based mud.
Virgin zone contains true formation fluid so we calculate Rt from it.
Flushed zone contains mud water as we assume water-based mud. Solid particles make filtrate and
water in mud goes into formation. The problem occurs in calculating R0 as we cant calculate Ro from
flushed zone water as connate water and flushed zone water may have different properties (like
salinity). Reservoir water salinity is more than sea water
Sea water - 15000ppm
Reservoir water 20000 ppm
R0 cant be measured from logs. It can only be calculated from;
FR = RO / RW
RO = FR x RW
FR is calculated from humble formula.
FR = a / m
The ratio Rt / R0 is commonly referred to as the resistivity index IR.
If resistivity of flushed zone and resistivity of virgin zone is same then we cant apply Quick Look
technique.
Page 79
After calculating R0 and Rt, we can calculate initial water saturation and after calculating initial water
saturation we can find saturation of hydrocarbons say in case of oil reservoir;
SW = (RO/Rt)1/2
S0 + SWi = 1
RELATION BETWEEN FR AND POROSITY
FR = RO / RW
Resistivity of brine RW is constant. If the porosity is more, amount of fluid will be more and flow path will
be more so, conductivity will be more and hence resistivity R0 will be less. For constant RW, if porosity is
more than R0 will be less and hence FR will be less so
FR = 1/
FR can be calculated only by obtaining porosity which we can easily get by log.
DERIVATION OF FR = 1/
Rock sample is equivalent to capillaries as capillaries have one particular diameter.
FR = RO / RWC
Where RWC is the resistivity of water in capillaries
Page 80
Resistivity is given by;

= RA/L
= EA/ (IL) as R = E/I
Here,
RWC = EAn/ (IWC L)
Where, An is the effective area i.e. area of n capillaries

R0 = EA/ (I0 L)
Now,
FR = R0/RWC
FR = (A IWC)/ (An IO)
Since,
An = A
Therefore,
FR = IWC/ ( IO)
Since, current will not pass through grains therefore, IWC approximately equals to IO and hence
FR = 1/
FR FOR PARTICULAR ROCK
FR is intrinsic property i.e. it is a property of material. FR value of a particular rock will remain constant no
matter what a resistivity of fluid filling the pores.
If RW = 1000 then say RO = 2000 and now if we increase resistivity of brine from 1000 to 2000 i.e. R W =
2000 then R0 becomes 4000 as FR remains constant for particular formation. Here FR = 2
FR is always greater than one. It can only be one when porosity is 100% as FR = 1/.
Page 81
CORELATION BETWEEN FR AND CEMENTATION

The degree of cementation of sand particles depends on the nature, amount and distribution of
numerous cementing materials including silica, CaCO3 etc. The less cemented sands normally have
higher porosity and have lower FR. As the sand becomes more cemented, decreases and therefore FR
increases.
Cementation 1/
FR 1/
FR Cementation
We cant isolate cementation factor with porosity so the relation is;
FR = 1/m
Where m is the cementation factor and is the function of shape and distribution of pores.
DEGREE OF CONSOLIDATION
CEMENTATION FACTOR
Shallow very unconsolidated sand

Unconsolidated sand
1.2
1.6
Medium hard rock

Hard sandstone
1.8
2.0
Very hard sandstone
2.2
The value of m is calculated by;

FR = 1/m
m = 1/ FR
log m = log (FR)-1
m log = -log FR
log FR = -m log
Comparing with y=mx + c; x=log , y= log FR, m=-m, c=0
Page 82
When the value of m cant be determined, the following equation is used to estimate the formation
resistivity factor.
FR = 0.62 / 2.15
FR = 0.81 / 2 which is humble formula
Generalize form of humble formula is;
FR = a / m
Where; a = constant, m = cementation factor
TORTUOSITY
Departure of capillaries from straight to curve is called tortuosity. It is the property of curve being
twisted. Tortuosity factor is used to calculate the departure of porous system from being equivalent to a
system made up of straight capillary tubes.
( = LA / L)2
We have taken assumption of straight flow path but if we take actual flow path then FR changes.
FR = /
Page 83
DERIVATION
Rock sample is equivalent to capillaries as capillaries have one particular diameter.
FR = RO / RWC
Where RWC is the resistivity of water in capillaries
Resistivity is given by;
= RA/L
= EA/ (IL) as R = E/I
Here, RWC = E An/ (IWC LA)
Where, An is the effective area i.e. area of n capillaries
R0 = EA/ (I0 L)
Now, FR = R0/RWC
FR = (A IWC LA)/ (An IO L)
Since, An = A
Therefore, FR = IWC LA/ ( IO L)
Since, current will not pass through grains therefore, IWC approximately equals to IO and hence
FR = LA / L
FR = /
Page 84
Page 85
FLUID PROPERTIES
Pressures which we have to monitor during production are:
Reservoir pressure (PR)Initial reservoir pressure is denoted by PR and average reservoir pressure is
denoted by Pe.
Well flowing pressure (Pwf) Pressure which is at the perforation
Well head pressure (Pwh) Pressure which is at the well head
Separator pressure (Psep) Pressure which is at the separator
Stock tank pressure (Pstock) Pressure which is at the stock tank
Pressure decreases from reservoir to stock tank. Separator separates fluids and we require some
mechanism to separate gas from liquid as some gas lock in liquid which cant be easily removed. We
have to maintain pressure difference for the fluid to flow as q = dP/dx. For the fluid to flow from
reservoir to well head; reservoir pressure should be greater than well flowing pressure and well flowing
pressure should be greater than well head pressure. PWh and PWf are controlled by choke.
PRESSURE LOSSES
Hydrostatic Due to density. As oil has high density so hydrostatic pressure losses in case of oil is high.
Friction As gas moves fast so pressure losses due to friction in case of gas is high.
Kinetic It is due to difference in diameter. As diameter of tubing does not change so for oil and gas it
remains zero.
FORMATION VOLUME FACTOR OF OIL

Volume of oil leaving the reservoir is not equal to volume of oil entering into stock tank. There are three
factors:
Page 86
Evolution of gas (at every moment gas evolves)

Pure substance means its composition is same say C5 so it has one bubble point but if it is a mixture (i.e.
its composition varies i.e., C5, C6, C70) so C5,C6 bubble points occur at different pressures so at every
phase gas evolves.
It is the job of reservoir engineer to maintain PWf above PB so that no gas evolves in reservoir and evolves
in tubing. In case of undersaturated reservoir, if reservoir pressure is 4000 psi and bubble point pressure
is 3500 psi then well flowing pressure should be in between 3500 to 4000 psi so that gas cant liberate
from oil in reservoir.
If gas liberates in reservoir then it restricts oil flow in reservoir because it liberates near perforation. It is
because pressure drops very much near to the well bore.
But reservoir pressure depletes time to time so its pressure decreases from bubble point pressure then
gas liberates and form gas cap in reservoir. With the help of secondary recovery, we can maintain
pressure if aquifer is not present.
Page 87
Reduction in pressure cause remaining oil to expand.

Reduction in temperature cause remaining oil to contract.
Oil volume factor is defined as the volume of reservoir requires to produce 1 bbl of oil in the stock tank.
B0 = (volume of oil + dissolved gas)/volume of oil entering tank
B0 = bbl/STB
(STB stands for stock tank bbl)
B0 is the strong function of dissolved gas. As the dissolved gas increases, B0 also increase because more
gas is liberated from oil reduces the volume of stock tank bbl. B0 is always greater than one.
Oil bbl at surface in case of RS = 800 scf/ STB will be less as compared to oil bbl in case of RS =500 scf/
STB. If I want 1 STB of oil at surface then I want to take more volume of oil from reservoir in case of R S =
800 scf/ STB as compared to RS =500 scf/ STB because dissolved gas will separate more in case of RS =
800 scf/ STB. Let say volume of oil in reservoir is 10 bbl in both cases then volume of oil at surface in
case of RS = 800 scf/ STB is say 6.5 STB having B0 = 10/6.5 = 1.54. Now the volume of oil at surface in case
of RS = 500 scf/ STB should be high as less gas is evolved from it say 8 STB having B0 = 10/8 = 1.25.
SHAPE OF BO GRAPH
When pressure is decreased from initial reservoir pressure to bubble point pressure, the formation
volume factor increases because of the expansion of liquid in the reservoir i.e. dissolved gas which is
present in the oil expands. A reduction in reservoir pressure below bubble point pressure results in the
liberation of gas in the pore spaces of a reservoir to form gas cap. The liquid remaining in the reservoir
has less dissolved gas and smaller FVF as reservoir oil volume decreases. BO = Vreservoir / Vsurface
Page 88
Initially, when the pressure is above bubble point pressure then dissolved gas is contracted and volume
of oil will be less but as the pressure declines, volume of oil increases up to bubble point pressure. When
the pressure increases from bubble point pressure, dissolve gas evolve and form gas cap. Due to
decrease in pressure volume (of oil + gas) increases but volume of oil decreases. V2 is greater than V1 but
volume of oil decreases as free gas is not considered part of oil while dissolved gas is a part of oil.
Laboratory methods:
Flash vaporization
Differential vaporization
FORMATION VOLUME FACTOR OF GAS
Gas formation volume factor is defined as the volume of gas at reservoir condition required to produce
1 standard cubic feet (scf) at surface.
In region 3, with decrease in pressure, Bg almost remains constant as at higher pressure molecules are
very near. In region 2, with decrease in pressure moderate change in Bg occurs. In region 1, with
decrease in pressure high change in Bg occurs as molecules are very far. In all three regions, with
decrease in pressure Bg increases as volume of gas increases.
Page 89
Bg in this case is;

Bg = 10/1000 = 0.01 ft3/scf
The reciprocal of BO is called shrinkage factor. The reciprocal of Bg is called expansion factor. BO will
always be greater than one and Bg will always be less than one. Bo will only be one if no gas is dissolved
in it. No solution gas drive or gas cap drive is present and only water drive can be present.
DERIVATION:
BG= VRESERVOIR / VSURFACE. (1)
From gas law;
For 1 mole of gas
PV = ZRT
At reservoir condition
PRVR = ZRRTR
VR = ZRRTR / PR
At surface condition
PSVS = ZSRTS
At surface condition, gas behaves ideally
ZS = 1
PSVS = RTS
VS = RTS / PS
Page 90
PROBLEM: Calculate the value of formation volume factor of a dry gas with a gas deviation factor of
0.855 and a reservoir temperature of 2200F and reservoir pressure of 2100 psi?
SOLUTION:
Z = 0.855
T = 2200F + 460 = 6800R
P = 2100 psi
BG = (0.00502 x 0.855 x 680)/2100
BG = 0.001389 res bbl/scf
APPLICATION OF FVF
FVF is used to calculate the surface volume if reservoir volume is known or vice versa. Like, B 0 = 2
bbl/STB, VR = 100 bbl, Vs =?
Vs = 100/2 = 50 STB
Page 91
Page 92
SOLUTION GAS RATIO

Suppose initially we have dissolved gas in oil at 5000psi. Amount of oil is 4000bbls and amount
of gas is 15000scf. Solution gas ratio (RS) is;
15000 / 4000 = 3.75scf/bbl
Let we retrieve 300bbls of oil then gas we retrieve must be
3.75 x 300 = 1125scf
This is because RS remains same until bubble point pressure Pb and after that its value changes
and secondary gas cap is formed.
Page 93
Page 94
INITIAL OIL IN PLACE

To obtain initial oil in place similar procedure is done. Directly to obtain initial oil in place in STB divide
initial gas in place by 5.615 as 1 bbl = 5.615 ft3.
In case of oil in place, it is under saturated reservoir i.e. gas is dissolved in oil and connate water is
present.
In wild cat wells in which we dont know the extent of reservoir such that area (For area of reservoir we
drill appraisal wells after wild cat well) so we find gas or oil in place per unit acre.ft (such that per unit
Vb). So,
Page 95
PROBLEM
Calculate initial gas in place of reservoir, the average is 40ft and extend is 1500 acres, the average
porosity 22% and average connate water is 23% Bgi = 0.00533 ft3/scf
Note:
103=M
106=MM
109=MMM
PROBLEM
Calculate oil in place per acre.ft when porosity=20%, Sw=0.2, Boi=1.24
Up to here we have studied how to find oil or gas in place present initially in a reservoir before taking
any production, but as we take production, the reservoir pressure decreases depending on type of
reservoir drive mechanism, so in order to study to calculate the gas or oil in place at any interval during
taking production, first we have to study type of drive mechanisms.
Page 96
FOR GAS RESERVOIR
Volumetric reservoir
It is one in which no encroachment of water influx in the reservoir and initial water saturation remains
same at any interval during production, however reservoir pressure decreases (gas is produced through
it), so gas in place at any point will be:
At any interval during production, in volumetric drive mechanism, 43560, A, h, and Sw will remain
same, the factor that only changes is Bg, that changes with change in reservoir pressure, so value of G
only depending on Bg and we know from its graph that as reservoir pressure depletes, value of Bg
increases so gas in place will decrease as production continues.
Water Drive
In this water occupies the empty pore spaces of the produced oil or gas. In any water drive (active,
partial or weak), water coning takes place due to which water by passes the gas and is produced through
perforation along with gas, and as production is continued, a time comes when it traps the gas present
in reservoir and only water is produced, this is because well is produced based on Darcy forces, such
that fluid whether gas or water will flow whenever pressure difference is created, so after sometime we
have to stop taking production and abandon the well for some time so that gravity forces again become
balanced such that gas come above the water and then we again continue to take production.
So, in water drive mechanism the initial water saturation does not remain constant as water
encroaches into the reservoir.
Types of water drive mechanism
Active water drive
The water drive in which the rate of gas production and rate of water encroachment is same, so the
reservoir pressure does not deplete.
Partial Water Drive
The water drive in which water encroachment is relatively smaller than rate of gas production, and
pressure drops in this case.
Weak water Drive
In this water encroachment is very small and pressure depletes very fast.
Q. Why volumetric or and weak water drive is good for gas reservoir?
A. We need volumetric or weak water drive because the main mechanism of gas production is gas
expansion such that depletion and in active water drive as the reservoir pressure will not deplete, the
gas will not be able to expand and its main mechanism of production will be failed. So for gas reservoir,
Page 97
if we get active or partial water drive then we have to transform it to weak water drive and it can be
done by drilling other wells from which water is produced only so that water aquifer in the subsurface
loses its strength and transform into weak water drive.
PROBLEM
A volumetric gas reservoir has following properties:
A= 3000 acre
H=30 ft
Porosity= 0.15
Swi = 0.2
T=150oF
P (psi)
2600
1000
400
BG
0.0054
0.0152
0.0397
Calculate gas in place at 2600, 1000, 400 psi.
Since factor 43560Ah (1-Swi) remains constant so calculate it first and after that divide by BG value at
particular pressure.
43560x3000x30x0.15x (1-0.2) = 470.448 x 106
At 2600 psi:
G = 87.12MMMscf
At 1000 psi:
G= 30.9MMMscf
At 400 psi:
G= 11.8MMMscf
In volumetric gas reservoirs we have studied how to calculate reserves or in place at any pressure such
that in these only the value of Bg changes such that as production is taken, the pressure of the reservoir
reduces and Bg increases and as denominator increases but numerator remains same so the in places
decreases so whenever we want to calculate the producible means those hydrocarbons that have been
produced up to certain pressure or can be produced up to certain pressure, it can be determined by
simply subtracting the in places at that pressure from the initial in places such that producible can be
given as:
Page 98
G=Gi-G
Where, for volumetric reservoir,
In order to calculate the maximum recovery,

Recovery= Gi-Ga
Where Ga is the in place at abandonment pressure, which is described as under

ABANDONMENT PRESSURE
As we know, as we produce from a reservoir, the in places decrease such the volume we get from
reservoir at surface will decrease (in reservoir the volume remain the same), the reservoir pressure also
decreases, we can produce our reservoir at atmospheric pressure because the stock tank at surface is at
atmospheric pressure, and now if we want the reservoir fluid to flow from reservoir to the stock, the
pressure difference should be created between them such that we have to create pressure difference
between each of different components of our production phase such that the pressure in reservoir Pr
should be greater than that at perforation (Pf), which should be greater than the pressure at well head
(Pwh) and this should be greater than the pressure at separator and the separator pressure should also
be greater than stock tank pressure which operates at atmospheric pressure. And from Darcys equation
we also know that the greater the pressure difference between two points more is the flow rate, so as
reservoir pressure decreases, the pressure difference between reservoir and surface equipment
decreases due to which flow rate decreases, and we know that companies have to pay per day the
charges of equipment so when their production per day will be reduced, their profit will be reduced and
when the reservoir pressure decreases to so much extent that at that pressure, the flow rate is nonprofitable for the company then the company has to shut the well or abandon the well, this pressure is
called Abandonment pressure. For gas reservoirs, the abandonment pressure is usually 100 to 200 psi.
RECOVERY FROM GAS RESERVOIR UNDER WATER DRIVE:
For gas reservoir, we may also have water drive mechanism. In this drive mechanism as gas is produced,
the emptied pore spaces are occupied by water. The water drive could be an active water drive, partial
water drive or weak water drive. And on the basis of location of water it could be bottom water drive or
edge water drive.
For active water drive, the rate of water encroachment is equal to the rate of gas production so the
pressure does not decline in this case and the abandonment pressure is usually the initial reservoir
Page 99
pressure, while in case of weak or partial water drive, the pressure decreases in the reservoir as water
encroachment rate is not equal to that of gas production, so their abandonment pressure will lie at
some lower value than initial reservoir pressure but in general , the abandonment pressure of water
drive gas reservoir lies at some higher value than that of volumetric reservoir.
Since in these reservoirs water encroaches into the reservoir so water saturation also changes in the
pores of reservoir rock and water saturation increases above connate water saturation (The height of
reservoir once calculated remain fixed, initially it was height of hydrocarbon only and now in water drive
mechanism, free water also come in it so we have to change the saturation). When production is started
in these reservoirs, initially only gas come through well, but since the pressure difference has created so
the water beneath the gas also try to go towards perforation as pressure there is small and pressure
difference between water and perforation is high, although the viscosity of water is higher than that of
gas at that particular value of pressure difference, water flows at small flow rate as compared to gas but
slowly and gradually water coning takes place and water make its way towards the perforation and trap
the gas sideways so the gas that cannot be swept and remain in reservoir and cannot be displaced is the
residual gas and its saturation is called residual gas saturation, the water is produced along with gas and
the process of water coning continues and a time comes when only water flows through the well bore
and all gas become trapped, so the residual saturation is reached such that the gas saturation cannot be
decreased further as all gas has trapped and all water bypasses it. The company depending on its
operating power shuts the well when water production goes above their desired value or percentage so
the pressure at that stage is called abandonment pressure and saturation of gas left in reservoir is the
residual gas saturation. The reservoir gas volume at abandonment pressure can be given as:
For active water drive Bga = Bgi

For maximum recovery from a reservoir regardless of profit, the Ga should be minimum which occurs
when residual gas saturation Sgr remains which will be happened when only water produces from
reservoir and not gas but in practice the wells are shut before the minimum residual gas saturation is
achieved as it does not remain profitable for the company to continue production after some time of
water production. The values of Sgr can be determined through experiments in lab by performing
imbibition process.
While the formula for initial in place is same such that
Here the question arises that why we dont use gas saturation in terms of water saturation such that (1Sw) in formula at abandonment pressure, this is because we can get easily the initial connate water
saturation by different methods (logging, core analysis i.e. by retort and extraction method) but water
saturation at abandonment pressure is not easy to determine as water encroaches from all over the
Page 100
place and channeling is produced so we use residual gas saturation that can be found out easily by
performing imbibition process in the lab and also the initial water saturation can be determined by
performing drainage process in the lab.
Maximum recovery and recovery factor can be calculated similarly as;
Recovery= Gi-Ga
Experiment to calculate Residual gas saturation:

1) Initially we perform drainage process such that we dry the core first, then make it 100% saturated
with water and then saturate it with gas that displaces the water to connate water saturation. The core
with initial connate water saturation and gas in pores is kept in the core holder of the apparatus and
pressure difference is created about the core holder so that water from the source flow into the core
holder and enters into pore spaces, the encroaching water displaces the gas present that will come out
from the core which can be measured but water will not be able to sweep the total gas and water makes
it channels through the gas and it also start coming with it (water coning), as time passes by, the gas
coming out will be decreasing and water percentage will be increasing and it will reach to its maximum
value when only water comes out from core and no gas so the gas that remain in the core is the residual
gas saturation and can be measured as
Sgr=Initial gas saturation-gas saturation that comes out
2) One more method to calculate Sgr is that since we achieve the core from the flushed zone in the
which the mud filtrate has displaced the gas (hydrocarbons) so the gas saturation there is residual gas
saturation so the core we retrieve will give us residual gas saturation on analyzing.
Page 101
OIL IN PLACE:
As we know the initial oil in place for any drive mechanism can be calculated as:
For Volumetric reservoir

Means no water drive and oil is produced through its expansion due to dissolved gas at pressures above
bubble point pressure and as pressure decreases below bubble point pressure, the gas liberates out and
its saturation in pores increases from zero and that of oil decreases so at abandonment pressure both oil
and gas will be present along with connate water (that remain same as no water encroachment is there
because no water drive is there), so at abandonment pressure, the oil in place in reservoir can be given
as;
Sg= gas saturation in reservoir at abandonment pressure and (1-Swi-Sg) represents oil saturation at
abandonment pressure.
Page 102
Page 103
WETTABILITY
The ability of fluid to wet the surface in presence of another fluid is called wettability. We compare two
fluids as one fluid will wet the surface up to some extent so we see which fluid is more in case of two
fluids. The fluid which is more wetting will be wetting phase and another fluid will be non-wetting
phase.
Wettability can be truly defined as;
The tendency of one fluid to spread or adhere to solid surface in presence of another immiscible fluid
Immiscible means two fluids should not mix. If they mix then they will be considered as single phase like
gas dissolved in oil. Every substance can dissolve in any other substance but it requires minimum
pressure known as Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP).
Wettability is the property of rock and fluid as well as it depends upon mineralogy of surface and
composition and viscosity of fluid as well.
When a drop of fluid is dropped on solid glass plate, the tendency of different fluids to wet the solid
surface is predicted or observed by contact angle which is the angle of resultant of cohesive and
adhesive forces.
Mercury
>120
Oil
Water
60<<120
<60
Wetting characteristics by contact angle

=0
<60
60< <120
>120
=180
Complete wetting
Wetting
Intermediate wetting
Non-wetting
Complete non-wetting
Since our reservoirs are formed in marine environment so they are initially 100% saturated with water
and are assumed water-wet because of the environment in which they are formed.
The pores and capillaries in the rock are not of uniform diameter. Some are large and some are small but
initially both large and small pores are saturated with water and after that oil encroaches into reservoir
rock from source rock. If oil is non-wetting phase then oil will go only in larger pores and if it is wetting
phase then it will go in both larger and smaller pores. Usually we have water-wet reservoirs due to the
Page 104
environment and oil-wet are source rock as they are exposed to oil initially after the process of
diagenesis and catagenesis.
TYPES OF WETTABILITY
Water-wet
In a water-wet reservoir, water will occupy smaller pores and wet the major portion of surfaces in larger
pores. Non-wetting fluid will be present in the middle of larger pores.
If the rock surface is water-wet and saturated with oil and we place it in beaker containing water then
water will enter in pores displacing oil as minerals of rock show their tendency towards water.
Oil-wet
In oil-wet reservoir, encroached oil displaces water from larger and smaller pores both. We do not
encounter any reservoir that is 100% saturated with oil (oil-wet) and only source rock can be oil-wet
because it is formed in the environment in which oil is formed due to diagenesis and catagenesis.
If the rock surface is oil-wet and saturated with water and we place it in beaker containing oil then oil
will enter in pores displacing water as minerals of rock show their tendency towards oil.
Mixed wettability
When reservoirs are drilled, they are found in state of mixed-wet but initially they were water-wet i.e.
oil migrate into middle of larger pores and water will occupy smaller pores and wet the surfaces of
larger pores. But during the period of millions of millions years, oil react with the surface of larger grains
and change the wettability to mixed wet and water from larger pores is expelled out from pores and
now in mixed wettability, water occupies smaller pores and oil occupy larger pores.
Reason of wettability change
Crude oil comprises of following:
Saturates
Aromatics
Resins
Asphaltenes
Resins and asphaltenes are heavier hydrocarbons and are acidic in nature. The silicate-water interface is
acidic in nature so acid-acid do not show their interaction i.e. acidic compound of crude oil dont absorb
on silicate surface so wetting tendency of silicate rock is from neutral to water-wet. In contrast,
carbonate-water interface is basic and crude oil absorbs on carbonate surface and wetting tendency of
carbonate surface is from neutral to oil-wet.
Page 105
Neutral wettability
If no preference is shown by rock to either fluid, the system is said to exhibit neutral or intermediate
wettability. A condition that one visualizes has been equally met by both fluids.
Fractional wettability
In this approach, it is assumed that fraction of rock is water-wet and other is oil-wet. It is because
wettability also depends upon mineralogy. Some minerals show their affinity towards water and some
towards oil. For example, Kaolinite in sandstone shows hydrophobic behavior while illite, quartz and
feldspar are water-wet.
WHY NON-WETTING PHASE CANT ENTER IN SMALLER PORES?
Secondary migration depends upon the influence of these three factors:
Hydrodynamics
Buoyant forces
Capillary forces
It is because pressure required to displace wetting phase by non-wetting phase is more in small
diameter tube because more wetting phase molecules are in contact with solid glass surface so more
attractive forces are to be broken by pressure as compared to that in large diameter capillary tube that
is why high capillary pressure is required to displace wetting phase by non-wetting phase. Due to that
reason, non-wetting phase cant enter into smaller pores of reservoir rock.
RECOVERIES FROM WATER-WET AND OIL-WET RESERVOIR
We have compared the recoveries of both oil wet and water wet reservoirs under water flooding. In
water wet after production residual oil remain in reservoir which is in the middle portion of large pores
and does not wet the surface but in case of oil-wet we have residual oil not in just middle portion of
large pores but also some oil remain sick to the solid surface due to wettability which is vital to be
produced. If we inject water (without surfactant), then in case of water wet reservoir the water first wet
the solid surface and when all the surface gets wet it then start coming in the middle portion of large
pores and hence more effectively displaces the most oil as it is covering whole area of the pores but in
case of oil wet, the encroaching water does not wet the surface and sweep that oil out so the recovery is
low.
WETTABILITY ALTERATION BY SURFACTANT
In oil wet reservoirs like carbonates, after production not all oil will be produced, some oil remain stick
to the solid surface due to wettability so surfactant is added to change wettability and produce that vital
hydrocarbons.
Page 106
Surfactant is a polar compound consisting of a molecule consisting of hydrophobic part and a hydrophilic
part. As a result of addition of a surfactant to an oil-water mixture would lead to the reduction in the
interfacial tension to increase oil recovery by altering the oil wet surface to water wet.
In oil-wet reservoir, if we change the wettability with surfactant such that from oil to water wet then
coming water will wet the surface and thus sweeps all oil present in pores and will result in more
recovery means in a nut shell if an oil wet reservoir is transformed to a water wet reservoir then under
water flooding it gives more recovery as compared to that when it was oil wet that is why we add
surfactant to change wettability and gain maximum production.
WETTABILITY APPLICATION
Wettability result in alteration of relative permeability of fluids as non-wetting phase (which
does stick to surface) is more mobile as compared to wetting phase just as water break through
occurs more readily in oil wet reservoir but not readily in water that results in good recovery.
It affects distribution of reservoir fluids in the pores such that non-wetting phase occupies large
pores but small pores are occupied by wetting phase.
It affects the recovery of oil from reservoir.
Page 107
Page 108
INTERPHASE
The junction between two immiscible fluids is called interphase, if it is in between liquid-liquid then it is
called interfacial tension and if it is in between gas-liquid then it is called as surface tension.
HOW SURFACE TENSION IS PRODUCED?
Whenever two immiscible fluids are in contact, an unbalanced force is created at the interphase of two
fluids and acts parallel to surface of the fluid, which is called as surface tension.
How it can be felt?
Due to surface tension, the interphase does not remain straight and curve towards wetting phase
because the molecules at the interphase tend to achieve the equilibrium.
This can be understand by the example that if we have oil in beaker, then molecules throughout the
liquid are attracted equally from all sides by their neighboring molecules but molecules at surface or
interphase of air and oil are attracted more from inside and less from air molecules, so they tend to
maximize their contact angle with neighboring molecules by reducing surface area (contact area
between air-oil is reduced) and meniscus is formed.
The molecules come towards lower energy state and have reduced its contact with air molecules and
have increased its neighbors.
Page 109
CAPILLARY RISE
It is the rise that occurs in capillary tube for a fluid that is wetting for that tube due to combined effect
of surface tension and wettability.
Whenever capillary tube is inserted in the beaker containing two immiscible fluids, the wetting phase
will always rise; the rise may be up or down depending upon the position of wetting phase.
The rise in the capillary occurs until the upward force due to
surface tension is balanced by downward force due to the
weight of column that rises above free water level. Free
water level is the level at which capillary forces are zero.
Point 3 is the point of free water level. But when rise occurs
in capillary, at the air-water contact capillary pressure is
present. In figure, capillary pressure is present between 1
and 2.
Pc = P1 P2
By logging we get water-oil contact so for free water level,
core sample is taken.
The rise in capillary depends on diameter of tube; rise is inversely proportional to diameter of tube. This
is because in large diameter tube, the downward force (weight) needed to balance upward force is
achieved earlier at small height.
Why capillary forces are more in small diameter tube?

It is because pressure required to displace wetting phase by non-wetting phase is more in small
diameter tube because more wetting phase molecules are in contact with solid glass surface so more
attractive forces are to be broken by pressure as compared to that in large diameter capillary tube that
is why high capillary pressure is required to displace wetting phase by non-wetting phase. Due to that
reason, non-wetting phase cant enter into smaller pores of reservoir rock.
Page 110
CAPILLARY PRESSURE
It can be defined as:
The difference in pressure between non-wetting and wetting phase
Pc = P (non-wetting) - P (wetting)
The pressure required to displace the wetting phase by a non-wetting phase
The pressure that holds the oil in place is capillary pressure
When two immiscible fluids are in contact, a discontinuity in pressure exists between the two fluids
which we call capillary pressure. Capillary pressure is the pressure at the interface of solid-liquid, liquidliquid or gas-liquid.
The capillary forces in a petroleum reservoir are the result of the combined effect of the surface tension,
pore size, geometry, and the wetting characteristics of the system.
The displacement of one fluid by another in the pores of a porous medium is either aided or opposed by
capillary pressure means in order to maintain a porous medium partially saturated with non-wetting
fluid while the medium is also exposed to wetting fluid, it is necessary that non-wetting phase should
have high pressure than wetting phase. Pressure excess in the non-wetting fluid is the capillary pressure.
It means when oil (non-wetting phase) is encroached into the reservoir during secondary migration, it
should have high pressure than wetting phase (water) to displace it and after that to remain along with
wetting phase in the reservoir. When the wetting and non-wetting phase are together in reservoir rock
then pressure at their interphase is known as capillary pressure.
EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE CAPILLARY PRESSURE

This procedure consists of saturating a core 100% with the reservoir water and then placing the core on
a porous membrane, which is saturated 100% with water (otherwise water from core sample first wet
the pores of membrane) and is permeable to the water only, under the pressure drops imposed during
the experiment. Air is then admitted into the core chamber and the pressure is increased until a small
amount of water is displaced through the porous, semi-permeable membrane into the graduated
cylinder.
Initially when we increase the air pressure no water will be displaced as water will resist initially and
pressure continue to increase at 100% water saturation, then a point comes at which non-wetting phase
start displacing wetting phase and water pour out of the core in to the cylinder and the pressure at this
point is called displacement pressure (Pd). After this as pressure is increased, water saturation is
decreased until connate water saturation after which no reduction in water saturation occurs no matter
how high the pressure is increased. This is basically the drainage process and by this we get information
regarding the initial saturation distribution in the reservoir.
Page 111
CAPILLARY PRESSURE VARIATION WITH PERMEABILITY

If the above experiment is performed for different rock samples having different permeability, the
curves would be like this:
The larger the permeability of the rock sample, more better will be the contact of non-wetting phase
with the wetting phase and hence much better displacement of wetting phase by non-wetting phase will
be possible. For example if we take samples of 300 and 100 md core samples, then at constant capillary
pressure line at 10, the water saturation remained in the sample 37 and 47 respectively means in 300
md sample, at this pressure much water has displaced and few has remained that is why the connate
water saturation in in 300md is lower than that at 100md, this also gives us the idea that reservoir
having not good permeability has large connate water saturation and the hydrocarbon saturation is very
low in them.
Page 112
CAPILLARY HYSTERESIS
If we perform drainage process on a core sample, the curve plotted between capillary pressure and
water saturation can be seen as above but if we perform the imbibition process on the same core
sample(for imbibition process to perform no external pressure is required to apply as it is the
displacement of non-wetting phase by a wetting phase) after drainage process and re plot the curve, the
curve will not exactly follow the path of drainage process because we know that drainage and imbibition
processes are not 100% reverse of each other as at the end of imbibition process we do not get 100%
water saturated core but residual oil saturation also remain, the curve does not trace the exact path
because the advancing and receding contact angles of the fluids with solid does not remain same. In
drainage, oil is advancing and water is receding but in imbibition, it is reversed such that water is
advancing and oil is receding so advancing contact angle in case of drainage (contact angle of oil with
solid) is different from the advancing contact angle in case of imbibition (contact angle of water with
solid) and same with receding fluid.
Residual oil saturation

We can see from graph that at particular wetting fluid saturation, capillary pressure in case of imbibition
is less as compared to capillary pressure in case of drainage process. It is because core sample is waterwet and when water is re-introduced displacing oil in case of imbibition process, it provides an open
gate for upcoming water.
Page 113
DERIVE
If a glass capillary tube is placed in a large open vessel containing water, the combination of surface
tension and wettability of tube to water will cause water to rise in the tube above the water level in the
container outside the tube. The water will rise in the tube until the total force acting to pull the liquid
upward is balanced by the weight of the column of liquid being supported in the tube. Assuming the
radius of the capillary tube is r, the total upward force Fup, which holds the liquid up, is equal to the
force per unit length of surface(surface tension) times the total length of surface, or
Where;
gw = surface tension between air (gas) and water (oil), dynes/cm
= contact angle
r = radius, cm
The upward force is balanced by the weight of the water, which is equivalent to mass times
acceleration, or
Where;
h = height to which the liquid is held, cm
g = acceleration due to gravity, cm/sec2
w = density of water, gm/cm3
air = density of gas, gm/cm3
Because the density of air is negligible in comparison with the density of water, equation is reduced to:
Equating upward and downward forces we get;
For oil-water;
Page 114
DERIVE PC = ghP
Capillary pressure = (pressure of the non-wetting phase) - (pressure of the wetting phase)
Referring to Figure 4-3, the pressure difference across the interface between Points 1 and 2 is essentially
the capillary pressure, i.e.
The pressure of the water phase at Point 2 is equal to the pressure at point 4 minus the head of the
water, or
--- (1)
The pressure just above the interface at Point 1 represents the pressure of the air and is given by:
It should be noted that the pressure at Point 4 within the capillary tube is the same as that at Point 3
outside the tube. Hence,
--- (2)
Subtracting Equation (1) from (2) gives:
PC = ghP
Page 115

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What are the physical properties of reservoir rocks?

What are the physical properties of reservoir rocks?

What factors govern the magnitude of porosity?

What factors govern the magnitude of porosity?

INTRODUCTION TO

MUHAMMAD SHOAIB (ROLL # 22)

FORMATION VOLUME FACTOR

SOLUTION GAS RATIO

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RESERVOIR ROCK

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

FACTORS GOVERNING THE MAGNITUDE OF POROSITY

Uniformity of grain size

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

ENGINEERING CLASSIFICATION OF POROSITY

GEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF POROSITY

It is the result of geological processes after the deposition of sediments.

CaMg (CO3)2 + Ca+2

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS OF POROSITY

For cylindrical core; VB = r2h

Weigh core sample a

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Hassler sleeve core holder is evacuated

Gas goes into pores of core sample and pressure decreases to P2

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

CALCULATION OF MATRIX DENSITY

Known volume of pycnometer (Vpyc = 10.0cm3)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Vgrains = 10.0 8.50 = 1.50cm3

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

For real gas

GRAPH OF Z (Gas deviation factor)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Above Bubble point pressure

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

It means oil and gas will contain initial water saturation.

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

In transition zone, with increase in depth water saturation increases

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

CRITICAL OIL SATURATION

Solution gas drive

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

RESIDUAL OIL SATURATION

Introduction to Reservoir Petrophysics (By Shoaib and Bilal)

MOVEABLE OIL SATURATION