Glossary of Terms

CONTENTS
1 GLOSSARY OF COMMON TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN RESERVOIR SIMULATION AND FLOW THROUGH POROUS MEDIA 1.1 Some General Definitions 1.2 Reservoir Fluid Properties 1.3 Single Phase Rock Properties 1.4 Multi-Phase Rock/Fluid Properties 1.5 Wettability and Fluid Displacement Processes 1.6 Oil Recovery Methods, Waterflood Patterns and Sweep Efficiency 1.7 Terms Used in Numerical Reservoir Simulation 1.8 Numerical Solution of the Flow Equations in Reservoir Simulation 1.9 Pseudo-Isation and Upscaling 1.10 Numerical Simulation of Flow in Fractured Systems 1.11 Miscellaneous - Vertical Equilibrium, Miscible Displacement and Dispersion

Glossary of Terms

1 GLOSSARY OF COMMON TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN RESERVOIR SIMULATION AND FLOW THROUGH POROUS MEDIA
This glossary is intended for use by the reader as a quick reference to terms used commonly in reservoir engineering in general and in reservoir simulation in particular. The student is not expected to work through this from begining to end in a systematic manner. However, the students should make sure that he or she is quite familiar with all the technical terms that appear in the main text of this unit. It is hoped that this is of particular use for distance learning students who may have studied the reservoir engineering distance leasrning unit some time ago but hopefully it will also be of use to our residential students.

1.1 Some General Definitions

Oilfield Units volumes in oilfield units are barrels (bbl or B); 1 bbl = 5.615 ft3 or 0.159 m3. A stock tank barrel (STB) is the same volume defined at some surface standard conditions (in the stock tank) which are usually 60oF and 14.7 psi. A reservoir barrel (RB) is the same volume defined at reservoir conditions which can range from ~ 90oF and 1500 psi for shallow reservoirs to > 350oF and 15,000 psi for very deep (high temperature - high pressure, HTHP) reservoirs. Note that when 1RB of oil is produced it gives a volume generally less than 1B at the surface since it loses its gas. (See formation volume factor.) Oil Types: Dry gas; Wet gas; Gas Condensate; Volatile oil; Black oil; Heavy (viscous) oil; Tar - see Tables 1 and 2 below.
4000

= 127 F

3500

3000

C C1

Critical Point
B1

Reservoir Pressure, PSIA

2500

B2 D 40% 20%

2000

1500

1000

u Liq

m olu dV

10% 5% 0%

Path of Reservoir Fluid Flui

A1 300

l bb 80% Bu

t o in eP

Figure 1 Pressure Temperature Phase Diagram of a Reservoir Fluid

A2 500 0 50 100 150

B3

200

250

Path

De w

Po i

of Pr oducti on

Cricondentherm = 250 F

Bubble Point or Dissolved Gas Reservoirs

Dew Point or Retrograde Gas-Condensate Reservoirs

Single Phase Gas Reservoirs A

Tc

Reservoir Temperature, T F

nt

350

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Reservoir Fluid

Surface Appearance

GOR Range

API Gravity C1

Typical Composition, Mole %

C2

C3

C4

C5

C6+

Dry gas Wet gas

Colourless gas Colourless gas -

Almost no liquids >100 Mscf/bbl some clear or straw-coloured liquid 3-100 Mscf/bbl (900-18000 m3/m3)

60o -70o

100 96 2.7 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.4

Condensate

Colourless gas significant amounts of light coloured liquid

50o-70o

87

4.4

2.3

1.7

0.8

3.8

Volatile or Brown liquid high shrinkage various yellow, red, oil or green hues

"3000 scf/bbl (500 m3/m3)

40o-50o

64

7.5

4.7

4.1

3.0

16.7

Black or low shrinkage oil

Dark brown to black viscous liquid

100- 2500 scf/bbl (20 - 450 m3/m3)

30o-40o

49

2.8

1.9

1.6

1.2

43.5

Heavy oil

Black viscous liquid

Almost no gas in solution

10o-25o

20

3.0

2.0

2.0

12.0

71

Tar

Black substance

No gas viscosity > 10,000cp

< 10

90+

Table 1 Describing various oil types from dry gas to tar

Component C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7+ Mol. Wt. C7+ GOR, SCF/bbl Tank gravity, 0 API Liquid color

Black Oil 48.83 2.75 1.93 1.60 1.15 1.59 42.15 100.00 225 625 34.3 Greenish Black

Volatile Oil 64.36 7.52 4.74 4.12 2.97 1.38 14.91 100.00 181.00 2000 50.1 Medium Orange

Gas-Condensate 87.07 4.39 2.29 1.74 0.83 0.60 3.80 100.00 112 18,200 60.8 Light Straw

Dry Gas 95.85 2.67 0.34 0.52 0.08 0.12 0.42 100.00 157 105,000 54.7 Water White

Gas 86.67 7.77 2.95 1.73 0.88 .... .... 100.00 .... Inf. ....

Table 2 Mole Composition and Other Properties of Typical Single-Phase Reservoir Fluids

1.2 Reservoir Fluid Properties

Phase: A chemically homogeneous region of fluid which is separated from another phase by an interface e.g. oleic (oil) phase, aqueous phase (mainly water), gas phase, solid phase (rock). There is no particular symbol but frequently subscripted o, w, g; phases are immiscible.

Glossary of Terms

Inter Facial Tension (IFT): The IFT between two phases is a measure of energy required to create a certain area of the interface. Indeed, the IFT is given in dimensions which are energy per unit area. The symbol for IFT is and units are dyne/cm in c.g.s. units and N/m (newtons per m) in S.I. units. For example, if both gas and oil are present in a reservoir then the gas/oil IFT may be in the range, go ~ 0.1-10 mN/m; likewise. The oil/water value may be in the range, 0w ~ 15 - 40 mN/m. Note that numerically 1mN/m = 1dyne/cm. Component: A single chemical species that may be present in a phase; e.g. in the aqueous phase there are many components - water (H2O), sodium chloride (NaCl), dissolved oxygen (O2) etc.; in the oil phase there can be hundreds or even thousands of components - hydrocarbons based on C1, C2, C3, etc. Some of these oil components are shown in Table 2. Viscosity: The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of the (frictional) energy dissipated when it is in motion resisting an applied shearing force; dimensions [force/area.time] and units are Pa.s (SI) or poise (metric). The most common unit in oilfield applications is centiPoise (cP or cp). Typical example are:- water viscosity at standard conditions, w ~ 1 cP; typical light North Sea oils have o ~ 0.3 - 0.6 cP at reservoir conditions (T ~ 200oF ; P ~ 4000 - 6000 psi); at reservoir conditions, medium viscosity oils have o ~ 1 - 6 cP; moderately viscous oils have o ~ 6 - 50 cP; very viscous oils may have o ~ 50 - 1000s cP and tars may have o ~ up to 10000 cP. Formation Volume Factor: The factor describing the ratio of volume of a phase (e.g. oil, water) in the formation (i.e. reservoir at high temperature and pressure) to that at the surface; symbols Bw, Bo etc. For oil, a typical range for Bo is ~1.1 - 1.3 since, at reservoir conditions, it often contains large amounts of dissolved gas which is released at surface as the pressure drops and the oil shrinks; oilfield units [reservoir barrels/stock tank barrel (RB/STB)]. API Gravity (API): Definition = Gas Solubility Factors (or Solution Gas/Oil Ratios): These factors describe the volume of gas (usually in standard cubic feet, SCF) per volume of oil (usually stock tank barrel, STB); symbol, Rso and Rsw; units SCF/STB. Compressibility: The compressibility (c) of a fluid (oil, gas, water) or rock formation can be defined in terms of the volume (V) change or density () change with pressure as follows:

c =

1 V 1 = V P P

Note that this quantity is normally expressed in units of psi-1. Typical ranges of compressibilities are presented below (from Craft & Hawkins (Terry revision), 1991):

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Compressibilities (units of 10-6 psi-1) Formation rock Water Undersaturated Oil Gas at 1000psi Gas at 5000psi 3 2 5 900 50 10 4 100 1300 200

Compressibilities are used in reservoir engineering for Material Balance Calculations. Material Balance Equations: Material Balance applied to a reservoir is simply a volumetric balance. It may be expressed as an equation which relates: The quantities of oil, gas and water produced. The reservoir (average) pressure. The quantity of water influx (e.g. from the aquifer). The initial oil and gas content of the reservoir. Essentially the material balance equations described how the energy of expansion and influx drive production in the reservoir. If there is a sufficiently low (or zero) fluid influx, the reservoir pressure will decline. One form of the Material Balance Equation is given below where each term on the left-hand side described a mechanism of fluid production (from Craft & Hawkins (Terry revision), 1991):

N .( Bt Bti ) +

= N p . Bt + ( Rp Rsoi ). Bg + Bw .Wp
Where the terms have the following meaning: N = initial reservoir oil, STB; Np = cumulative produced oil, STB Boi = initial oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB Bo = oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB Bgi = initial gas formation volume factor, bbl/STB Bg = gas formation volume factor, bbl/STB Bw = water formation volume factor, bbl/STB Rsoi = initial solution gas-oil ratio, SCF/STB Rp = cumulative produced gas-oil ratio, SCF/STB Rso = solution gas-oil ratio, SCF/STB We = water influx into the reservoir, bbl Wp = cumulative produced water, bbl cw = water isothermal compressibility, psi-1 cf = formation isothermal compressibility, psi p = change in average reservoir pressure, psi
6

c .S + c f N .m. Bti .( Bg Bgi ) + (1 + m). N . Bti . w wi Bgi 1 Swi

.p + We

Glossary of Terms

Swi = initial water saturation m = (Initial hydrocarbon vol. of gas cap)/(Initial hydrocarbon vol. of oil) In practice the material balance equation is often applied in the linear form of Havlena and Odeh (J. Pet. Tech., pp896-900, Aug. 1963; ibid, pp815-822, July 1964); see discussion in Craft & Hawkins (Terry revision, 1991). In the above formulation of the Material Balance Equation, the various terms have the following interpretation. Left-Hand Side of the Material Balance Equation The following terms account for the expansion of any oil and/or gas zones that may be present in the reservoir:

N .(Bt Bttii ) +

N.m.Bti .(Bg Bgi ) Bgi

The following term accounts for the change in void space volume which is the expansion of the formation and the connate water:

The next term is the amount of water influx that has occurred into the reservoir: We Right-Hand Side of the Material Balance Equation The first term of the RHS represents the production of oil and gas:

c .S + c f (1 + m). ). N . Bti . w wi 1 Swi

.p

= N p . Bt + ( Rp Rsoi ). Bg

The second term of the RHS represents the production of water: Bw.Wp

1.3 Single Phase Rock Properties

Porosity: the fraction of a rock that is pore space; common symbol, Porosity varies from 0.25 for a fairly permeable rock down to 0.1 for a very low permeability rock; there may be an approximate correlation between k and . Pores & pore throats: The tiny connected passages that exist in permeable rocks; typically of size 1m to 200 m; they are easily visible in s.e.m. (scanning electron microscopy). Pores may be lined by diagenetic minerals e.g. clays. The narrower constrictions between pore bodies are referred to as Pore Throats. See Figure 2:
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illite quartz quartz 10m m ~1mm

illite

Figure 2

Permeability: The fluid (or gas) conducting capacity of a rock is known as the permeability; symbol k ; units Darcy (D) or milliDarcy (mD); dimensions -> [L]2. Permeability is found experimentally using Darcy's Law (see below). Permeability can be anisotropic and show tensor properties (see below) - denoted k . Probably the most important quantity from the point of view of the reservoir engineer since its distribution dictates connectivity and fluid flow in a reservoir. Timmerman (p. 83, Vol. 1, Practical Reservoir Engineering, 1982) presents the rule: Classification poor to fair moderate good very good excellent Permeability Range (mD) 1 - 15 15 - 50 50 - 250 250 - 1000 > 1000

k/ Correlations: It has been found in many systems that there is a relationship between permeability, k, and porosity, . This is not always the case and much scatter can be seen in a k/ crossplot. Broadly, higher permeability rocks have a higher porosity and some of the relationships reported in the literature are shown below. Some examples of k/ correlations which have appeared in the literature are shown in Figure 3:

Glossary of Terms

100.0 100.0 50.0 50.0

Core Core Permeabilty Permeabilty (md) (md)

10.0 10.0 5.0 5.0

1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5

0.1 0.1 0.05 0.05

Figure 3 Permeability/Porosity Correlation for Cores from the Bradford Sandstone

0.01 0.01

6 6

8 8

10 10

12 14 16 12 14 16 Core Porosity (%) Core Porosity (%)

18 18

20 20

22 22

10,000 10,000

1,000 1,000 Core Core Permeabilty Permeabilty (md) (md)

100 100

10 10

Figure 4 Permeability/Porosity Correlation for Cores from the Brent Field

1 10 0

10 10

20 20 Core Porosity (%) Core Porosity (%)

30 30

Darcys Law: Originally a law for single phase flow that relates the total volumetric flow rate (Q) of a fluid through a porous medium to the pressure gradient (P/x) and the properties of the fluid ( = viscosity) and the porous medium (k = permeability; A = cross-sectional area): Note that Darcy's law can be used to define permeability using the quantities defined in Figure 5 as follows:

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 k.A P Q = x
Note that the in the equation in Figure 5 is a factor for units conversion (see Chapter 2). Darcy Velocity: This is the velocity, u, calculated as, u = Q/A; this may be expressed as,

u=

k P Q = A x

Pore Velocity: This is the fluid velocity, v, given by,

v=

Q u = A.

P Q L k.A P . L Q

Q = .

Figure 5 Schematic of the Single Phase Darcy Law

Permeability Anisotropy: Since permeability can be directional, then it is possible for kx ky kz in a given system. This is often seen in practice when comparing the horizontal permeability, (kh), with the vertical permeability, (kv) - usually as the ratio, (kv/kh). It is often found (kv/kh) < 1, i.e. there is more resistance to vertical flow than horizontal flow. The value of (kv/kh) must be evaluated with respect to the scale (i.e. the size) of the sample or system. The value of this quantity will be different in a core plug or in a large simulator grid block in which the core plug was a small part. The origin of the anisotropy may be quite different in each case. At the small (core plug) scale, anisotropy may come from fabric anisotropy at the grain level or from lamination at the slightly larger scale (laminaset scale). At the larger scale (grid block), the anisotropy may arise from larger scale heterogeneity, even though locally the component rock facies are completely isotropic. This is illustrated in Figure 6.

10

Glossary of Terms

Core Plug

Small Scale
kh kv Hi k lamina Lo k lamina

Fabric Anistropy

Rock Grains

Lamination

Grid Block Scale (100s m)

kv kh For Whole System

Heterogeneity Anistropy
Low Perm Lenses or Shales (kv/kh) = 1 Low Perm Sand (kv/kh) = 1

Figure 6 Permeability anistropy at different scales

1.4 Multi-Phase Rock/Fluid Properties

Saturation: The saturation of a phase (oil, water, gas) is the fraction of the pore space that it occupies (not of the total rock + pore space volume); symbols Sw, So and Sg ; saturation is a fraction, where Sw + So + Sg = 1. Multi-phase flow functions such as relative permeability and capillary pressure (see below) depend strongly on the local fluid saturations. Residual Saturation: The residual saturation of a phase is the amount of that phase (fraction pore space) that is trapped or is irreducible; e.g. after many pore volumes of water displace oil from a rock, we reach residual oil saturation, Sor; the corresponding connate (irreducible) water level is Swc (or Swi); the related trapped gas saturation is Srg; at the residual or trapped phase saturation the corresponding relative permeability (see below) of that phase is zero. Strictly, we should refer to the phases in terms of wetting and non-wetting phases - the residual phase of non-wetting phase is trapped in the pores by capillary forces. Typically, in a moderately water wet sandstone, Sor ~ 0.2 - 0.35. The amount of trapped or residual phase depends on the permeability and wettability of the rock and a large amount of industry data is available on this quantity: For example, the relationship for k vs. Swc (or Swi) is shown for a range of reservoir formations, Figure 7.

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10,000 5,000 1

1,000

Air Permeability (mD)

500

12 100 50 13 10 11 7 9 8

10 5

11A 5 4 6

1.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

% Connate water
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 = = = = = = = = Hawkins Magnolia Washington Elk Basin Tangely Creole Synthetic Alundum Lake St John 9 = Louisiana Gulf Coast Miocene Age-Well A Ditto-Wells Band C North Belridge California North Belridge California Core Analysis Data Dominguez Second Zone Ohio Sandstone

10 = 11 = 11A = 12 = 13 =

Figure 7 Correlation between (air) permeability and the connate water (Swc) for a range of reservoir rocks

Relative Permeability: A quantity (fraction) that describes the amount of impairment to flow of one phase on another. It is defined in the two phase Darcy law (see notes); depends on the Saturation of the phase; e.g. in two phase flow -> krw and kro depend on Sw (since Sw + So = 1). A schematic of the Two Phase Darcy Law showing the definition of Relative Permeability is presented in Figure 8. At steady-state flow conditions, the oil and water flow rates in and out, Qo and Qw, are the same:

12

Glossary of Terms

At steady-state flow conditions, the oil and water flow rates in and out, Qo and Qw are the same Po Qw Qo Pw Qw Qo

The two-phase Darcy Law is as follows: k.k rw .A . Pw w L

Scematic of relative permeability, krw and kro

Qw =

Figure 8 The two-phase Darcy Law and relative permeability

k.k ro .A . Po Qo = o L

Rel. Perm.
0 0

kro

krw

Sw

The two-phase Darcy Law is as follows:

Where: Qw and Qo = volumetric flow rates of water and oil Where: = cross-sectional area Qw and QoA = Volumetric flow rates of water and oil; L = system length A = o Cross-sectional area; w and = system length k = absolute permeabilities L = System length; the pressure drops across the water and oil phases at o = w and o Pw and = PWater and oil viscosities; steady-state flow conditions k = kro Absolute permeabilities; krw and = the water and oil relative permeabilities Pw and Po = The pressure drops across the water and oil phases at NB the Units for the two-phase Darcy are exactly the same as those in Figure 2 steady-state flowLaw conditions krw and kro = The water and oil relative permeabilities

Several further examples of relative permeabilities and capillary pressure are given later in this glossary. Note that the Units for the two-phase Darcy Law are given in Figure 2, Chapter 2. Capillary Pressure: The difference in pressure between two (immiscible) phases; defined as the non wetting phase pressure minus the wetting phase pressure; depends on the saturation - for two phases capillary pressure, Pc(Sw) = Po- Pw (for a water wet porous medium). The following figures show schematic figures for Capillary Pressure (Pc(Sw)) and Relative Permeability (krw(Sw) and kro(Sw)) for a water wet system:

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Capillary Pressure
Swc Sor

Relative Permeability
Swc Sor

Pc

krel
kro krw

Sw

Sw

Figure 9 Schematics of capillary pressure and relative permeability for a water-wet system

Mobility and Mobility Ratio: the mobility of a phase (e.g. w or o) is defined as the effective permeability of that phase (e.g. kw = k . krw ; ko = k . kro) divided by the viscosity of that phase;

k.k rw k.k ro w = ; o = w o

Mobility ratio, M, is given by:

M=

o k ro . w = w k rw . o

Fractional Flow: The Fractional Flow of a phase is the volumetric flow rate of the phase under a given pressure gradient, in the presence of another phase. The symbols for water and oil fractional flow are fw and fo and they depend on the phase saturation, Sw:

fw =

Qw Q ; fo = o ; ;where Q T = Q o + Q w QT QT

The fractional flows play a central part in Buckley-Leverett (B-L) theory of linear displacement which starts from the conservation equation:

Sw f = w ; t x

So f = o t x

Buckley-Leverett Theory: This mathematical theory of viscous dominated water oil displacement is based on the fact that the velocity, vSw, of a fixed saturation value Sw is given by:

f vSw = v. w Sw

14

Glossary of Terms

where v is the fluid velocity, v = Q/(A) and (dfw/dSw) is the slope of the fractional flow curve. The relationship between the fractional flow and Buckley Leverett theory is illustrated in Figure 10.
Fractional Flow
Fractional Flow of Water, Welge Tangent
"Buckley-Leverett" Saturation Profile

Sor Sw
Sor Length, (x/L) Swc Swf Flood Front Height

fw

Swf Swc

Figure 10 Relationship between the fractional flow function and the Buckley-Leverett front height

Water Saturation, Sw

1.5 Wettability and Fluid Displacement Processes

Wettability: This is a measure of the preference of the rock surface to be wetted by a particular phase - aqueous or oleic - or some mixed or intermediate combination. The Wettability of a porous medium determines the form of the relative permeabilities and capillary pressure curves; a very complex subject which is still the subject of much research. We refer to: Water wet, Oil wet and Intermediate wet systems in the following definitions. Water-Wet: Water-wet formation: Where water is the preferential wetting phase. Water occupies the smaller pores and forms a film over all of the rock surface - even in the pores containing oil. A Waterflood in such a system would be an imbibition process (see below). Water would spontaneously imbibe (see below) into a waterwet core containing mobile oil at Sor, hence displacing the oil. Oil-Wet: Oil-wet formation: Where oil is the preferential wetting phase. Oil occupies the smaller pores and forms a film over all of the rock surface - even in the pores containing water. A Waterflood in such a system would be a drainage process (see below). Oil would spontaneously imbibe into an oil-wet core containing mobile water at Swr, displacing the water. Intermediate-Wet: An Intermediate wet formation is where some degree of water wetness and oil wetness is shown by the same rock. Some different types of intermediately wet system have been identified known as Mixed wet and Fractionally wet. Both water and oil may spontaneously imbibe (see below) into such a system to some degree and indeed this forms the basis for certain Wettability Tests known as the Amott Test and the USBM Test (USBM => United States Bureau of Mines). Drainage: A Drainage displacement process is when the non-wetting phase is increasing. For example, in a water wet porous medium, drainage would be oil displacing water. The drainage and imbibition capillary pressure curves and relative permeabilities are different since these petrophysical functions depend on the saturation history. A simple schematic of a drainage process is shown in Figure 11.
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Qo Qo Oil Injection
Water Wet Core at 100% Water Oil Injection Water Wet Core Qo at 100% Water Figure 11 Drainage

Imbibition: An Imbibition displacement process is when the wetting phase is increasing. For example, in a waterWater wet porous medium, drainage would be water Oil Injection Wet Core displacing oil as shown in Figure 12. at The drainage and imbibition capillary pressure 100% Water curves and relative permeabilities are different since these petrophysical functions depend on the saturation Q history.
w

Water Injection Q
w

Water Wet Core at sor Water Injection Water Wet Core at sor Qw

Figure 12 Imbibtion

Water Wet Core Spontaneous Imbibition: This process occurs when a wetting phase invades a porous at sor Water Injection

medium in the absence of any external driving force. The wetting fluid is sucked in under the influence of the surface forces. For example, if we have a water wet core at irreducible water saturation, Swr, then water may spontaneously imbibe and displace the oil as shown in Figure 13.
Oil

The observed behaviour in a system of Intermediate Wettability is shown in Figure 14 Oil where we seeat that Core s both phases can spontaneously imbibe under certain conditions.
wc

Core at swc Core at swc

Water Water Water

Oil

Water imbibes into core displacing Water imbibes oil-water wet or into core displacing intermediate wet oil-water wet or system intermediate wet Water imbibes into system core displacing oil-water wet or intermediate wet system

Figure 13 Spontaneous Imbibition Figure 14 Intermediate wettability. Both water and oil may spontaneously imbibe into the core displacing the other phase. Shows both water wet and oil wet character

Core at swc

Oil

Core at sor

Water

Primary and Secondary Recovery Processes: Primary and Secondary processes refer to the stage in the fluid displacement when one phase displaces another. For example, in a water wet porous medium (--> means displaces) :
Drainage and Imbibition Capillary Pressure Drainage (d) and Imbibition (i) Relative Permeabilities
Swc Sor

16

Glossary of Terms

Primary drainage: is oil --> water from a core at 100% water saturation to Swr. Secondary imbibition: is water --> oil from a core at Swr and mobile oil to Sor. Examples: Figures 15 and 16 show schematics of typical Drainage and Imbibition capillary pressure (Pc) and relative permeability (krw and kro) curves for a water wet system. Primary Drainage (oil --> water from core at 100% water) and Secondary Imbibition (water --> oil from core at Swr) processes are illustrated:
Drainage and Imbibition Capillary Pressure Drainage (d) and Imbibition (i) Relative Permeabilities
Swc Sor d kro i

Pc

krel
Drainage
d

krw

Figure 15 Drainage and imbibition capillary pressures

Imbibition

Sw

Sw

100 80 60 40 20 0 Imbibition

Relative Permeability, %

Drainage

Figure 16 Drainage and imbibition relative permeability characteristics

20 40 60 80 100 Wetting Phase Saturation, %PV

Examples: Further examples of experimental capillary pressures and relative permeabilities in cores are shown for various processes (Drainage and Imbibition) and wettability conditions (Water wet and Intermediate wet) in figure 17,18,19 and 20 on the following pages.

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100 100 Relative Relative Permeability, Permeability, Fraction Fraction 80 80 60 60 40 40 20 20 0 00 0

Water Water 20 40 60 80 20Water 40 60 %PV 80 Saturation, Water Saturation, %PV

OilOil

100 100

Figure 17 Typical water-oil relative permeability characteristics, strongly water-wet rock

1.0 1.0
il il O O

Relative Relative Permeability, Permeability, Fraction Fraction

0.1 0.1

0.01 0.01
Wa W arter te

0.001 0.001

0.0001 0.0001 0 0

20 40 60 80 20 Saturation, 40 60 %PV 80 Water Water Saturation, %PV

100 100

Figure 18 Typical water-oil relative permeability characteristics, strongly water-wet rock

100 Relative Permeability, Fraction 80 60 40 20 0

Oil
Wa te

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV

100

Figure 19 Typical water-oil relative permeability characteristics, strongly oil-wet rock

18

1.0

il

Glossary of Terms

1.0

il

Relative Permeability, Fraction

0.1

0.01

0.001

Figure 20 Typical water-oil relative permeability characteristics, strongly oil-wet rock

0.0001

Wate r

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV

100

Examples: Experimental Capillary Pressures in cores for various processes (Drainage and Imbibition) and wettability conditions (Water wet, Oil Wet and Intermediate Wet). Figure 21.

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48 40 Capillary Pressure - Cm of Hg 32 24 16

Water Wet
Venango core VL-2 k = 28.2 md Capillary Pressure - Cm of Hg

48 40 32 24 16 8

Oil Wet

2 8 0 0

1 2

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation - %

100

0 0

20

40 60 80 100 Oil Saturation - %

Capillary Pressure Characteristics, Strongly Water-Wet Rock. Curve 1 - Drainage Curve 2 - Imbibition

Oil-Water Capillary Pressure Characteristics, Ten-Sleep Sandstone, Oil-Wet Rock (After Ref. 29). Curve 1 - Drainage Curve 2 - Imbibition

20 Capillary Pressure - Cm of Hg 16 12 8 4 0 Capillary Pressure - Cm of Hg

32 24 16

Intermediate Wet

1 8 0 -8 -16 -24 2

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation - %

100

Capillary Pressure Characteristics, (After Ref. 30)

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation - %

100

Oil-Water Capillary Pressure Characteristics, Intermediate Wettability. Curve 1 - Drainage Curve 2 - Spontaneous Imbibition Curve 3 Forced Imbibition

Figure 21

20

Glossary of Terms

Examples: Relative Permeabilitites Examples of experimental relative permeabilities in cores for Water Wet and Oil Wet systems. Figure 22.
100 Relative Permeability, Fraction Relative Permeability, Fraction 80 60
Oil

100 80 60 40 20 0
Oil

40 20 0
Water

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV

100

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV

Wa te

100

Typical Water-Oil Relative Permeability Characteristics, Strongly Water-Wet Rock

Typical Water-Oil Relative Permeability Characteristics, Strongly Oil-Wet Rock

1.0
il O

1.0

O
il

Relative Permeability, Fraction

0.1

Relative Permeability, Fraction

0.1

0.01
Water

0.01

0.001

0.001

0.0001

0.0001 0 20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV 100

Wate r

20 40 60 80 Water Saturation, %PV

100

Figure 22

Typical Water-Oil Relative Permeability Characteristics, Strongly Water-Wet Rock

Typical Water-Oil Relative Permeability Characteristics, Strongly Oil-Wet Rock

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EXAMPLES: Relative Permeabilitites

A simple table summarising the typical characteristics of water-wet and oil-wet relative permeabilities is given below.
WATER WET Swc Sw where krw = kro (Points A on Figure 23) krw at Sro (Points B on Figure 23) mostly > 20% Sw > 50% krw < 0.3 OIL WET < 15% (Often < 10%) Sw < 50% krw > 0.5 (approaching 1)

This is shown schematically in Figure 23:

100 80 Relative Permeability, % of Air Permeability
Oil

100 Water-Wet Reservoir 80

Oil

Oil-Wet Reservoir

60 40 20

60 40 20 A Swi 0
Wa
te
r

Swi

r Wate

20

40 60 80 Water Saturation, % In Water-Wet System Sw mostly > 20%

100

20

40 60 80 Water Saturation, % In Oil-Wet System Sw < 15%

100

At Point A: kro = krw ; Sw > 50% krw at Sor / kro at Swi < 30%

At Point A: kro = krw ; Sw < 50% krw at Sor / kro at Swi > 50%

Figure 23 Influence of wettability on relative permeability (after Fertl, OGJ, 22 May 1978)

1.6 Oil Recovery Methods, Waterflood Patterns and Sweep Efficiency

Here we refer to the method used to develop the reservoir as follows: Primary Depletion - allowing the reservoir to produce under the original reservoir energy i.e. by natural expansion. If the pressure falls below the bubble point (Pb), then gas appears and the primary depletion process is known as solution gas drive: Secondary Recovery - where reservoir pressure is supported by injection, usually of water in waterflooding but early gas injection may be considered also as secondary recovery In addition to supporting the pressure (maintaining reservoir energy), water or gas injection also displaces oil directly:

22

Glossary of Terms

Tertiary Recovery or Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) or Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) - this refers to a range of methods which are designed to recover additional oil that would not be recovered by either Primary or Secondary Recovery. Such methods include: Thermal Methods Gas Injection Chemical Methods Microbial Methods - steam, in-situ combustion,.. - N2, CO2, hydrocarbon gas injection (usually after a waterflood) - surfactant, polymer, alkali,.. - using bugs to recover oil!

Waterflood Pattern: On-land Waterflooding is often carried out with the producers and injectors in a particular pattern. This is known as pattern flooding and examples of such patterns are: Five Spot, Nine Spot, Line Drive etc. as shown schematically in Figure 24.
Injection Well Production Well Pattern Boundary

Regular Four-Spot

Skewed Four-Spot

Normal Nine-Spot

Inverted Nine-Spot

Five-Spot

Seven-Spot

Inverted Seven-Spot

Figure 24 Examples of areal patterns of injectors and producers (pattern flooding)

Direct Line Drive

Staggered Line Drive

Areal Sweep Efficiency: The Areal Sweep Efficiency refers to the fraction of areal reservoir that is swept at a given pore volume throughput of displacing fluid as shown schematically in Figure 25. For example, the Areal Sweep Efficiency at Breakthrough for various processes (Waterflooding, Gas Displacement and Miscible flooding) is shown as a function of mobility ratio in Figure 26:
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High Areal Sweep

Poor Areal Sweep

High Areal Sweep

Poor Areal Sweep

Figure 25 Schematic of areal sweep efficiency

100 Breakthrough Areal Sweep Efficiency, %

100 Breakthrough Areal Sweep Efficiency, % 90 80 70 60

90 80 70 60 50 0.1
WaterOil GasOil Miscible

1.0 Mobility Ratio

10.0

50 0.1
WaterOil

Figure 26 Areal sweep efficiency at breakthrough in a five spot pattern for various displacement processes
10.0

1.0 Mobility Ratio

Gas Oil : The Vertical Sweep Efficiency refers to the fraction of Vertical Sweep Effi ciency Miscible vertical section (or cross-section) of reservoir that is swept at a given pore volume throughput of displacing fluid. This is function of the heterogeneity of the system (e.g. stratification), the fluid displacement process (e.g. waterflooding, gas injection) and the balance of forces (e.g. importance of gravity). It is shown schematically in Figure 27.

24

Glossary of Terms

Good Vertical Sweep

Figure 27 Schematic showing vertical sweep efficiency

Poor Vertical Sweep (By gravity over-ride or the presence of a high-k streak in this case)

1.7 Terms Used in Numerical Reservoir Simulation

Mass Conservation: This is a general principle which is used in many areas of computational fluid dynamics. It says that: (mass flow rate into a block) - (mass flow rate out) = (the rate of mass accumulation in that block) A reservoir simulation model (for 1, 2 or 3 phases) is basically: A mass conservation equation combined with Darcys law. Black Oil Model: Different types of formulation of the transport equations for multiphase/multicomponent flow are used to simulate the various recovery processes; by far the most common is the Black Oil Model which can simulate primary depletion and most secondary recovery processes. A black oil simulation model is one of the most common approaches to modelling immiscible two and three phase (o, w, g) flow processes in porous media; it treats the phases rather like components; it does not model full compositional effects; instead, it allows the gas to dissolve in the other two phases (described by Rso and Rsw); however, no oil is allowed to enter the gas phase. Grid Structure: This refers to the geometry of the grid being used in the numerical simulation of the system. This grid may be Cartesian, radial or distorted and may be 1D, 2D or 3D (see notes). Spatial Discretisation: This is the process of dividing the grid in space into divisions of x, y and z. In reservoir simulation, we always chop up the reservoir into blocks as shown in the gridded examples below and then we model the block block flows.

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Temporal Discretisation: This is the process of dividing up the time steps into divisions of t. 2D Areal Grid: This is a 2D grid structure as shown in Figure 28 which is imposed looking down onto the reservoir. For a Cartesian system, it would divide up the x and y directions in the reservoir into increments of x and y.
y

W2

W1

W3

x y Just 1 x z-block in 2D Areal Grid

Figure 28 Perspective view of a 2D areal (x/y) reservoir simulation grid: W = well

2D Cross-Sectional Model: This is a 2D grid structure which is imposed on a vertical slice down through the reservoir. For a Cartesian system, it would divide up the x and z directions in the reservoir into increments of x and z. Cross-sectional calculations are carried out to asses the effects of vertical stratification in the system and to generate pseudo-function for upscaling. (Figure 29).

Figure 29

3D Cartesian Grid The 3D Cartesian Grid is the most commonly used grid when constructing a relatively simple model of a reservoir or a setion of a reservoir. This is shown in Figure 30.

26

Glossary of Terms

Producer

Water Injector

Figure 30 A 3D Cartesian grid for reservoir simulation

z (Variable)

Transmissibility: The transmissibility between two grid blocks is a measure of how easily fluids flow between them. The mathematical expression for two phase flow between grid blocks i and (i+1) is (for water):
(i+1/2) Boundary

Block i
Sw i krw i (kA)i Qw

Block i+1
Sw i+1 krw i+1 (kA) i+1

Figure 31

k (P Pi ) Q w = ( kA kA )i +1/ 2 rw . i +1 x w Bw i +1/ 2
where the inter-grid block quantities are averages at the interfaces (where i+1/2 denotes this block to block interface. The single phase Transmissibility, Ti+1/2 , is given by:

Ti +1/ 2 =

( kA)i +1/ 2
x

and the full Water Transmissibility, Tw,i+1/2, between the two grid blocks is given by:

Tw, i +1/ 2 =

( kA)i +1/ 2 k rw
x

k = Ti +1/ 2 . rw w Bw i +1/ 2 w Bw i +1/ 2

27

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Therefore, we may write:

Qw = Tw, i +1/ 2 ( Pi +1 Pi )
The water transmissibility is clearly made up of two parts each of which is an average between the blocks. The single phase part is (k.A)av and the two phase part is [krw/(w.Bw)]av (k.A)av - a Harmonic Average between blocks is taken for the single phase part of the transmissibility (see Chapter 4; Section 3.2). [krw/(w.Bw)]av - this term is more complicated. For the average relative permeability term, [krw]av an Upstream Weighting is used; For [(w.Bw)]av the Arithmetic Average between blocks is taken. (See Chapter 4; Section 3.3). Numerical Dispersion: The spreading of a flood front in a displacement process such as waterflooding, which is due to numerical effects, is known as Numerical Dispersion. It is due to both the spatial (x) and time (t) discretisation or truncation error that arises from the gridding. This spreading of flood fronts tends to lead to early breakthrough and other errors in recovery. How bad the error is depends on several factors including the actual fluid recovery process being simulated e.g. waterflooding, water-alternating-gas (WAG) etc. (See Chapter 4; Section 2.2). Grid Orientation: The Grid Orientation problem arises when we have fluid flow both oriented with the principal grid direction and diagonally across this grid as shown schematically in Figure 32. Numerical results are different for each of the fluid paths through the grid structure. This problem arises mainly due to the use of 5-point difference schemes (in 2D) in the Spatial Discretisation. It may be alleviated by using more sophisticated numerical schemes such as 9-point schemes (in 2D).

I = Injector P = Producer

Figure 32 Flow arrows show the fluid paths in oriented grid and diagonal flow leading to grid orientation errors

Local Grid Refinement: Local Grid Refinement is when the simulation grid is made fine in a region of the reservoir where (LGR) quantities (such as pressure or saturations) are changing rapidly. The idea is to increase the accuracy of the simulation in the region where it matters, rather than everywhere in the reservoir. E.g. LGR ==> close to wells or in the flood pilot area but coarser grid in the aquifer.
28

Glossary of Terms

Hybrid Grid LGR: Hybrid Grids are mixed geometry combinations of grids which are used to improve the modelling of flows in different regions. The most common use of hybrid grids are Cartesian/Radial combinations where the radial grid is used near a well. Hybrid Grid LGR can be used in a similar way to other LGR scheme. Examples: A simple example of LGR and Hybrid Grid structure is shown in figure 33.
Injector Producer

Coarse Grid in Aquifer

Figure 33 Schematic of local grid refinement (LGR)

Hybrid Grid

Distorted Grids: A Distorted Grid is a grid structure that is bent to more closely follow the flow lines or the system geometry in a particular case. Corner Point Geometry: In some simulators (e.g. Eclipse), the option exists to enter the geometry of the vertices of the grid blocks. This allows the user to define complex geometries which better match the system shape. This option is known as Corner Point Geometry and it requires that the block block transmissibilities are modified accordingly. The idea of Corner Point Geometry is illustrated schematically in figure 34:

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Corner Point Geometry

Coordinates of Vertices ( ) Specified Block ( ) centres

Highly Distorted Grid Blocks

Block <-> Block Transmissibilty

Fault L1 L2 L3 L4

L1 L2 L3 L4

Distorted Grid

Figure 34 Grid structures for Faults and Distorted Grids

30

Glossary of Terms

1 Extented Refinement

2 Imbedded Refinement (Rectangular)

3 Variable Refinement (Radial)

4 Hybrid (Radial in Rectangular) Local Grid Refinement Around Vertical Wells

5 Hybrid Local Grid Refinement (Horizontal Wells)

Figure 35 Types of local Grids

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History Matching: History Matching in numerical simulation is the process of adjusting the simulator input in such a way as to achieve a better fit to the actual reservoir performance. Ideally, the changes in the simulation model should most closely reflect change in the knowledge of the field geology e.g. the permeability of a high perm streak, the presence of sealing faults etc. The observables which are commonly matched are the field and individual well cumulative productions, watercuts and pressures. Examples: Examples of history matching of pressure and water-oil-ratio (WOR) in two reservoirs are Figure 36. Note that in the WOR match the first pass was very inaccurate but that eventually a suitable match was found. A vitally important point is that a good history match must be obtained for the right reason. It may be possible to get a satisfactory match for the wrong reason i.e. by adjusting a variable that is not the primary cause of the mis-match (indeed, this is very often the case). However, such a model will eventually have very poor predictive properties.

1.0

(a) 3600 3400 3200 Final Match 3000 Pressure (psi) 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Year (b) 3600 11 3400 3200 3000 Pressure (psi) 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Year (c) 3600 3400 3200 3000 Pressure (psi) 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Year 8 9 10 11 12 Calculated Field Data 8 9 10 11 12 Calculated Field Data 8 9 10 11 12 Calculated Field Data

0.8

0.6 Watercut

0.4 First Trial Observed Data 0.0 0 1 3 5 7 Time, Days x 10 9

0.2

Initial and Final Matches of WOR of a Well in a Highly Stratified Reservoir

Final Pressure Matches of Typical Khursaniyah Field Wells: (a) Reservoir AB (b) Reservoir C (c) Reservoir D (MP)

Figure 36 A field of a history match of watercut and well pressures; redraw from Mattax and Dalton (1990)

1.8 Numerical Solution of the Flow Equations in Reservoir Simulation

Finite Differences: When the derivative in a differential equation is approximated as a difference equation as follows:
32

Glossary of Terms

S (Si Si 1 ) x i x
then this is referred to as a Finite Difference approximation. In this example, which is illustrated below, (S/x)i is the derivative of Saturation (S) with respect to x at grid point i ; Si and Si-1 are the discrete values of S at grid points i and i-1, respectively; x is the size of the spatial grid.
Si-1 Si S(x,t) Si+1 x x i-1 x .... i x i+1

Slope = s x

Figure 37

Linear Equations: When finite difference methods are applied to the differential equations of reservoir simulation, a set of linear equations results. These have the form:

A. x = b
where A is a matrix of coefficients, x is the vector of unknowns and b is the (known) right hand side. Expanded up, this set of linear equations has the form: a11 x1 a21 x1 a31 x1 a41 x1 + + + + a12 x2 a22 x2 a32 x2 a42 x2 + + + + a13 x3 .... a23 x3 .... a33 x3 .... a43 x3 .... + a1n xn = + a2n xn = + a3n xn = + a4n xn = b1 b2 b3 b4

............ an1 x1 + an2 x2 + an3 x3 ....

+ ann xn = bn

Direct Solution Of Linear Equations: A Direct Solution method is when the linear equations are solved by an algorithm which has a fixed number of operations (given N, the number of linear equations [unknowns]). If the equations have a solution, then, in principle, a direct method will give the exact answer, x(true), to the machine accuracy. E.g. Gaussian Elimination Iterative Solution Of Linear Equations: An Iterative Solution method is when the linear equations are solved by an algorithm which has a variable number of operations. A first estimate of the solution vector x(0) is made and this is successively refined to converge to the true solution. In a convergent iterative method, then x(v) x(true) as v . It is because of this iterative process that a variable number of steps may

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be required depending on how accurate the answer must be. Normally, the iterative method would be carried out until: | x(v) - x(true)| < Tol. where Tol. is some small pre-specified tolerance. E.g. Line Successive Over-relaxation (LSOR) Grid Ordering Schemes: When the simulation grid blocks are ordered in various ways, the structure of the non-zeros in the sparse matrix, A, is different. Advantage can be taken of the precise structure when solving these equations. E.g. Schemes known as D2 and D4 ordering.

1.9 Pseudo-Isation and Upscaling

Upscaling: The process of reproducing the results of a calculation which is carried out on a fine grid on a coarser grid is known as Upscaling. The basic idea of upscaling is shown schematically in Figure 38. The input properties at the coarser scale must take into account the flow effects of the smaller scale structure. These coarser scale properties then become pseudo-properties.

34

Glossary of Terms

Fine Grid Layered Model

High Sw

Low Sw Oil

Upscaling or Pseudo-Isation

Coarse Grid Layered Model

Oil Recovery % OOIP

Fine Grid Coarse Grid

Figure 38 Basic idea of upscaling

Time

Pseudo-Property: This refers to the value of a property or function (e.g. permeability, relative permeability..) which is an average or effective value at a certain scale usually the grid block scale. For example, we might put the value kx = 150 mD in a simulator grid block which is 200 ft x 200 ft x 30 ft. Clearly, this incorporates a large amount of geological substructure and permeability may vary very significantly in different parts of this block. Pseudo-Relative Permeability: This is probably the most important pseudo-property that is used in reservoir simulation. It refers to the effective relative permeability in the simulation model at the grid block scale and is shown schematically in Figures 39 and 40. It must incorporate the effects of all the smaller scale geological heterogeneity, the balance of forces (viscous/capillary/gravity) and certain numerical effects (numerical dispersion). Methods for calculating the Pseudo-rel perm include: Jacks et al, Kyte and Berry, Stone etc. Newer methods are based on tensor pseudorelative permeabilities (Pickup and Sorbie, 1994).
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Geopseudos: When the fluid flow upscaling is performed in the correct context of the sedimentary structure up from the lamina, laminaset, bedform.. scales, then the approach is known as the Geopseudo Methodology. This has been developed in work at Heriot-Watt which has extended more conventional approaches by putting in the geology. Figure 40 shows a simple example of a pseudo relative permeability showing holdup of fluid.

Fine Grid Layered Model

High Sw

"Rock" Relative Permeabilities

krel
Low Sw Oil

Sw

Upscaling or Pseudo-Isation

Pseudo-Relative Permeabilities

krel Sw
Coarse Grid Layered Model

Oil Recovery % OOIP

Fine Grid Coarse Grid

Time

Figure 39 Basic idea of upscaling or pseudo-isation

36

Glossary of Terms

Water Flow Sw

Rel Perms. Sor kro Swc Sw Rel Perms. ? Sor krw

No Water Flow
Figure 40 A simple example of a pseudo relative permeability

Sw Swc

1.10 Numerical Simulation of Flow in Fractured Systems

Fractured System: In this context, we imply systems (such as in many carbonate reservoirs) where small scale conductive fractures occur but most of the oil is in the rock matrix. In certain non-porous fractured rock reservoirs (e.g. fractured volcanics), it is possible to have all the oil in the fractures but these are much less common. Typically, in porous fractured systems: fracture porosity, f = 0.1 - 1% of bulk volume (i.e. as a fraction f = 0.001 - 0.01). Features of Fracture Geometry: The main geometric features of fractures which are thought to affect fluid flow are the: fracture orientation, width, conductivity, connectivity and spacing (or fracture density). The interface between the fracture and the matrix will also play a very important role in multiphase flow and fluid displacement processes. Stylolites: Stylolites are frequently found in limestones. They are laterally extensive features formed by grain-to-grain sutured contact caused by the phenomenon of pressure solution. These features may significantly reduce vertical permeability thus causing systems containing them to have very low (kv/kh) ratios (at certain scales). Vugs: Vugs are dissolution holes in a carbonate rock caused by diagenetic reactions. Dual Porosity Models: These are the most widely used simulation models for modelling flow in fractured systems. They have separate conservation/flow equations for the matrix and the fractures and matrix fracture flow is represented by Transfer Functions. They are most frequently used to model multiphase flow in fractured carbonates. Variants of this model allow for; (i) flow only in fractures and (ii) flow in both fractures and matrix. Discrete Models of Fracture Systems: A more recent approach to flow in fractured systems tries to represent the fractures explicitly as oriented planes with various shapes in 3D. Single phase (tracer) flow models of this type are used to model radioInstitute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

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nuclide transport in fractured media. However, multi-phase models of this type are not commercially available at present. Transfer Function: The function which describes the oil flow rate between the matrix and the fractures is known as the Transfer Function. Approximate analytical equations for this function have been suggested by Birk, Boxerman and Ahronovsky. Sudation: When oil is recovered from the matrix blocks in a fracture by a combination of gravity and capillary forces, the recovery mechanism is sometimes referred to as Sudation.

1.11 Miscellaneous-Vertical Equilibrium, Miscible Displacement and Dispersion

Vertical Equilibrium: The concept of Vertical Equilibrium (VE) is quite widely used in reservoir engineering. It takes several forms, two of which are listed below (and illustrated schematically in Figure 41: A: the pressure gradients in a particular direction (x, say), P/x, are all equal locally in a long system. See Figure 41a. B: there is virtually instant crossflow vertically - nearly infinite - compared with the horizontal flow. See Figure 41b. The VE assumption is often made in order to simplify the mathematical analysis of certain fluid flow problems in reservoir engineering. Vertical Equilibrium (VE) is known to apply in long thin systems (where x >> z, in Figure 41b). More accurately, the VE limit is approached as the scaling group, RL ; where:

x k R L = . z z k x

1/ 2

and kz and kx are the vertical and horizontal permeabilities, respectively. In practice, if RL is > 10, then VE is a very good assumption.

38

Glossary of Terms

A: Equality of Layer Pressure Gradients (Where x >> z) Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 x z

P x

P x

P x

B: Instantaneous/Infinite Vertical Crossflow

Figure 41 Schematic views of vertical equilibrium

Miscible Displacement: Whereas oil and water are immiscible fluids (i.e. they do not mix and are separated by an interface), some fluids are fully Miscible (i.e. they mix freely in all proportions). When a gas (or other fluid) is injected into an oil reservoir and the fluids are miscible, this is referred to as a Miscible Displacement. When two fluids (e.g. gas and oil) are fully miscible (go = 0), the local pressure and the pressure gradients are the same (there is no capillary pressure since there is no interface). The mixing between the solvent and the oil can occur locally by Dispersion and by Fingering (see Viscous Fingering below). The displacement is described by a generalised Convection-Dispersion Equation where the mixing viscosity, (c) is a function of the concentration of the solvent, c (or oil). Often, the solvent viscosity is below that of the oil (i.e. s < o) which tend to cause an instability to develop in the displacement known as Viscous Fingering. The Miscible Flow Equations: These comprise of a Pressure Equation and a Transport Equation. The pressure equation is derived by inserting Darcys Law (with a viscosity dependent on solvent concentration) into the continuity equation. The transport equation is a generalised convection-dispersion (or convection-diffusion) equation. Continuity equation:

.u = 0 (assuming incompressible flow)

Darcy Equation:

u=

k .P ( c)

where u is the Darcy velocity, c is the miscible solvent concentration and k is the
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permeability tensor. The pressure equation is then given by:

k .u = . .P = q (c ) or k . .P = q (c ) represent any source/sink terms where q

The transport equation is the generalised convection-dispersion (diffusion) equation:

c = .(D.c) v.c t
where D is the dispersion tensor and v is the pore velocity ( v =

u ).

Dispersion and Dispersivity: Hydrodynamic dispersion in a porous medium at the small (core) scale is a frontal spreading or mixing which is due to various flow paths which the fluid can flow along at the pore scale. This mixing is a diffusive process since the growth of the mixing zone, Lf , tends to grow in proportion to t . In a tracer core flood experiment, the Dispersion Coefficient, D, may be measured by fitting the effluent profile to an analytical solution of the Convection-Dispersion Equation (see figure 42). Units of D (cm2/s - at lab scale). Dispersive mixing behaviour can also be seen from the mixing effect of heterogeneities at larger scales in a porous medium. D, has been found to depend linearly on velocity through the relationship: D = . v; where is the Dispersivity and has dimensions of length. Dispersion is actually a tensor in rather the same way that permeability ( k ) in its general form is a tensor.

40

Glossary of Terms

Dispersive Mixing Zone 1 C 0

Figure 42 Schematic illustration of dispersion and the convection-dispersion equation for simple tracer flow

C(x,t1)

Lf

Ce 1

Effluent Concentration Ce(1,t)

1 time (pv)

In situ concentration profile at time, t1; C(x,t1) Described by Convection Dispersion Equation: C = D C - v C t x2 x C = Dimensionless Concentration (C/Co) D = Dispersion Coefficient v = Pore Velocity (Q/A)
2

Viscous Fingering: When a high mobility (lower viscosity) fluid displaces a lower mobility (higher viscosity) fluid, a type of instability may develop known as Viscous Fingering. For such a displacement, the Mobility Ratio (see above) is high and the process may be observed in either miscible or immiscible displacements, although it occurs more readily in miscible systems. Results from an experiment are shown in Figure 43 where the dark fluid is high viscosity and the light fluid is low viscosity. Clearly, viscous fingering leads to a poorer sweep efficiency in such floods.

Figure 43 Experimental demonstration of viscous fingering

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