Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2013
5. Reservoir Rock
LECTURE MATERIALS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Introduction
Level of Petroleum Investigation Plate Tectonic
Petroleum Sedimentary Basin
Hydrocarbon Source Rock
Reservoir Rocks
Hydrocarbon Trap and Seals
Hydrocarbon Migration
Data Analysis
Exploration Risk Assessment
Prospect Analysis
Petroleum Geology of Indonesia
2
Reservoir Rock
Physical Properties
1.
2.
3.
4.
Porosity
Permeability
Reservoir Continuity
Areal Continuity
Reservoir Classification
1. Carbonate
Porosity evolution of Carbonate rock
Classification of carbonate reservoir
2. Sandstone
Porosity of sandstone reservoir
Classification of sandstone reservoir
Main Reference
Most of the text and pictures are
quoted from:
IHRDC, 2004; IPIM Learning
RESERVOIR ROCK
The only common rock types that normally have the favorable combination of porosity and
permeability to be reservoirs are sandstones and carbonates (Figure below). Many porous rocks
are useless as reservoirs, because their passageways or pore-throats are too small to allow
petroleum to move through them. This can be due to fine grain size ( as in siltstones and shale ), or
to poor sorting ( where fine and coarse grain sizes are intermixed and the finer particles clog the
passageways.
POROSITY
Porosity
Porosity is the first of two essential requirements for a rock to act as a
hydrocarbon reservoir. It is simply a measurement of the pore or void spaces in a
rock and is usually expressed as a percentage using the formula:
Porosity (%) = (volume of void / total volume of rock) x 100
Primary Porosity
Primary porosity is divisible into two types: intergranular or interparticle porosity, which
occurs between the grains of a sediment and intragranular or intraparticle porosity, which
actually occurs within the sediment grains themselves.
Intragranular porosity is more typical of newly-deposited skeletal lime sands. Next figure is
a sketch of a thin section of a limestone reservoir showing pore spaces within skeletal grains.
It is unusual for such pores to be preserved. They are generally infilled during early burial by
cementation but, in some cases, the cement may be leached out to leave the original intra
particle pore.
Intragranular porosity
Secondary Porosity
Secondary porosity is porosity formed within a reservoir after
deposition. The major types of secondary porosity are:
Intercrystalline;
Secondary Porosity
The geothermal gradient also affects the rate of the chemical reactions that cause porosity
destruction. In general, the higher the geothermal gradient, the greater the rate of porosity
reduction with depth (Galloway, 1974). Next figure shows porosity: depth relationships for
sandstones associated with two different temperature gradients in northeast Pacific Basin. It
indicates a greater rate of porosity reduction associated with the higher temperature
gradient.
Overpressure can help to preserve porosity at great depths (Plumley, 1980). Next figure
is a graph of porosity versus depth in a well in the United States Gulf Coast; it shows
preservation of porosities below the top of the super-normal pressure zone.
Cementation
Figure-1 is a sketch of a thin section of a sandstone reservoir rock from the Brent field in
the North Sea. The angular shape of many of the grain boundaries is due to silica cement
that has grown over them in continuity with the original grain. It is the crystal faces of the
secondary cement which give the pore spaces their angular boundaries. Many sandstone
reservoirs have lost some of their porosity by secondary silica cementation of this type.
Many other types of cement are found in sandstone reservoirs, especially calcite and the
clay minerals.
Figure-2 is a sketch of a thin section of a sandstone showing porosity having been totally
destroyed by cement of large calcite crystal.
Limestones
Like terrigenous sands, lime sands and skeletal carbonates have initial porosities of 45 to
50 percent, but in most ancient limestones that porosity has been almost totally
destroyed. We shall now take a close look at diagenetic pathways for carbonates.
The next figure is shows the various routes that may be taken by a skeletal lime sand as it
is buried and undergoes diagenesis.
CARBONATE
Classification of Porosity
The most useful classification of carbonate pore types is that published by Choquette and Pray (1970).
They recognize two basic categoriesfabric selective and not fabric selective ( Figure below,
Classification of carbonate pore types ). Fabric-selective elements of porosity are those that are related to
the depositional fabric of the rock; they include:
Fenestral
from
sediment
infill
during
SANDSTONE
Classification of Sandstone Porosity
There are three types of matrix-related sandstone porosity intergranular porosity, nonintergranular porosity and microporosity. These three porosity types can be shown as end
members of a ternary diagram that represents total matrix porosity.
Intergranular porosity and microporosity is either primary or secondary in origin, but nonintergranular porosity is of secondary origin only. For more detailed, descriptive purposes, the end
members of this ternary classification scheme can be recalculated to 100 percent and presented
on a daughter ternary diagram.
Dissolution Porosity
By far, the largest volume of
secondary porosity is created by
the
dissolution
of
detrital
constituents
and
authigenic
minerals,
which
is
nearly
ubiquitous in sandstones. It is
especially prevalent in sandstones
of intermediate-to-deep burial
depth (> 2.0 km) and elevated
thermal maturity (R0 > 0.5 percent)
as described in a large body of
literature (e.g., McDonald and
Surdam, 1984; Hutcheon, 1989a);
and references therein). Secondary
porosity due to dissolution may
also form extensively during
exposure (resulting, for example,
from uplift and erosion) at
unconformities.
Figure of Textures of intergranular
secondary porosity identical to or
modified from precursor primary
porosity
In many instances, it is important to determine the factors that influence the extent of conversion
of primary porosity to secondary porosity because secondary porosity resists destruction by
mechanical and chemical compaction to a much greater extent than does primary porosity. This
resistance is caused by preferential dissolution of ductile and labile grains, and the development of
interlocking grain contacts that create a more stable grain framework. For example, in next Figure,
the porosity-depth plot suggests that secondary porosity replaced good primary porosity at about
6,000 ft. and that most of this porosity was preserved to depths of about 11,000 ft. The one
sample with very high porosity at 11,000 ft. is an exception and reflects significant net
addition of secondary porosity at depth.
Sandstone Mineralogy
The impact of differences in mineralogical composition on the development of secondary porosity
is often quite striking. Next figure shows an example of the porosity evolution of two adjacent
sandstone laminae that differ in volcanic rock fragment content. In the volcanic-rich sand,
alteration of volcanogenic grains created a large amount of ductile grains, which caused rapid
compaction of primary porosity.
In contrast, few grains become ductile
in the volcanic-poor sand and
compaction was much less severe.
When
carbonate
cementation
followed, significant primary porosity
was present only in the volcanic-poor
sandstone. Subsequent dissolution
preferentially affected the carbonate
cement
and
created
excellent
secondary porosity in the volcanic-poor
laminae,
while
dissolution
of
framework grains created only a minor
amount of secondary porosity in the
volcanic-rich sandstone. It is possible
that more secondary porosity would
have been created in the volcanic-rich
sandstone if it had been the only
sandstone lithology present to react
with the acidic pore water.
Diagenetic Traps
A practical application of the understanding of porosity evolution in sandstones lies in the search for diagenetically
trapped hydrocarbons. The original concept of the diagenetic trap as outlined by Wilson (1977) was based on the
observation that the presence of hydrocarbons in sandstone reservoirs inhibits diagenetic alteration of the
sandstone, but diagenetic porosity reduction processes will continue below the oil/water contact. Therefore, a
diagenetic bottom seal is created in a structural or stratigraphic trap and, after tilting, the hydrocarbons are
retained by a new seal in an up-dip direction. The next Figure is Diagenetic sealing of the wet zone traps
hydrocarbons even after destruction of the original trap.
A, B and C indicate the sequence of events).
Examples of these diagenetically trapped oil
fields are the Pleasant Valley and Guijarrel Hills
fields in California. Many sandstone fields with
tilted oil/water contacts or an absence of any
water drive are likely to be diagenetic traps
In essence, any factors that cause different
parts of a sandstone reservoir to react
differently from each other during burial have
the potential to create diagenetic traps.
Localized areas of secondary porosity can
create diagenetic trapping conditions, as can
localized areas of extensive cementation. Local
variations in diagenetic response caused by
differences in detrital mineralogy can create a
zone of rock with significantly different
properties from the rocks around the zone. In
the giant Elmworth gasfield in Alberta,
diagenetic
differences
have
led
to
conglomeratic gas reser voirs being sealed by
diagenetically altered sandstones (Cant, 1983).
Fracturing
General Considerations
Fracturing is just one aspect of the general field of rock mechanics. The details of how fractures develop under
varying conditions of stress is much too complex to be dealt with here. For our purposes we need only consider in
a qualitative way those factors that promote a high density of closely spaced fractures.
In carbonates with significant matrix porosity and permeability, closely spaced fractures enhance transmissibility,
resulting in higher rates of production. In rocks with little or no matrix porosity and permeability, the close spacing
of fractures is even more important. The fractures provide the only storage space for hydrocarbons; hence the
more fractures per unit volume, the greater the capacity of the reservoir. In addition, the more closely spaced the
fractures, the greater the likelihood that a small borehole will encounter a fracture that is connected to the
remainder of the fracture system.
With distantly spaced fractures, one could expect wide variations in productivity between closely spaced wells.
Fracture Criteria
There are three factors that qualitatively control fracture spacing:
Stress Concentration The more concentrated the stress, the more closely spaced are the fractures. Tight folds will
have more fractures per unit area than broad, open folds.
Ductility Contrast The greater the ductility contrast, the closer the fractures. Shales and evaporites have the
greatest ductility. Carbonates interbedded with these lithologies will readily fracture under differential stress. Even
within the carbonates there are ductility contrasts. Under burial compression dolomite will fracture, while an
interbedded limestone will deform plastically, limiting fractures to the dolomite bed.
Bed Thickness The thinner the bedding, the more closely spaced the fractures. Given 50 ft of dolomite
interbedded with 50 ft of anhydrite, there will be more closely spaced fractures in the dolomite if the individual
interbeds are 10-ft rather than 25-ft thick.
The negative side of fracturing is that tightly cemented carbonates that have no matrix permeability and should
serve as good seals often contain microfractures that allow hydrocarbons to escape from traps.
Fracture Porosity
Fractures are the most easily recognizable form of secondary porosity. Fractures are most
commonly developed in lithified sandstones, but some fractures are also found in unconsolidated
sands. It is useful to differentiate microfractures (less than 2 cm in length and less than 50 microns
in width) from larger macrofractures. It is also important to distinguish natural fractures from
those produced during drilling and handling of cores. The description of fractures should include
the following observations:
Based on this information, the impact of fractures on fluid transmission and recovery efficiency
can be evaluated. The storage capacity of fractures is negligible in most sandstone reservoirs but
may, on occasion, noticeably contribute to effective porosity. Rock fractures greatly increase
permeability and may interconnect pore space that was isolated in the unfractured formation. As a
result, fractures may enhance both productivity and hydrocarbon recovery.
PERMEABILITY
Permeability
Permeability is a measure of a rock's ability to conduct fluids. Next figure shows how the
permeability of a rock sample can be measured. A fluid of known viscosity is pumped through a
rock sample of known cross-sectional area and length. The pressure drop across the sample is
measured through pressure gauges.
The unit of permeability is the Darcy. A rock having a permeability of one darcy allows a fluid of
one centipoise viscosity to flow at a velocity of one centimeter per second for a pressure drop of
one atmosphere per centimeter. The formula for Darcy's Law as formulated by Muskat and Botset
(Botset, 1931; Muskat and Botset, 1931; Muskat, 1937) is as follows:
Where:
q = rate of flow
k = permeability
(P1 - P2) = pressure drop across the sample
A = cross-sectional area of sample
m = viscosity of fluid
L = length of the sample
Since most reservoirs have permeabilities that are much less than a Darcy, the millidarcy ( one
thousandth of a Darcy ) is commonly used for measurement. Permeability is generally referred to
by the letter k.
In the form shown above, Darcy's law is only valid when there is no chemical reaction between the
fluid and rock, and when there is only one fluid phase present completely filling the pores. The
situation is far more complex for mixed oil or gas phases, although we can apply a modified Darcytype equation. Average permeabilities in reservoirs commonly range from 5 to 500 millidarcies.
Some reservoirs , however, have extremely high permeabilities. Some of the Cretaceous sandstone
reservoirs of the Burgan field in Kuwait, for example, have permeabilities of 4,000 millidarcies
(Greig, 1958).
Since flow rate depends on the ratio of permeability to viscosity, gas reservoirs may be able to flow
at commercial rates with permeabilities of only a few millidarcies. However, oil reservoirs generally
need permeabilities in the order of tens of millidarcies to be commercial.
Factor affecting the permeability : Grain size, grain sorting and rock fabric
Grain Size
Porosity is independent of grain size. Permeability, however, is very different. All other things being
equal, finer grain sizes of sediment mean lower permeabilities. This is because the finer the grain
size, the narrower the throat passages between pore spaces and, therefore, the harder it is for fluids
to move through a rock. Therefore, permeability declines with decreasing grain size. Porosity is
generally unaffected by grain size but permeability increases with increasing grain size. The effect of
grain size on porosity and permeability can be illustrated by Figure 1.
Grain Sorting
In the poorly-sorted sand, there are many fine-grained particles occurring between the framework
of coarser grains. The pore spaces are being plugged up by the finer particles; thus porosity and
permeability may both be low. By contrast, in the well-sorted sand, the grains provide a clean
framework, with no finer-grained material to fill the pore spaces or block the throat passages.
Such well-sorted sands will have relatively high porosity and permeability.
Figure 1 is a sketch of a poorly-sorted sand and well-sorted sand. Figure 2 illustrates the effect of
sorting on porosity and permeability: the better sorted the sand, the higher are both the porosity
and permeability.
Rock Fabric
Fabric refers to the way in which the grains in the sediment are actually arranged. There are two
aspects of the fabric to consider: the way in which the grains are packed, and the way in which the
various particles are actually oriented.
Theoretically, there are six ways in which spheres can be geometrically packed. These range from
the loosest cubic style (Figure below), where porosity can be as high as 48 percent , down to the
tightest rhombohedral style where the porosity can be as low as 26 percent. Intuitively, one might
expect sediments which are deposited under the influence of gravity, such as grain flows and
turbidites, to exhibit looser grain packing and hence higher porosity than those laid down by
traction currents. It is most probable, however, that post-depositional compaction causes rapid
packing adjustments and porosity loss during early burial.
The above discussion of packing is based on the assumption that sediment particles are spherical.
This is seldom true of any sediment except for olites. Most quartz grains are actually slightly
elongated. Sands which contain flaky grains of mica or clay and those which are constituted of
skeletal carbonates have still more eccentric grain shapes.
Thus, the second element of fabric, orientation, is probably more significant than packing when
considering porosity and permeability variations. Although the way in which grains are oriented
has little affect on porosity, it has a major effect on permeability.
Figure below is a sketch of a typical bedded sandstone consisting of quartz grains elongated
parallel to current direction and mica flakes and other particles aligned parallel to the bedding.
Current direction is from left to right along the X axis. Permeability along the X axis will generally
be at a maximum, and along the Y axis at a minimum. The permeability measured in the Z axis will
generally be midway between these two values.
RESERVOIR
CONTINUITY
Reservoir Continuity
Unfortunately, most oil fields do not occur in single sheet-shaped reservoirs of great lateral
continuity with uniform porosity and permeability distributions. Most oil accumulations occur in
heterogeneous reservoirs with permeability barriers because of shale breaks or local cemented
zones.
Figure 1 is the reservoir engineer's dream: a blanket sand of uniform porosity and permeability
distribution. This occurs with a single oil: water contact. In this case for a well drilled at location 1
or through the reservoir of any other location, gross pay equals net pay.
Figure 2 is somewhat different: the sand is shaling out from right to left across the section, thus for
a well drilled at location 2 the net pay of the reservoir is less than the gross pay. There is still one
oil accumulation, or at least one major one, but there is a small separate accumulation with its
own oil: water contact in the lower left-hand part of the figure.
Figure 3 shows another situation. There is a series of separate oil pools with their own oil: water
contacts. This is not a genuine anticlinal structural trap, but a series of stratigraphic traps which
pinch out towards the crest of the structure. For each reservoir, net pay equals gross pay.
These figures show the importance of establishing continuity of reservoir beds. This can only be
done effectively when the development geologist and the petroleum engineer work together. The
geologist tries to establish the depositional environment of the various reservoir units and, using
that knowledge, he tries to make predictions about where the reservoir may be expected to
thicken and thin.
Areal Continuity
The following is based on the scheme proposed by Potter (1962). Refer to Figure 1.
The upper is an areal view of an ideal reservoir, a sheet of great lateral extent with a
length: width ratio of about 1 to 1. The remaining map views show different types of
elongated reservoirs with a length: width ratio greater than 1 to 1.
The belt variety is essentially a sheet sand with isolated holes replaced by shale. The
dendroid variety has length: width ratios which are generally greater than 3 to -1. This
is typically encountered in fluvial and deltaic sands which trend perpendicular to the
paleo-shoreline. The depositional environment of this type of sand body is illustrated
in Figure 2.
The ribbon or shoestring sands are characteristically produced by marine barrier bar
sands and usually trend parallel to the paleo shoreline. The depositional environment
of this type of sand body is illustrated in Figure 3 .
Lastly, there may be isolated pods which are hard to find and harder still to develop.
These often Occur where erosion has removed much of the sand and replaced it with
shale, leaving isolated pods of sand.
CARBONATE
RESERVOIR
CARBONATE
RESERVOIR
General
Setting
Sedimentary
Shelf Carbonate
Patch Reefs
Patch reefs in modern carbonate environments are localized concentrations of biotic communities, dominated by
coralline algae and coral and characterized by abundant and rapid construction of skeletal/colonial carbonate
debris. In some cases, patch reefs seem to be localized by bedrock prominences or breaks-in-slope; in other cases,
their location seems to be either random or related to subtle factors beyond present limits of geological resolution.
Typically, they may range in diameter up to perhaps 1,000 m.
(Figure a cross-section through a zoned marginal reef illustrating the different reef
zones and environment of different reef-building organisms).
Foreslope Carbonate
Two general types of foreslope models are
recognized (McIlreath and James 1978). The
depositional type ( Figure 1 , Schematic model
for a reef-dominated depositional carbonate
margin/foreslope with sequence of deposits
from slope accretion) is characterized by
slopes of sedimentation, which thus build
gentler, accretionary slopes that merge
gradually with basin floors.
1
Basinal Carbonate
Main Depositional Models and Facies Types
There are three main lithologies that are present in the basinal setting, as shown by studies of
modern deep-water sediments:
Euxinic basinal muds dark, organic-rich, fine-laminated, argillaceous muds; usually
petroleum source rocks.
Pelagic oozes fine-laminated, skeletal-rich, very finegrained muds that convert to
chalk.
Turbidite sands and debris-flows coarse- to fine-grained, thin-bedded sands and muds,
with frequent slump structures.
Generalized near-surface sedimentary facies map of the deep carbonate bank margins in the northern
Bahamas
SANDSTONE
RESERVOIR
SANDSTONE RESERVOIR
NON MARINE
DELTAIC
BARRIER ISLAND
SHELF MARINE
DEEP WATER
Braided Stream
As we mentioned earlier, many present-day alluvial fans grade laterally into the alluvial
plain of a braided river; that is, one characterized by an interlacing, vein-like network
of low-sinuosity channels with constantly shifting midchannel bars.
Figure 1 is Block diagram model of a braided stream system in a semiarid environment and
Figure 2 , Shifting channels in a braided river course -Durance River- near Avignon, southern
France, between 1939 and 1958. Streams and rivers tend to braid when three main factors
conspire: (1) high (though possibly seasonal) discharge, (2) relatively steep slopes, (3) large
amounts of coarse sediment.
Meandering Stream
DELTAIC ENVIRONMENT
Next figure is Time lines and lithofacies in a prograding delta illustrates the resulting oblique
configuration of time-stratigraphic depositional sequences that typically develop in a prograding
delta and the time-transgressive nature of the lithofacies units.
Classification of Deltas
Most genetic classifications of modern deltas are based on the relative intensities of
fluvial discharge, wave forces, and tidal current action. One such scheme, which has
gained wide acceptance, is the ternary classification by Galloway (1975). Next figure,
Diagram illustrating threefold division of deltas into fluvial-dominated, wavedominated, and tide-dominated types.
The value of this diagram is that
the relative influence of rivers,
waves, and tides, can be
obtained by simple visual
inspection. For example, the
Mahakam delta of Indonesia
can be seen to be about equally
influenced by fluvial and tidal
factors, whereas wave action
plays no part in shaping the
delta. The Niger delta, on the
other hand, is shown to
represent a balance between
the influence of all three
factors, with waves and
currents
somewhat
more
important
than
riverine
processes.
Streams downcut into the shelf, and sediment is deposited on the slope and on the basin floor as
point-sourced submarine fans. A portion of the slope may also be exposed causing the
downcutting of canyons. When eustatic sea-level fall is again less than subsidence at the
depositional shoreline break, lowstand fan formation generally terminates. Posamentier and Vail
emphasize that although submarine fans can be deposited at any time, they are most likely to be
deposited and have the highest sand: mud ratio during lowstand fan time. Lowstand wedges are
deposited as regressive progradational sequences after the rate of seafloor subsidence at the
depositional shoreline break once again exceeds the rate of eustatic sea-level fall.
RESERVOIR ASPECTS
Because of their ability to provide highly productive oil and gas reservoirs, deep sea sandstones
constitute one of the most important depositional systems for the petroleum geologist. Deep sea
sands are defined as being deposited below the level of the continental shelf (below 200 m)
These sands and associated facies are deposited by a variety of gravity flow mechanisms, including
slides and slumps, debris flow, grain flow, fluidized flow and turbidity currents. Traction currents
may also play a meaningful role, particularly in the deposition of sand in submarine channels. By
far the most significant depositional mechanism, however, are turbidity currents, whose resulting
deposit is defined as a turbidite. The facies model for turbidites consists of an upward-fining
sequence of textures and structures referred to as a Bouma sequence.