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Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir

Engineering
Research May 2015
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3197.7127

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Luis Loera
Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo
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Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir Engineering

Luis Loera Barona (9504829)
MSc Petroleum Geoscience for Reservoir Development and Production
University of Manchester
Manchester, U.K.

Abstract
This article aims to provide brief insight into reservoir engineering. The definition of petroleum
reservoirs, with a classification and their characteristics are contained within. Also, the definition,
objectives and main tasks of reservoir engineering is commented. Finally, the main production
stages from petroleum reservoirs are briefly reviewed. An effort has been made on giving a special
focus on the importance of the understanding of the reservoirs to optimize the oil and gas
production.

Introduction
Hydrocarbons are mixtures of organic
compounds that can exist in different phases,
according to the pressure and temperature
conditions at what they are found. As fluids,
they can exist as liquid and gas. When
hydrocarbons are produced from a reservoir
and transported to the surface, they
experience changes in their pressure and
temperature conditions affecting their flowing
characteristics and their composition.
Understanding of this is necessary for
predicting how fluids would behave at any
position and conditions of the production
system facilities.

Petroleum reservoirs
A reservoir is defined as is the portion of a
geological trap which contains oil and/or gas
as a single hydraulically connected system
(Craft, 1991). Due to their petrophysical
characteristics, oil and gas accumulation
occurs mainly in sedimentary rocks as
limestone, dolomite, and sandstone, where
fluids are stored and distributed according to
their densities (Figure 1) (Craft, 1991).

Figure 1. Initial fluids distribution in an oil

reservoir (Tarek, 2000).
The five basic elements necessary to generate
and store hydrocarbons are: Source rock,
migration pathway, reservoir rock, trap and
seal. Listed elements, and the appropriate
timing for their generation and occurrence are
known as petroleum system (Schlumberger,
2015).
Some reservoirs are connected to enormous
volumes of water-saturated rocks, known as
aquifers (Figure 2). Sometimes, more than
one reservoir is connected to the same
aquifer and pressure decline in one of the
reservoirs might affect the rest (Craft, 1991).
Also, when the portion of rock delimited by

the trap is saturated with oil and/or gas, the

trap and the reservoir are the same (Craft,
1991), as occurs with shale gas reservoirs.

Figure 2. Reservoir with artesian water drive

(Clark, 1969)

When pressure and temperature conditions

within the reservoir are such that
hydrocarbons exist only as liquid, the
reservoir is said to be under-saturated and all
the gas is dissolved in the oil. On the other
side, if a volume of free gas saturates a
portion of the rock, this is known as a
saturated oil reservoir (Craft, 1991). The free
gas zone is defined as gas cap, whereas the
interval with liquid hydrocarbons as the oil
zone.
Other reservoirs have, at initial conditions,
only a gas phase. This gas may still have
components that become liquid when
pressure and temperature change (Craft,
1991). This is the case of wet gas and gas and
condensate reservoirs. Dry gas reservoirs exist
in only one phase during all the production
process (McCain, 1993).

Reservoir engineering
Reservoir engineering is defined as the
application of scientific principles to the
drainage problems arising during the
development and production of oil and gas
reservoirs (Craft, 1991); or the art of
developing and producing oil and/or gas from

a reservoir in such a manner as to obtain a

high economic recovery (Moore, 1955).
The main task of reservoir engineering is the
optimization of the oil and gas extraction
process (Essley, 1965). To do this, it is
necessary to analyse/interpret information
generated
from
useful
subsurface
measurements, whose objective is the study
and characterization of the behaviour of the
reservoir. This is accomplished by models,
which generate reliable and useful
information to evaluate and determine the
best exploitation strategy.
Reservoir engineering is also necessary to
prevent useless work and expenses (incorrect
location or number of wells), initiate control
operations, determine whether artificial lift
would be necessary, or if secondary recovery
or EOR will be required and the best time to
implement, always considering the reservoir
characteristics and the economic factors
(Essley, 1965).
Technological advancement has driven the
development of reservoir engineering. More
powerful tools for the engineer are generated
with computers of higher speed and greater
capacity. This tools and resources are used by
the reservoir engineer in their task of
optimizing the oil and gas extraction
processes.
Within the most representative reservoir
engineer tasks are the determination of the
STOIIP, the study of the properties of the rock
and its relationship with the fluids it contains,
the study and analysis of the changes in the
physical properties that fluids in the reservoir
experience with pressure and temperature
changes, the prediction of the behaviour of
reservoirs in primary phases of production,
determine the pressure variations with time,
perform EOR studies and collaborate with
work teams towards common objectives
related to optimization.

Production
reservoirs

from

petroleum

Primary production is the initial production

phase of hydrocarbons, driven by the natural
energy of the reservoir and defined by its
initial pressure. Under primary production,
fluids flow to the wells due to the expansion
of the fluids and the rock, displacement by
water, gravitational segregation and capillary
expulsion (Craft, 1991). Figure 2 shows an
example of a reservoir with a combination of
these drive mechanisms.

primary production phase finalizes, having

multiple
recovery
mechanisms
simultaneously, under reservoir management.
This is known as Advanced Recovery (Craft,
1991; Tarek, 2000).

Conclusions
Reservoir engineering has a major role in the
oil industry. Technological advancements are
closely linked to the development of this
discipline and its scope influences directly the
efficiency and optimization of all the reservoir
development stages and processes, and hence
has a significant impact in the profitability of
any project.
Topics contained in this article have been very
briefly presented and deeper approach is
recommended for all of them.

References
Craft, B. C. y Hawkins, M. F., 1991,
Introduction to Reservoir Engineering,
Applied Reservoir Engineering, p. 2-5.
Schlumberger, Petroleum system, Available
at:http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/en/Te
rms/p/petroleum_system.aspx; (Accessed:
29th April 2015).
Figure 2. Combination drive reservoir (Clark,
1969).
The mechanism of displacement by fluids can
be reproduced artificially by strategically
injecting water or gas in wells, and this
method can be combined with natural
mechanisms as gravitational segregation
and/or capillary expulsion, increasing
recovery. This method is known as secondary
recovery (Craft, 1991).
When secondary recovery has low recovery
potential, other processes have been
developed and are known as Enhanced Oil
Recovery (EOR) methods (Craft, 1991).
From reservoir engineering it is possible to
determine if secondary recovery or EOR
operations must be implemented before the

Clark, N. J., 1969, Elements of Petroleum

Reservoirs, Monograph (SPE of AIME): Henry
L. Doherty series.
McCain, W., 1993, Component of Naturally
Occurring Petroleum Fluids. The Properties of
Petroleum Fluids, p. 1-45.
Moore, T. V., 1955, Reservoir Engineering
Begins Second 25 Years, Oil and Gas Journal
54, No. 29, p. 148.
Tarek, A., 2000, Oil Recovery Mechanisms
and the Material Balance Equation, Reservoir
Engineering Handbook, p.725-731
Essley P. L., 1965, What is Reservoir
Engineering? SPE 920, Journal of Petroleum
Technology.