Reservoir Petrophysics

2014

Presented by: Ms Neema Maganza (Petroleum Geoscientist)

Course content
 Introduction
 Rock properties
 Reservoirs properties
 Core analysis
 Measurement of reservoir properties
 Darcy theory
 Fluid flow mechanism and recovery factory
 Reservoir estimate
Course content
 Introduction
 Rock properties
 Reservoirs properties
 Core analysis
 Measurement of reservoir properties
 Darcy theory
 Fluid flow mechanism and recovery factory
 Reservoir estimate
Introduction
Once the prospect is made from seismic and geological survey, location of
drilling is releases based on the most probable structure in the HC point of view.

Most probable structure is based on the structure identified based on :

1. A mature source rock
2. A migration path connections
3. A suitable reservoir rock
4. A trap
5. A permeable seal

 After identification of structure ,location is released for drilling.

 Once the well is drilled , the need arises for ascertain the worthiness of the
well.

 Till the time the well is being drilled it is not sure that the well drilled bear HC.

 To ascertain the potential of the well it is required to log the well.

• The search or economic accumulations of oil and gas starts with the recognition of
likely geological provinces, progresses to seismic surveying, and the drilling of one or
more wild-cat wells.

• If one is lucky, these wells may encounter oil, and if that is the case, measurements
made down the hole with wireline tools are used to assess whether sufficient oil is
present, and whether it can be produced.

• Clearly, the evaluation of sub-surface formations requires the combined efforts of

geologists, petrophysicists, drilling engineers and even geophysicists. However, it is
the geologist and petrophysicist that has the most influence.

• The petrophysicist’s job is to use all available information to analyse the physical and
chemical properties of the rocks in the sub-surface, and their component minerals,
with particular emphasis given to the amount and distribution of those fluid that we
know of as water, oil, and gas.

• Use extensively wireline log data and data from experiments done on cores
extracted from the well, and will occasionally use other sources of information such as
engineering and production logs, as well as mud logging data.
• Initially, the aim of the petrophysicists is to differentiate between oil, gas and
water bearing formations, estimate the porosity of the formations and the
approximate amount of hydrocarbons present in each formation.

• Ultimately, also uses laboratory data to estimate how easy it will be to extract
the hydrocarbons in place, and to design reservoir management strategies to
optimize long term oil recovery.
It should be remembered at all times that the main job of the petrophysicist is to
evaluate the amount of hydrocarbons in place in the reservoir.

Hence, the evaluation sequence for a straight forward reservoir will be as follows:
For any given well interval:

1. Distinguish between reservoir and non-reservoir rock

(Reservoir rock contains a reasonably high connected porosity.)

2. For the reservoir intervals only, distinguish between

hydrocarbons and water filling the pores, hence calculate water
saturation in reservoir rocks
(Hydrocarbons are electrical insulators, while water conducts.)

3. For the hydrocarbon fraction, distinguish between oil and gas,

hence calculate gas and oil saturations in reservoir rocks
(Gas has a much lower density than oil.)
 Well data

Wireline logging data

Drilling
Core data
Introduction
Data are recorded in a borehole

During drilling a liquid mixture containing clays and other natural

materials, called 'Mud‘ is pumped down the drill string forcing the
rock cuttings up to the surface. These cuttings are analysed for
indications of oil or gas.
Mud types

• Oil based mud (OBM)

• Water based mud(WBM)

• Uses:
• Raise cuttings
• Cool bit
Bore hole cont......

Open hole logs:

• Log recorded in uncased
hole
• Usually used in HC
exploration.

Cased hole:
• The portion of the wellbore
that has had metal casing
placed and cemented to
protect the open hole from
fluids, pressures, wellbore
stability problems or a
combination of these.
 Three general types of logs
• Electric logs
E.g Sp, resistivity
• Nuclear
– E.g gamma ray ,nuetron, Density
• Acoustic/ sonic
E.g Trasit time
Logging tools and depth of
investigation
Importance of geophysical well logging
• Defining physical rock properties
– Porosity
– Permiability
– Lithology
– Pore geometry
• Distinguish fluids (oil, gas and water).
• Define permiable zones.
• Determine Productive zones
• Determine the depth and thickness of productive zones
• Estimating HC reserves.
 Factors affecting the
logging/geophysical measurement
Rock properties that affect logging
measurements:
–Porosity
–Lithology
–Mineralogy
–Permeability
–Water Saturation
–Resistivity
 Measurement of these properties

Unfortunately, few of these petrophysical parameters can be

directly measured!

•Derived or inferred from measurements of other physical parameters, such as:

–Resistivity
–Bulk density
Wire line logging
–Interval transit time
–Spontaneous potential
–Natural radioactivity
–Hydrogen content of the rock
Wellbore Environment

• Invasion profile
• Washout
• Ovalized effect
Invasion Profile
Invasion Profile
• Hydrostatic pressure of
mud is usually greater that
pore fluid pressure.

• Permiable zone:
• Forces mud filtate and
• mud cakes on(bore
hole).

• Mud cakes reduce further

infiltratation

• Lead to the formation of

three zones:
1. Flushed zone (invaded
zone)
2. Transition zone or annulus
3. Uninvaded zone
5
We measure the rock properties
and fluid
Particularly the reservoir what are
these??????
Course content
 Introduction
 Rock properties
 Reservoirs properties
 Core analysis
 Measurement of reservoir properties
 Darcy theory
 Fluid flow mechanism and recovery factory
 Reservoir estimate
 ROCK CONSITUENTS

RESERVOIR ROCKS ( LITHOLOGY)

 Rock properties

Rock properties
Rock and fluid interaction properties
 Classification of Rock Properties
• Physical and chemical properties.
• Most rock heterogenous
• Mineral composition,porosity/fracturing and
internal rock structure influence physical properties.
• Physical rock properties (elastic,electrical,nuclear )
can be used to characterize rock .
• Eg reservoir properties:porosity,permiability
 Rock Classification
• Homogeneity

• Isotropy

• Scalar and tensoir

Physical Properties of Rocks: A workbook By J.H. Schön
 Scalar vs Tensor
Scalar property: No directional dependence of the property, Gives one valuefor the property

Tensorial property: directional depedence, given as a tensor with several components.

• Tensorial characher is relevant for rocks with
anisotropy (originated by lamination,preferred
direction of fractures,grain axis or mineral
orientation.
• Isotropy and anisotropy refer to directional
dependence of considered properties
(tensorial)
 In summary
• Scalar property: one value, no direction dependence
• Vector property: several component with direction
dependence.
• Isotropic :same properties independent to which
direction they are measured
• Anisotropic :properties depends on the direction which
is measured.
• Homogeneous: scalar or vector properties –same at
different location in the volume
• Inhomogeneous: property change with location.
Scale of Study
Course content
 Introduction
 Rock properties
 Reservoirs properties
 Core analysis
 Measurement of reservoir properties
 Darcy theory
 Fluid flow mechanism and recovery factory
 Reservoir estimate
Reservoirs
 Reservoir definition
A reservoir is that portion of a trap which contains oil and/or gas
as a single hydraulically connected system.
1. It is a rock layer
2. Porous so that stores oil
3. Permeable so that allows flow of oil
4. Has a mechanism to prevent escape of oil(trapping mechanism)
Reservoir Traps

NTNU, Trondheim 69
http://energy-alaska.wikidot.com/natural-gas-as-a-resource
 PROPERTIES
• Porosity
• Permeability
• Porosity - Permeability relationship, empirical
equations, correlation.
• Compressibility
• Formation Resistivity.
• Wettability.
• Surface tension and Capillary Pressure
• Fluid Saturation.
Rock Properties:
Porosity
Porosity
 Porosity
• Porosity is a measure of storage capacity of a reservoir.

pore volume bulk volume  matrix volume

 
bulk volume bulk volume

Grain Pores with

porefluid

Primary
Secondary porosity
porosity
 Porosity
Porosity may be classified according to its origin:
1. Primary or original porosity is developed during
deposition of the sediment.
2. Secondary porosity is caused by some geologic
process subsequent to formation of the deposit.

Secondary porosity

Original porosity
http://www.learnearthscience.com
Porosity
 Original porosity
Rocks with original porosity are more uniform
in their characteristics
Typical examples are:
I. The intergranular porosity of sandstones
II. The intercrystalline and oolitic porosity of some
limestones
Unfilled interparticle porosity
(in Oolite).
Porosity is black
 Secondary Porosity
• Secondary porosity is caused by some geologic
process subsequent to formation of the deposit.
• The changes in the original pore spaces may be
created by:
1. Ground stresses
2. Water movement
3. Geological activities after the original sediments were deposited
4. Fracturing
5. Formation of solution cavities
Primary and secondary porosity
 Secondary Porosity
1. Fracture porosity
2. Intragranular porosity
3. Dissolution porosity: Resulting from dissolution of rock grains.
4. Intercrystal porosity: Microporosity existing along intercrystalline
boundaries usually in carbonate rocks
5. Moldic porosity: A type of dissolution porosity in carbonate rocks
resulting in molds of original grains or fossil remains.
6. Fenestral porosity: A holey (‘bird’s-eye’) porosity in carbonate
rocks usually associated with algal mats
7. Vug porosity
 Secondary Porosity-fracture porosity

• It is generated by tectonic, fracturing of rock

• It can develop in any rock, allowing reservoir
fluid production even from tight rocks.
 Secondary Porosity -Vugular
• Vugular porosity is the pore space consists of
cavities or vugs
• Vugular porosity can occur in the rocks prone
to dissolution, commonly in carbonate rocks
Cavities Vuggy
 Microporosity
• The porosity resident in small pores (less than 1 micron)
commonly associated with detrital and authigenic clays.
• It also includes the porosity associated with surface
roughness
• Water in micropores is not expected to flow on production
• The water in this pore space is part of the capillary-bound
water and the small-pore water

INGRAIN
Digital rock physics lab
Two types of porosity may be measured
1. Total porosity t :The ratio of all the pore spaces in a rock to the bulk
volume of the rock.

2. Effective porosity e:The ratio of interconnected void spaces to the

bulk volume.
 Effective porosity e
• Only the effective porosity contains fluids that
can be produced from wells.
• For granular materials such as sandstone, the
effective porosity may approach the total
porosity
• For shale and for highly cemented or vugular
rocks such as some limestones, large
variations may exist between effective and
total porosity.
 Porosity

The porosity is influenced by several

parameters such as:
1. Grain shape
2. Grain size
3. Sorting
4. Packing
5. Compaction
Rock properties:
Permeability
Permeability
 Permeability
• (Absolute) Permeability is a property of a
porous medium and it is a measure of
capacity of the medium to transmit fluids.

Rapid moderate Slow

drainage drainage drainage
Permeability is affected
by particle size and
packing
 Sources for permeability determination

• Core analysis
• Well test analysis ( flow testing)
– RFT ( repeat formation tester) provides small well tests

• Production data
– Production logging measures fluid flow into well

• Log data
– MRI ( magnetic resonance imaging) logs calibrated via core
analysis
 Permeability

Absolute Permeability:
When only one fluid is present in the rock. It is a property of the rock
and is independent of the fluid used in the measurement. This
assumes that the fluid does not interact with the rock, (k)

Effective Permeability:
Effective permeability occurs when more than one fluid is present &
is a function of the fluid saturation & the wetting characteristics of
the rock. ( ko, kw, kg)
 Permeability
Permeability depends upon
1. Porosity
2. The connectivity of the flow paths in the rock
3. The pore geometry of the rock
4. Heterogeneity or directional properties of the
pore geometry
 Permeability

• Higher porosity higher permeability

• Smaller grains lower permeability
• Smaller grain size larger exposed surface
area to the fluid larger friction between
fluid and rock lower permeability
 Darcy’s law
• Darcy (1856) performed a series of
experiments on the relationship effecting the
downward flow of water through sands.

u
k
P  g 

u = superficial velocity
k = permeability tensor
 = fluid viscosity
P= pressure gradient
 = fluid density
g = gravitational vector

Darcy apparatus (after Hubert, 1953)

 Darcy’s law assuption
1. Laminar Flow
2. Steady State flow
3. Isothermal conditions:
– Temperature change results in a change
in viscousities
4. The fluid is incompressible
5. Homogeneous formation Henry Philibert
6. Non reactive fluid Gaspard Darcy
(1803-1858),
7. Single phase
 Darcy’s law
• Darcy’s law can be expressed:
q k P
 
A  L

darcyD 
 
q cm 3 / s . cp .Lcm 

Patm . A cm 2 

• The permeability in SI system has dimension

of m2, but we normally use darcy [D].
• Note that 1 D = 1 * 10-12 m2
Porosity permiability relationship
Relative Permeability
 Applications of relative permeability data

1. To model a particular process (reservoir

simulation), for example, fractional flow, fluid
distributions, recovery and predictions
2. Determination of the free water surface; i.e., the
level of zero capillary pressure or the level below
which fluid production is 100% water.
3. Determination of residual fluid saturations
 Definitions
Absolute permeability: ability of the porous media to
transmit fluids
Effective permeability: permeability of a given phase
when more than one phase is present
Relative permeability: is the ratio of the effective
permeability for a particular fluid to a reference or
base permeability of the rock.
 Relative permeability curves
• The drainage curve applies to processes where the wetting phase is
decreasing in magnitude.
• The imbibition curve applies to processes where the wetting phase is
increasing in magnitude.
 Relative permeability curves
Imbibition Relative Permeability
(Water Wet Case)
1.00
kro @ Swi Relative permeability curves consist of
Relative Permeability (fraction)

0.80
three elements:
Two-Phase Flow 1. The end point fluid saturations:
0.60 Region determine the movable saturation
Oil range
0.40
2. The end point permeabilities:
0.20 affect the mobility ratio
krw @ Sor
Water
3. The curvature of the relative
0
0 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
permeability functions:
Water Saturation (fraction)
 Relative permeability curves
Imbibition Relative Permeability
(Water Wet Case)
1.00
kro @ Swi
Relative Permeability (fraction)

• As Sw increases, kro decreases and

0.80 krw increases until reaching residual
Two-Phase Flow oil saturation
0.60 Region

Oil
• Wettability and direction of
0.40 saturation change must be
considered
0.20
krw @ Sor
Water • Relative permeability is unique for
0
0 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 different rocks and fluids
Water Saturation (fraction)
 Effect of wettability for increasing Sw

Strongly Water-Wet Rock Strongly Oil-Wet Rock

1.0 1.0
Relative Permeability, Fraction

Relative Permeability, Fraction

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

Oil
Oil Water
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

Water
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Water Saturation (% PV) Water Saturation (% PV)

Modified from NExT, 1999

 Parameters affecting relative permeabilities
• Fluid saturations

• Geometry of the pore spaces and pore size distribution

• Wettability

• Fluid saturation history (i.e., imbibition or drainage)

• Temperature

• Viscous, capillary and gravitional forces

After Standing, 1975

Rock and fluid properties:
Compressibility and resistivity
Compressibility
 Compressibility
• Fluids and solids are compressible, depending upon
the atomic structure and elasticity of their
molecules.
• Compressibility is a measure of the relative volume
change of a fluid or solid as a response to a pressure
change under condition of constant temperature.

1  V 
c  
V  P T
 Compressiblity

• In reservoir engineering practice, the

following compressibility factors can be
defined:
 Bulk rock compressibility, cb
 Rock grain (matrix) compressibility, cr.
 Pore compressibility, cp
 Liquid compressibility (oil and water), co and cw
 Gas compressibility, cg.
 Compressibility – Rock stress

• Porous rocks when buried at reservoir depths

are subject to both internal and external
stresses:
1. The internal stress results from the fluid pore pressure. A
typical gradient is 0.433 psi/ft
2. The external stresses are created from the weight of the
overburden (typical value is 1.00 psi/ft) and any
accompanying tectonic stresses
Fluid Pressure Regimes

HOT Engineering website

 Effects of compression on rocks
Sedimentary compaction compress the rocks, reducing porosity
and sometimes changing the shape and size of rock grains.
 Net effective stress
• External stresses tend to compact the rock
and reduce the pore volume.
• Internal stresses act opposite, therefore
resisting pore volume reduction.
The difference between the two opposing
stresses is known as the net effective stress,
σe:  e    p p
 Fluid production-compaction

• Fluid production decrease in pore pressure

increase in net effective stress porosity
reduction

• Increase in the depth of burial increase the

overburden pressure reduce the porosity
 Compaction due to depletion
• Decrease in pore pressure increases the
effective stress and causes elastic deformation
or even compaction of reservoirs

Compaction drive resulting from

pressure depletion in the Valhall
field in the North Sea helps getting
extra 800 million STB oil more than
the predicted 250 million STB
 Subsidence
Process of subsidence:
 Bulk volume decreases as fluids are produced
 Area is constant
 Formation thickness decreases (causing
subsidence of strata above)
 Rock compressibility

 Bulk rock compressibility, cb

 Rock grain (matrix) compressibility, cr.
 Pore compressibility, cp

Bulk compressibility, cb

Pore compressibility, cp

Grain compressibility , cr
Rock matrix compressibility, cr

Fractional change in volume of the solid

rock ( grain) with a unit change in pressure:
1  Vr 
cr    
Vr  P T

Where
cr = rock-matrix compressibility, psi-1
Vr= volume of solids
Pore compressibility, cp

Fractional change in the pore volume of the

rock with a unit change in pressure:
1  Vp 
c p    
Vp  P T

Where
cp = pore compressibility coeficient, psi-1
Vp= pore volume
Rock-bulk compressibility, cb

Fractional change in volume of the bulk volume

of the rock with a unit change in pressure:
1  VB 
cB    
VB  P T

Where
cB = rock-bulk compressibility coeficient, psi-1
VB= rock bulk volume
 Formation compressibility
• The formation compressibility is defined as:
c f  cB  cr  c p

• For most petroleum reservoirs, the rock and bulk

compressibility are considered small in comparision
with the pore compressibility, then:
1  Vp 
c f  c p     or Vp  c f Vp P
Vp  P T

• The typical values for cf range from

psi-1 6 6
3 10 to 25 10
 Total reservoir compressibility
• Total reservoir compressibility is defined as:

ct  Soco  Swcw  S g cg  c f
So,Sg,Sw=oil, gas and water saturaion
co=oil compressibility, psi-1
cw=water compressibility, psi-1
cg=gas compressibility, psi-1

• For undersaturated reservoir, there is no initial

gas cap and Sgcg term will be removed from
equation
 Compressibility of liquid
• In an elastic deformation of a liquid, the
compressibility can be expected to be constant.
• Depending upon chemical composition, liquids
behave different under compression
 Compressibility of liquid

• Water is not particularly compressible

• The compressibility of oil varies
considerably with the composition of the
hydrocarbon mixture.

Vl  Vlo .e
 cl ( p po )

 Vlo 1  cl ( p  po ) 
 Compressibility of gases
• Gases are highly compressible.
• The compressibility of a gas can be
described analogously to that of the liquids
and solids. pV  nRT
1  V  1
cg     
V  P T p
p: gas absolute pressure
V: gas volume
T: gas absolute temperature
n: gas mole number
R: gas constant
 Compressibility-porosity
• The pore compressibility can expressed in
terms of porosity
• Porosity increases with the increase in pore
pressure
1  Vp  1   
c p          c f
Vp  P T   P T

Effect of natural compaction on porosity

[Krumbein & Sloss, 1963]
 Compressibility-porosity
• Integrating the previous equation gives:


p

cf  p 
po
 
o

 
c f  p  po   ln  
 o 
  o e
c f ( p  po )

   o 1  c f ( p  po ) 
Po=original pressure, psi
Φo=original porosity
P=current pressure, psi
Φ=porosity at pressure p
Determination of pore compressibility
1. Using accepted correlations
2. Lab measurements on core samples:
a) Hydrostatic or triaxial loading
b) Uniaxial loading: only vertical deformation to occur, while maintaining
constant cross-sectional area

A triaxial load cell used to measure

the changes in pore and bulk volume
of a core sample
 Laboratory determination of cf
Core plug is 100% saturated with brine
„Core plug is placed in rubber or soft copper sleeve
As pressure outside sleeve is
increased, pore volume
decreases and the volume of
expelled brine is measured
Resistivity
 Resistivity
 Porous rocks are comprised of solid grains
and void space
 The solids, with the exception of certain
clay minerals, are non-conductors.
 The electrical properties of a rock depend
on the geometry of the voids and the fluid
with which those voids are filled.
 Resistivity
In petroleum reservoirs:
 Oil and gas are non-conductors.
 Water is a conductor when it contains dissolved salts,
such as NaCl, MgCl2, KCl normally found in formation
reservoir water.
 Current is conducted in water by movement of ions and
can therefore be termed electrolytic conduction.
 Resistivity
• The resistivity of a porous material is defined
by:
RA

L

R = resistance, 
A = cross-sectional area, m2
L = length, m
ρ = resistivity, Ohm-meter (.m).
 Determination of Rw

1. Archie’s Equation
2. Laboratory
 Direct measurement of representative water sample.
 Chemical analysis of water sample

3. Databases
 Published regional water catalogs

4. SP log
 Effects on resistivity
The electrical properties of a rock depend on the
geometry of the voids and the fluid with which
those voids are filled:
 Salinity of water, conductivity
 Temperature, conductivity
 Porosity or water saturation
 Pore geometry tortuosity resistivity
 Formation stress
• Composition of rock: shale content, metallic minerals; e.g., pyrite
Wettability
 Wettability
• There exists a surface tension between a fluid
and a solid, in the same way that a surface
tension exists between two immiscible fluids
• Wettability of a reservoir rock- fluid system is
defined as the ability of one fluid in the
presence of another to spread on the surface
of the rock.
 Wettability
• It determines the fluid distribution in the reservoir
• It determines the continuity of the wetting phase
• It is affecting the relative permeability and the
capillary pressure curves of the reservoirs.
• It determines the injectivity level associated to a
reservoir formation.
 Wettability

• The wettability of a reservoir rock system

will depend on the following factors:
1. Reservoir rock material and pore geometry
2. Geological mechanisms
3. Composition and amount of oil and brine
4. Pressure and temperature
5. Mechanisms occurring during production; i.e.
change in saturations, pressure and composition.
In a water-wet case (left), oil remains in the center of the pores.
The reverse condition holds if all surfaces are oil-wet (right).
In the mixed-wet case, oil has displaced water from some of the surfaces,
but is still in the centers of water-wet pores (middle).

Water-wet Mixed-wet Oil-wet

 Wettability
• When two fluids are in contact with a solid surface, the equilibrium
configuration of the two fluid phases depends on the relative values of
the surface tension between each pair of the three phases

 so   sw   ow cos   ow Oil

Water

where  so θ
 sw
Solid
– Water-solid interfacial tesion, 𝛾𝑠w,
– Oil-solid interfacial tension, 𝛾𝑠o,
– Oil-water interfacial tension, 𝛾ow.
– 𝜃𝑌 is the Young contact angle
Range of different wetting conditions
 Initial saturation distribution in a
reservoir

A free-water level
(FWL) defined where
the capillary pressure
between water and oil
is zero
 Practical importance of wettability
The original wettability of a formation and altered wettability during and
after hydrocarbon migration influence the profile of initial water
saturation, Swi

In a water-wet formation (left),

the oil/water contact is above the
FWL, indicating that pressure
must be applied to force oil into
the largest pores.

In an oil-wet formation (right ),

the contact is below the FWL,
signifying that pressure must be
applied to force the water phase
into the largest pores
Surface tension and capilary
pressure
Capillary pressure
 Capillary pressure
Capillary pressure data are required for three main
purposes:
1. The prediction of reservoir initial fluid saturations.
2. Cap-rock seal capacity (displacement pressures).
3. As ancillary data for assessment of relative
permeability data.
 Capillary pressure
• The forces that hold reservoir fluids in equilibrium with
each other and with the rock are expressions of capillary
forces
• Capillary pressures is as a result of the interfacial tension
existing at the interface separating two immiscible fluids
exist in the pores of the reservoir rock

𝑃𝑐 = 𝑃𝑛𝑜𝑛−𝑤𝑒𝑡 − 𝑃𝑤𝑒𝑡
h1
h2
h3
Fluid saturations
Introduction
Reservoir fluids fall into three broad categories;
(i) aqueous solutions with dissolved salts,
(ii) liquid hydrocarbons, and
(iii)gases (hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon).

In all cases their compositions depend upon

o their source, history, and present thermodynamic conditions.

Their distribution within a given reservoir depends upon

o the thermodynamic conditions of the reservoir
o the petrophysical properties of the rocks and
o the physical and chemical properties of the fluids themselves.
Fluid Distribution
The distribution of a particular set of reservoir fluids depends not only on the
characteristics of the rock-fluid
system now, but also the history of
the fluids, and ultimately their source.
A list of factors affecting fluid distribution would be manifold. However, the
most important are:

Depth The difference in the density of the fluids results in their separation
over time due to gravity (differential buoyancy).

Fluid Composition :The composition of the reservoir fluid has an

extremely important control on its pressure-volume-temperature properties,
which define the relative volumes of each fluid in a reservoir.
• It also affects distribution through the wettability of the reservoir
rocks.
 HC reservoirs
Hydrocarbon reservoirs are usually classified
into the following five main types, after
(Cronquist, 1979):
Mostly based on PT behaviors:
– Dry gas
– Wet gas
– Gas condensate
– Volatile oil
– Black oil
Reservoir Temperature :Exerts a major control on the relative volumes of
each fluid in a reservoir.

Fluid Pressure Exerts a major control on the relative volumes of each fluid in a
reservoir.

Fluid Migration Different fluids migrate in different ways depending on their

density, viscosity, and the wettability of the rock. The mode of migration helps define the
distribution of the fluids in the reservoir.

Trap-Type Clearly, the effectiveness of the hydrocarbon trap also has a control on
fluiddistribution (e.g., cap rocks may be permeable to gas but not to oil).
Rock structure The microstructure of the rock can preferentially accept some
fluids and not others through the operation of wettability contrasts and capillary
pressure.

In addition, the common heterogeneity of rock properties results in preferential fluid

distributions throughout the reservoir in all three spatial dimensions.

The fundamental forces that drive, stabilise, or limit fluid

movement are:

· Gravity (e.g. causing separation of gas, oil and water in the reservoir column).

· Capillary (e.g. responsible for the retention of water in micro-porosity).

· Molecular diffusion (e.g. small scale flow acting to homogenise fluid compositions
withina given phase).

· Thermal convection (convective movement of all mobile fluids, especially gases)

· Fluid pressure gradients (the major force operating during primary production)
These forces and factors vary from reservoir to
reservoir, and between lithologies within a reservoir,
 Water saturation (Sw)
• The amount of water is expressed as a fraction
or percentage of the pore space (Sw).

• So = 1- Sw (for only oil and water reservoir)

Course content
 Introduction
 Rock properties
 Reservoirs properties
 Measurement - Core analysis
 Measurement of reservoir properties( well
logging)
 Darcy theory
 Fluid flow mechanism and recovery factory
 Reservoir estimate
Data Type
Data that pertains to the reservoir rock and its extent
1. Geologic & seismic data
2. Well Log data
3. Well test data
4. Core data
Data that pertains to the properties of reservoir fluids
1. Composition of HC
2. PVT
 Core analysis
• Reservoir core analysis, both of the routine and advanced nature, is
conducted on the porosity and permeability of the rock to determine the
reservoir storage capacity and the ability of the fluids to flow through the
rock. These measurements are used to determine how much oil and gas
are present in a reservoir and the rates at which the oil and gas can be
produced. (Core lab)
The objective of every coring operation is to gather information that leads to more
efficient oil or gas production.
Some specific tasks might include the:
a. Geologic objectives:
1. Lithologic information:
(a) Rock type.
(b) Depositional environment.
(c) Pore type.
(d) Mineralogy/geochemistry.
2. Geologic maps.
3. Fracture orientation.

b. Petrophysical and reservoir engineering:

1. Permeability information:
(a) Permeability/porosity correlation.
(b) Relative permeability.
2. Capillary pressure data.
3. Data for refining log calculations:
(a) Electrical properties.
(b) Grain density.
(c) Core gamma log.
(d) Mineralogy and cation exchange capacity.
4. Enhanced oil recovery studies.
5. Reserves estimate:
(a) Porosity.
(b) Fluid saturations.

c. Drilling and completions:

1. Fluid/formation compatibility studies.
2. Grain size data for gravel pack design.
3. Rock mechanics data.
 Core analysis
• Core-sampling and preservation.
• Measurement of basic rock properties.
• Interpretation of basic core analysis data.
• Application of core analysis data
 Core data-drilling out a core

Cores are obtained during the drilling of a well by replacing the

drill bit with a diamond core bit and a core barrel
Continuous mechanical coring is a costly procedure:
1. The drill string must be pulled out of the hole to replace the normal
bit by core bit and core barrel.
2. Multiple trips out of hole are required to drill enough samples.
3. The coring operation itself is slow.
Core data-drilling out a core

Full-closure core catcher:

SPE 36780
Core data-drilling out a core

• Sidewall coring is a less expensive and less time-

consuming option to obtain a core sampling.
• It involves retrieving several small core samples long.

http://www.spec2000.net/09-corepore.htm
High-Pressure Coring

• In two previous methods, cores are subject to loss

of fluids due to pressure reduction
• The pressure barrel collects the cores at reservoir
condition
• Freezing the core in order to immobilize the
hydrocarbon fluids within the core
• The core can be removed from the barrel after
depressurization and subsequently transported for
laboratory analysis, without the loss of valuable
insitu fluid saturation.
Core analysis and application
I. Routine core analysis
1. Porosity: storage capacity
2. Permeability: flow capacity
3. Saturations: define mobile hydrocarbon
and their types
4. Lithology: rock type and charactrization
 Core analysis and application
II. Special core analysis
1. Static tests:
 Compressibility: to define porosity and permeability vs.
Pressure
 Wettability
 Capillarity
 Surface and intercial tension
2. Dynamic tests:
 Relative permeability: flow studies

 Injectivity and residual saturation

Core preservation and preparation
Core cleaning and saturation
determination
 Overview
• Obtaining high-quality core data depends on the successful
completion of many steps in the drilling, handling,
preservation, transportation, sampling, and measurement of
the core.
• Inner core barrels are either frozen or epoxy-stabilized on
the rig, then cut into 1-m [3.3-ft] sections. The ends are
capped and taped. Sections are packed horizontally to
prevent gravity drainage of core fluids

1-m core sections capped and packed for shipping

 Core gamma ray
• On arrival at the lab, core sections are
inventoried and then processed through a core
gamma machine.
• Core gamma-ray data are commonly collected on
unslabbed cores, and allow the core data to be
tied to log depth
• Some labs have spectral core gamma machines
that measure potassium, thorium, and uranium

Core sections being processed through core

gamma machine
 Whole-core CT scans
• The core tubes are scanned for Computed
Tomography (CT) before slabbing.
• The whole core CT scans are used to assess overall
core quality, missing core intervals in the tubes,
damaged or fractured intervals, and bed dip
orientation

Cross-sectional CT scans from a single core tube

 Core and plug preparation
To prepare the core for experiments,
following process are required:
1. Slabbing: cores are slabbed to provide a flat surface for
core description, photography, profile permeametry
2. Plugging: a cylindrical plug is taken from a conventional
core for analysis.
3. Trimming: both end of the plugs can be trimmed in order to
produce high quality thin sliced samples without disturbing
the structure of the sample
 Core slabbing
• The radial core slabbing saw is a machine for cutting rocks into the
smaller parts.
• This is for cutting a big size outcrop rock into the smaller parts
• Whole-core CT scans are reviewed to determine optimum slab orientation
 Core slabbing
• The core tubes are always slabbed with maximum exposed bed dips to
ensure the core plugs are obtained parallel to the bed strike and not
perpendicular to bed dip
• The one-quarter slab is used for detailed facies descriptions, white light
and ultraviolet photography, and probe permeametry measurements.
• UV photography highlights the oil in core sections
• The three-quarter slab is used for obtaining all core plugs for both routine
and special core analyses.
Plugging using plug drill Press machine
• From the frozen three-quarter slab, core plugs are cut in 1"
to 1½" in diameter and 1" to 2" in length.
• Core plugs are cut perpendicular to the axis of the core
(horizontal plug) or parallel to the axis (vertical plug).
• By screwing down of a hollow plug drill, plugs are cut
from the samples
 Trimming Core Plugs
• After preparing plugs in core drill machine,
they should be cut into desired size by
trimming machine.
• An integrated team comprising geologists,
petrophysicists, core analysts, and reservoir engineers
meets to select plugs for both the routine and special
core analysis programs
• The team uses the whole-core CT scans, plug CT scans,
core gamma, detailed core descriptions, profile
permeametry, and the depth-tied wireline log.
 Core sampling strategy
1. Representative sampling: samples are taken in order to characterize
the distribution of properties for each petrophysical bed type
2. Uniform sampling: plugs are taken at roughly constant spacing
3. High-graded sampling: plugs are selectively cut from the best-looking
reservoir intervals

Core sampling strategies. For thin beds,

representative sampling is recommended
 Changes to core properties during coring
• The outer surface of the core will be invaded by
mud particles; the depth of invasion being
dependent upon permeability and original fluid
saturations.
• More important changes can occur if the rock
contains minerals sensitive to water salinity
• For example, contact with low salinity water can
mobilise poorly adhered clay particles.
• The wetting characteristics of the rock may be
altered by surfactant mud additives
Core cleaning and saturation determination
• After preparing the core plugs samples, the
core samples must be cleaned of residual fluids
• The cleaning process may also be apart of fluid
saturation determination

Not in dishwasher
 Definition
• Fluid saturation is defined as the ratio of the
volume of fluid in a given core sample to the
pore volume (Vp) of the sample.
Vw Vo Vg
Sw  So  Sg 
Vp Vp Vp

S w  So  Sg  1
 Definition
1. Vw, Vo, Vg and Vp are water, oil, gas and pore
volumes respectively and Sw, So and Sg are water,
oil and gas saturations.
2. Pore volume Pv is determined by a porosity
measurement
3. Saturation may be reported either as a fraction of
total porosity or as a fraction of effective porosity.
It is most meaningfull to use the effective porosity
when talking about producing from a well.
4. Gas saturation can be determined using the
summation equation
 Definition
• The weight of water collected from the sample is
calculated from the volume of water by the
relationship.
Ww   w Vw

• Where w is water density in g/cm3. The weight of

oil removed from the core may be computed as the
weight of liquid less weight of water
Wo  WL - Ww
• Where WL is the weight of liquids removed from the
core sample in gram.
 Measurement methods
There are many ways of cleaning a core sample.
In this part we will describe six methods:
1. Soxhlet Extraction
2. Dean-Stark Distillation-Extraction
3. Direct injection
4. Centrifuge Flushing
5. Gas Driven Solvent
6. Vacuum Distillation
7. Retort oven
 Core- Properties measured
• Density, viscosity , surface tension- fluid
• Porosity, permiability , wettibility – rock
• Reservoir fluid