Rock & Rock-Fluid

Properties:
Permeability &
Relative
Permeability
RESR 412 – Module2
Learning Outcome and Objectives

Describe Darcy’s Law for Single Phase Flow in Porous

Medium.

Calculate Absolute Permeability using Darcy’s Law.

Explain Directional Permeabilities in reservoir core sample.

Explain Wettability and fluid distribution.

Explain Types of Permeability.

2
Objective One

Darcy’s Law
for
Single Phase Flow
in
Porous Medium

3
Objective One

Oil and Water are Incompressible Fluids.

Volume of incompressible fluids are not changed with pressure ( ).

100% Single & Incompressible Phase in porous medium

Porous medium contains 100% oil or water with no compressible free gas.

Horizontal Flow
No gravity effect.

Laminar Flow
Fluid layers move parallely and slowly enough without any turbulence or vortices.

Steady State Flow

Flow rates do not change with time.

Fluid does not react with Porous Medium 4

Objective One

Henry Darcy developed Darcy’s Law for flow of water through

sand pack in 1800s.

Experimental setup for fluid flow through linear geometry

Darcy’s Experiment
He found a proportionality relationship between fluid flow rate (Q), fluid
property, and sand filter (porous medium) property.

5
 Objective One

Darcy’s Experiment
He found a proportionality relationship between fluid flow rate (Q), fluid
property, and sand filter (porous medium) property.

He observed the following proportionality:

Volumetric Flow
Rate (Q)

6
Objective One

Darcy’s Experiment 𝑷 = 𝑷𝒊𝒏 − 𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒕

Driving Force
Pressure 𝑷   Q 
Gradient 𝑨Q
µQ

1 cp = 1 mPa.s

7
Objective One

Darcy’s Experiment
Proportionality
Relationship

k unit is Darcy
(It was in cm2 in
Original Darcy Eqn) Darcy’s Equation

A medium with a permeability of 1 darcy permits a flow of 1 cm³/s of a fluid with

viscosity 1 cp under a pressure gradient of 1 atm/cm acting across an area of 1 cm².
8
Objective One

Darcy’s Equation
Darcy’s Equation

Conversion Factors 1 millidarcy (md) = 0.001 darcy

for k 1 d = 1000 md

9
 Objective One

Darcy’s Equation
Darcy’s Equation

Darcy’s Equation is for Linear Flow

It uses liquid (100% oil or water) as flowing fluid
Permeability can be calculated from
Absolute Permeability Single Phase Fluid
(kabs or k) Flow in Porous Medium
10
 Objective One

Darcy’s Equation

Darcy’s Equation
Permeability can be calculated from
Absolute Permeability Single Phase Fluid
(kabs or k) Flow in Porous Medium

Mathematically, k is proportional constant to make equation in Darcy’s law.

Physically, k is ability of rock to allow fluid flow through pores under a certain 𝑷
11
Objective Two

Calculate
Absolute Permeability
using
Darcy’s Law

12
 Objective Two

Darcy’s Equation

Absolute Permeability for Linear Geometry

Absolute Permeability Single Phase Fluid
(kabs or k) Flow in Porous Medium

k is Absolute Permeability when only single phase fluid flows in porous medium.

Absolute Permeability is maximum permeability of a rock sample allowing

the fluid to flow through its pores.

k is constant as long as the rock is 100% saturated with single fluid.

Any physical changes affecting actual shape and porosity in rock sample (e.g.
overburden, acid (solvent) washing) will change k.

ke is Effective Permeability when two or more fluids flow in porous medium.

13
Objective Two

14
Objective Two

Absolute Permeability of rock is constant and independent of fluid type

flowing through it.

Absolute Permeability is also independent of Pressure Gradient.

15
Objective Three

Directional Permeabilities
in
Reservoir Core Sample

16
Objective Three

Homogeneous Reservoir is an ideal reservoir when reservoir

properties (e.g. k) are assumed to be the same everywhere.
Heterogeneous Reservoir is an actual reservoir with variation
of reservoir properties laterally and aerially.

Reservoirs are typically made up of layers of beds such as

sedimentary layers (tilted layers or horizontal layers)
Different layers are usually separated by shale or other fine-
grained material with lower k than sedimentary beds.
This causes k to be different in different directions.
Horizontal flow through permeable rocks parallel to thin shale layers is
usually the highest flow.
Permeability depends on direction of the flow.
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Objective Three

Horizontal Permeability (kh) or Maximum Permeability (km)

is permeability controlling horizontal flow.
This is the horizontal permeability with maximum flow.

Vertical Permeability (kv ) is permeability controlling vertical

flow.
This vertical flow through thin layers is much more restricted than horizontal
flow. So usually kv <<< km.
Exception is vertically fractured rock (kv >>> km)

Horizontal Permeability 90 degree to Maximum Permeability

(k90 ) is another horizontal permeability measured 90 degree to
the maximum permeability.
Sometimes, this is the preferred direction in horizontal plane of a formation.

18
Objective Three

Porosity
Porosity in a well can be measured from Acoustic Log or Neutron Density
Log.

Permeability
Permeability in the field is not as easy to measure as porosity.

Permeability of a core sample from a well can be measured in the

laboratory by measuring Fluid Flow Rate vs Pressure Drop in each
direction (usually done with air or N2).

19
Objective Three

Relationship between Porosity and Permeability

This relationship is useful for
estimating k from .
Experimentally, the relationship
between k and  in cores is

This relationship is unique to

each rock type.
This relationship often occurs in
sandstone not carbonates due to
the way carbonate porosity is
created.
This relationship is not seen in
fractured reservoirs.
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Objective Four

Rock Wettability
and
Fluid Distribution

21
 Wettability
• Wettability is the affinity of a fluid to adhere
(adsorb) on the surface of a solid (rock)

• The wettability of a rock and fluid system is

determined based on the contact angle
between the surface of the rock and the fluid
droplet

22
 Contact Angle
• Contact angle (θ) is the angle between the
surface of the solid (rock) and the tangent
on the droplet through the more dense
phase

23
 Water-wet & Oil-wet
• Water-wet: contact angle (θ) is less than 90
degrees

• Oil-wet: contact angle (θ) is greater than 90

degrees
W

24
 Water-wet Rocks
• In a water-wet rock system water droplets
“stick” to the rock. The oil droplets are
suspended by the water phase.
• When the water moves, it displaces the oil and
a low Sor is expected after flood out.

25
 Oil-wet Rocks
• In an oil-wet rock system oil droplets “stick” to
the rock and water droplets form small
channels through the rock system.
• Oil displacement by water is not very efficient
and high Sor can be expected after flood out in
oil-wet reservoir rocks.

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Objective Five

Absolute Permeability
and
Effective & Relative Permeability

27
 Types of Permeability
There are three types of permeability that
may be calculated:

1.“Total” or “Absolute” Permeability (k)

2.“Effective” Permeability (ko, kg, kw)

3.“Relative” Permeability (kro, krg, krw)

28
1. “Absolute” Permeability (k)
The permeability of a rock determined at 100%
saturation with a “single” fluid (oil, gas, or water).
Sfluid = 100 % with a “single fluid”

qfluid ( fluid flow rate through rock)

100% Saturation
of “Pore Space”
(single fluid only)
“Sand” Grains

NOTE: There is only one possible value for “Absolute Permeability”, no

matter what fluid is used to determine its value.

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 Darcy's Law for Single Phase Flow
• For single phase oil: k o AP
q o Bo 
o L
ko = is the absolute permeability to oil phase

• For single phase water: q w Bw 

k w AP
w L
kw = is the absolute permeability to water phase
For single phase: kw=ko=k : Absolute permeability
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 Darcy’s Law in Imperial Units
for Oil
0.001127kAP
qo 
Bo  o L
qo = oil flow rate in STB/d
k = absolute permeability in md
A = cross-sectional area in ft2
ΔP = differential pressure in psia
Bo = oil formation volume factor in bbl/STB
μo = oil viscosity in cp
L = core length in ft.
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 Darcy’s Law in Imperial Units
for Water
0.001127kAP
qw 
Bw  w L
qw = water flow rate in STB/d
k = absolute permeability in md
A = cross-sectional area in ft2
ΔP = differential pressure in psia
Bw = water formation volume factor in bbl/STB
μw = water viscosity in cp
L = core length in ft.
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2. “Effective” Permeability (ko, kg, kw)
The permeability of a rock to a particular fluid (oil, gas or
water) determined at less than 100% saturation (i.e.: other
fluids are present and may or may not be flowing at the same
time.
So+Sg+Sw = 100 % (more than one fluid present)
Oil

Water qo+qg+qw = qtotal fluid (at sample outlet)

( total fluid flow rate through rock)

Gas
Sg = 10% (“Free” Gas
Saturation)
“Sand” Grains
So = 70% (Oil Saturation)
ko = Effective Permeability to Oil Each “Effective
kg = Effective Permeability to Gas Permeability” is Sw = 20% (Water
kw = Effective Permeability to Water calculated Saturation)
separately using
each fluids “outlet”
flow rate through
the sample.

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 “Effective Permeabilities” are usually calculated with
only two of the fluids flowing at the same time
(i.e.: oil and water or oil and gas).
Very rarely do we calculate effective permeabilities
with all three fluids (oil, gas & water) flowing at
the same time.
A. Possible causes of Oil & Water flowing B. Possible causes of Gas & Oil flowing at
at same time in the reservoir: same time in the reservoir:
1 Waterflooding ( Secondary Recovery ) 1 Reservoir pressure below “Bubble Point”
2 Aquifer flow into reservoir during and “Free Gas” saturation exceeds the
production. “Critical Gas Saturation” (Sgc).
3 Water Coning from below oil zone. 2 Gas Coning from above oil zone in and
4 Water channeling through fractures. “Associated Gas-Cap” Reservoir.
5 Etc. 3 Gas channeling through fractures.
6 Etc.

35
 Darcy’s Law: Multi-Phase Flow
and Effective Permeability
• If the core is saturated with both water and oil
0.001127 k w AP
qw 
Bw  w L
0.001127 k o AP
qo 
Bo  o L
kw = is the effective permeability to water phase, md
ko = is the effective permeability to oil phase, md

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3. “Relative” Permeability (kro, krg, krw)
Relative Permeability is simply the “ratio” of the Effective Permeability of each fluid phase
to the Abslolute Permeability of the rock.
ko
kro  … for Oil
k
kw
and krw  … for water
k
kg
krg  … for gas
k
NOTE: Relative Permeabilities may be expressed as decimal fractions or % of the
Absolute Permeability.

39
 Important!
• It is important to understand that due to
interference effects:

k w + k o≠ k or krw+ kro ≠ 1

• Effective permeability (and therefore,

relative permeability, kr) is a function of
saturation
kw=f (Sw) and ko=f (So)
krw=f (Sw) and kro=f (So)
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 kro as a function of So
1

0.8

0.6
Kro

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

So 41
 krw as a function of Sw
1

0.8

0.6
Krw

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw 42
 Kro and krw as functions of Sw
1

0.8
kro
Kro or K rw

0.6 Crossover
point
0.4 krw

0.2 Swirr Sor

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw 43
 Example “Oil – Water” Relative Permeability Curves

Oil Saturation - So ( % )
100 80 60 40 20 0
OIL-WATER‘RELATIVE
1.0
PERMEABILITY’
ko CURVES
kro = 10-10-52-11 W5M
k
0.8
Relative Permeability ( kro & krw )

FIGURE 1
krw = kw
0.6 k

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Water Saturation - Sw ( % )

44
 … similarly for “Oil – Gas” Relative Permeabilities as follows:

Gas Saturation - Sg ( % )
0 20 40 60 80 100
1.0
GAS - OIL ‘RELATIVE
PERMEABILITY’
CURVES
ko
kro = k 10-10-52-11 W5M
0.8
Relative Permeability ( kro & krg )

FIGURE 2
0.6 kg
krg = k

0.4

0.2

0.0
100 80 60 40 20 0
Oil Saturation - So ( % )

1/17/2012 PREPARED BY: N. ENDSIN, P.ENG. 45

Summary

 Describe Darcy’s Law for Single Phase Flow in Porous

Medium.

 Calculate Absolute Permeability using Darcy’s Law.

 Explain Directional Permeabilities in reservoir core sample.

 Explain Wettability and fluid distribution.

 Explain Types of Permeability.

46