Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

Drive Mechanisms

Drive Mechanisms
Water Drive
Gas Cap drive
Solution Gas Drive
Drive problems
Secondary Recovery
Notes

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© JJ Consulting 1997 1
 There is also the gravity drive.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

Drive Mechanisms

A virgin reservoir has a pressure controlled by

the local gradient.
Hydrocarbons will flow if the reservoir pressure
is sufficient to drive the fluids to the surface
(otherwise they have to be pumped).
As the fluid is produced reservoir pressure drops.
The rate of pressure drop is controlled by the
Reservoir Drive Mechanism.
Drive Mechanism depends on the rate at which Notes
fluid expands to fill the space vacated by the
produced fluid.
Main Reservoir Drive Mechanism types are:

Water drive.

Gas cap drive.

Gas solution drive 2

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 Water has two advantages , firstly there is water in the hydrocarbon zone
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC in the form of irreducible water with which it can join and hence clean
around the grains. Secondly capillary pressure helps the water up the
Water Invasion 1 small pore channels.

Water invading an oil

zone, moves close to the
grain surface, pushing the
oil out of its way in a
piston-like fashion.

Notes

The capillary pressure

gradient forces water to
move ahead faster in the
smaller pore channels.

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 There will always be some oil left in the rock, 100% recovery is
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC impossible.

Water Invasion 2

The remaining
thread of oil
becomes smaller.

It finally breaks
into smaller pieces.
Notes

As a result, some
drops of oil are left
behind in the
channel.

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 The (normally) large volume of the water system gives additional
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC assistance to this type of drive. The hydrocarbon is pushed out as its
pressure drops, while the pressure in the water remains higher hence the
Water Drive water will move to force the oil out.

Notes

Water moves up to fill the "space" vacated by

the oil as it is produced.

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 The production of water will invariably increase. The amount of water
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC finally produced depends on capabilities of the surface production
facilities and the economics of the process. It can be as much as 98%.
Water Drive 2 Gas production is simply that associated with the oil and depends on the
gas-oil ratio.

Water Production

Notes

This type of drive usually keeps the reservoir

pressure fairly constant.
After the initial “dry” oil production, water may
be produced. The amount of produced water
increases as the volume of oil in the reservoir
decreases.
Dissolved gas in the oil is released to form
produced gas.
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 The very high mobility of gas (low viscosity) means that it goes down the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC large pore channels bypassing the smaller ones. Once past a zone the gas
will continue leaving the oil trapped; it will not be produced.
Gas Invasion

Gas is more mobile than oil and takes the path of

least resistance along the centre of the larger
channels.
As a result, oil is left behind in the smaller, less
permeable, channels.

Notes

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 The main type of gas drive is the gas cap drive. The gas cap expansion
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC forces the oil out.
The gas cap needs to be large for this type of drive to succeed.
Gas Cap Drive

Notes

Gas from the gas cap expands to fill the space

vacated by the produced oil.

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 As the gas cap expands the pressure drops hence the drive efficiency goes
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC down. In addition there is always breakthrough of the free gas and
production at an apparent high GOR.
Gas Cap Drive 2 The reservoir pressure will go down quickly.

As oil production declines, gas production

increases.

Rapid pressure drop at the start of production.

Notes

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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering
Solution Gas Drive
This type of drive uses the energy of expansion of the gas dissolved in the
FTC oil as there is no appreciable water or gas cap drive. This is very
inefficient as there on a little possible expansion. In addition the reservoir
rapidly drops below bubble point in the reservoir itself. This means that
gas comes out of solution in the reservoir. This will create problems for
production and eventually the reservoir will die.

Notes

After some time the oil in the reservoir is below

the bubble point.
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 The slide shows the rapid decline in all the parameters in the reservoir,
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC pressure, production. The GOR also declines as the gas is produced.

Solution Gas Drive 2

An initial high oil production is followed by a

rapid decline.
The Gas/Oil ratio has a peak corresponding to
the higher permeability to gas.
The reservoir pressure exhibits a fast decline.

Notes

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 The slide compares the total cumulative production of the various drive
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC mechanisms against the reservoir pressure. The water drive keeps the
pressure high and hence is the most efficient at production the reservoir
Drives General fluids.

A water drive can recover up to 60% of the oil in

place.
A gas cap drive can recover only 40% with a
greater reduction in pressure.
A solution gas drive has a low recovery.

Notes

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 Coning is caused by producing the reservoir at a drawdown that is too
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC high and also having perforations that are too long. The water (or gas) is
drawn to the perforated interval and produced. This problem can usually
Drive Problems be fixed.

Water Drive:
Water can cone upwards
and be produced through cones
upwards
the lower perforations.

Gas Cap Drive:

Gas can cone downwards
and be produced through
the upper perforations. Notes
Pressure is rapidly lost as
the gas expands.

Gas Solution Drive:

Gas production can occur
in the reservoir, skin
damage.
Very short-lived.
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 Most modern reservoirs have some sort of secondary recovery built into
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC their management from their initial production. The aim of all these
schemes is to maintain the pressure in the reservoir as high as possible for
Secondary Recovery 1 as long as possible.
The main problem with heavy oil is its high viscosity. Reduction of the
viscosity is achieved by heating the fluid, hence the steam injection and
the in-situ combustion or by adding CO2 . This substance reduces the
Secondary recovery covers a range of techniques viscosity of the oil by two orders of magnitude, for example from 500
centipoise to 5.
used to augment the natural drive of a reservoir
Polymer injection adds polymers to the injection water to increase the
or boost production at a later stage in the life of a viscosity of this fluid. Ordinary water has a much lower viscosity and
reservoir. hence does not sweep the heavy oil efficiently.
A field often needs enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
techniques to maximise its production.
Common recovery methods are:
Water injection.
Gas injection. Notes

In difficult reservoirs, such as those containing

heavy oil, more advanced recovery methods are
used:
Steam flood.
Polymer injection. .
CO2 injection.
In-situ combustion.
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 Water can come from the sea water, or a nearby and different aquifer. The
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC injectors are set in patterns depending on the permeability of the
reservoir.
Secondary Recovery 2 Gas often comes from produced can which can be compressed and re-
injected into the gas cap.
water
Both types of injection can operate at the same time.
injection

gas injection
Notes

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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

Water Injection

The simplest ( and cheapest) of the techniques

Water is injected into a nearby well forcing the
oil out
The water can either be:
sea water
Recycled produced water
From an aquifer different to that of the
reservoir Notes

The pattern of injectors depends on the

permeability of the reservoir rock and the
possibility of problems
Five and nine spot are common

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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

Material Balance

Material Balance
Oil Volumes
General Equation
Simplified Equation
Reservoir Simulation

Notes

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 A reservoir contains an original volume of oil, as this oil is removed the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC other components of the system move/expand to fill the space vacated.
This is described by the drawing. It is not to scale as the gas will expand
much more than the rock and water.

Oil volume

gas cap expansion

released gas volume

Oil Volume
oil volume

rock/water expansion Notes

net water influx

The original oil volume is replaced by the

expansion of the other system components
- gas
- water
- rock 18
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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

G - original gas cap in place

Gpc - cumulative gas produced from the gas cap, scf
Gas Cap Expansion
Bgc - gas formation volume factor at current pressure RB/scf

When oil is produced the gas gap expands to Bgci - gas formation volume factor at the original pressure

replace part of the oil.

(G − G ) B pc gc − GBgci

Notes

The gas cap may shrink if the gas produced is

a significant fraction of the initial amount.

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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

N - original oil in place

Released Gas Volume
Np - cumulative oil produced
Gas cap expansion is always accompanied by Rsi - initial solution gas oil retio
the release of gas from the reservoir oil Rs - solution gas-oil ratio at current pressure
The gas originally in solution can be placed in Gps - cumulative gas produced
three categories Bgs - current solution gas formation volume factor

still in solution
produced from the reservoir
released from solution but still in the
reservoir
Notes
The equation for the reservoir volume of
released gas is:

[ NR − ( N − N ) R − G ] B
si p s ps gs

This is the difference between the original gas in

solution and the current gas in solution.
Subtracting the gas produced gives the released
gas still in the reservoir.
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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

N - original oil in place

Np - oil produced
Oil Volume
Bo - oil formation volume factor

The reservoir volume of oil remaining at

reservoir conditions is:

( N − N )Bp o
Notes

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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

cf - formation compressibility (1/psi)

Rock and Connate Water pi - initial formation pressure
Expansion p - current reservoir pressure
cw - water compressibility
Rock and connate (original formation water)
Swi - initial water saturation
expansion are combined in one term for
convenience
 NBoi 
rock expansion = cf ( p − p)
 (1 − S )  i
 wi 

 NBoi 
( p − p)
connate water
cw Swi
( 1 − S )  i
expansion = Notes
 wi 

combining both expressions gives

Rock and water expansion =

 NBoi 
(c f + cw Swi ) (1 − S )( pi − p))
 wi  22
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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC

We - cumulative water influx

Wp - cumulative produced water
Water Influx
Bw - water formation volume factor

The volume of water influx cannot be

computed from pressure and fluid properties as
has been done for the other fluids.
The influx can be inferred from a knowledge of
the other terms in the general material balance
equation

We − Wp Bw
Notes
Net water influx =

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 This is the complete equation made up of the terms from the previous
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC pages. Most of the items in the equation are measured, Bo, Rs etc.
This general equation assumes everything that could happen does. In
practice there are always simplifications, for example there may be no
General Material Balance gas cap.

Equation
Original Oil Volume =
Gas cap Expansion +
Released Gas volume +
Oil volume +
Rock and Water Expansion +
Net Water Influx
Notes

NBoi = ( G − G pc ) B gc − GB gci +

[ NR − ( N − N ) R − G ] B
si p s ps gs +

( N − N ) B + (c + cw Swi )
NBoi
p o f ( p − p) +
1 − Swi i
We − Wp Bw
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 N initial oil in place
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC
m (initial gas cap volume)/(initial oil volume)
Np cumulative oil production on surface
Simplified Material balance Rp cumulative gas oil ratio

Underground withdrawal Rsi initial gas oil ratio

Rs gas oil ratio after pressure drop (ie production)
F = N p Bo + (Rp − Rs )Bg + W p Bw Boi initial oil FVF
Bo oil FVF after production
Original oil and dissolved gas expansion Bgi initial FVF gas
Bg gas FVF after production
E0 = (B0 − B0i ) + (Rsi − Rs )Bg
Sw original connate water saturation
cw water compressibility
Gas cap expansion cf total pore space compressibility
The objective here is to make a “simple” term for each specific item.
Bg
Eg = B0i ( − 1)
Bgi Notes

Expansion of connate water

cw Sw + c f
E f , w = (1 − m)B0 i ( )∆p
1− Sw

Material balance equation

F = N( Eo + m Eg + E f ,w ) + We Bw
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 Taking the final equation of the previous page and assuming no gas cap
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC and no water movement results in a very simple linear equation.
A plot of the observed production, F, against the oil factor, Eo should give
a straight line whose slope is the original oil in place.
Simplified Equation If the slope if not straight the assumptions of no other fluid interaction are
wrong. One possibility is water influx leading to the equation at the
bottom, where another linear equation is created, and both N and We are
Assuming no initial gas cap and negligible water found.
influx

F = NEo
The observed production is a linear function of
the the expansion of the oil plus the dissolved gas

If the plot is non linear it could mean water

influx Notes
F We
= N+
Eo Eo

This linear equation will take this into account

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 This form of the equation assumes a gas cap drive mechanism with no
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC water.
A plot of F against (Eo +mEg) will give the value for m, the size of the
gas cap.
Gas cap drive The equation can also be used to solve for both N and m if they are
unknown.
This type of approach is a good way of obtaining the reserves figures.
In a gas cap drive the equation reduces to

F = N( Eo + mEg )

this can be solved for m if the initial oil in

place N in known.
If both N and m are unknown the equation Notes
is rewritten as
F Eg
= N + mN
Eo Eo

a ‘best fit’ solution for both N and m is then

found on a linear plot

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 A reservoir simulation is a modern way of using material balance together
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC with a description of the reservoir to properly manage the resources.
It requires a large amount of data and the work of a number of disciplines
Objective of Reservoir to get the best possible answer.

Simulation

The objective is to create a live description of

the reservoir

The inputs are

geology - lithology, units, core data, maps
reservoir engineering - flow systems, fluid
behaviour, and PVT analysis Notes

petrophysics - log interpretation, reservoir

parameters, zoning
geophysics - areal extent, large scale
features

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 One of the major steps in the simulation is the creation of the reservoir
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC model. The process uses data from well logs and tests and seismic surveys
to paint a picture of the part of the system under study. This can vary from
Model Building a small part of the reservoir to an entire field.
The more complex the model the more information that is required.

A model of the formation is created using all the

available information.
This model is divided into blocks.
Each block is described by its properties,
porosity, permeability, saturations, fluid
properties, pressures and so on.
The objective is to create a complete description
of the reservoir.
Notes

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 The procedure outlined is a crude approximation of the work involved.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC Before even this flow chart there is the vital stage of data collection.
Reservoir characterisation is the process of making a detailed analysis of
Reservoir Simulation the log and core data.
The model is then constructed from this and test data.
Procedure The history match checks the models validity by comparing the predicted
past with the actual past in terms of pressures and production.
The reservoir management plan can only be made if the history match has
worked.
Reservoir
Characterisation

Model
Construction

Model Validation
Notes
History Match

Prediction of Future
Performance

Prepare Reservoir
Management Plan

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 The example shows the match of water and gas rates over a period of a
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC few years. In general the match is good. If there were large deviations the
model has to be reviewed and the process rerun. A single pass of a history
History Match match can take over a day to run.

A match is made
of the rates and
pressures
measured over
time with those
predicted by the
computer model.
If the match is
good reservoir
Notes
management
plans can be
made. If the
match is poor the
model has to be
reviewed.

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