Air Permeability as a Function of
Three Pore-Network Parameters
J.H. Thomeer, SPE, Shell Oil Co.
Summary
A new relationship between air permeability and three
parameters describing a pore network is presented. The
parameters are normally derived from the mercury/air
capillary-pressure curve but may also be approximated
from a petrographic analysis of thin sections.
Introduction
In 1960 Thomeer l showed that mercury/air capillary-
pressure curves form a family. Each curve can be
uniquely defined by specific values of three parameters
of the equation that describe the family. The following
relationship between capillary pressure (Pc) and bulk
volume occupied by mercury (Sb) was proposed:
Sb _ -Fg /(logPc1pd )
--e .................... (1)
Sboo
This equation describes a hyperbola when plotted on log-
log paper. The values of P d and S boo determine the loca-
tion of its asymptotes, and the value of F g defines its
shape.
An individual capillary-pressure curve is uniquely
defined by specific values of the following three
parameters.
Fg pore geometrical factor, reflecting the
= siliciclastics and 114 carbonates. All three laboratory
distribution of pore throats and their
associated PV;
Pd = mercury/air extrapolated displacement
pressure, indicating the pressure required
for mercury to enter the largest pore
throat, psia (kPa); and
0149-213618310041-0922$00.25
Copyright 1983 Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME
APRIL 1983
S boo = percent bulk volume occupied by mercury
at infinite capillary pressure, or total in-
terconnected PV.
Methods to determine the values of these parameters
for a capillary-pressure curve are given in the referenced
1960 paper. I
Thomeer also evaluated both the significance and ac-
curacy of determination of these parameters. Values
were determined from capillary-pressure curves on 144
diverse rock samples and correlated with air
permeabilities measured on the same samples. This cor-
relation showed a good relationship between air
permeability and the parameters. In this paper, we pro-
pose improvements and refinements of this relationship
and also suggest a method for estimating air permeability
from a petrographic rock description. This method
employs conversion of petrographic observations into
equivalent capillary curve parameters.
The Data Set
Laboratory-measured porosities, air permeabilities, and
mercury/air capillary-pressure curves on 279 rock
samples were used. The samples were obtained from
reservoirs in about 54 fields and consisted of 165
measurements were performed on the same piece of
rock. Air permeabilities represent roufine measure-
ments-i.e., they were not corrected for the Klinkenberg
effect. For each capillary curve, the parameters F g , P d,
and Sboo were determined using the overlay procedure. I
Figs. 1 through 3 show the distribution of porosities,
air permeabilities, and pore geometrical factors for the
279 samples separately for the total set, the carbonates,
and the siliciclastics. This sample set provides good
809
 a a
60

60 SANDSTONES

SANDSTONES
40 (165 SAMPl ESJ

40 1165 SAMPLES)

20

20

40
b CARBONATES
b CARBONATES
1114 SAMPLES)
20 j114SAMPLESJ 20

80 c SANDSTONES AND CARBONATES 80

SANDSTONES AND CARBONATES

(279 SAMPLES)
c 1279 SAMPLES)

60 60

40 40

20 20

~7~7~~~ii
- ~;! ~!ii i!l j;! III if
POROSITY (%) PORE GEOMETRICAL FACTOR - Fg

Fig. 1-Porosity distribution of the sample set. Fig. 3-Pore geometrical factor distribution of the sample
set.

coverage of rock properties generally encountered. Note

a the differences in distribution of permeability and pore
geometrical factor between siliciclastics and carbonates.

Statistical Procedures
Correlations were attempted with several statistical
40
SANDSTONES
models. The best correlation coefficients were obtained
(165 SAMPLES) when the power-curve regression model was used. This
20 model has the equation

y=bx a . .................................. (2)

40
b CARBONATES

{114$AMPLES}
20
In this paper b is the "constant" and a is the "expo-
nent. " Since both x and y values in our data contain er-
rors, reduced regression was used exclusively. Thus, the
60
c values for the root mean square (RMS) of the deviations,
SANDSTONES AND CAABOI'JATES

(279 SAMPLES)
s, the correlation coefficient, K, the exponent, a, and the
40 constant, b, reflect those of the reduced regression equa-
tion. Furthermore, since Eq. 2 was linearized for regres-
20 sion purposes, the RMS of deviations, s, should be inter-
preted as follows.

k true
- - <kest <s·k true ·
s
AIR PERMEABILITY Imd)
The RMS of deviations to be interpreted this way are
Fig. 2-Air permeability distribution of the sample set. denoted by a "times" sign following the numerical
value of s; for example: s= 1.50 X.
810 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 TABLE 1-RESULTS OF REGRESSION OF k a and (S boo/P d)
FOR INDIVIDUAL VALUES OF F g

b'
~ N K b s a (for a=2.0)
0.05 3
0.06 2
0.08 8 0.956 110.45 1.31 x 2.054 113.66
0.1 42 0.984 68.62 1.52x 2.020 68.70
0.15 10 0.925 51.86 1.59x 2.086 52.94
0.16 3
0.2 71 0.979 36.49 1.53x 1.970 36.57
0.25 4
0.3 66 0.941 19.71 1.99x 2.018 19.58
0.4 23 0.947 13.29 1.99x 1.992 13.34
0.5 22 0.922 7.92 2.14x 1.921 8.02
0.6 7 0.875 7.17 2.04x 2.123 7.20
0.7 7 0.957 4.89 1.91 x 2.332 5.56
0.8 4
0.9 3
1.0 4

Air Permeability As a Function 10.100~~--,-~,---+-.............~-,--~-+ ......................~~----t

of F g , Pd, and Shoo
In the 1960 paper, I relationships between air perme-
ability, k a , and the parameters were presented graph-
ically only. They represented the equation

ka =C(Sboo/Pd)2.14. . ...................... (3)

In 1949, Purce1l 2 offered a theoretical relationship

between permeability and parameters derived from the
capillary-pressure curve. He used a parallel tube model
and introduced a dimensionless lithological factor to ac- -"
.
~ l00+-~~~~~~T---------r_--------__r

I
count for differences between the pore geometry of his ...
>
:::;
model and that of natural rocks. Comparison of Purcell's
~w
relationship to emfirical Eq. 3 suggests that C should be :IE
a:
related to (acos8) , F g, and some constant C'. Since the ...a:
w

interfacial tension, a, has the dimension [mt -2] and F g ~ 10+-----~~~~~-4~T_--r_--------__r

is dimensionless, the resulting dimension of C' is

[ml- 1t- 2 ]O.14. From Purcell's studies, one would ex-
pect C' to be dimensionless. His work indicates-for a
relationship like Eq. 3-that an exponent of 2.0, rather
than 2.14, is to be expected. A value of 2.0 would make
C'dimensionless.
With a larger data set available at this time, we recor-
related air permeability and the ratio (S boo /p d) for in-
dividual values of F g. The results of reduced regression
of ka and (Sboo/Pd) are shown in Table 1 (Cols. 1
through 6) for individual values of Fg. The regression
results representing larger numbers of data, N, should 0.01
10.0 1.0
obviously be given more weight. Also note on this table Sf> ClO ( ) 0.1
Pd p~a
the high correlation coefficients, K, for all regressions.
From the results presented in Table 1, the weighted a- Fig. 4-Air permeability as a function of Fg_ Pd- and Sboo·
values for all data sets with N~22 and N~7 were
calculated. These values are 1.991 and 2.010, respec-
tively. From these findings, we concluded that the selec-
tion of an a-value of2.0 for the relationships between ka
and (S boo /p d) is justified. For later reference purposes,
the weighted s-values for these data sets are 1. 77 x and
1. 76 x, respectively.
An a-value equal to 2.0 would result in the following
relationship between ka and (Sboo/Pd) for individual
APRIL 1983 811
 TABLE 2-AN EXAMPLE OF DIFFERENT PERMEABILITIES
FOR THE SAME POROSITY
Porosity' q, Pore Throat Diameter
(%) Fg
20 0.1
20 0.1
20 0.1
20 0.3
20 0.3
20 0.3
• Assumed that 1> = S boo .
values of F g •
ka =b '(Sboo /p d)2.0. . ....................... (4)
Because the calculated a-values are not exactly equal
to 2.0 for each value of F g' recalculation of the con-
stants, b, for a-values of 2.0 is required. The adjusted
values of the constant, b', are shown in Table 1, Col. 7.
Thus far, we have dealt with relationships between ka
and (S boo /p d) for individual values of F g' As discussed
earlier in this paper, Purcell's work 2 suggests that b'
should be a function of F g' (acosO) 2 , and a constant C'.
Given the laboratory conditions at which mercury/air
capillary-pressure curves are run, the value of (acosO)2
may also be considered a constant. If a correlation be-
tween b'- and Fg-values can be established, a single
relationship can be developed that expresses ka as a
function of F g , P d, and Sboo,
Correlations between b'- and F g-values for data sets
where N~7 (Table 1) were made using weighted and
nonweighted input data. In the weighted case, a pair of
b'- and F g -values was entered as many times as the N-
value of the set from which their values were calculated.
This resulted in 256 entries. In the nonweighted case,
single pairs of b'- and F g-values were entered (nine en-
tries). The results of the reduced regressions were as
follows.
Weighted Case.
b'=3.8068 Fg -1.3334, K= -0.99, s= 1.12 X . . . . (5)
Nonweighted Case.
b'=3.5212 Fg -1.3764, K= -1.00, s= 1.11 x .... (6)
Eqs. 5 and 6 are quite similar, with excellent correla-
tion coefficients. Eq. 5 was selected primarily because
the input data should be weighted. Later we see that air
permeabilities calculated with a relationship incor-
porating Eq. 5 matches measured values slightly better
than those using Eq. 6.
Having established a relationship between b '- and Fg-
values, Eqs. 4 and 5 may now be combined. This results
in the following relationship, which expresses aIr
permeability as a function of F g , P d, and S boo .
ka =3.8068 Fg -1.3334(Sboo/Pd)2.0 . ........... (7)
812
Largest
Equivalent P d Calculated k a
(microns) (psia) (md)
1 214.0 0.7
5 42.8 17.9
20 10.7 286.6
1 214.0 0.2
5 42.8 4.1
20 10.7 66.2
This equation is presented graphically in Fig. 4.
One should keep in mind that Eq. 7 was derived by
making certain assumptions and correlations, each of
which contain error. To evaluate the relative accuracy of
Eq. 7, air permeabilities were calculated, ke, for all
samples in the data set using this equation. All samples
(N=279) were used, including those not used to
establish the basic relationships between ka and
(S boo /p d) for individual values of F g' These were not
used previously because the number of samples with the
same value of F g was less than seven. Correlation of the
calculated, k c> and corresponding measured, k a'
permeabilities yielded the following regression equation.
ke =0.983 ka 1.0086, K=0.97, s= 1.82 x. . ...... (8)
When plotted on log-log paper, this equation represents a
straight line with a slope of 45°14'42" which passes
through Point ke, ka with Coordinates 0.98, 1.0. For
practical purposes and considering the value of the RMS
of deviations (1. 82 X), this line may be considered the
45 ° equal value line. Finally, the s-value of 1. 82 X has
deteriorated only slightly from the weighted s-value of
1.76 X obtained from the individual correlations between
ka and (Sboo/Pd)'
Earlier we selected Eq. 5 over Eq. 6. Please recall that
these equations established a correlation between b' and
F g using either weighted or nonweighted input data. If
Eq. 6 (nonweighted case) had been selected, the
equivalent Eq. 8 would read as follows.
kc=0.951 ka 1.0140, K=0.97, s=1.82x ........ (9)
When plotted on log-log paper, the slope of Eq. 9 equals
45°23'48". In view of its slightly lower b-value and in-
creased exponent (or slope) when compared with Eq. 8,
selecting Eq. 5 to establish Eq. 7 is justified.
In conclusion, we have developed a relationship be-
tween air permeability and the parameters F g' P d, and
S boo. This equation is an improvement over the original
equation developed in 1960.
A Comment on Porosity-Permeability
Relationships
The relationship (Eq. 7) between air permeability and
three basic parameters of the pore network should ex-
plain why permeability vs. porosity crossplots often fail
to yield more than a "shotgun" pattern. For a given
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 TABLE 3-CONVERTING PETROGRAPHIC DATA INTO EQUIVALENT VOLUME AND PRESSURE DATA

Petrographic Description
Pore Throat Percent of Cumulative Percent
Percent of Diameter Total Bulk of Total Equivalent
Total Throats (microns) Volume Bulk Volume Pc (psia)
5 <1 1.0 18.2 to 19.3 >214
10 1 to 5 1.9 16.4 to 18.3 42.8 to 214
35 5 to 10 6.75 9.65 to 16.4 21.4 to 42.8
35 10 to 15 6.75 2.9 to 9.65 14.3 to 21.4
15 15 to 25 2.9 0 to 2.9 8.6 to 14.3
100 </>=19.3%

porosity, which generally should approximate S boo, a 1000

~

reservoir rock can have any permeability, depending on 800

'+"'9.3%
the combination of pore throat sizes and their distribu- 600
tion. Using Eq. 7, we calculated permeabilities for one
porosity and various P rand F g-values. In this example 400

(Table 2), a 20%-porosity rock has permeabilities rang-

I
ing from 0.2 to 287 md. It is evident that, when one ob-
!
tains a good porosity/permeability relationship, one 200

deals with a rather homogeneous rock for which pore

throat sizes and their distribution, or their combined ef- I<k
fect, is fairly constant. This condition is often not met, u:. 100
c::
particularly in carbonates. ~ 80

g: 60
Estimation of Air Permeability
~
>
c::
:5 > AVERAGE
From Petrographic Information ~ 40
Fg 1035)

~.
~u
The growing interest and need to obtain maximum infor- c::
;;:
mation from small rock samples such as drill cuttings has )::

---............--
c::
led to improved techniques 3 for obtaining capillary " 20
u
c::
curves and thus, indirectly, permeability on small
samples. Another potential means to obtain a permeabili-
ty estimate from small samples is petrographic analysis
"
...
~
'"
> 10
:; 8
employing thin sections supplemented perhaps by scan- i1
ning electron microscope photographs. In our approach, 6

we have attempted to translate observed petrographic 4

data into capillary-pressure information and to derive
permeability from the latter.
For 25 samples of our previously discussed 2
siliciclastic sample set, a detailed petrographic descrip-
tion was available for pore throat sizes and their distribu-
tion. Air permeabilities in this subset range from 0.96 to 1
60 40 20 1 8 6 4 ~ 1
4,055 md, with an average value of 374 md. Nine 100 80
EQUIVALENT MERCURY SATURATION-Sb (PERCENT)
samples have ka less than 50 md and 13 samples have ka
greater than 100 md. Unfortunately, no petrographic Fig. 5-A pseudocapillary-pressure curve as determined
from petrographic information.
data of this type were readily available for carbonate
rocks. However, we plan to include them in a future at-
tempt, even when vuggy. If the vugs are touching,
permeability should be relatively high, regardless of any
matrix contribution. If they are not touching, the pore PV equals porosity. The latter can be determined from
network of the matrix is obviously important, and core, log responses, or, quite accurately, estimated from
petrographic analysis should concentrate on its descrip- thin sections. Matrix and vug porosity can generally be
tion. In this context, the relation between vug and cutting separated. In this exercise, the only available informa-
sizes is obviously important. tion, measured core porosity, was used.
Following the approach of translating petrographic
data into capillary pressure information, F g , Pd, and Extrapolated Displacement Pressure, P d
S boo parameters were chosen to represent capillary
Since the extrapolated displacement pressure represents
curves. These parameters can be related to petrographic
the mercury entrance pressure into the largest pore
information as described in the following.
throat, we converted the largest pore throat observed by
Total Interconnected Pore Volume, S boo petrographic analysis into P d using the well-known
The assumption was made that the total interconnected relation
APRIL 1983 813
 4<1cosO Conclusions
Pc=--' ............................ (10)
d 1. A new relationship is proposed to determine air
permeability from the mercury/air capillary-pressure
Upon conversion to oilfield units and substituting the curve.
mercury/air surface tension, <1=480 dyne/cm, and the 2. This relationship allows one to assess the in-
mercury/air solid-contact angle, 0= 140 0 , this relation dividual contributions to permeability of PV, pore throat
becomes size, and pore throat distribution.
3. A preliminary investigation suggests that air
214 permeability may be calculated from a petrographic
P c = - ' .............................. (11)
d description of a rock sample.

in which Pc is mercury/air capillary pressure (psia) and Nomenclature *

d is pore throat diameter (microns). a = exponent in the power-curve equation,
y=bx a
Pore Geometrical Factor, F g b = constant in the power-curve equation,
The petrographic description of pore throat sizes and y=bx a
their distribution available for this study is shown in d = pore throat diameter, micron (p.m)
Table 3, Cols. 1 and 2. Pore-throat size distribution was F g = pore geometrical factor
converted to equivalent percent of total bulk volume k = permeability, md
(Cols. 3 and 4) and pore sizes to equivalent capillary K = correlation coefficient
pressure using Eq. 11. These equivalent volume (Col. 4)
Pd = mercury/air extrapolated displacement
and pressure (Col. 5) data were then plotted on log-log
paper to represent a pseudocapillary-pressure curve pressure, psia (kPa)
(Fig. 5). Pc = mercury/air capillary pressure, psia (kPa)
In this construction of a pseudocapillary-pressure N = number of samples
curve, we have implicitly assumed that pore-throat size s = standard error of estimate
distribution reflects PV distribution-i.e., that small S b = mercury saturation at pressure Pc,
throats are associated with small pores, and conversely. percent of bulk volume
This may intuitively be true for granular rocks but not Sboo = mercury saturation at infinite pressure, per-
necessarily for carbonates, particularly vuggy ones. cent of bulk volume
From the frequency distribution of F g-values for the o = contact angle of the liquid with the solid,
165 siliciclastic samples (Fig. 3a), three F g-values were measured through the liquid, degree (rad)
selected to represent the shape of the pseudocapillary-
<1 = surface tension, dyne/cm (mN/m)
pressure curve: 0.1, 0.2, and 0.35, denoting excellent,
average, and poor throat size distributions, respectively. cP = porosity, percent of bulk volume
• For consistency with SPE symbols standards, the symbols S b' S boo ' and F 9 were
Using this classification, applicable Fg-values were then substituted for (V b) , (Vb) , and G used in Ref. 1.
determined by comparing the shape of the pseudo- Pc Pr:¥J

capillary-pressure curve with those on the overlay

discussed in Ref. 1.
A Correlation Between Permeability and the
Equivalent Parameters Fg' Pd, and S boo
Values for the equivalent parameters F g , Pd, and Sboo
were determined for the 25-sample subset. Permeability,
kc, was calculated with Eq. 7 using the equivalent
parameters. These permeabilities were then compared
with corresponding measured values, k a . The results of
this correlation showed the following relationship.
kc=2.61 k a O. 8 , K=0.92, s=1.85x . ......... (12)
Acknowledgment
I thank the management of Shell Oil Co. for permission
to publish this paper.
References
I. Thomeer, J.H.M.: "Introduction of a Pore Geometrical Factor
Defined by the Capillary Pressure Curve," Trans., AI ME (1960)
219, 354-58.
2. Purcell, W .R.: "Capillary Pressures-Their Measurement Using
Mercury and the Calculation of Permeability Therefrom, " Trans. ,
AIME (1949) 186, 39-48.
3. Swanson, B.F.: "A Simple Correlation Between Permeabilities
and Mercury Capillary Pressures," 1. Pet. Tech. (Dec. 1981)
2498-504.

SI Metric Conversion Factors

Considering the limited data set and the assumptions
made, this result should certainly be viewed as dyne/cm x 1.0* E+OO mN/m
preliminary. However, it was encouraging and the ap- micron x 1.0* E+OO p.m
proach may warrant further pursuit. At the least, the psi X 6.894 757 E+OO kPa
method should allow one to set upper and lower limits on ·Conversion factor is exact. JPT
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers office March 17,
permeability based only on petrographic descriptions of 1982. Revised manuscript received Dec. 2, 1982. Paper accepted for publication Jan.
rock samples. 27, 1983.

814 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY