RESERVOIR DRIVE MECHANICS AND RECOVERY

FACTORS
Prof. T. Kumar
Dept. of. Petroleum Engg.
IIT(ISM) Dhanbad-826004

Two problems are faced by the reservoir engineers:

(1) The amount of oil and gas which will ultimately be
recovered, and
(2) The rate at which this oil and gas will be recovered.
Both of these factors are directly related to the forces in
the reservoir which will contribute to the expulsion of the oil
from the reservoir.

Sources of natural energy of a reservoir are as follow:

 Liberation and expansion of solution gas
 Expansion of original reservoir fluids
- Expansion of oil
- Expansion of free gas, if present
 Expansion of gas cap gas
 Influx of aquifer water
 Contraction of reservoir pore space and expansion of
connate water
• Gravitational forces

The following are the five important Oil Reservoir Drive

Mechanisms:
• Solution gas drive
• Gas-cap drive
• Water drive
• Gravity-drainage drive
• Combination drive
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Gas Reservoir Drive Mechanisms are listed below:
 Volumetric reservoir (gas expansion drive)
 Water drive
 Ultimate oil and gas recoveries vary depending on the
drive mechanism. For oil; water drive is most effective.
Typical primary recoveries are in the 25-40% range
(maximum 75%).
 For gas; gravity drainage, water drive and depletion drive
can provide
> 80% recovery.
Characteristics and mechanism of solution gas drive:
• Depletion drive reservoir
mechanism may also be
referred to as solution gas
drive or internal gas drive.
• This recovery mechanism
is a result of gas liberation
from solution in the
reservoir oil, with
subsequent expansion and
expulsion of the oil.
• Above the bubble point,
only liquid oil expansion occurs. Below the bubble point,
both liquid oil expansion and gas expansion contribute to
volume change.

• The phase behaviour diagram production history of a

typical solution gas drive reservoir is shown below:

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Characteristics of depletion or solution gas drive
reservoirs are as follows:
1. Rapid and continuous pressure drop, rate of decline falls
at bubble point pressure. Producing gas oil ratio, R is low
until p = pb, then increases to maximum and declines.
2. Water free oil production due to absence of active water
drive.
3. Rapidly increasing gas oil ratio from all walls.
4. Low ultimate oil recovery: Oil production by depletion
drive is usually the least efficient recovery method. This is
a direct result of the formation of gas saturation
throughout the reservoir.

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5. Ultimate recovery from depletion drive reservoirs may
vary from less than 5 per cent to 25 percent. The relative
permeability (Kg/Ko) relationship determines to a large
extent the ultimate recovery from depletion drive
reservoirs.
6. As reservoir oil viscosity increases, ultimate oil recovery
decreases. The amount of gravitational segregation of the
oil and gas will also be a function of the oil and gas
viscosities.
7. These reservoirs have no initial free gas cap and no active
water drive. Stratigraphic trap reservoirs are often
depletion drive reservoirs, due to the nature of the trap,
which precludes the presence of a large aquifer
underlying the oil zone.

Gas-Oil Ratio history in a depletion drive reservoir:

The producing gas-oil ratio history of a depletion drive
reservoir can provide reservoir engineer valuable information
when this is analyzed in the light of the events which must
occur in the reservoir. In the typical GOR vs. Np plot (refer to
Figure below), during the period from point 1 to 3 the GOR
curve follows exactly the solution GOR curve.

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 From point 1 to 2, the reservoir produces above saturation
pressure, therefore, producing GOR remains constant and
equal to initial solution GOR. At point 2, the reservoir saturation
pressure is reached, and gas is evolved from solution.
However, this free gas cannot flow until a free gas
saturation equivalent to the equilibrium or critical gas saturation
(minimum gas saturation necessary to permit gas flow) has
been built up. Therefore, the surface gas oil ratio will begin to
decrease as the solution gas-oil ratio decreases (refer to Rs
versus P plot).
At point 3, the equilibrium gas saturation is reached and
free gas now begins to flow. The gas-oil ratio increases from
point 3 to point 4. The rapidity of the gas-oil ratio increase will
depend upon the rate of pressure decline. The gas-oil ratio
increases because gas is being evolved from all of the oil in the
reservoir, while only a small part of this oil is being produced.
At point 4, the maximum gas-oil ratio is reached for the
simple reason that the supply of gas has reached a maximum
and the ‘blow-down’ cycle is beginning. From Point 4 to Point
5, the free gas saturation is being depleted rapidly due to the
small amount of gas coming out of solution compared to the
gas produced.
At point 5 all of the producible free gas has been produced
and the producing gas-oil ratio now is equal to the solution gas-
oil ratio which now is small due to the low reservoir pressure.
The line from Point 5 to Point 6 seldom is seen in an actual
case because the economic limit usually falls somewhere
between Point 4 and Point 5.

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Gas Cap Drive Mechanism
The principle of gas cap drive is the expansion of free gas in
the gas cap in response to a pressure drop. The change in fluid
volume results in production.

Characteristics of Gas Cap Drive reservoirs are as follows:

Gas cap drive reservoirs can be identified by the presence of a
relatively large gas cap with little or no water drive. Gas cap
reservoir with its production history are given above:

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The characteristics of gas cap reservoirs are as follows:
1. Less rapid pressure decline than the same size depletion
drive reservoir.
2. Lack of water production
3. Rapidly increasing gas-oil ratio in structurally high wells
as the gas cap expands into the oil zone.
4. Oil recovery by gas cap expansion is actually a frontal
drive displacing mechanism.
5. Recovery efficiency is therefore, normally considerably
larger than in depletion drive reservoirs, since a gas
saturation is not being formed throughout the reservoir at
the same time.
6. Ultimate recovery will vary from 20 percent to 40 percent
of the original oil in place.
7. The initial pressure in such reservoirs is typically at
saturation or bubble point pressure and are saturated
reservoirs.
8. Figure below shows the relative positions of the gas and
oil at different times in the producing life of the reservoirs.

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9. As the size of the gas cap increases, the ultimate oil
recovery will also be increased.
10. Vertical permeability and reservoir oil viscosity are also
important factors in determining the recovery efficiency.
Good vertical permeability will permit the oil to move
downward with less bypassing of gas.
11. As oil viscosity increases the amount of gas bypassing
will also increase.
12. In order to conserve gas, and thereby increase ultimate
oil recovery, it is necessary to shut in wells, which
produce excessive gas.

Natural Water Drive Mechanism

The principle of natural water drive is that an aquifer provides
the energy for hydrocarbon production. Both water expansion,
as a result of pressure reduction, and inflow are involved.
Water drive has high oil recovery 35-75% OIIP. When a
pressure drop occurs, both the oil and water liquid phases
expand resulting in production.

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Different Water Drive Mechanisms
Both bottom water drive, where the water zone underlies the
entire reservoir, and edge water drive, where only part of the
areal extent is contacted by water, are recognized.

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Characteristics of water drive reservoirs are as follows:
1. Oil production by water-displacing process, which is most
efficient drive. It also leaves a considerable percentage of
residual oil. The production history of a water drive
reservoir is given by

2. Pressure decline is very gradual.

3. Early excess water production.
4. Normally little change in GOR
5. Initial reservoir pressure is normal for the area.
6. In case there is gas cap also then gas production should
be minimized to take advantage of more efficient water
displacing process.
7. Gas cap volume shrinkage should be avoided as oil
saturation in the gas cap due to upward movement of oil
will be developed, part of which can never be produced.
8. As the reservoir heterogeneity increases, the recovery
will decrease, due to uneven advance of the displacing
water.
9. The rate of water advance will be faster in the highly
permeable zone. This results in earlier high water-oil
ratios and consequent earlier economic limits.

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COMPACTION DRIVE
In compaction drive, the energy for oil production is provided
by the reduction in pore volume and expansion of connate
water when the reservoir pressure drops. This drive
mechanism is common in highly compressible, unconsolidated
reservoirs such as those found in California, Venezuela, and
the heavy oil deposits of western Canada. Also in high-porosity
chalks (e.g., North Sea).
Gravity-drainage Drive Mechanism
Within reservoirs with high dip angles and having high
permeability, gas tends to migrate updip while oil migrates
downdip towards the well. This mechanism traps gas energy in
the reservoir naturally. This mechanism contains a high
recovery efficiency similar to water drive.

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COMBINATION DRIVE
When a reservoir is being produced by the combination of two
or more drive mechanisms, it is known as combination drive
reservoir. In combination-drive reservoirs, at least two of the
basic drive mechanisms are active in expelling oil:
1. Solution gas drive
2. Week Gas cap drive
3. Week Natural water influx
4. Pore compaction
The example shows a combination of natural water influx and
gas cap drive. In many of the western Canadian heavy oil
deposits, solution gas drive and compaction drive act in
combination.

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The characteristics of combination drive reservoir are as
follows:
1. Relatively rapid pressure decline.
2. Water encroachment and/or external gas cap expansion
are insufficient to maintain reservoir pressures.
3. Water encroaching slowly into the lower part of the
reservoir.
4. Structurally low producing wells will exhibit slowly
increasing water producing rates.
5. If a small gas cap is present the structurally high wells will
exhibit continually increasing gas-oil ratios, provided the
gas cap is expanding.
6. Figure below shows production history of a typical
combination drive reservoir with a weak water drive and
no initial free gas cap.

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7. Ultimate recovery form combination drive reservoirs is
usually greater than that from depletion drive reservoirs
but less than that from water drive or gas cap drive
reservoirs.
8. In most combination drive reservoirs it will be
economically feasible to institute some type of pressure
maintenance operation, either gas injection, water
injection, or both gas and water injection, depending upon
the availability of the fluids.

Reservoir performance data (1): Pressure trends in

reservoirs under various drive mechanisms are distinctive.
Reservoir performance data (2): Producing GOR is also
strongly diagnostic of drive mechanism (See Figures below).

Recovery Factors for Oil Reservoirs and Gas Reservoirs:

Recovery Factors for Oil Reservoirs and Gas Reservoirs are
shown in the figure below. Recovery factor is defined as the
percentage of the oil produced (recovered) from the amount of
oil initially in place (OIIP).

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Suitability characteristics for oil recovery and gas
recovery are given in the figures below:

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