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Pet Eval CH 2
Pet Eval CH 2
Pet Eval CH 2
2
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
3 POROSITY
3.1 Primary Porosity
3.2 Secondary Porosity
4 SATURATION
5 PERMEABILITY
5.1 Darcy's Law
5.2 Effective Permeability
5.3 Relative Permeability
6 CAPILLARY PRESSURE
7 FLUID PROPERTIES
8 WATER SALINITY
9 DETERMINATION OF FORMATION
TEMPERATURE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Having worked through this chapter the Student will be able to:
Rock Classification:
1. Distinguish between the main relevant rock types: sandstone, shale, carbonate.
Porosity:
2. Define the term primary porosity.
3. Describe the influence of packing and sorting on primary porosity.
4. Define secondary porosity.
Saturation:
5. Define the term fluid saturation.
Permeability:
6. Define permeability and Darcy’s Law.
7. Define the terms effective permeability, and relative permeability.
Capillary Pressure:
8. Define what is meant by capillary pressure.
Fluid Properties:
9. Distinguish between single phase liquid, single phase gas, and mixed two phase
(liquid and gas) areas on a P,T (pressure, temperature) diagram.
Water Salinity:
10. Describe what is meant by water salinity and the factors governing its variability.
Formation Temperature:
11. Describe how the formation temperature is measured.
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Rock and Fluid Properties
2
1 INTRODUCTION
The response to measurements made with petrophysical logging tools will depend on
the formation being investigated.
The first step in the interpretation of the logging data is to determine the type of rock
which is being logged. The next step is to determine the porosity, saturation, and
permeability of the rocks.
Rocks are classified in a very specific way for the purposes of well log interpretation.
Evaluation of reservoir rocks or potential reservoir rocks requires basically three
pieces of data:
• Sandstones - SiO2;
• Limestones - CaCO3;
• Dolomite - CaCO3Mg CO3;
• NaCl, Anhydrite, Gypsum, Clay
On this rock chemistry basis, sandstones are SiO2. Therefore, anything that is SiO2
shows up on well logs as sandstone. Since the classification is on a purely chemical
basis and not on a grain size basis, silt is considered as a very small grained sandstone.
Chert is also classified as a sandstone although the crystal structure is different it looks
like sandstone on well logs.
Limestone is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Since chalk results in the same response
on logs as calcium carbonate, it is classified as a limestone.
Dolomite (CaCO3Mg CO3) differs strongly from limestone on well log readings.
Physically, dolomite differs from limestone significantly in density, hardness and
other properties.
The only apparent maverick in the system is shale, which in reality is clay, and is
classified as clay. For general usage, there is no need to differentiate between the
various clay minerals which make up shales as long as clean shales are considered as
being clay.
A few rock types have been omitted but these omissions are not considered serious.
For example, a conglomerate is nothing more than a grain size variation of sandstone,
limestones with regular, spherical grains are not classified as sandstones but as
limestone.
3 POROSITY
The porosity of a rock is the percentage of rock gross rock volume that is not made up
of matrix material. Porosity can however be subdivided into primary and secondary
porosity.
Figure 1
Bulk Volume Grain Volume Pore Volume Diagram and equation of
Representation Representation Representation porosity
4
Rock and Fluid Properties
2
Void volume
Porosity = x 100
Bulk volume
pore volume
Porosity = × 100
void volume + grain volume
Figure 2
Column stacking of rock
grains - Porosity = 47.6%
Figure 3
Close packing of rock
grains - Porosity = 25.9%
To acquire a feel for the values of porosity generally encountered, assume some
marbles, all the same size, are stacked on top of each other in columns. Calculations
will show a porosity of 47.6% (Figure 2). Spherical sand grains 1/10 the size of the
marbles stacked one on top of the other will have the same porosity, 47.6%. If the same
marbles are packed in the closest possible arrangement in which the upper marble sits
in the valley between the four lower marbles, each touching, the porosity is reduced
to 25.9% (Figure 3). Again, changing the size of the marbles will not change the
porosity as long as all the marbles are the same size.
In general, porosities tend to be lower in deeper and older rocks. This decrease in
porosity is due primarily to overburden, time, stresses on the rock, and cementation.
There are many exceptions to this general trend when normal overburden conditions
Figure 4
Impact of sorting on
porosity
Figure 5
Secondary Porosity in
Limestone
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Rock and Fluid Properties
2
4 SATURATION
Saturation of any given fluid in a pore space is the ratio of the volume of the fluid to
the total pore space volume. For example, a water saturation of 10% means that 1/10
of the pore space is filled with water.
Where porosity is the capacity to hold fluids, saturation is the percentage or fraction
of this total capacity that actually holds any particular fluid. Porosity, hydrocarbon
saturation, the thickness of the reservoir rock and the areal extent of the reservoir rock
all contribute to the total hydrocarbons in place (Figures 6 and 7). These establish
the economic potential of any given reservoir.
Oil Water
Figure 6
Reservoir rock - saturation
with different fluids (oil and
water)
Figure 7
Reservoir rock - saturation
with different fluids (oil,
water and gas)
Of the total volume (barrels or millions of cubic feet) of gas present in a reservoir, the
percentage that is produced depends on the recovery factor. This recovery factor,
normally determined by experience, is typically in the 20% - 50% range. The
produced oil must be able to pay for the cost of drilling and casing the well and other
miscellaneous expenses, as well as supply a profit.
5 PERMEABILITY
Permeability refers to the ease with which fluids flow through a formation. It is not
sufficient to have oil or gas in a formation, the hydrocarbons must be able to flow from
the reservoir into the wellbore in order to be recovered at the surface. Permeability
is a physical characteristic of any given rock. Generally, permeability is measured by
flowing fluids through the rock under known conditions. To determine the permeability
However, Henri d'Arcy was using clean water in his experiments. Subsequently, it
was Henri Poiseuilles, who noted that viscosity was also inversely proportional to the
flow-rate. Hence it was essential to include a term for viscosity, µ in centipoise, in the
Darcy equation.
k A ∆P
Q=
l µ
One darcy is defined as that permeability that will permit a fluid of one centipoise
viscosity to flow at a rate of one cubic centimetre per second through a cross-sectional
area of 1 square centimetre when the pressure gradient is one atmosphere per
centimetre.
where:
In practical units, one Darcy permeability will yield a flow of approximately one
barrel/day of one centipoise oil through one foot of formation thickness in a well bore
when the pressure differential is about one psi.
Darcy's Law is used to determine permeability, which is a constant when the following
boundary conditions are met:
1 Linear-laminar flow
2 No reaction between fluid and rock
3 One phase present at 100 percent pore-space saturation
4 Incompressible
Because of the relatively high value of the base-unit, the millidarcy mD, (one
thousandth, 1/1000, of a Darcy) is commonly in use in reservoir description. The
Darcy has a SI equivalent in the µm2. Formation permeabilities typically vary from a
fraction to more than 10,000 millidarcies.
8
Rock and Fluid Properties
2
Permeabilities normally encountered in reservoir rocks are from less than one
millidarcy to about 50,000 millidarcies. The permeability of any rock is governed
primarily by the size of the pores. The larger the pore size, the higher the permeability.
For example, one four-inch diameter pipe will have a higher permeability than a
bundle of quarter-inch diameter pipes with the same flow cross sectional area. The
tortuosity of the path the fluid takes going from one end of the rock to the other also
determines permeability. This is due to the fluid flowing around all the sand grains
rather than in a straight line from one end of the core to the other.
Reduce the size of the sand grains by a factor of 100 and the permeability is
considerably smaller because the diameters of the pores are considerably smaller.
Further, smaller pores mean larger surface areas around them, and therefore more
resistance to flow (lower permeability). Another example is in vuggy type rocks in
which the pores are often large and permeability’s very high even though the porosity
may be only 5% - 10%.
The permeability of fractures has been shown to be almost a pure function of the width
of the fracture. A rough relationship for permeability versus width of fracture can be
shown as:
k = 54,000,000 x Width
The very high permeability created by a very small fracture is the reason that fractures
significantly affect production capabilities in reservoirs. One small fracture in a
reservoir will result in the production of most of the fluids from the fracture area as
the fracture acts like a pipeline through the formation. Equivalently, if a formation is
fractured while drilling, the high permeability of the fracture results in the high flow
of drilling fluids into the formation.
When only one fluid is present in the pores the permeability of the formation is called
the absolute permeability.
Figure 8
Diagram of Relative
Permeability
In either case, the amount of fluid flowing is not a direct effect of the relative
permeability as different fluids have different viscosities. For example, if gas and oil
have equal relative permeabilities, more gas than oil will flow within the rock because
of the dramatic difference in viscosity.
6 CAPILLARY PRESSURE
Reservoir rocks are composed of many capillaries of varying sizes. Capillary pressure
is the phenomenon by which water or any wetting liquid is drawn up into a capillary.
The smaller the capillary, the higher the liquid rises.
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Rock and Fluid Properties
2
Due to the variety of capillary diameters, the water saturation existing within a rock
above the water table varies (Figure 9). The permeability of a rock is determined by
the size of the capillaries in the rock. These capillaries also define the irreducible
water saturation, which is the water saturation that exists above the transition zone.
The transition zone is the zone which displays a change in the water saturation with
height.
Most often it is considered the region in which both water and oil (or gas) flow. The
more small capillaries there are, the higher the water saturation, and the longer the
transition from irreducible water saturation to all water. The larger the pore spaces,
the fewer the small capillaries, the transition zone is shorter.
Oil
Sand
Grain
Pc
h
Transition Zone
WOC
hp
FWL
0% Water Saturation 100%
Figure 9
Water
Capillary Pressure and
Saturation
7 FLUID PROPERTIES
In the reservoir, oil and gas are not distinguishable as separate entities but are a system.
One way to define this system is with a pressure-temperature (P,T) diagram which
describes the conditions of the material in the reservoir at any given pressure or
temperature (Figure 10). For example, the hydrocarbons existing under the pressure
and temperature that would put them in the “A” part of the P,T diagram are
undersaturated oils, (liquid). Those existing in the “B” area are gases. The
hydrocarbon fluids in the envelope “C” exist as both oil (liquid) and gas. The location
% Liquid TM
100
2
Pressure
T = Maximum temperature at
m
which two phases can coexist
25
20 e
15 oin t Lin C = Critical conditions
10 ew P
5 Y2 D X
5
= Cricondentherm
Gas X5
0 Single Phase Region
Temperature
Figure 10
Phase Behaviour of Fluid
Where a two phase system exists, a free gas and a free liquid phase, the two are in
contact but not necessarily in a dispersed condition. In this state, the oils are called
saturated. That is, they have in solution all the gas they can hold at that particular
pressure and temperature, and often exist as an oilfield with a gas cap. The size of the
gas cap is dependent upon its location in the P,T envelope. For example, if it was on
the 75% line, oil volume would be 75% and gas volume 25% of the reservoir. It should
be noted that there is no distinct barrier between “A” and “B”. The area that separates
“A” and “B” is miscible in the sense that it is impossible to tell when the material goes
from liquid to gas; within this region are the condensate reservoirs.
Every particular hydrocarbon system has its own P,T phase diagram. What will
happen during the life of the oil or gas field can be determined from the P,T diagram.
For example, assume the pressure/temperature is such that the oilfield is produced at
a constant temperature condition where just the pressure is reduced. As pressure
drops, the fluid eventually reaches the bubble point line which separates “A” from
“C”. Having once crossed the bubble point line, the reservoir then develops larger and
larger amounts of gas or in many cases, develops a gas cap.
A gas cap develops only when the vertical permeability in the reservoir is large enough
to allow the gas to move upward. This presumes the system is closed and there is no
water encroachment. If the reservoir is initially at “Y1” on this chart and the pressure
drops, as shown going from “Y1” to “Y2”, the reservoir fluids change from a single
phase to a two-phase liquid and gas, and then to a single gas phase. This is a retrograde
condensation system in which you first develop the liquids within the reservoir as the
pressure drops. As the pressure continues to drop, the reservoir fluid becomes a single
phase gas and ends up a gas field.
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Rock and Fluid Properties
2
An oil being produced from the reservoir to the surface has both pressure and
temperature reduction, and will change from a liquid to a combination of gas and
liquid.
The phenomena occurring is very much like the Coke bottle phenomena. As the well
is agitated (the pressure dropped), the gas comes out of solution. A Coke bottle that
has been agitated, when you take the top off, blows Coke everywhere. The gas in the
Coke is coming out of solution and represents the driving force that pushed the Coke
out of the bottle. An oilfield is essentially the equivalent with the natural gas forcing
the oil out of the formation.
8 WATER SALINITY
The waters in reservoirs in the earth vary from fresh to salt saturated solutions. Near
the surface, waters are generally very fresh with low sodium chloride concentrations.
Deeper, the waters tend to become saltier until some maximum concentration occurs
and the water often becomes fresher.
The salinity of the water is a result not only of its vertical position in the earth, but also
the age of the rocks and the physical position of the rocks relative to surface outcrops.
Salinities used are generally in parts per million by weight. In the logging business,
sodium chloride concentrations generally are used. At normal room temperatures,
250,000 ppm (parts per million) is a saturated solution, while at higher temperatures
the saturation point for waters is higher. For example, at 300 degrees C, a 300,000
ppm sodium chloride solution is saturated.
It is often necessary to know the resistivity of formation waters and the drilling mud
at the depth of some formation of interest. The resistivity of aqueous solutions is a
function of temperature. It is thus necessary to be able to determine the approximate
temperature in a well bore at any given depth.
The logic is very straight forward. A mean surface temperature can be obtained or
estimated for any given location. A maximum reading thermometer is run with the
logging instrument and the temperature reported on the log heading. This maximum
temperature reading is assumed to be obtained at total depth or the maximum depth
at which the logging tool stopped. The temperature between the surface and the depth
at which the maximum temperature is recorded is assumed to change linearly. The
assumption that the geothermal gradient (the rate at which temperature increases with
increased depth) is linear is a good approximation.
Sometimes the maximum temperature in the borehole is less than the actual formation
temperature due to the cooling effect of circulating mud while drilling the hole. If this
is a problem, multiple runs with the maximum reading thermometer should be made
to determine a stabilised temperature. The normal approach is to assume bottom hole
temperature and formation temperature are equal.