PERMEABILITY

ALI MOUSTAFA ELSAYED WAHBA ELLAITHY

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF PETROLEUM AND MINING ENGINEERING
SUEZ UNIVERSITY

E-mail: a.wahba@suezuni.edu.eg
Tel.: (+20) 1021122314 – (+20) 1555545827
1
 INTRODUCTION
• Flow in porous media is a very complex phenomenon and as such cannot be
described as explicitly as flow through pipes or conduits.

• It is rather easy Constant-Rate at the Inner Boundary to measure the length

and diameter of a pipe and compute its flow capacity as a function of
pressure; in porous media, however, flow is different in that there are no
clear-cut flow paths that lend themselves to measurement.

10/7/2023 2
 INTRODUCTION
❖The flow behavior of the reservoir fluids will vary depending
upon the characteristics of the reservoir.

❖The primary reservoir characteristics that must be considered

include:

• Types of fluids in the reservoir.

• Flow regimes.
• Reservoir geometry.
• Number of flowing fluids in the reservoir.

10/7/2023 3
 TYPES OF FLUIDS IN THE
RESERVOIR
❖The isothermal compressibility coefficient is essentially the controlling factor
in identifying the type of the reservoir fluid.

❖In general, reservoir fluids are classified into three groups:

• Incompressible fluids:
• Slightly compressible fluids:
• Compressible fluids:

10/7/2023 4
 INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS
• An incompressible fluid is defined as the fluid whose volume (or density) does
not change with pressure.

• Incompressible fluids do not exist; this behavior, however, may be assumed in

some cases to simplify the derivation and the final form of many flow
equations.
10/7/2023 5
 SLIGHTLY COMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS
• These slightly compressible fluids exhibit small changes in volume, or density,
with changes in pressure.

• It should be pointed out that crude oil and water systems fit into this
category.

10/7/2023 6
 COMPRESSIBLE FLUIDS
• These are fluids that experience large changes in volume as a function of
pressure.

• All gases are considered compressible fluids.

10/7/2023 7
 TYPES OF FLUIDS IN THE
RESERVOIR

10/7/2023 8
 FLOW REGIMES
❖There are basically three types of flow regimes that must be recognized in
order to describe the fluid flow behavior and reservoir pressure distribution
as a function of time.

❖There are three flow regimes:

• Steady-state flow.
• Pseudosteady-state flow.
• Unsteady-state flow.

10/7/2023 9
 STEADY-STATE FLOW
• The flow regime is identified as a steady-state flow if the pressure at every
location in the reservoir remains constant, i.e., does not change with time.

• In reservoirs, the steady-state flow condition can only occur when the
reservoir is completely recharged and supported by strong aquifer or
pressure maintenance operations.

10/7/2023 10
 PSEUDOSTEADY-STATE FLOW
• When the pressure at different locations in the reservoir is declining linearly
as a function of time, i.e., at a constant declining rate, the flowing condition is
characterized as the pseudosteady-state flow.

• It should be pointed out that the pseudosteady-state flow is commonly

referred to as semisteady-state flow and quasisteady-state flow.

10/7/2023 11
 UNSTEADY-STATE FLOW
• The unsteady-state flow (frequently called transient flow) is defined as the
fluid flowing condition at which the rate of change of pressure with respect to
time at any position in the reservoir is not zero or constant.

• This definition suggests that the pressure derivative with respect to time is
essentially a function of both position “i” and time “t”.

10/7/2023 12
 FLOW REGIMES

10/7/2023 13
 RESERVOIR GEOMETRY
❖The shape of a reservoir has a significant effect on its flow behavior.

❖Most reservoirs have irregular boundaries and a rigorous mathematical

description of geometry is often possible only with the use of numerical
simulators.

❖For many engineering purposes, however, the actual flow geometry may be
represented by one of the following flow geometries:

• Radial flow.
• Linear flow.
• Spherical and hemispherical flow.
10/7/2023 14
 RADIAL FLOW
• In the absence of severe reservoir
heterogeneities, flow into or away from a
wellbore will follow radial flow lines from a
substantial distance from the wellbore.

• Because fluids move toward the well from all

directions and coverage at the wellbore, the
term radial flow is given to characterize the
flow of fluid into the wellbore.

• The Figure shows idealized flow lines and

iso-potential lines for a radial flow system.
10/7/2023 15
 LINEAR FLOW
• Linear flow occurs when flow paths are
parallel and the fluid flows in a single
direction. In addition, the cross-
sectional area to flow must be constant.

• The Figure shows an idealized linear

flow system.

• A common application of linear flow

equations is the fluid flow into vertical
hydraulic fractures.

10/7/2023 16
 SPHERICAL AND HEMISPHERICAL FLOW

• Depending upon the type of wellbore completion configuration, it is possible

to have a spherical or hemispherical flow near the wellbore.

• A well with a limited perforated interval could result in spherical flow in the
vicinity of the perforations.

• A well that only partially penetrates the pay zone could result in
hemispherical flow. The condition could arise where coning of bottom water
is important.

10/7/2023 17
 SPHERICAL AND HEMISPHERICAL FLOW

10/7/2023 18
 NUMBER OF FLOWING FLUIDS IN
THE RESERVOIR
❖There are generally three cases of flowing systems:

• Single-phase flow (oil, water, or gas).

• Two-phase flow (oil-water, oil-gas, or gas-water).
• Three-phase flow (oil, water, and gas).

10/7/2023 19
 PERMEABILITY
• Permeability is a property of the porous medium that measures the capacity
and ability of the formation to transmit fluids.

• The rock permeability, k, is a very important rock property because it

controls the directional movement and the flow rate of the reservoir fluids in
the formation.

• This rock characterization was first defined mathematically by Henry Darcy

in 1856.

10/7/2023 20
 PERMEABILITY

• In fact, the equation that defines permeability in terms of measurable

quantities is called Darcy’s Equation.

• Darcy developed a fluid flow equation (transport equation) that has since
become one of the standard mathematical tools of the petroleum engineer.

10/7/2023 21
 DARCY’S EQUATION
• If a horizontal linear flow of an incompressible fluid is established through a
core sample of length L and a cross-section of area A, then the governing fluid
flow equation is defined as:

10/7/2023 22
 DARCY’S EQUATION
• The velocity, ν, in Darcy’s equation is not the actual velocity of the flowing
fluid but is the apparent velocity determined by dividing the flow rate by the
cross-sectional area across which fluid is flowing. Substituting the
relationship, q/A, in place of ν in Darcy’s equation and solving for q results
in:

10/7/2023 23
 DARCY’S EQUATION
• The negative sign is added because the pressure gradient is negative in the
direction of flow.

• One Darcy is that permeability, which will allow a flow of one cubic
centimeter per second of a fluid of one centipoise viscosity through a cross-
sectional area of one square centimeter under a pressure gradient of one
atmosphere per centimeter.

10/7/2023 24
 DARCY’S EQUATION

10/7/2023 25
 DARCY’S EQUATION
❖Darcy’s equation is integrated for a fluid flow case under the
following assumptions:
• The core plug is 100% saturated with the flowing fluid.
• The flowing fluid is incompressible.
• The flow is horizontal, steady state, and under the laminar regime.
• The flow of fluid through the porous medium takes place under viscous
regime (i.e., the rate of flow is sufficiently low so that it is directly
proportional to the pressure differential or the hydraulic gradient).
• The flowing fluid does not react with the porous medium (i.e., no fluid–
rock interactions) because it may alter the characteristics of the porous
medium, thereby changing its permeability as flow continues.

10/7/2023 26
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID)

10/7/2023 27
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID)
• The is commonly known as Darcy’s law and is extensively used in petroleum
engineering calculations for determining the absolute permeability of a
reservoir rock.

• The Equation represents a combination of the following:

• The property of the porous medium or the reservoir rock is

represented by k, the absolute permeability.
• The property of the fluid is represented by μ, its viscosity.
• The geometry of the porous medium is represented by A and L, or as a
combined effect by the ratio of A/L.
• The fluid flow characteristics are represented by Q, ΔP, and μ.
10/7/2023 28
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID)

• The Equation shows that the absolute permeability k is entirely a property of

a porous medium and is independent of the properties of the flowing fluid
because ΔP obtained for the flow of a particular fluid is scaled according to
the flow rate and the viscosity of the fluid.

• For instance, if flow rate Q is increased, pressure drop ΔP increases; k is not

an independent function of either flow rate or ΔP.

10/7/2023 29
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID)

• Similarly, an increase in length L for the same ΔP results in a decrease in flow

rate Q so that k is again unchanged.

• Essentially, if the core sample is the same and other variables are altered,
absolute permeability remains unchanged as it is entirely a rock property.

10/7/2023 30
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF COMPRESSIBLE FLUID)
• When an incompressible fluid flow takes place through a core sample of
uniform cross section, the flux (Q/A) is constant at all sections along the flow
path, because the volume does not change.

• However, when gases are used, the pressure drop along the flow path results
in gas expansion which increases the flux.

• Therefore, gas flux is not constant along the flow path.

• This of course necessitates the modification of Darcy equation for calculation

of permeability.
10/7/2023 31
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF COMPRESSIBLE FLUID)
• First, the product of inlet and outlet flow rates (Q1 and Q2) and pressures (P1
and P2) is equated by using Boyle’s law:

• The Darcy equation can then be expressed in terms of the average gas flow
rate to account for gas expansion in the sample:

10/7/2023 32
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(LINEAR FLOW OF COMPRESSIBLE FLUID)
• However, the flow rate of gas is normally measured at the outlet of the core
plug, Q2. Therefore,

• The Equation is used for the determination of absolute permeability of core

plug samples using gases.
10/7/2023 33
 APPLICATION OF DARCY’S LAW TO
INCLINED FLOW
• The equation for calculating the
absolute permeability is
applicable to a horizontal flow.

• However, in the case of an

inclined flow or a dipping flow,
the vertical coordinate or the
gradient should also be accounted
for by calculating the absolute
permeability.

10/7/2023 34
 DARCY’S EQUATION
(RADIAL FLOW OF INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID)

10/7/2023 35
 APPLICATION OF DARCY’S LAW TO
RADIAL FLOW

• Part of Radial Flow (Angle of 𝛉°).

• The flow rate equation must be 𝛉°

𝛉°
multiplied by .
𝟑𝟔𝟎°

𝐊∗𝐡∗ 𝐏𝐞 −𝐏𝐰𝐟 𝛉°
𝐐= 𝐫𝐞 *
𝛍∗𝛃∗𝐥𝐧 𝟑𝟔𝟎°
𝐫𝐰

10/7/2023 36
 VALIDITY OF DARCY'S LAW
• Darcy's law is valid for slow, laminar flow in porous media without chemical
reaction.

• The Figure shows the Fanning friction factor versus Reynolds number for
single phase flow in a porous medium.

• For flow through porous media, Reynolds number is defined as:

10/7/2023 37
 VALIDITY OF DARCY'S LAW

10/7/2023 38
 VALIDITY OF DARCY'S LAW
• For laminar flow, in which Darcy's law is valid, the friction factor versus
Reynolds number is given by the line shown in the Figure having the
equation:

• It can be seen in the figure that the experimental data begin to deviate from
the line at a Reynolds number of about 1.0.

• Thus, Darcy's law is valid for flow in porous media for Reynolds number up
to about 1.
10/7/2023 39
 VALIDITY OF DARCY'S LAW
• At Reynolds numbers greater than 1,
Darcy's law is no longer valid.
Therefore, flow at Reynolds number
greater than 1 can be characterized as
non-darcy flow.

• Based on analogy with flow in pipes,

the flow regimes for non-darcy flow
can be classified as shown in the Figure
as transition flow for Reynolds number
in the range 1 to 100, and turbulent
flow for Reynolds number greater than
100.
10/7/2023 40
 DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF PERMEABILITY

The equation shows that the permeability of a

porous medium has the dimensions of length
squared. This means that permeability is
proportional to the square of some
characteristic dimension of the porous medium.

10/7/2023 41
 DARCY’S EQUATION IN FIELD UNITS
𝟏. 𝟏𝟐𝟕 ∗ 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 ∗ 𝐊 ∗ 𝐀 ∗ 𝐏𝟏 − 𝐏𝟐
𝐐=
𝛍∗𝛃∗𝐋
• Q, STB/day.
• K, md.
• A, ft2.
• P, psia.
• 𝛍, cp.
• 𝛃, bbl/STB.
• L, ft.

10/7/2023 42
 DARCY’S EQUATION IN FIELD UNITS
𝟕. 𝟎𝟖 ∗ 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 ∗ 𝐊 ∗ 𝐡 ∗ 𝐏𝐞 − 𝐏𝐰𝐟
𝐐=
𝐫𝐞
𝛍 ∗ 𝛃 ∗ 𝐥𝐧
𝐫𝐰
• Q, STB/day.
• K, md.
• L, ft.
• P, psia.
• 𝛍, cp.
• 𝛃, bbl/STB.
• r, ft.
10/7/2023 43
 FLOW IN CHANNELS AND FRACTURES
ANALOGIES TO DARCY’S LAW
❖Channels:

• Darcy’s Equation:
✓Porous media.
✓Darcy units.

• Poiseuille’s Equation: Example:

✓ Wormholes from acid
✓Flow in tubes (𝐀 = 𝛑𝐫 𝟐 ).
stimulation.
✓Darcy units.

10/7/2023 44
 FLOW IN CHANNELS AND FRACTURES
ANALOGIES TO DARCY’S LAW
❖Fractures:

• Darcy’s Equation:
✓Porous media.
✓Darcy units.
𝐰𝟐
K=
𝟏𝟐
• Buckingham’s Equation:
Examples:
✓Flow in slots A = w·h 𝐀 𝐰 𝟐 ∆𝐏
𝐐= ✓ Stimulation by hydraulic
(vertical fractures)
𝟏𝟐 𝛍 𝐋 fracturing.
✓Darcy units.
✓ Naturally fractured
10/7/2023 reservoirs. 45
 FLOW IN CHANNELS AND FRACTURES IN
FIELD UNITS

10/7/2023 46
 DEFINITION OF HOMOGENEITY AND
ANISOTROPY
• A medium is homogeneous with respect to a certain property if that property
is independent of position within the medium.

• Otherwise, the medium is heterogeneous.

• A medium is isotropic with respect to a certain property if that property is

independent of direction within the medium.

• If at a point in the medium, a property of the medium varies with direction,

the medium is said to be anisotropic with respect to that property.
10/7/2023 47
 TYPES OF HETEROGENEITY
1. Homogeneous Isotropic (Property is constant and same in all directions, x,
y, z).

2. Homogeneous Anisotropic (Property is constant and different in each

directions, x, y, z).

3. Heterogeneous Isotropic (Property varies and variation is constant in all

directions, x, y, z).

4. Heterogeneous Anisotropic (Property varies and variation is different in

each directions, x, y, z)
10/7/2023 48
10/7/2023 49
 ROCKS ARE HETEROGENEOUS

10/7/2023 50
 FACTORS AFFECTING
PERMEABILITY

• Permeability is affected by compaction, pore size, sorting, cementation, clay

swelling and layering.

10/7/2023 51
 COMPACTION
• Just as compaction reduces porosity, it also reduces permeability.

• As a result of compaction, the permeability of rocks tends to decrease with

depth of burial.

10/7/2023 52
 PORE SIZE (GRAIN SIZE)
• In general, for a sand, the permeability is proportional to the square of the
mean pore size.

• For a well sorted sand, the pore size is proportional to the grain size.

• Therefore, for well sorted sands, the permeability is proportional to the

square of the grain size.

• Thus, a well sorted sand with a larger grain size will have a higher
permeability than a well sorted sand with a smaller grain size.

10/7/2023 53
 PORE SIZE (GRAIN SIZE)

10/7/2023 54
 SORTING
• Poor sorting reduces the pore size and consequently reduces the permeability
of a medium.

10/7/2023 55
 CEMENTATION
• Cementation reduces the pore size and consequently reduces the permeability
of the rock.

10/7/2023 56
 CLAY SWELLING
• Many consolidated sandstones contain clay and silt, e.g., arkoses and
graywackes.

• Since montmorillonite-type clays absorb fresh water and swell, the

permeabilities of such sandstones will be greatly reduced when measured
with fresh water.

• The addition of salts, such as sodium chloride or potassium chloride, will in

most cases, eliminate the clay swelling.

10/7/2023 57
 LAYERING
• Permeability is a tensor and can therefore be different in different directions.

• Because of layering in sedimentary rocks, horizontal permeabilities in

petroleum reservoirs tend to be higher than vertical permeabilities in the
absence of vertical fractures.

10/7/2023 58
 VERTICAL VS. HORIZONTAL
PERMEABILITY

10/7/2023 59
 VERTICAL VS. HORIZONTAL
PERMEABILITY

10/7/2023 60
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

• The absolute permeability in Darcy equation is derived based on a fairly

uniform or continuous value of permeability between the inflow and outflow
faces.

• However, such uniformity and consistency is rarely seen in reservoir rocks.

• Most reservoir rocks have space variations of permeability.

10/7/2023 61
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

• For example, reservoir rocks may contain distinct layers, blocks, or

concentric rings of fixed permeability.

• In such cases, the permeability values are averaged according to the

particular type of flow: parallel or series.

10/7/2023 62
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW
• As shown in the Figure, consider the case
of fluid flow taking place in parallel
through different layers of vertically
stacked porous media.

• These individual layers of porous media

that have varying permeability and
thickness are separated from one
another by infinitely thin impermeable
barriers that preclude the possibility of
cross flow or vertical flow.

10/7/2023 63
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW
• The average permeability for such a
combination can be easily developed by
applying Darcy’s law to the individual
layers.

• For layer 1:

10/7/2023 64
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• For layer 2:

• For layer 3:

10/7/2023 65
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• However, since flow is taking place in

parallel, the total volumetric flow rate
can be equated to the summation of the
individual flow rates through the three
layers:

• Similarly, the total height is given by:

10/7/2023 66
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• Darcy’s law can be written for the total

flow rate for the entire systems using kavg
as the average absolute permeability:

10/7/2023 67
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• that subsequently leads to the final

generalized expression for calculating the
average absolute permeability for a
parallel system of n layers:

• Average permeability reflects flow

capacity of all layers.
10/7/2023 68
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW
• The Equation and the schematic used for
deriving this equation demonstrate the
practical significance from a petroleum
reservoir point of view, that is, in
horizontal flow situations, fluids travel
through the reservoir strata to
production wells and remain in the zone
in which they originated.

• Or in other words, the case of fluid flow

in parallel is relevant to conventional
wells (vertical) where fluid flow takes
place parallel to the bedding planes
(horizontal).
10/7/2023 69
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• The average absolute permeability

expressions for a more generalized case
of the parallel flow can also be developed
using an approach similar to the one
described earlier.

10/7/2023 70
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• In such a case, the width of the layers is

varied rather than being kept constant.
For example, The previous Figure can be
modified such that layer 1 has shortest
width W1, layer 2 has medium width
W2, and layer 3 has the largest width
W3. Given this arrangement, the
following equations can be set up for the
three individual layers and the average
for the entire system:

10/7/2023 71
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

10/7/2023 72
 LINEAR-PARALLEL FLOW

• The earlier equation can be generalized

for a system of n layers to give the
average permeability:

10/7/2023 73
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

• The other type of flow encountered

primarily in horizontal wells is vertical
flow in which fluids must pass in series
from one zone to the next.

• The Figure illustrates a series flow

taking place through a stack of porous
media of varying absolute permeabilities
and lengths.

10/7/2023 74
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

• The mathematical expression for

calculating the average absolute
permeability for a flow system shown in
the Figure developed by writing Darcy’s
law for each of the layers or blocks of
porous medium stacked in series:

• For layer 1:

10/7/2023 75
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

• For layer 2:

• For layer 3:

10/7/2023 76
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

• It should be noted that for series flow,

each of these layers or blocks has a
different differential pressure and the
summation of these is equal to the total
or overall differential pressure of the
entire flow system.

• Linear pressure profile in each layer.

10/7/2023 77
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

• Additionally, the total flow rate is also

equal to the individual flow rates:

• Now, Darcy’s law can be written for the

total flow rate as:

10/7/2023 78
 LINEAR-SERIES FLOW

10/7/2023 79
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

• A similar mathematical treatment used here can also be used to derive

equations for a radial flow system for parallel flow and serial flow.

• It should be noted that the radial flow system for a parallel flow resembles
the horizontal flow of reservoir fluids from zones of varying permeability into
the well bore of a conventional well (vertical).

10/7/2023 80
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

• The radial flow system for a serial flow represents the horizontal flow of
reservoir fluids into the well bore of a vertical well when concentric rings of
fixed permeability are present in the formation.

• However, the radial flow system for a serial flow is more analogous to a
horizontal well because reservoir fluids must pass in series from one
permeability zone to the next and eventually into the well bore.

10/7/2023 81
 RADIAL-PARALLEL FLOW

• Average permeability reflects flow capacity of all

layers.

10/7/2023 82
 RADIAL-PARALLEL FLOW

𝐥𝐧 𝒓𝒆 Τ𝒓𝒘
𝑲𝒂𝒗𝒈 =
σ𝒏𝒊=𝟏 𝒍𝒏 𝒓𝒊 Τ𝒓𝒊−𝟏 Τ𝑲𝒊

10/7/2023 83
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

❖Damage: k1<k2

• Permeability is damaged near the

wellbore:

✓Reactive fluids.
✓Fines migration.

10/7/2023 84
 AVERAGING OF PERMEABILITIES

❖Stimulation: k1>k2

• Permeability is improved near the

wellbore:

✓Acid stimulation.

10/7/2023 85
 REFERENCES
1. Tarek Ahmed “Reservoir Engineering Handbook”.

2. Ekwere J. Peters “Petrophysics”.

3. Abhijit Y. Dandekar “Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties”.

4. Tiab and Donaldson “Petrophysics”.

5. “Reservoir Rock Properties” Prof. Dr. Hamid M. Khattab.

6. “ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES” Dr. Tarek Elkewidy.

10/7/2023 86
THANK YOU