CL 511: Petroleum Reservoir Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Odd semester: July-November, 2016 Course No: CL 511 (3-0-0-6)
Course title: Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Instructor: Dr. Tapas K Mandal
Dr. Pankaj Tiwari

Course contents:
 Origin and composition of petroleum;
 Petroleum geology;
 Oil well drilling methods;
 Reservoir rock and fluid properties;
 Material balance in oil and gas reservoirs;
 Fundamentals of oil and gas flow in porous media;
 General equation for radial flow of oil and gas in reservoirs;
 Oil and gas well testing methods;
 Predicting reservoir performance;
 ….Contd. (Course contents)

 Enhanced oil recovery: Water flooding

Polymer and caustic flooding
Surfactant flooding
Microbial enhanced oil recovery
And thermal recovery methods
 Introduction to Reservoir Simulation
 Natural gas and Gas hydrates
Texts/References:
 R.E, Terry, M. Hawkins and B.C. Craft, Applied Petroleum Reservoir
Engineering, Prentice Hall, 1991.
 L.P. Dake, Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier, 1983.
 T. Ahmed and P. McKinney, Advanced Reservoir Engineering, Elsevier, 2004.
 G.L. Chierici, Principles of Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, Springer-Verlag,
1994.
 D.L. Katz and R.L. Lee, Natural Gas Engineering, McGraw-Hill, 1990.
 Evaluation scheme
Total 100
End Sem Mid Sem

50 50

10 for Quiz 40 for Exam 10 for Quiz 40 for Exam

 Origin and composition of petroleum
 The word ‘Petroleum’: A Greek word –
‘Petra’ ≡ rock and ‘oleum’ ≡ oil
 So, petroleum means ‘rock oil’.
 A complex mixture of hydrocarbons with minor amount of O2, N2
and ‘S’ containing compounds.
 Hydrocarbons present: Carbon atom ranges C1 - C40.
 Some book refers up to C70.

 However, % wise elemental composition:

a) C = 84-86%
b) H2 = 11-14%
c) Others O2, N2, S, etc. = ~8%
 Petroleum is more homogeneous than coal and occurs mostly in sedimentary
rocks.
Sukumar Maiti, Introduction to Petrochemicals, 2 Edition. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi and Kolkata, 2002.
nd
….Contd. (Composition)
Know
All arethem?
crude oils

https://www.google.co.in
 ….Contd. (Composition)
Crude oil is black in color with following eight (8) groups of hydrocarbon.
1. Latin word, Parum ≡ Little & Affinis ≡ reactivity; CnH2n+2
1. Paraffins 2. Alicyclic  Aliphatic cyclic hydrocarbon Saturated cyclic
2. Cyclopentanes compound  Naphthenes (sl no. 2-5).
3. Cyclohexanes
4. Cycloheptanes
5. Di-Cyclo-Paraffines
6. Benzenes
7. Aromatic Cycloparaffins
8. Dineuclear and polyneuclear aromatics
9. Smaller amount of organic compounds of S,
O, N and
10. More smaller amount of compounds with V,
Ni, Fe and Cu: as organometallic compound

I. D. Mall, Petrochemical Process Technology, 1st Edition, Macmallian Ind. Ltd., New Delhi, 2007
….Contd. (Composition)
….Contd.
C
O
M
M
O
N

S
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e

at
a
glance
Advanced petroleum refining by G N Sarker, 1 st Edition, Khanna Publishers, 1998
Simply we can classify those into 3-catagories
1) Open chain or aliphatic compounds:
a) N-paraffin series (C n H2n+2)
b) Isoparaffin series
2) Ring or cyclic compounds:
a) Naphthene series (CnH2n)- Cycloparaffin-Completely saturated
b) Aromatic or benzene series (CnH2n-6)-produced in small amount.
3) Asphalts:
a) Asphaltenes -brownish-black, soluble in aromatic
but not in paraffin.
b) Resign – highly adhesive, brown semi – solids of lower
molecular wt. than asphaltenes.
 Crude petroleum classification

1) Paraffin base – predominantly open chain

compounds – give low grade gasoline, waxy lube oil.

2) Naphthene base – cyclic compounds predominate,

asphaltenes present.- Indian crude

3) Intermediate base – large quantity of both

paraffinic and naphthenic compounds- will give wax
and asphalt.
 Quantification of this classification
 Mallision classified the crude exclusively on the
basis of residuum a material & left behind after
distillation of fractions,-
1) If residue containing more than 5% paraffin-
paraffinic crude.

2) If residue containing less than 2% paraffin -

naphthenic crude

3) If residue containing 2- 5% paraffin-

intermediate crude.
Dryden's Outlines of Chemical Technology for the 21st Century 3rd Edition, East-West Press, New Delhi. , 1997.
 Origin and formation
 There are two theories: 1) Organic & 2) Inorganic
 Inorganic theory: Again two theories, -
a) Carbides theory – carbides produce H-C with water like,
CaC2 + 2H2O = C2H2+Ca(OH)2
Al4C3 + 12H2O = 3CH4 +4Al (OH)3

Limitation: Magnitude of abundance cannot be balanced.

b) Cosmic Hypothesis- H-C vapors were already in cosmic clouds

 Favorable conditions leading to precipitation of these clouds

Limitation: Life cannot be survived.

Presence of N, O, S, etc. can not be explained
 ….Contd. (Origin)
 Organic theory:
a) Large marine animals is the main source of fat
fats converted into hydrocarbons  cannot explain the
presence of ‘N’.
b) Combined- Initial deposition of vegetable and animal
matter was a result of activity of micro-organisms
(thermophilic bacteria).

Later on this organic matter under went changes due to

pressure and temperature of crust of the earth.

B. K. Bhaskara Rao, Modern Petroleum Refining Processes, 4 th Edition. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi and Kolkata, 1984.
….Contd. (Origin) Life appeared
3.8 billion years ago on the
Most accepted one earth (single-celled
prokaryotic cells, such as
bacteria)
World’s oil fields

http://www.washingtonpost.com
Latest oil reserves scenario

www.respectmyplanet.org
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Reserve vs Production

Choudhury S and Sahu KC, Forecasting India’s Oil and Gas Reserves and Production
Potential, TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE 41,71-95 (1992)
Country wise
OPEC: Organization
of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries

 Intergovernmental
organization of 13
nations, founded in
1960 in Baghdad
by the first five
members, and

 Headquartered
since 1965 in
Vienna

 As of 2015, the 13
countries
accounted for 43
percent of global
oil production
….Contd.

 And 73 percent
of the world's
"proven" oil
reserves.

 OPEC has a
major influence
on global oil
prices

As of June 2016,
OPEC has
13 member countries
:
a) Six in the Middle
East (Western
Asia),
b) One in Southeast
Asia,
c) Four in Africa,
and
d) Two in South
 Terminologies:
….Contd.  bbl: One petroleum
barrel (bbl) = ~
42 US gallons,

or 159 liters,

or 0.159 m3,

 It varies slightly
with temperature

 But bbl means unit

of volume

 1 bbl: 100 -200

litres (22 – 44 imp
(UK) gal or 26-53
US gal)

 Sometimes:
"drum" is used
almost
interchangeably
with "barrel".
….Contd.
….Contd.
….Contd.

https://en.wikipedia.org
Indian’s oil fields
IMPORTANT COMPANIES ENGAGED IN OIL
EXPLORATION
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
(ONGC)

https://www.google.co.in
PRIVATE /JOINT VENTURE COMPANIES

(i) Reliance India Limited

(ii) Cairn India
(iii)Niko Resources Ltd.
Organization Of The Petroleum Exporting
Countries

 OPEC countries
 THE MIDDLE EAST
 Iran-India Gas Pipeline: prospects brighten
for a 21st Century Silk Route
• The Iran-India Pipeline scheme is a 2775 kilometer
natural gas pipeline starting HVJ an from Assaluyah, South
abbreviation for Hazira-
Pars stretching over 1100 kilometers Vijaipur-Jagdishpur is India's
in Iran alone.
first cross country gaspipeline,
• After entering Pakistan , it will passinthrough
started 1986.  provinces
of Baluchistan and Sind from where two possible
routes have been suggested: -
a) tapping into the mid-section of the HBJ pipeline or
(b) feeding Delhi directly.
• The total cost of the project is about $4 billion (Rs.18, 000
crore US$ 1= INR45), for a capacity of 3 bcfd.
 Path  This highly
beneficial
pipeline project
was
conceptualized
in 1989, by
Dr. R K
Pachauri.
 one of the
best-known
energy
economists
today in
partnership
with Dr. Ali
Shams
Ardekani,
 Dr. Ali was
former Deputy
http://www.geologydata.info/index.htm Foreign
Minister of Iran
Gas
pipelines
of India

http://www.mapsofindia.co
m/maps/oilandgasmaps/gas
pipelines.htm
 Petroleum geology
• Petroleum geology is the study of origin, occurrence,
movement, accumulation, and exploration of
hydrocarbon fuels.
Few terminologies:
• Reservoir: The reservoir is a porous and permeable
lithological unit or set of units that holds the
hydrocarbon reserves.
-porosity and permeability two important parameters.
- volume of in situ hydrocarbons obtained from porosity
- permeability will help to calculate how easily hydrocarbons
will flow out of them
….Contd.

• The seal or cap rock: It is an unit with low permeability

that impedes the escape of hydrocarbons from the reservoir rock.
Common seals include evaporites, chalks and shales.

• The trap: It is the stratigraphic or structural feature that

ensures the juxtaposition (placed close together with contrasting effect) of reservoir
and seal such that hydrocarbons remain trapped in the
subsurface, rather than escaping due to their natural buoyancy
and being lost.

• Maturation: Analysis of maturation involves assessing the

thermal history of the source rock in order to make predictions of
the amount and timing of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion.
 About Maturation
Thermal maturity is the extent of heat-driven reactions that alter the
composition of organic matter. Example-
a) Conversion of sedimentary organic matter to petroleum or
b) Cracking of oil to gas
 The reactions involved are complex and not fully understood but
the process requires parameters are little known,
a) Temperatures in the range 50-120 °C
b) Over a suitable time (usually long time)
c) Generally requiring burial to a depth of 2 km or more (Hunt,
1995)
Different geochemical scales are used to indicate the level of thermal
maturity of organic matter:
a) Vitrinite reflectance,
b) Pyrolysis Tmax, and
c) Biomarker maturity ratios
 ……..Contd.
Vitrinite reflectance:
It is a measure of the
percentage of incident
light reflected from
the surface of
vitrinite particles in a
sedimentary rock at
500X magnification
in oil immersion. It is
referred to as %Ro.
Results are often
presented as a mean
Ro value based on all
vitrinite particles
measured in an
individual sample.
 ……..Contd.
 Vitrinite: It is a
coaly organic
maceral derived
from the
connective tissue
of vascular plants.
The reflectance of
vitrinite changes
with heat.

 Organic maceral:
Microscopically
recognizable
organic particles
in kerogen. The
three main
maceral groups
include liptinite,
vitrinite, and
inertinite. http://wiki.aapg.org/Maceral
 …Contd.
•  The onset of oil generation: reflectance of 0.5-
0.6%

• The termination of oil generation: reflectance of

0.85-1.1%

• The onset of gas generation: reflectance of 1.0-

1.3%

• Terminates of gas generation: 3.0%

 Pyrolysis Tmax
Tmax: It is the temperature at which the maximum rate of hydrocarbon generation
occurs in a kerogen sample during pyrolysis analysis.

Equivalent %Ro from Tmax = (0.018 x Tmax) -7.16 where Tmax is reported in oC

Kerogen: Only two types of organic matter are found in rocks,- land derived and
aquatic algae derived. Heat and pressure convert organic matter into a substance
called humin and then into kerogen. Time and temperature convert kerogen into
petroleum.
Kerogen is sedimentary organic constituent of sedimentary rocks that is
insoluble in the usual organic solvents. Kerogens are composed of a variety of
organic materials, including algae, pollen, wood, vitrinite, and structureless
material. The types of kerogens present in a rock largely control the type of
hydrocarbons generated in that rock.
 ……..Contd.
Hydrocarbon Rock-eval
 Rock-eval pyrolysis: In Rock- generation zone pyrolysis Tmax, °c
Eval pyrolysis, a sample is
placed in a vessel and is
Immature < 435
progressively heated to Oil (from type II
435–455
550°C under an inert kerogen)
atmosphere. During the
Oil (from type III
analysis, the hydrocarbons 435–465
already present in the sample kerogen)
are volatized at a moderate Gas (from type II
> 455
temperature. The amount of kerogen)
hydrocarbons are measured
Gas (from type III
and recorded as a peak > 465
known as S1. kerogen)

Gas/Oil indicator:
 ……..Contd.
Next pyrolyzed is the kerogen
present in the sample, which
generates hydrocarbons and
hydrocarbon-like compounds
(recorded as the S2 peak), CO2,
and water.[1] The CO2
generated is recorded as the S3
peak. Residual carbon is also
measured and is recorded as
S4.
Estimating total organic carbon with pyrolysis:
The percent total organic carbon (TOC) is
actually a value that is calculated, not
measured directly, using the following formula:

Units are usually given as wt % organic carbon

per weight of dry rock (milligrams
hydrocarbon per gram of rock).
……..Contd.
Peak Is a measurement of… Comment

Can be thought of as a residual

The free hydrocarbons hydrocarbon phase. When S1 is large
S1 mg Hc/g rock present in the sample before relative to S2, an alternative source
the analysis such as migrated hydrocarbons or
contamination should be suspected

The volume of hydrocarbons Used to estimate the remaining

S2 mg Hc/g rock that formed during thermal hydrocarbon generating potential of the
pyrolysis of the sample sample
The CO2 yield during
Most prevalent in calcareous source
S3 mg Co2/g rock thermal breakdown of rocks.
kerogen
Residual carbon content of sample has
little or no potential to generate
S4 mg carbon/g The residual carbon content
hydrocarbons due to a lack of hydrogen
rock of the sample
and the chemical structure of the
molecule
 Biomarker maturity ratios
 Biological markers (biomarkers) are organic compounds in sedimentary rocks and
petroleum that can be linked to biological precursor molecules derived from living
organisms.

 Biomarkers in rock extracts, pyrolysates, and petroleum are measured by gas

chromatography-mass spectrometry.

 Usually expressed as the relative abundance or ratios of specific biomarker compounds.

 Biomarkers are essentially molecular fossils and have been used as indicators of
paleoecology, depositional environment, and paleogeography.

 The systematic changes took place in biomarker composition with increasing depth of
burial.

 Certain biomarker ratios were compared with the thermal maturation of organic
matter, that is, changes in coal rank, vitrinite reflectance, or the generation of
petroleum- and consequently have been utilized as thermal maturity indicators for
petroleum
Paul G. Lillis,and source rocks
Biomarkers in sedimentary
as Thermal Maturity basins.
Indicators, The Petroleum System-Status of
Research and Methods, 1992
 ……….Contd.
 Since none of these techniques is infallible in quantifying thermal maturation
history for all conditions.

 Two or more should be used when possible as a cross-check of the maturation

data.

 Caution is necessary, however, when equating thermal values to petroleum

generation windows because different organic materials generate at different
times during thermal exposure (e.g., early generators vs. late generators).

Use: In basin modelling programs

Elements of the modelling-
a) Maturation of source rocks,
b) Reservoir diagenesis, and
c) Porosity evolution
 Thermal maturation data used to model the above parameters are usually
derived from fossils.
….Contd.

• Migration: Careful studies of migration reveal

information on how hydrocarbons move from
source to reservoir and help quantify the source
(or kitchen) of hydrocarbons in a particular area.

https://en.wikipedia.org
 It is a little-
understood but
critical process.

 Simply, it is
movement of
petroleum from
source rock
toward a
reservoir or
seep.

 Primary,
Secondary &
Tertiary.
 Primary migration (PM)
• What? - PM is expulsion of petroleum from fine-grained source
rock.
• Why? – Shales have smaller pore than throats than sands and
water is more wettable than oil towards shales. So water flows
easily into shales and oil goes out of it.
 Influencing factors
• Temperature
• Pressure

 Folding and chemical action generates heat

 Fluid expands and moves into more porous bed above
Secondary migration (SM)
• SM moves
petroleum
through a
coarse-
grained
carrier bed or
fault to a
reservoir or
seep.
 Tertiary migration
• Tertiary migration occurs when petroleum moves from one trap
to another or to a seep

https://en.wikipedia.org and http://archives.datapages.com

Sedimentary deposition
 Basic three layers of Earth

The crust: 870 C at bottom

The mantle: 870-2175 C

The core: 4500 C at outer core
5430  C at inner core
….Contd.

 The crust is most importance in petroleum geology

Crust
Oceanic crust Continental crust

 Under Ocean  Under Continent

 Thin: 8-11 km  Thick: about 16-48 km
 Made up primarily of heavy  Composed of rock that is
rock that is formed when relatively light as compared
molten rock (magma) cools to oceanic crust.
 ….Contd.

 The crust is continuously changing and moving because

of two major forces of nature —
a) Orogeny and b) weathering/erosion

 Orogeny or mountain building: It is a process in which the

layers of the crust are folded and pushed upward by
such processes as plate tectonics and volcanism.

 Weathering and erosion: These are the opposing forces in

which the sediments are broken down and transported.
 ….Contd.

 Two types of weathering: a) Physical and b) Chemical

 Physical: Solid rock is fragmented by physical processes that do

not change the rock’s chemical composition.
How: Due to wind (aeolian forces), water (freezing, flowing, wave
action, etc.), heat, and even glacial movement.

Example: Frost wedging is one example of physical weathering.

 Chemical: Change of Chemical composition

Why: Because of minerals in a rock are chemically altered or
dissolved.
Example: The weathering of potassium feldspar to form kaolinite, a
clay, is an example of chemical weathering.
 Land Transportation  Land
Transportatio
n and
sedimentation
by rivers,
wind and ice.

 Ocean
transportatio
n and
sedimentation
by currents
and
precipitation

 It causes
Lithification is a process of porosity destruction
“Burial and
Lithification”
through compaction and cementation. into
sedimentary
rock
 Subsurface geological formations

 Weathering and erosion are closely interrelated

geological processes.

 As a rock weathers, it becomes susceptible to erosion.

Erosion is the removal of weathered debris.

 These and additional forces and processes have

resulted in the creation of subsurface geological
formations in which petroleum reservoirs are found.
 Three Basic Rock Types
a) Igneous
b) Sedimentary and
c) Metamorphic
Igneous rocks: - Formed from the crystallization of molten rock
(magma or lava).
- within the earth’s mantle.
Examples: Granite, basalt, and gabbro.

Coarse-grained
crystals with
Usually red, pink, gray, or white divergent
color with dark mineral grains boundary.
visible throughout the rock. Dark colored, fine-grained extrusive rock.
 ….Contd.
Metamorphic rocks: - Formed from pre-existing rocks
- By mineralogical, chemical and/or structural
changes in response to marked changes in temperature, pressure,
shearing stress, and chemical environment.
- These changes generally take place deep within the
earth’s crust.
Examples: Slate, marble and schist.

Strongly foliated
medium-grade
metamorphic rock.

Fine-grained, foliated, Composed primarily of the mineral calcite

homogeneous metamorphic (CaCO3) and usually contains other
rock derived from an original minerals, such as clay minerals, micas,
shale-type sedimentary rock quartz, pyrite, iron oxides, and graphite.
 ….Contd.
Sedimentary rocks: -These are formed as sediments, either from
eroded fragments of older rocks or chemical precipitates.

- Sediments lithify by both compaction and cementation,

- Grains are squeezed together into a denser mass than the
original as minerals precipitate around the grains after deposition
and bind the particles together.
- Typically deposited in horizontal layers, or strata, at the
bottom of rivers, oceans, and deltas.
Examples: Limestone, sandstone, and clay

Composed largely of the minerals calcite and Clay is a fine-grained

aragonite, (different crystal forms of CaCO3) natural rock or soil material
 Petroleum-Bearing Rocks
 Most oil and gas accumulations occur in Sedimentary rocks
 Igneous and metamorphic rocks rarely contain oil and gas
 All petroleum source rocks are sedimentary

Furthermore, most of the world’s oil lies in sedimentary rock formed

from marine sediments deposited on the edges of continents.

Example: There are many large deposits that lie along the Gulf of
Mexico and the Persian Gulf.
 The Rock Cycle
 Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks are related by the
rock cycle

 Each rock is formed from the others through the circular process

 Rocks are weathered to form sediment, which is then buried.

 During deeper and deeper burial, the rocks undergo

metamorphism and/or melting.

 Later, they are deformed and uplifted into mountain chains, only
to be weathered again and recycled.
Basic Petroleum Geology and Log Analysis, Halliburton, 2001
Images from https://www.google.co.in
Layered rock sequence