Reservoir Engineering for Other

Disciplines

• Hydrocarbon Pore Volume vsDepth

 Hydrocarbon Volume vs. Depth

 Volumetric calculation that describes the

hydrocarbon volume distribution vs. depth in
the reservoir
 Used when reservoir will be (is) impacted
by encroachment of water or gas
 Hydrocarbon Volume vs. Depth

 Natural water encroachment

– Aquifer influx
– Gas cap expansion

 Artificial injection
– Downdip water injection
– Gas injection at crest of structure
 Hydrocarbon Volume vs. Depth

Assume:Encroachment into the reservoir

occurs as a level plane (ie, contacts move
uniformly)

 May not always be valid for the entire

reservoir, but may be applicable for specific
segments of the reservoir (eg, fault block)
 Bulk Volume by Depth Increment

 Top of structure map

 Bottom of structure map (when not underlain
by water)
 Contours define enclosed areas, Ai and
contour interval, h
 Pyramidal Formulafor each depth
increment

ΔV b = (h/3) * [Ai + Ai+1 +

(Ai*Ai+1)^0.5]
 Include Porosity and Saturation Values

 Bulk Volume, Porosity, Water Saturation

Versus Depth Relations
 Multiply for Hydrocarbon Pore Volume (HPV)
Versus Depth Relation
 Cumulative HPV Versus Depth from
Water-Oil-Contact (WOC), Gas-Oil-Contact,
or Gas-Water-Contact (GWC) Elevations
 Hydrocarbon Pore Volume Versus Depth

West Texas Oil Field

6300

6400

6500

6600
Depth (Feet Subsea)

6700

6800

6900

7000

7100

7200 Original Oil-Water-Contact

7300
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000
Hydrocarbon Pore Volume (MMRB)
 Hydrocarbon Volume vs. Depth

Applications
 Predict when wells will cut excessive water
or gas
 Determine reservoir volume invaded given a
known fluid contact
 Calculate recovery efficiency
 Hydrocarbon Pore Volume Versus Depth

West Texas Oil Field

6300

6400

6500

6600
Depth (Feet Subsea)

6700

6800

6900

7000 WOC at 4 years

7100

7200 Original Oil-Water-Contact

7300
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000
Hydrocarbon Pore Volume (MMRB)
 Reservoir Recovery Efficiency

Given
 Volume of fluid encroached or injected
(We, Winj, Ginj, etc. –from material balance)

 Position of fluid contact (from observations)

Volume Of Fluid Encroached

ER 
Hydrocarbon Volume Invaded