EO Rock Properties 2021-2022

PET176
Reservoir Rock Properties

Prepared by
Dr. Turhan Yildiz and Dr. Erdal Ozkan
Course Outline
1. Reservoir rocks
2. Porosity
3. Multiphase fluid saturations
4. Wettability and capillary pressure
5. Lab session: Porosity, saturations, wettability, and capillary pressure
6. Absolute and relative permeability
7. Lab session: Permeability measurements
8. Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Rocks
9. Subsurface Pressures in Porous Rocks
10. Compressibility of Porous Rocks
Appendix – Units and Unit Conversions
3
Student Learning Outcomes
• Recognize the rock properties relevant to oil and gas recovery
• Define porosity and identify types of porosity
• Explain multiphase fluid saturations, wettability, and capillary pressure
• Estimate porosity and saturation in the lab
• Demonstrate wettability and capillary pressure in the lab
• Explain absolute and relative permeability
• Estimate absolute and relative permeability in the lab
• Recognize the electrical and mechanical properties of rocks
• Interpret pressure interactions during production
• Estimate formation compressibility
4
Module
Porosity
Module Outline
2.1 Examples of porous media
2.2 Scale and volume considerations
2.3 Porosity definition and types
2.4 Measurements of porosity
2.5 Factors affecting porosity
6
Learning Objectives
• Recognize porous material
• Explain scales of pores in reservoir rocks
• Recognize pores in cores and core plugs
• Define porosity
• Explain types of porosity
• State porosity measurement methods
• Describe factors affecting porosity
7
2.1 Examples of porous media
Examples of Porous Media
Porosity of reservoir rocks resemble the porosity of most everyday objects;
such as
 Most rocks
 Bread, cookies, apple, orange, meat, teabag, and etc
 Sponge
 Textile materials
 Human skin, lungs, brain
 Soil, concrete, asphalt, beach sand, brick

 Wood, trees, plants
 Paper, paper towel, teabag
9
Sandstone Core Sample
10
2.2 Scale and volume considerations
Scales of Pores in Reservoir Rocks
 Pores in reservoir rocks are extremely small and not visible

 Only under very high magnification, pores may be visible
 Typical pore sizes are in the order of micrometers and nanometers
 High technology imaging techniques for visualization of porous rocks
 An example; back scattered electron image of a North Sea sandstone
 The pore space is colored black
 Light grey represents solid matrix, in this case quartz and feldspar
 Dark grey shows clay filling some of the pore space
12
Back-Scattered Electron Image of a North Sea Sandstone
Pore
Clay
Quartz
13
Core Plugs/Samples
 Physical properties of porous rocks are measured on small cylindrical

samples cut from subsurface rocks
 Small cylindrical rock samples are known as core plugs or core samples
 A procedure called coring to obtain core plugs
 Subsurface rock is drilled with a specifically designed diamond drill bit
and a hollow steel tube called core drill or core barrel
 The rock samples recovered from subsurface during the coring
operations is called whole core
 Cut smaller cylindrical core plugs out of whole cores
14
Core Sample
15
Real Core Plug – Niobrara Shale Sample
Ref: Zhou, The Impact of Capillary Imbibition and Osmosis during Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale Formations, PhD thesis, 2015
16
Core Plugs
 Typically 1 to 2 inches in diameter
 1 to 6 inches in length
 Dimensions of core plugs are measured using a fine scale caliper tool
 Total bulk volume of a core plug may be calculated using the equation
for the volume of a cylinder
 Vb = bulk volume of core plug, cm3 or in3

 d = diameter of core plug, cm or in
 L = length of core plug, cm or in
17
Main Reference for Core Analysis
 A must have reference

 American Petroleum Institute (API)
 Recommended Practice RP 40
 Recommendation Practices for Core Analysis, Second Edition, API
Publishing Services, Washington DC, 1998
18
Bulk, Grain, and Pore Volumes
 Three volumes for porous rocks

 Bulk volume
 Grain volume
 Pore volume
 Total volume containing both solid material and void space is called bulk
volume
 Vb is used to denote bulk volume
 The volume occupied by solid material is referred to as grain volume,
matrix volume, or solid volume
19
 We will use the symbol Vm to denote grain/matrix/solid volume

 In the literature, Vg and Vs are also used to denote grain volume
 The term pore volume is used to define the void space
 Pore volume is generally denoted by Vp
 The relationship among bulk, matrix, and pore volumes
20
Vb
Vm, grain volume
Vp
Vm
Vp, pore volume
Vb = Vm + Vp
21
2.3 Porosity definition and types
Porosity
 One of the most important property of porous media
 Porosity is basically a measure of the fluid storage capacity of
subsurface formations
 Porosity is defined as the ratio of pore volume to bulk volume
 In petroleum engineering, porosity is denoted f
 Determination of porosity requires the measurement on two of the

three volumes; (Vb, Vp), (Vb, Vm), or (Vm, Vp)
 Porosity definition given above is the absolute porosity or total porosity
23
Effective and Isolated Pore Volumes
 Individual pores may join together and form a pore network
 Available pore volume may be completely or partially interconnected
 Pores disconnected from network do not contribute to fluid flow
 Pore volume may additionally be divided into
 Interconnected effective pore volume
 Isolated pore volume

 Vpe = effective interconnected pore volume

 Vpiso = isolated pore volume
24
Effective Porosity
 What counts is the interconnected pore volume contributing to storage

and flow of reservoir fluids
 To assess the fluid storage potential of porous rocks better, we
introduce the concepts of effective porosity and isolated porosity
25
Void Ratio
 In other engineering disciplines such as civil, ground water, soil,

chemical, and food, pore volume is expressed in terms void ratio
 Void ratio is defined as the ratio of pore volume to grain/matrix volume
and denoted by
26
2.5 Factors affecting porosity
Variation of Porosity in Formation
 Porosity varies substantially with the location throughout subsurface

reservoir rock
 As an example, core plug porosity along depth for Hiram Well # 17
 The measured core plug porosities tabulated in Table 3
 In Figure 9, porosity data plotted as a function of depth
28
Table 3 – Core plug porosity along depth, Hiram Well #17
Sample # Depth Porosity Sample # Depth Porosity
() (ft) (fraction) () (ft) (fraction)
1 2,880 0.289 25 2,904 0.169
2 2,881 0.285 26 2,905 0.171
3 2,882 0.281 27 2,906 0.159
4 2,883 0.288 28 2,907 0.165
5 2,884 0.279 29 2,908 0.130
6 2,885 0.292 30 2,909 0.168
7 2,886 0.290 31 2,910 0.173
8 2,887 0.297 32 2,911 0.178
9 2,888 0.274 33 2,912 0.178
10 2,889 0.278 34 2,913 0.156
11 2,890 0.280 35 2,914 0.174
12 2,891 0.222 36 2,915 0.173
13 2,892 0.203 37 2,916 0.168
14 2,893 0.215 38 2,917 0.166
15 2,894 0.255 39 2,918 0.172
16 2,895 0.249 40 2,919 0.169
17 2,896 0.272 41 2,920 0.152
18 2,897 0.237 42 2,921 0.161
19 2,898 0.219 43 2,922 0.174
20 2,899 0.220 44 2,923 0.148
21 2,900 0.194 45 2,924 0.157
22 2,901 0.174 46 2,925 0.157
23 2,902 0.184 47 2,926 0.156
24 2,903 0.167
29
 Porosity varies significantly along the well depth

 The minimum porosity is 0.13
 The maximum porosity is 0.297
 The arithmetic average is 0.2068
 The standard deviation is 0.0522
 Porosity generally decreases as the depth along the well increases
 At the top, in the interval from 2,880 ft to 2,890 ft, porosity values vary
slightly from 0.27 to 0.3
30
 In the interval from 2,890 ft to 2,905 ft, porosity decreases substantially,

almost linearly, from 0.27 to 0.15
 In the interval from 2,905 ft to 2,926 ft, the porosity along the well
depth changes slightly, from 0.15 to 0.175
 The change in the porosity may be due to the factors listed below
 Change in lithology
 Change in the grain size and grain size distribution
 Change in the clay content
 Cementation
31
Factors Controlling Porosity
 Grain packing
 Grain shape and sphericity of
 Grain size distribution
 Lithology and mineral composition
 Burial depth
 Compaction and consolidation
 Confining pressure
 Cementation
 Clay content
32
Effect of Mineral Composition and Lithology
 Solid material constituting skeleton of porous rock is a mixture of
several different minerals such as
 Quartz
 Feldspar
 Calcite
 Chalk
 Barite
 Gypsum
 Pyrite
 Several different types of clays; illite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite
33
 Sandstones are mainly composed of quartz (silicon oxide, SiO2) and

feldspar
 Quartz content of the sandstones is typically in the order of 80-85 %
 Carbonate rocks are mainly composed of carbonate minerals such as
calcite, aragonite, and dolomite
 Shales are basically mixtures of clay minerals and smaller amount of
quartz and calcite
34
Table 4 – Porosity range for reservoir rocks
Lithology Porosity range
() (fraction)
Unconsolidated sands 0.35 - 0.45
Sandstones 0.15 - 0.35
Compact sandstones 0.05 - 0.15
Shales 0 - 0.15
Massive limestones 0.05 - 0.1
Vuggy limestones 0.1 - 0.4
Dolomite 0.1 - 0.3
Chalk 0.05 - 0.4
Granite < 0.01
Basalt < 0.005
Conglomerate 0.01 - 0.15
35
Influence of Grain Packing
 Consider uniform grain size

 Spherical grains may be packed in several different arrangements
 Cubic
 Hexagonal
 Rhombohedral
 Orthorhombic
 Tetragonal
 Triclinic
36
 Consider uniform grain size

 Spherical grains may be packed in several different arrangements
 Cubic
 Hexagonal
 Rhombohedral
 Orthorhombic
 Tetragonal
 Triclinic
37
Geometry of Grain Packing
Cubic Hexagonal Rhombohedral Orthorhombic Tetragonal Triclinic
0.476 0.395 0.26 0.395 0.302 0.26
38
Table 5 – Porosity of spherical grains

Packing geometry Porosity
() (fraction)
Cubic 0.476
Hexagonal 0.395
Rhombohedral 0.26
Orthorhombic 0.395
Tetragonal 0.302
Triclinic 0.26
39
 Compute theoretical porosity of cubic packing of spherical grains with

uniform radius
 Consider a spherical grain with radius r
 Out of the cubic packing, consider a unit symmetric cell
 Unit symmetric cell is shown in Figure 11
40
Porosity of Cubic Packing
2r
Unit symmetric cell
41
 Unit symmetric cell is cubic in shape

 Each side of cube has a length of 2r
 Bulk volume of the unit cube can be calculates as below
 Formulate grain volume

 Inside cubic element, there are 8 particles
 Each particle is one-eighth of a sphere with radius r
42
 8 particles with a particle size of one-eighth of a sphere with radius r

add up to a single sphere with radius r
 grain volume may be computed using the equation for the volume of
sphere
 Porosity independent of radius of spherical grain
43
Impact of Grain Shape
 Grains of real reservoir rocks are much less than being spherical
 Shapes of the real reservoir rock grains are irregular and very variable
 Difficult to quantify effect of grain shape on porosity
 Qualitative discussion on influence of grain shape on porosity
 Irregular grain shapes are qualitatively based on roundness and
sphericity
 Figure 12 illustrates roundness and sphericity concepts
44
 Roundness is a measure of degree of angularity of the particles

 In terms of roundness, grains may be classified as listed below
 Well rounded
 Rounded
 Sub-rounded
 Sub-angular
 Angular
 Very angular
45
 Sphericity describes how much shape of a real grain approaches

spherical geometry
 In terms of degree of sphericity, the grains may be categorized as
 High sphericity
 Low sphericity
46
Shape of Grains
47
 Real measured quantitative data on effects of roundness and sphericity
on porosity are sparse and somewhat controversial
 It has been inferred that, in case of uniform grain size, porosity may
decrease with increasing degree of sphericity
 Spherical grains may be more tightly packed than subspherical grains
 Under low stresses, irregularly shaped grains may leave larger pore
spaces between grains
 However, these qualitative observations may be reversed if grain sizes
vary substantially, clay and silt content increase, or the external stresses
acting on the reservoir rocks is large
48
Effect of Grain Size Distribution
 Porosity is independent of grain size if grain size is uniform

 Sizes of individual grains constituting real reservoir rocks vary
substantially, typically several orders of magnitudes
 Consider typical sandstone composed on sand, silt, and clays
 The diameter of sand grains varies from 0.1 mm to 1 mm
 Silt grains are smaller in size. The diameter of silt grains ranges from
0.01 mm to 0.08 mm
 Clay particles are much smaller. Clay grains may exhibit diameters
changing from 0.001 mm to 0.005 mm.
49
 In case of real reservoir rocks, grain sizes are distributed log-normally

 The grain size distribution of porous rocks may be obtained by
conducting a sieve analysis
 We use the term sorting to qualitatively describe variation of grain sizes
 Based on their grain sorting, porous rocks may be classified as follows
 Poorly sorted
 Moderately sorted
 Well sorted
 Very well sorted
50
Grain Sorting
Poorly sorted Poorly sorted Well sorted Very well sorted
51
 Poorly sorted rocks have a wide range of grain sizes; their grain sizes
vary several orders of magnitude
 The porosity of the poorly sorted rocks is very low
 Very well sorted rocks are composed of fairly uniform size grains
 Very well sorted rocks exhibit high porosity values
 Table 6 shows the expected qualitative porosity values based on the
degree of grain sorting
52
Table 6 – Effect of grain sorting on porosity
Grain sorting Porosity

Poorly sorted Very low
Moderately sorted Low
Well sorted Good
Very well sorted Excellent
53
Impact of Cementation
 The grains constituting real reservoir rocks are bonded together by

cementation
 Common cementation minerals include calcite, silica, iron oxides, and
clay minerals
 When these minerals are in contact with water, they chemically
precipitate and form new crystalline material between sedimentary
grains
 These precipitants fill the pore space between the sedimentary grains
and decrease porosity
54
Impact of Cementation
 Under the effect of high pressure and temperature, cementation

minerals solidify and bind the individual grains together
 Next figure illustrates cementation process and porosity loss due to
cementation
 Original pore space of loose grains may be significantly reduced by
cementation process
55
Loss of Porosity Due to Cementation
Mineral Water Cement
Grain
Loose sediment Cemented sediment
56
Influence of Clay Content
 Compared to size of sand grains, clay minerals are much smaller

 Clay minerals may be deposited in pore space between sand grains and
reduce porosity substantially
 As clay content of porous rocks increases, pore space and porosity
decrease
 Next figure is an actual image of a sandstone reservoir rock
 Black color shows the pore space
 Light gray represents quartz grains
 Medium gray indicates clay minerals
57
Effect of Clay Content
58
Influence of Clay Content
 Some of the original void space between quartz grains is lost due to clay
filling
59
Effect of Confining Stress
 Reservoir rocks are overburdened by weight of geological layers above

reservoir rock
 Weight of upper geologic layers imposes a stress on the reservoir rock
 This stress is known as overburden stress or pressure
 Pore space of reservoir rock is filled by reservoir fluids such as oil, gas,
and water
 Reservoir fluids results in a hydrostatic pressure inside pore space
60
 Overburden pressure is much higher than reservoir fluid pressure

 The difference between overburden pressure and reservoir pressure is
known as confining pressure
 Experimental observations and measurements have proven that
porosity decreases markedly with an increase in confining pressure
 Table 7 and next figure show how porosity of a consolidated core plug
decreases when confining pressure is raised
61
Table 7 – Effect of confining pressure

pc f
(psia) (fraction)
1,416 0.0919
1,945 0.0893
2,455 0.0879
2,900 0.0871
3,444 0.0861
3,927 0.0853
4,437 0.0847
4,925 0.0841
62
2.4 Measurements of porosity
Measurement of Bulk Volume
 Several methods
 Caliper method
 Immersion in liquids
 Estimation from independent measurements of pore and grain volumes
 Mercury pycnometer (volumetric mercury displacement pump)
 Many commercial vendors manufacturing instruments and apparatus
 Specific instructions for each commercial instrument change
 We will review the general principles
64
Caliper Method for Measuring Bulk Volume
 A cylindrically shaped core sample

 A finely scaled measuring tool called caliper
 Measure the diameter d and length L of the core plug
 Due to cutting process, core plugs are not perfect cylinders
 The shape of core plugs somewhat irregular
 Measure d and L multiple times; 5 to 10 times
 Average the measured diameter and length values
65
 Measure diameter, length, and weight J number of times

 dj, Lj, and Wj in the jth measurement
 Average diameter, length, and weight values
66
67
 Compute Vb, using the equation for the volume of a cylinder
 Predict the bulk density of the plug using the eq. below
68
Caliper Method – Example 1
 dj, Lj, and Wj of a shale core plug measured 5 times

 The measured data are tabulated in Table 1
 Calculate average W, L, d, Vb, and rb
Table 1 - Caliper measurements - a shale plug
W L d
(g) (cm) (cm)
88.177 3.315 3.795
88.177 3.325 3.798
88.175 3.316 3.800
88.175 3.319 3.797
88.175 3.326 3.395
69
Caliper Method – Example 1
 dj, Lj, and Wj of a shale core plug measured 5 times

 The measured data are tabulated in Table 1
 Calculate average W, L, d, Vb, and rb
70
Caliper Method
 Caliper method is simple and easy

 A major drawback
 Core plugs cut from reservoir rock samples are not perfectly cylindrical
 Typically, diameter of the core plug varies along the core length
 Inaccuracies in the measured length and diameter lead to inaccuracies in
the bulk volume
 Chipped samples and small geometric irregularities may result in
uncertainties in the calculated bulk volumes
71
Immersion of Liquid Saturated Core Plugs in Liquids
 Core plug is immersed in a liquid

 This method is particularly useful for irregularly shaped samples
 This method is also called as Archimedes method or buoyancy method.
 Several different types of liquids
 Synthetic brines
 Toluene
 Dichloroethene
 Refined light oils
 High boiling point solvents
72
Bulk Volume Measurement – Immersion in Liquids
Balance
73
 A generic stepwise procedure for immersion in liquids is given below

 Only the main steps of the experimental procedure are outlined
 The details of the steps may vary for different commercial brands
 Step 1
 Saturate the core sample completely with the immersion liquid
 Remove the excess liquid at the external surface of the core sample
 Weight the saturated core sample in air
 Wssa = weight of the saturated core sample in air
74
 Additionally, measure the density of immersion liquid

 riL = density of the immersion liquid
 Step 2
 Fill a beaker with the immersion liquid
 The immersion liquid in the beaker is the same as the liquid saturating
the core sample
 A fine wire cradle attached to a balance is first submerged under
immersion liquid to a reference mark and the balance is tared
75
 This effectively removes the weight of the wire cradle from the
following weight measurements
 Step 3
 The liquid saturated core sample is placed on the cradle and submerged
into the immersion liquid to the reference mark
 The weight of the core sample in immersion liquid is recorded
 WssiL = weight of the saturated core sample in immersion liquid
 Vb is calculated using the Archimedes principle for buoyancy
76
 Using Wssa and WssiL, calculate weight of immersion liquid displaced
 Wild = weight of the immersion liquid displaced

 Estimate the volume of the immersion liquid displaced by the core
 Vb is equal to volume of immersion liquid displaced by core
77
Immersion in Liquids – Example 2
 A core sample is completely saturated with water

 Wssa = weight of the core sample saturated with water = 92.77 g
 The saturated core sample is immersed in water
 Its weight in water is measured
 WssiL = weight of the core plug in the immersion water = 56.74 g
 Assume a water density of 1 g/cm3
 Estimate bulk volume of the core plug
78
Immersion of Coated Dry Core Samples in Liquids
 When cores sample is saturated by a gas, typically air, it is referred to as

dry sample
 The dry core samples may be immersed in liquids to measure Vb
 Invasion of pore space by immersion liquid must be prevented
 Coat the external surfaces of core plug with non-damaging paraffin,
wax, resin, or similar substances
 Typically, dry core plugs are coated with paraffin
 Similar to immersion of liquid saturated samples in same liquid
79
 A generic stepwise procedure given below

 Step 1
 Measure weight of dry core sample in air
 WDa = weight of the dry core sample in air
 The measured weight is basically the grain/matrix weight
 The weight of the air filling the pore space is negligibly small
80
 Step 2
 Coat the external surface of the core plug with a coating material
 Measure the weight of the coated sample in air
 WcsDa = the weight of the coated dry sample in air
 Obtain data on the density of the coating material
 rcm = density of the coating material
81
 Step 3
 Fill a beaker with the immersion liquid
 A fine wire cradle attached to a balance is first submerged under
immersion liquid to a reference mark and the balance is tared
 Step 4
 The coated dry core sample is placed on the cradle and submerged into
the immersion liquid to the reference mark.
 The weight of the coated dry sample in immersion liquid is recorded
 WcsiL = weight of the coated dry sample in immersion liquid
82
 Using WDa and WcsDa, predict weight of the coating material
 Wcm = weight of the coating material

 WcsDa = weight of the coated dry core sample in air
 Estimate the volume of the coating material
 Compute weight of immersion liquid displaced by coated dry sample
83
 WiLd = weight of immersion liquid displaced by core sample

 WcsDa = weight of coated dry core sample in air
 WcsiL = weight of coated dry core sample in immersion liquid
 Estimate volume of immersion liquid displaced by core plug
 Vb is equal to difference between ViLd and Vcm
84
Immersion of Coated Dry Core Samples –Example 3
 A dry core sample weights 88.1 g; WDa = 88.1 g

 Dry core is coated with paraffin and weighted
 Weight of coated dry core is measured as 89.15 g; WcsDa = 89.15 g
 The density of paraffin is 0.9 g/ cm3 ; rcm = 0.9 g/ cm3
 The coated dry core sample is immersed in water and its weight in
water is measured; WcsiL = 51.9 g and riL = 1 g/cm3
 Estimate Vb
85
Immersion of Coated Dry Core Samples –Example 3
86
Immersion of Core Samples in Mercury
 Dry core plug is immersed in mercury

 The volume of the mercury displaced by core plug is determined
gravimetrically
 Archimedes principle is used to estimate Vb
 At low pressures near atmospheric pressure, mercury cannot penetrate
into pore space
 Given the air, mercury, and reservoir rock system, reservoir rocks have
affinity to air; air is the wetting fluid in the system
87
 A major disadvantage; Mercury is toxic and poses health risks

 Once core plug is in contact with mercury, it has to be disposed
 A schematic of mercury immersion test given in next figure
 Recommended by American Petroleum Institute (API)
 Experimental apparatus is composed of
 A vessel filled by mercury
 A thermometer
 An adjustable fork
 An electronic balance
88
Immersion of Core Sample in Mercury
Ref: API RP40, Recommendation Practices for Core Analysis
89
 A generic stepwise procedure for the mercury immersion test below

 Step 1
 Weight of the core sample in air is measured
 Step 2
 A cup of mercury in a vessel is placed on an electronic balance
 A pronged fork is immersed to the fork reference mark
90
 The reference mark is such that the top of the core plug can go 3 to 7
millimeters under the mercury
 The balance is then tared
 The weight of the mercury immersion apparatus is measured
 WHg = weight of the vessel containing mercury
 The fork is withdrawn from the mercury
91
 Step 3
 The core plug is floated lengthwise on the mercury surface
 The plug is then forced into the mercury with the fork to the same
reference mark
 The sample must not touch the side of the mercury vessel
 Core plug forced to submerge under mercury surface displaces some
volume of mercury
 The combined weight of mercury vessel and core sample immersed in
mercury is measured
92
 WHgcs = combined weight of the mercury vessel and immersed plug

 Using WDa, WHg, and WHgcs, predict the weight of the weight of the
mercury displaced by the core plug
 WHgd = weight of the mercury displaced by core plug

 WHg = weight of the mercury vessel
 WHgcs = combined weight of the mercury vessel and core plug
93
 Estimate volume of the mercury displaced by the core plug
 Vb is equal to the mercury volume displaced by the core plug
 Density of mercury at test temperature must be known

 The density of mercury at atmospheric pressure as a function of
temperature has been measured and tabulated
 Table 2 shows the density of mercury as a function of temperature
94
Density of Mercury
Table 2 – Density of mercury

T rHg T rHg
(ºC) (g/cm3) (ºC) (g/cm3)
18 13.5512 27 13.5291
19 13.5487 28 13.5266
20 13.5462 29 13.5242
21 13.5438 30 13.5217
22 13.5413 31 13.5193
23 13.5389 32 13.5168
24 13.5364 33 13.5144
25 13.5340 34 13.5119
26 13.5315
95
Density of Mercury
 An empirical equation using the data given in Table 2
 rHg = density of mercury, g/cm 3

 TC = temperature, ºC
96
Immersion of Core Samples in Mercury – Example 4
 A dry core sample weights 42 g

 The weight of the mercury vessel is 400 g
 Test temperature is 74 ºF (23.33 ºC)
 The core plug is immersed in the mercury vessel
 The combined weight of mercury vessel and core plug submersed in
mercury is 240 g
 Estimate Vb
97
Immersion of Core Samples in Mercury – Example 4
98
Bulk Volume from Pore and Grain Volumes
 Measure pore and grain volumes independently

 Bulk volume is the sum of pore and grain volumes
99
Pore Volume Measurement
 Several methods to measure pore volume directly

 Liquid saturation method
 Gas expansion method
 Pore volume from independent measurements of bulk and grain
volumes
100
Liquid Saturation Method
 Measure weights of dry core sample and the liquid-saturated core plug
 Schematics of the experimental apparatus given in next two figures
 Components of the experimental apparatus
 A vacuum pump
 A dryer (a glass flask with a stopper cap)
 A core container
 A liquid beaker
 A sensitive balance
 A pressure gauge
101
Saturating Core Plug With Liquid
V1 V2
Vacuum Dryer Core Liquid

pump container beaker
102
 Step 1
 Clean, dry, and vacuum core plug
 Pore space of core plug is occupied by gas, typically air
 Weight dry core plug in air
 WDa = weight of dry core plug in air
 This weight is basically the weight of the solid grains of the core sample
 The weight of the air filling the pore space is negligibly small
103
 Step 2
 Place dry sample in core container
 Fill beaker with liquid, typically synthetic brine
 Measure density of liquid is measured
 riL = density of liquid in which the core plug to be immersed
104
 Step 3
 Open Valve V1 and close Valve V2
 Turn vacuum pump on
 Vacuum pump lowers the pressure below the atmospheric pressure and
evacuates the air from the system including the core sample
 Vacuum pump is run for some time until the vacuum pressure stabilizes
 After the vacuum pressure stabilizes, we wait several more minutes
 This step is illustrated in previous figure
105
 Step 4
 While vacuum pump is running, open valve V2
 With the help of vacuum pump, the liquid in the beaker is drained and
transferred to core container
 The liquid transferred to the core container is accumulated at the
bottom of the core container due to gravitational forces
 As time passes,
 Volume of liquid in beaker decreases
 Volume of liquid in core container increases
106
 Some of liquid in core container is imbibed by core plug

 Imbibed water displaces air in pore space of plug
 Gradually, all pore space of core sample is saturated by liquid
 Continue with experiment until core plug is completely immersed in
liquid
 The vacuum pump is stopped when the liquid level in the core
container is several cm above the top of the core plug
 This step is illustrated in next figure
107
Saturating Core Plug With Liquid
V1 V2
Vacuum Dryer Core Liquid

pump container beaker
108
 Take liquid saturated plug out of core container

 Remove excess liquid at external surfaces of core sample using paper
towel
 Weight liquid-saturated core plug in air
 Wssa = weight of liquid-saturated core sample in air
 Compute weight of liquid in pore space
 WLps = weight of liquid in pore space
109
 Estimate volume of liquid in pore space
 Pore space is completely occupied by liquid; SL = 1.0

 Pore volume is equal to liquid volume inside core sample
110
Liquid Saturation Method – Example 5
 A dry core sample weights 88.18 g

 After completely saturating with water, weight of water saturated core
sample is measured as 92.77 g
 Assume a water density of 1 g/cm3
 Estimate Vp
111
Gas Expansion Method to Measure Pore Volume
 This method uses inert gases; helium, nitrogen, argon

 A known volume of gas with high pressure is expanded on pore space of
core plug with low pressure
 The apparatus is composed of
 A reference cell
 A steel core holder
 A rubber sleeve
 End caps
 Core sample
 Flowlines, pressure gauges, and a valve
112
Confining fluid
Core
V1
Reference Core holder

cell
113
 Core sample placed in rubber sleeve

 Rubber sleeve isolates core sample from any external fluid entry
 Pore space of core occupied by gas, typically helium or nitrogen
 Two metal end caps placed at the ends of the core plug
 Core sample isolated by rubber sleeve and end caps is placed in a steel
core holder
 The annular space between the rubber sleeve and end caps are filled by
a confining fluid
114
 Confining fluid is pressurized

 Confining pressure is several hundred psi higher than pressure in core
 Pressure in core is low, typically close to atmospheric pressure
 Before experiment starts, valve is open and whole system is in
equilibrium
 Reference cell, pore space, and flow lines are occupied by gas
 A stepwise procedure for gas expansion method is described below
115
 Step 1
 Valve V1 is closed
 Measure initial pressure in pore space and attached flowline
 pp0 = initial pressure inside core and flowline to right of valve V1
 Flowline volume is known
 Pore volume is unknown
 Flowline volume referred to as dead volume
 Vd = dead volume
116
 Step 2
 Raise pressure in reference cell, typically from 100 psia to 200 psia
 pr0 = initial pressure in reference cell and the flowline attached
 The total volume of the reference cell and the flowline between the
reference cell and the valve V1 is known
 Vr = total volume of reference cell
117
 Step 3
 Open valve V1
 When valve is opened, an additional volume comes into play
 Additional volume due to valve stem position in closed and open cases
 Vv = additional volume due to valve stem displacement
 High pressured gas from reference cell flows into low pressured core
plug
 Pressure in reference cell decreases
 Pressure in pore space of core sample increases
118
 If we wait long enough, system reaches a state of equilibrium

 Pressure in whole system stabilizes and becomes constant with time
 pfe = final equilibrium pressure
 Experiment ends when equilibrium is obtained
 It is assumed that gas expansion tests take place under isothermal
conditions; i.e., temperature stays constant
 In some cases, experimental apparatus housed in a constant
temperature oven
119
 A model for the analysis of gas expansion tests

 Real gas EOS
 Conservation of mass
 In the absence of chemical reactions, mass is conserved
120
 Consider initial condition in the reference cell and pore space

 nr0 = number of gas moles in high pressure reference cell
 np0 = number of gas moles in pore space
 nr0 and np0 formulated using rgEOS
 zr0 = gas deviation factor at initial pressure in reference cell, pr0

 zp0 = gas deviation factor at initial pressure in pore space, pp0
121
 At the end of gas expansion test, whole system is in equilibrium

 nfe = number of gas moles in whole system in equilibrium
 nfe expressed in terms of rgEOS
 During experiment, there is no mass gain or loss

 Total mass in initial condition is equal to total mass at final equilibrium
122
 Substituting previous eqs. for number of moles into mass balance eq.
 Rearranging eq. above for Vp
 At low pressures, helium and nitrogen behave like ideal gases

 In such cases, gas deviation factors may be dropped
123
124
Gas Expansion Method – Example 5
 A core sample is tested in gas expansion apparatus
 Nitrogen gas is used; z = 1
 Initial pressure in pore space and the flowline attached is 15 psia
 Dead volume is 1 cc
 Reference cell volume is 20 cc
 Initial pressure in reference cell is 200 psia
 Valve displacement volume is estimated to be 0.1 cc
 Final equilibrium pressure at the end of the test is 159 psia
 Estimate pore volume of the core plug
125
Gas Expansion Method – Example 5
126
Pore Volume from Bulk Volume and Grain Volume
 Measure bulk and grain volumes independently

 Pore volume may be calculated by subtracting grain volume from bulk
volume
127
Grain Volume Measurement
 Several methods to measure grain/matrix/solid volume

 Grain volume from weight and density measurements
 Gas expansion tests
 Grain volume from independent measurements of bulk and pore
volumes
128
Grain Volume from Weight and Density Measurements
 Weight of a dry core plug is basically the weight of solid material

composing porous core sample
 At low pressures, density of gas filling pore space is very low
 Weight of gas occupying pore space is negligibly small
 If density of solid matrix is known, grain volume may be estimated by
dividing grain weight by grain density
 In case of sandstone cores, an average sandstone density of 2.65 g/cm3
129
Grain Volume from Weight and Density Measurements
 Wm = weight of dry core plug

 rm = density of solid grains
 Grain volume may be calculated using the equation below
130
Grain Volume – Example 6
 Weight of a dry shale sample is measured as 88.18 g

 Matrix density of sample is 2.81 g/cc
 Estimate Vm
131
Grain Volume from Gas Expansion Tests
 Gas expansion method for measuring grain volume is similar to that for
measuring pore volume
 Experimental apparatus is simpler
 Main difference; core plug in a sample cell instead of core holder
 Apparatus is composed of
 Reference cell
 Sample cell
 Core sample
 Pressure gauges, flowlines, a valve
132
Gas Expansion Method to Measure Grain Volume
V1
Reference Sample cell

cell
133
 Step 1
 Place a dry core plug sample cell
 Close valve V1
 Measure initial pressure in sample cell is measured
 Same initial pressure in sample cell, pore volume, and flowline attached
 Dead volume in the flowline is included in sample cell volume
 ps0 = initial pressure inside the sample cell
 Total volume of sample cell and flowline is known
134
 Grain volume is unknown

 Vs = total volume sample cell
 Step 2
 Increase pressure in reference cell, typically 100 psia to 200 psia
 pr0 = initial pressure inside reference cell
 The total volume of reference cell and flowline attached is known
 Vr = total volume of reference cell
135
 Step 3
 Open valve V1
 Vv = additional volume due to valve stem displacement
 High-pressured gas from reference cell flows into low-pressured core
 Pressure in reference cell decreases
 Pressure in pore space of core sample increases
 If we wait long enough, system reaches a state of equilibrium
136
 A model based on conservation of mass and real gas EOS

 nr0 = number of gas moles in high pressure reference cell
 ns0 = number of gas moles in sample cell and pore space
 zr0 = gas deviation factor at initial pressure in reference cell, pr0

 zs0 = gas deviation factor at initial pressure in sample cell and pore
space, ps0
137
 At the end of gas expansion test, whole system in equilibrium

 nfe = number of gas moles in whole system in equilibrium
 No mass gain or loss during experiment

 Total mass in initial conditions is equal to total mass at the end of test
 Substituting eqs. for number of moles into mass balance eq.
138
 Rearranging for Vm
 Neglecting z factors,
139
Grain Volume from Gas Expansion Tests - Example 7
 A shale plug in a gas expansion apparatus

 Volume of reference cell = 40 cc
 Volume of sample cell = 50 cc
 Initial pressure in sample cell = 15 psia
 Initial pressure in reference cell = 200 psia
 Valve displacement volume = 0.1 cc
 Final equilibrium pressure = 140.9 psia
 Estimate grain/matrix volume
140
Grain Volume from Gas Expansion Tests - Example 7
141
Grain Volume from Bulk and Pore Volumes
 Measuring bulk and pore volumes independently

 grain volume by subtracting pore volume from bulk volume
142
Calculation of Porosity
 Determination of porosity requires the measurement on two out of the

three volumes; (Vb, Vp), (Vb, Vm), or (Vm, Vp)
143
Calculation of Porosity – Example 8
 In Example 1, using the caliper method, we computed average length,

diameter, and bulk volume of a shale plug
 d = 3.7177 cm, L = 3.32 cm, and Vb = 36.03 cc
 In Example 7, using the gas expansion method, Vm = 31.34 cc
 Estimate pore volume and porosity of the shale plug
144
 Dimensions of a consolidated sandstone plug measured using caliper

 d = 3.683 cm and L = 5.146 cm
 Weight of dry core plug is 127.782
 Grain density is measured as 2.55 g/cc
 Estimate porosity of consolidated sandstone core sample
145
 A carbonate core plug; d = 2.513 cm and L = 3.371 cm

 Pore volume is measured using gas expansion method; Vp = 0.6732 cc
 Estimate porosity
146
References
 American Petroleum Institute, Recommended Practice RP 40,

Recommendation Practices for Core Analysis, Second Edition, API
 Amyx, J.W. et al.: Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, McGraw-Hill, Inc.,
1960
 Ahmed, T.: Reservoir Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition, Gulf
Professional Publishing, 2010
 Dandekar, A.Y.: Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties, Taylor
and Francis Group, LLC, Boca Raton, 2006
147
References
 McPhee, C., Reed, J., and Zubizarreta, I.: Core Analysis: A Best Practice
Guide
 Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C.: Petrophysics, Second Edition, Gulf
 Willhite, G.P.: Waterflooding, SPE Textbook Series, Volume 3, SPE,
Richardson, Texas, 1986
148
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Porosity_determination
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porosity
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmOz5c95L68
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovdE_-FCWpc
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbHh8Bt4UUA
149
Module 3
Multiphase Fluid Saturations
Module Outline
3.1 Fluid saturations in porous rocks
3.2 Measurement methods of fluid saturations
3.3 Dean-Stark distillation
3.4 Measurement of irreducible saturations; core flooding
151
Learning Objectives
• Recognize fluid saturations in porous media
• Distinguish between irreducible and movable saturations
• List saturation measurement methods
• Match measurement methods with applicable rock types
• Explain Dean-Stark distillation method
• Estimate saturation by Dean-Stark method
• Explain coreflooding to estimate irreducible fluid saturation
152
3.1 Fluid saturations in porous rocks
Fluid Saturations
 Pore space is usually saturated with several fluids

 Let’s consider the most general case
 The available pore space is filled partially by oil, gas, and water
 Vo = volume of oil
 Vg = gas volume
 Vw = water volume
 The relationship among pore volume and fluid volumes is as follows
154
Fluid Saturations
 The term saturation is used to express the quantity of fluid volumes in

reference to pore volume
 Saturation to a fluid phase is defined as the volume occupied by the
fluid phase divided by pore volume
 In its most general case, oil, gas, and water saturations
 So = oil saturation
 Sg = gas saturation
 Sw = water saturation
155
Fluid Saturations
 Using the saturation definitions and the expression , it could be shown

that sum of the fluid saturations adds up to 1.0
156
Irreducible and Movable Fluid Saturations
 In natural porous rocks, the sizes of grains as well as pores are unevenly
distributed
 When it comes to grain and pore sizes, subsurface porous rocks are very
heterogeneous
 The distribution of oil, gas, and water in the reservoir rocks is partially
controlled by grain and pore size distributions
 Under static conditions, smaller pores are occupied by water and gas
resides in larger pores
 Some of the pores may be dead ends
157
 In case of multi phase flow in porous media, not all the fluid of each
phase would flow
 Consider a core sample completely saturated by water
 If we inject gas into water saturated core sample, the injected gas
would displace the water out of core
 If we keep injecting, the displaced water volume would increase with
time
 The gas would not be able to displace all the water out of the core
158
 Some water would be trapped in smaller pores

 The water trapped in small pores is stagnant
 This inert water trapped inside the porous rock is referred to as connate
water, interstitial water, or irreducible water
 Similarly, if we inject water into 100% gas saturated core sample, the
injected water will displace most of the gas out of the core
 Some volume of gas will be trapped inside the porous material
 Reservoir rocks are also subject to an irreducible gas phase
 The term residual gas is also used to refer to the trapped gas phase
159
 When core sample contains oil besides gas and water, it also suffers
from a residual or irreducible oil phase
 In the literature, mostly we use the phrase residual for stagnant oil and
gas phases and the term connate for inert water phase
 Consider a core sample with a pore volume of Vp and initial oil, gas, and
water volumes of Vo, Vg, and Vw
 Irreducible volumes of oil, gas, and water are Vor, Vgr, and Vwc
 Then irreducible saturations are defined as follows
160
161
 The differences between the existing fluid volumes and residual

volumes are referred to as movable volumes
 Let Vo, Vg, and Vw be the current existing volumes
 Let Vor, Vgr, and Vwc be the irreducible volumes
 The volumes Vom, Vgm, and Vwm are the movable volumes
162
 The movable oil, gas and water saturations are defined as follows
 Next figure illustrates the relationship among total, irreducible, and

movable fluid saturations
163
Fluid Saturations in Porous Rocks
Sg Sgm Sgr
Som Sor So
Sw Swm Swc
164
3.2 Measurement methods of fluid saturations
Saturation Measurement Methods
 a) Retort at atmospheric pressure

 b) Dean-Stark distillation extraction for full diameter cores
 c) Dean-Stark distillation extraction for core plugs
 d) Pressure-retained core method
 e) Karl Fischer solvent flushing
 f) Sponge core barrel method
 g) Gypsum-bearing method
 h) Coal method
166
 i) Scanning methods
 X-ray absorption
 Microwave absorption
 Computer assisted tomography
 Gamma-ray absorption
 Nuclear magnetic resonance
167
 Fluid saturations may be measured on

 Full-diameter whole cores
 Core plugs
 Sidewall cores
 Crushed rock fragments
 Choice of the method is based on rock type and mineralogy
 Table 1 below gives the method of choice for different geological rock
types
168
Table 1 – Saturation measurement methods
Rock type Testing method
Consolidated sandstones
a, b, c, d, e, f
and carbonates
Unconsolidated, light oil c, d, e
Unconsolidated, heavy oil c, e
Vuggy carbonates b, d, e, f
Fractured rocks a, b, d
Clay bearing rocks a, c, e
Evaporites g, e
Low permeability rocks a, b, c, d, e, f
Coals h
Gas shales a, b, c
Oil shales a
Diatomite c, e
169
Main Reference for Measuring Fluid Saturations

170
3.3 Dean-Stark distillation
Dean-Stark Method for Estimating Fluid Saturations
 Dean-Stark distillation method is the most widely used method

 Originally, Dean-Stark distillation was developed to measure water
content of petroleum emulsions
 Later, it was modified and adapted to measure water volume in porous
rock samples
 Using Dean-Stark extraction, only the volume of water in porous rocks
can be measured
 Additional measurements are needed to compute saturations
172
 The additional measurements include

 Weight of saturated wet core
 Weight of dry core
 Pore volume
 Densities of gas, oil, and water
 A stepwise procedure for Dean-Stark method is given below
 Consider a core sample containing oil, gas, and water of unknown
volumes
173
 Step 1; measure the wet weight of the core sample saturated with oil,
gas, and water
 Step 2; measure the bulk volume of the core sample
 Step 3; place the core sample in a Dean-Stark extraction apparatus
 We will describe the Dean-Stark apparatus in details later
 Only the volume of water contained in rock sample could be measured
 For time being, assume that water volume is measured
174
 Step 4; after Dean-Stark extraction process, clean and dry the core
sample
 Measure the dry weight of core plug
 The dry weight is essentially equal to weight of grains of porous rock
 Step 5; Measure pore volume of the core plug
 Step 6; Measure density of oil, gas, and water
 Typically, gas mass is negligible compared to the oil and water masses
 Generally, gas density is not measured
175
 After measuring all the quantities listed above

 A mass balance model to compute fluid saturations
 The mass balance model will be described below
176
Dean-Stark Distillation for Measuring Water Volume
 Water volume is measured by evaporating and condensing the in-situ

fluids in porous rock sample
 The experiment is run under ambient pressure and high temperature
 Conventional core plugs are used
 The major components of the Dean-Stark apparatus are listed below
177
 Extracting solvent
 Boiling flask
 Electrical heater
 Extraction chamber and thimble
 Porous rock sample
 Dean-Stark sidearm trap with a graduated tube
 Condenser
178
 In next slide
 A sketch of the Dean-Stark apparatus
 Photo of an actual Dean-Stark apparatus by Vinci Technologies
179
180
Dean-Stark Distillation - Solvent
 Extraction solvent is a fluid miscible with hydrocarbons

 The solvent should have a boiling point higher than water and lower
than oil
 Typically, toluene is used as the solvent
 Pure water has a boiling point of about 212º F (100º C)
 Formation water contains dissolved salts
 Salt content increases the boiling point of saline formation waters
 Toluene has a boiling point of 231.1º F (110.6º C)
181
Dean-Stark Distillation - Solvent
 If formation brine contains large amount of dissolved solids then xylene

may also be used
 Common xylene has a boiling point of 281º F (138.4º C)
182
Dean-Stark Distillation – Boiling Flask
 Solvent (toluene) is placed in a flask/kettle

 Flask is made of heat resistant glass
 Solvent in the flask is heated to its boiling point and vaporized
 Glass beads or small chips of alundum material may be placed at the
bottom of the boiling flask
 Glass beads and alundum chips help to regulate the boiling process
 They prevent formation of large bubbles and sudden flushing and
minimize super heating
183
Dean-Stark Distillation
 Electrical heater provides energy to boil the solvent

 Switch on the electrical heater should be set to a level that provides a
steady boiling of the solvent
 Porous rock sample is placed in the extraction chamber located above
the boiling flask
 In the extraction chamber, in-situ reservoir fluids inside porous rock are
evaporated out of rock sample
 Through evaporation, a vapor mixture of solvent-hydrocarbons-water is
formed in the extraction chamber
184
Dean-Stark Distillation – Sidearm Trap
 Dean-Stark sidearm trap acts like flowlines for

 Flow of vapor mixture from extraction chamber
 Circulation of the condensing toluene-hydrocarbon mixture from the graduated
tube back to boiling flask
 The sidearm trap has a graduated tube marked with 0.1 ml divisions
 A passage is attached to the graduated tube
 The passage is bent at a right angle with the graduated tube
 Through this passage toluene-hydrocarbon liquid mixture is returned
back to boiling flask
185
Dean-Stark Distillation – Condenser
 The condenser is a water-cooled and refluxing glass tube

 The condenser
 receives toluene-hydrocarbon-water vapor mixture
 cools the vapor mixture
 removes the heat from the vapor mixture
 condenses the vapor mixture back to liquid phase
 The condenser is cooled by circulating chilled water
186
Dean-Stark Distillation – Procedure
 The solvent vapor generated in the boiling flask moves upward and
began to extract the fluids in porous rock sample
 In-situ formation liquids, both oil and water, are vaporized out of the
porous rock
 Above the rock sample, the vapor mixture is composed of toluene,
hydrocarbon, and water
 The vapor mixture rises, passes through the Dean-Stark sidearm, and is
received by condenser
187
 Toluene-hydrocarbon-water vapor mixture condenses in the condenser

and turns into liquids
 The condensing liquids fall down and collected in the graduated
sidearm
 In the side arm trap, there are two liquid phases; water and toluene-
hydrocarbon liquid mixture
 Water is immiscible with hydrocarbons and toluene
 Additionally, water is heavier than both hydrocarbons
188
 Due to density difference and gravitational forces, the condensing water

settles at the bottom of the graduated tube
 The toluene-hydrocarbon liquid mixture is accumulated at the top of
water column
 Over time, volumes of water and liquid toluene-hydrocarbon increase
 As the liquid level rises in the trap tube, toluene-hydrocarbon liquid
 overflows
 drips back down through the passageway and sample extraction chamber
 reaches the boiling flask, where it is re-distilled
189
 The water volume collected in the graduated tube is recorded as a

function of time
 When the measured water volume is constant for a period of at least 6
hours, the experiment is terminated
 Next figure illustrates how the volume of the water collected in the
graduated tube varies with time
190
Dean-Stark Distillation - Water Volume Over Time
Vw = constant
6 hours
Vw(t)
191
 Normally, with higher permeability core samples, the minimum time

period needed for Dean-Stark distillation is about 48 hours
 However, for lower permeability core plugs, the experiment may last a
week or even longer
 Once the Dean-Stark is completed, the rock sample is removed from
the sample extraction chamber
 The sample is cleaned and dried
 After the cleaning and drying, additional tests and measurements are
conducted on the core sample
192
Dean-Stark Distillation - Computation of Fluid Saturations
 In the process, we measure

 Volume of water
 Weight of saturated wet core
 Weight of dry core
 Pore volume
 Densities of gas, oil, and water
 Integrate all the measured data in a consistent framework
 Use conservation of mass
 Develop predictive equations to calculate volume of oil
193
 We define the following variables

 Vw = volume of water, cm3
 WsW = weight of wet core saturated with in-situ formation fluids, g
 WD = weight of dry core sample after distillation, cleaning, and drying, g
 rg = gas density, g/cc
 ro = oil density, g/cc
 rw = water density, g/cc
 Vp = pore volume, cm3
194
 Total fluid mass contained in the pore space is expressed in terms of the
individual mass of each phase
 Mf = mass of all fluids, g

 Mg = mass of gas, g
 Mo = mass of oil, g
 Mw = mass of water, g
195
 Total fluid mass inside porous rock is the difference between wet and
dry weights
 Combining last two eqs. and rearranging for oil mass
 Gas, oil, and water masses may also be expressed in terms of their
volumes and densities
196
 Substituting last 3 eqs into mass balance eq.,
 The eq. above has two unknowns; Vo and Vg

 We need one more equation containing both Vo and Vg
 The relationship between pore volume and fluid volumes
197
 Substituting last eq. into mass balance eq. and rearranging
 Typically, mass and density of gas are very small compared to those of
oil and water
 Neglecting gas mass, oil volume eq. reduces to
 Generally, we use the last eq. to predict oil volume
198
 After measuring Vp and Vw and calculating Vo, we compute Sw, So, and Sg
199
Dean-Stark Distillation – Example 1
 Sarah et al. measured the water volume of the core samples from Niger
Delta reservoirs
 They used Dean-Stark distillation method to measure water volume
 All the measured data for core # 596 are given in Table 2
 Estimate fluid saturations
200
Table 2 – Saturation measurement data for core
596 (from Sarah et al.)
Variable Value
Depth, ft 11,056.4
Vb, cc 62.93
Vp, cc 2.31
Vw, cc 1.9
WsW, g 149.78
WD, g 147.79
ro, g/cc 0.845
rw, g/cc 1
201
 Computations are straightforward

 First, we compute oil volume
202
 Sarah et al. measured the fluid saturations on ten core plugs from a
Niger Delta reservoir
 All the measured data are given in Table 3
 Estimate fluid saturations for all ten core samples
 Plot fluid saturations as a function of depth
 Compute average saturations for the interval
203
Table 3 – Saturation measurements for ten core plugs for a Niger
Delta reservoir
Sample Depth Vp Vw WsW WD
() (ft) (cc) (cc) (g) (g)
596 11,056.4 2.31 1.90 149.78 147.79
612 11,059.7 3.85 3.38 129.43 126.02
595 11,063.0 13.23 12.08 161.84 149.06
597 11,066.3 10.51 8.70 138.27 129.24
602 11,069.6 11.28 9.77 148.12 138.27
603 11,072.8 9.88 7.36 122.95 115.08
610 11,076.1 10.35 7.96 131.74 123.16
611 11,079.4 9.31 7.21 114.57 106.53
626 11,082.7 10.37 8.66 128.44 119.67
635 11,086.0 11.73 8.96 147.81 138.61
204
 In Example 1, we presented the calculations for core # 596

 Repeat the calculation procedure illustrated in Example 1
 Predict the oil volume and fluid saturations for the remaining 9 cores
 All the calculated results are tabulated in Table 3
205
Table 3 – Saturation measurements for ten core plugs for a Niger Delta reservoir
Sample Depth Vp Vw WsW WD Vo Sw So Sg
() (ft) (cc) (cc) (g) (g) (cc) (frac.) (frac.) (frac.)
596 11,056.4 2.31 1.90 149.78 147.79 0.107 0.823 0.046 0.131
612 11,059.7 3.85 3.38 129.43 126.02 0.036 0.878 0.009 0.113
595 11,063.0 13.23 12.08 161.84 149.06 0.828 0.913 0.063 0.024
597 11,066.3 10.51 8.70 138.27 129.24 0.391 0.828 0.037 0.135
602 11,069.6 11.28 9.77 148.12 138.27 0.095 0.866 0.008 0.125
603 11,072.8 9.88 7.36 122.95 115.08 0.604 0.745 0.061 0.194
610 11,076.1 10.35 7.96 131.74 123.16 0.734 0.769 0.071 0.160
611 11,079.4 9.31 7.21 114.57 106.53 0.982 0.774 0.106 0.120
626 11,082.7 10.37 8.66 128.44 119.67 0.130 0.835 0.013 0.152
635 11,086.0 11.73 8.96 147.81 138.61 0.284 0.764 0.024 0.212
206
 Next figure shows how fluid saturations vary along depth

 Average water, oil, and gas saturations are
 Sw = 0.819, So = 0.044, Sg = 0.137
 Oil saturation is very low
 The interval from 11,056.4 ft to 11,086 ft is basically a water zone
207
208
3.3 Measurement of irreducible saturations;
core flooding
Measurement of Irreducible Fluid Saturations
 Measurement of irreducible gas, oil, and water saturations can be

accomplished on core plug samples
 A core flooding apparatus is used to quantify the irreducible saturations
 Core flooding apparatus is similar to the apparatus to measure single
phase permeability by steady state liquid flow
 Below, we will describe the measurement of residual oil saturation
 Measurements of the residual gas saturation and irreducible water
saturation are similar to that of the residual oil saturation
210
 A stepwise procedure for measuring residual oil saturation

 Step 1; clean and dry core plug and measure pore volume
 Step 2; completely saturate the core sample with oil, So = 1.0
 Volume of oil in core sample is equal to pore volume
 Step 3; place core sample in steel core holder
 Step 4; start injecting gas or water
 Displace oil from core plug
 Measure the volume of oil produced as a function of time
211
 Volume of oil produced from core becomes constant over a long time
period
 Record the total volume of produced oil and terminate the test
212
Core Flooding System
 The main components of a core flooding apparatus are listed below

 A cylindrical core plug
 A constant rate liquid pump
 A core holder
 A rubber sleeve
 Two end caps with flow distributers
 A differential pressure transducer
 Pressure gauges
213
 Back pressure regulator

 Flow lines
 A graduated fluid collection tube
 Next figure displays a generic core flooding apparatus
214
Measurement of Residual Oil Saturation
Pressure transducer
Dp
Confining fluid BPR
Core
V1 V2
Constant Core holder

rate pump
215
 Core sample is cleaned, dried, and saturated with the test liquid
 Cylindrical core plugs are inserted into rubber sleeve
 Two end caps are pressed against the core sample at the axial ends
 End caps are designed with flow distributors
 A flow distributor receives the fluid from flowline and distributes it
uniformly at the face of core plug
 Flow distributor ensures that flow across core is one dimensional
 Rubber sleeve and end caps protect core plug from external fluids
216
 Annular space between core holder and rubber sleeve and end caps is
filled with a confining liquid
 Annular liquid is pressurized
 It is of utmost importance that there is no fluid leakage from the core
and there is not any external fluid entry into the core sample
 Constant rate pump injects test liquid into core sample
 Liquid injection pumps can inject fluid at several different rates
 Liquid injection pumps are equipped with a gear box to set the rate
217
 A differential pressure transducer directly measures the pressure drop

 In some cases, a back pressure regulator may be installed on the outlet
flow line
 A back pressure regulator maintains a set pressure upstream of itself
 A back pressure regulator keeps a constant pressure at the outlet
 A constant flow rate is chosen on the liquid pump
 Liquid pump is turned on
 Test liquid is injected into core plug
218
 Injected water displaces oil out of the core sample

 Oil and water produced from core are collected in a graduated tube
 Volume of the cumulative oil production is recorded and plotted as a
function of time
 Volume of oil produced from core becomes constant over a sufficiently
long time period
 Total volume of produced oil is recorded
 Test is terminated
 Next figure displays cumulative oil production as a function of time
219
Np(t)
220
 Residual oil saturation may be estimated using the equation below
 Sor = residual oil saturation, fraction

 Vp = pore volume, cc
 Np = Cumulative oil production at the end of the test, cc
221
References

1960
Guide, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2015
222
References
 Monicard, R.P.: Properties of Reservoir Rocks: Core Analysis, Gulf
Publishing Company, Houston, 1980
 Peters, E.J: Advanced Petrophysics: Volume 1: Geology, Porosity,
Absolute Permeability, Heterogeneity, and Geostatistics, Live Oak Book
Company, Austin, Texas, 2012
 Sarah, A.A. et al., Determination of Some Petrophysical Properties of
Reservoir Rocks in the Niger Delta, Journal of Scientific Research &
Reports, Volume 5, Issue 5, 388-401, 2015
223
Useful Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean-Stark_apparatus
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxA-wwYnNjc
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxYwE6lGNMI
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp82esNgvm8
224
Module 4
Wettability and Capillary Pressure
Module Outline
4.1 Wettability and contact angle
4.2 Wettability and capillary pressure
226
Learning Objectives
• Recognize wettability based on contact angle
• Explain wetting and non-wetting phase concepts
• Recognize the effect of wettability on the distribution of fluid
saturations
• Define capillary pressure
• Explain the effect of wettability on capillary pressure
227
4.1 Wettability and contact angle
Wettability and Contact Angle
 Wettability is relevant to not only a porous medium containing multiple

fluids but also any solid residing in contact with two different
immiscible fluids
 When a solid material is in contact with more than one fluid, it prefers
to be wetted by one of the fluids
 Wettability is the tendency of one fluid to spread over a solid surface in
the presence of multiple immiscible fluids
229
 Place small droplets of water, mercury, and oil on a glass plate
 In all the cases, the air surrounds the glass plate and droplets of water,
mercury and oil
 Consider the air as the main fluid
 The droplets of water, mercury and oil are the secondary fluids
 Water droplet spreads over the glass surface
 The glass surface prefers to be contacted by water not by the
surrounding air
 In case of glass-air-water system, the glass is water wetted
230
Air
qgma
qgwa qgoa
Water Mercury Oil
231
 In case of mercury-air fluid pair, glass surface minimizes the contact

area with mercury and mercury tends to form a spherical shape
 In this case, glass surface favors to be in contact with air rather than
mercury
 In case of glass-air-mercury system, air is the wetting fluid
 Oil droplet on the glass surface is in the form of hemispherical globule
 In an oil-air fluid environment, the glass surface has about the same
degree of attraction to both oil and air phases
232
 Wettability is defined in terms of contact angle between the solid

surface and fluid
 In case of glass-water-air system, the contact angle, qgwa, is small and
closer to 0º
 The contact angle in glass-mercury-air arrangement, qgma, is large and
closer to 180º
 Due to glass surface’s neutrality towards oil and air fluid pair, the
contact angle from glass-oil-air combination, qgoa, is close to 90º
233
 In porous media, the fluid preferred to be in contact with rock surface

forms a thin film and surrounds the rock grains
 Based on their wettability tendency, the fluid spreading over the pore
surface may be distinguished as wetting phase
 The other fluids may be referred to as nonwetting phase
 In general, subsurface rocks prefer to be wetted by liquids instead of
gases
 More specifically, reservoir rocks are either oil-wet or water-wet
234
 Degree of wettability varies substantially
 The degree of wettability is controlled by the contact angle
 Based on the numerical value of contact angle, hydrocarbon reservoirs
are classified as
 Strongly water wet, 0º < q < 30º
 Moderately water wet, 30º < q < 75º
 Neutrally wet, 75º < q < 105º
 Moderately Oil wet, 105º < q < 150º
 Strongly Oil wet, 150º < q < 180º
235
 Contact angle is determined by the interfacial tensions
 between solid surface and wetting fluid
 between solid surface and non-wetting fluid
 between wetting fluid and non-wetting fluids
 Consider a water-wet rock surface in communication with water and oil

as shown in next figure
236
sow
Oil
q
Water
sso ssw
ssw
237
 Under equilibrium conditions, sum of the forces is equal to zero
 Rearranging
 Taking inverse cosine of the expression above
238
 Wettability plays a significant role in the distribution of fluid saturations
in porous media
 If the reservoir rock is oil wetted then oil phase covers the internal
surfaces of pores and forms a thin film around the individual rock grains
 In the reservoir, oil is the continuous phase and water is the
discontinuous phase
 Typically, in oil-wet systems, residual oil saturation to water flooding is
higher
239
 If reservoir rock is water-wet then water
 forms a thin film around rock surface,
 prevents the contact between oil and rock surface
 establishes a continuous phase
 Next figure illustrates the distribution of oil and water phases inside the
pore network in case of water-wet and oil-wet systems
240
Fluid Distribution in Water Wet and Oil Wet Rocks
Water wet Oil wet
Grain Oil Water
241
4.2 Wettability and capillary pressure
Capillary Pressure
 In reservoir rocks bearing oil and water phases, the pressure in the oil
phase is different from the pressure in the water phase
 This pressure difference is due to
 immiscibility between the fluids
 wettability preference
 interfacial forces
 capillary nature of pore sizes
243
Capillary Pressure
 Historically, it has been assumed that, in subsurface reservoir rocks,
water is the wetting phase and oil is the non-wetting phase
 Let po and pw denote the oil phase pressure and water phase pressure
 Capillary pressure is the difference between pressures in the oil and
water phases
 When the rock is water wet, the capillary pressure is a positive quantity
244
Capillary Pressure
 In oil-wet rocks, oil phase pressure is lower than water phase pressure,
hence, capillary pressure as defined previously yields negative values
 It may be better to define the capillary pressure as the difference
between the pressure in the non-wetting phase (pnon-wet) and the
pressure in wetting phase (pwet) as expressed below
 The last definition yields positive capillary pressures

 Capillary pressure is a strong function of saturation
245
Module 5
Lab session: Porosity, Saturations,
Wettability, and Capillary pressure
Module Outline
5.1 Porosity measurements on cores
5.2 Saturation measurement with Dean-Stark distillation
5.3 Contact angle measurement and wettability estimation
5.4 Measurement of capillary pressure
247
Learning Objectives
• Measure porosity of actual core samples
• Use Dean-Stark distillation to estimate fluid saturations
• Measure contact angle of oil and water on reservoir rock sample
• Measure capillary pressure between oil and water
248
Module 6
Absolute and Relative Permeability
Module Outline
6.1 Darcy’s Law and absolute permeability
6.1.1 Darcy’s Law
6.1.2 Units of permeability
6.1.3 Differential form of Darcy’s Equation
6.1.4 Pressure distribution in 1D porous media
6.1.5 Superficial and actual velocity
6.1.6 Analogy of Darcy’s Law to other flux laws
6.1.7 Compressible flow of gases
250
Module Outline (continued)
6.2 Limitations of Darcy’s Law
6.2.1 Klinkenberg Effect at low pressures
6.2.2 Forchheimer’s Equation for high velocity flow
6.3 Variations of permeability
6.4 Permeability-porosity relationships
6.5 Effective and relative permeabilities
6.5.1 Effective permeability
6.5.2 Relative permeability
251
Learning Objectives
• Explain Darcy’s Law
• Interpret permeability based on Darcy’s Law
• Describe units of permeability
• Apply permeability unit conversions
• Calculate pressure distribution in 1D porous media
• Differentiate between superficial and actual velocities
• Recognize the analogy between Darcy’s Law and other flux laws
• Recognize deviations from Darcy’s Law at low pressure and high velocity
252
Learning Objectives (continued)
• Interpret variations of permeability
• Recognize permeability-porosity relationships
• Construct permeability-porosity cross-plot
• Define effective and relative permeabilities
• Determine end point permeabilities
• Interpret relative permeability-saturation curves
253
6.1 Darcy’s Law and permeability
Permeability of Porous Rocks
 Permeability is one of the most important properties of porous media
 Permeability is defined as the ability of a porous rock to transmit fluids
flowing through its pore space
 A rock must have a well connected pore network across its domain to
exhibit any permeability
 Permeability is an empirical property derived from experimental
observations
 Darcy’s Law is the defining relationship for permeability
255
6.1.1 Darcy’s Law
Permeability of Porous Rocks and Darcy’s Law
 When the velocity is relatively low, the fluid flow through the porous
medium is characterized by Darcy’s law
 Darcy’s law is based on the experimental observations
 In 1856, Henry Darcy investigated water flow through sand filters
 Consider the experimental setup shown in next figure
 An incompressible fluid such as water flows through a sand pack
 Fluid flow takes place under steady state conditions
 Fluid flow is one dimensional
 Gravitational forces are negligible
257
Darcy’s Law for Incompressible Fluid Flow
p1 p2
Dp
q q
A
L
258
 Run multiple experiments across a one dimensional linear sand pack

 Darcy observed that the flow rate across a linear porous rock is
controlled by the following parameters
 Pressure drop across the porous medium
 Cross sectional area normal to flow direction
 Length of porous medium
 Viscosity of fluid
 A parameter pertaining to nature of porous media
259
 q = volumetric flow rate

 p1 = inlet pressure
 p2 = outlet pressure
 Dp = p1 – p2 = pressure drop across porous medium
 L = length of porous medium
 m = fluid viscosity
 A = cross sectional area perpendicular to flow directions
 Investigate the relationship among q, Dp, L, A, and m
260
 Flow rate is directly proportional to pressure drop,

 Flow rate is directly proportional to cross sectional area,
 Flow rate is reciprocally proportional to length,
 Flow rate is reciprocally proportional to the viscosity of fluid,
 The proportionality relationships above may all be combined
 Flow rate is controlled by flow group ADp/mL irrespective of individual

values of four parameters
261
 A series of experiments
 Measure q and flow group ADp/mL
 Plot q vs ADp/mL on a Cartesian plot
 A straight line passing through origin
 When there is no pressure drop across the linear porous medium, there
cannot possibly be any flow through porous medium
 Straight line should have an intercept value of zero
262
Darcy’s Law for Incompressible Fluid Flow
Slope = k
A Dp / m L
263
 The linear relationship between q and ADp/mL may be expressed in the

form of the equation for a straight line
 k = slope of the straight line
 Proportionality constant k reflects the characteristics of porous media

 k is a property of the porous rock
 The proportionality constant k of q vs ADp/mL relationship is referred to
as permeability
 is known as Darcy’s law
264
6.1.2 Units of permeability
Unit for Permeability
 In the honor of the pioneering work presented by Henry Darcy,
permeability is measured in the basic unit of darcy
 Symbol d is used to denote darcy
 Permeability is calculated from Darcy’s eq.
 q in cc/s, m in cp, L in cm, A in cm2, Dp in atm, and k in d

 A porous rock with a length of 1 cm and an area of 1 cm2 possesses a
permeability of 1 darcy when a fluid with 1 cp viscosity flows at a rate
of 1 cc/s under a pressure drop of 1 atm
266
Unit for Permeability
267
Dimension of Permeability
 q in ( L3 /t )
 m in ( m/Lt )
 L in ( L )
 A in ( L2 )
 Dp in (m/Lt2 )
 Permeability has a dimension of length-squared, same as area
268
Units for Permeability
 In SI unit system, permeability unit is m2

 When measuring in m2, we obtain very small permeability values
 In SI units, better to express permeability in mm2 (micrometer-squared)
 Unit conversion factors
 1 darcy = 0.986923 mm2 = 9.86923×10-9 cm2 = 9.86923×10-13 m2 =
1.062×10-11 ft2
 1 darcy  1 mm2 = 1×10-12 m2
269
Units for Permeability
 One darcy corresponds to a very high permeability

 Most reservoir rocks exhibits permeability values lower or much lower
than one darcy
 Subsurface rocks may display permeability values in the order of
millidarcy (md), microdarcy (md), or nanodarcy (hd)
 1 d = 1,000 md = 1×106 md = 1×109 hd
270
Darcy’s Equation in Field Units – Liquid Flow
 Darcy’s equation is in cgs unit system

 Darcy’s equation in the oilfield units through unit conversion
 q = volumetric flow rate, RB/D (reservoir barrels per day)

 A = cross sectional area normal to flow directions, ft2
 k = permeability, md (millidarcy)
271
Darcy’s Equation in Field Units – Liquid Flow
 m = fluid viscosity, cp
 p = pressure, psia
 x = location, ft
 dp/dx = pressure gradient, psia/ft
 u = superficial fluid velocity, RB/D/ft2
272
Darcy’s Equation in Field Units – Gas Flow
 When we deal with gas flow, the flow rate is typically measured in unit
of cuft/D and superficial velocity is expressed in unit ft/D
 q = volumetric gas flow rate, cuft /D (cubic foot per day)

 u = superficial gas fluid velocity, ft/D
273
Permeability – Example 1
 A set of flow experiments on a linear core

 d = 2.54 cm and L = 15.24 cm
 Water is pumped through the core; m = 1 cp
 In each experiment, only the flow rate is changed
 q and corresponding Dp for each experiment in Table 1
 Construct a Cartesian plot of q vs ADp/mL
 Predict permeability
274
Table 1 – Test data for Example 1

Test # q Dp
() (cc/s) (psia)
1 0.1 70
2 0.2 140
3 0.3 195
4 0.4 260
5 0.5 340
6 0.6 410
7 0.7 470
8 0.8 520
9 0.9 600
10 1.0 675
275
 Flow group ADp/mL for Test #1 is
 The rest of the calculated results are tabulated in Table 2

 A Cartesian plot of q vs ADp/mL is displayed in next figure
276
Table 2 – q vs flow group ADp/mL for Example 1
Test # q Dp ADp/mL
() (cc/s) (atm) (cm×atm/cp)
1 0.1 4.76 1.5833
2 0.2 9.52 3.1665
3 0.3 13.27 4.4105
4 0.4 17.69 5.8807
5 0.5 23.13 7.6901
6 0.6 27.89 9.2734
7 0.7 31.97 10.6305
8 0.8 35.37 11.7614
9 0.9 40.82 13.5708
10 1.0 45.92 15.2672
277
278
 A well defined straight line on q vs ADp/mL plot

 Slope = k = 0.0661 d
 Converting from darcies to millidarcies,
 k = 66.1 md
 When fitting the measured lab data, the straight line is forced to go
through the origin
279
6.1.3 Differential form of Darcy’s Equation
Differential Form of Darcy’s Equation
 ,
 Permeability is a positive quantity; k ≥ 0
 Darcy’s law assumes that flow rate, length, and pressure drop are all
positive quantities; q > 0, L > 0, Dp > 0
 Flow is from left face to right face
 If the flow rate is positive when fluid flows from left to right then it has
to be a negative quantity when the flow direction is reversed
 Fluid flow in subsurface formations is generally 3 dimensional
 In multidimensional flow cases, we need to choose a coordinate system
281
 Generalize Darcy’s law and extend its applicability

 Redefine Darcy’s equation with respect to a coordinate system and
express it in a differential form
 Consider the linear core sample shown in next figure
 The coordinate system is located at the inlet face on the left
 The core extends from x = 0 to x = L
 Fluid flow from left face to right face is positive
 Fluid flow from right face to left face is negative
 Pressure decreases along the core axis
282
p1
p(x)
Dp = p(x) - p(x+Dx)
p(x+Dx)
L = (x+Dx) – x = Dx
Dx p2
q>0
0 x x+D x L
283
 The fact that pressure declines while distance along the core increases
has to be incorporated into Darcy’s law
 Focus on the flow of fluid from point x to point x+Dx
 The pressures at points x+Dx and x are p(x+Dx) and p(x), respectively
 The pressure drop and distance traveled are
 Substituting eqs. above into Darcy’s law
284
 This eq. can be re-casted as follows
 Taking the limit of eq. above as Dx tends to zero
 Evaluate the limit on the left-hand-side
285
 Darcy’s law in differential form becomes
 dp/dx is the pressure gradient

 Negative sign is due to location of the coordinate system and choice of
the notation for the flow direction
 If the coordinate system is moved to the outlet face on the right then
the negative sign is not needed
286
6.1.4 Pressure distribution in 1D porous media
Pressure Distribution Along Linear Porous Media
 Darcy’s equation enables us to compute total pressure drop
 In some cases, we may need to compute pressure distribution along the

porous rock
 p(x) = ?
288
p1
p(x) = ?
p2
q
0 x L
289
 We can predict pressure distribution along the linear porous rock by

integrating the differential form of Darcy’s equation
 Need a boundary conditions to solve the equation above for pressure

distribution
 Either inlet or outlet pressure must be known
 x = 0, p(0) = p1
 x = L, p(L) = p2
290
 Assume that we have x = 0, p(0) = p1

 Rearranging differential form of Darcy’s equation
 Integrating
 Now, we use the boundary condition to determine integral constant C
291
 x = 0, p(0) = p1
 Substituting in the solution
 The solution above shows that pressure varies linearly with the distance
along porous rock
292
 If the boundary condition at the outlet is given

 x = L, p(L) = p2
293
Pressure Distribution – Example 2
 Reconsider the data given in Example 1

 Use Test #1
 q = 0.1 cc/s, p1 = 5.76 atm, m = 1 cp, L = 15.24 cm,
 A = 5.067 cm2, k = 0.0661 d
 Estimate pressure distribution along the core sample
 x = 1 cm,
294
Pressure Distribution – Example 2
x p(x)
(cm) (atm)
0.00 5.760
1.00 5.461
2.00 5.163
3.00 4.864
4.00 4.566
5.00 4.267
6.00 3.969
7.00 3.670
8.00 3.371
9.00 3.073
10.00 2.774
11.00 2.476
12.00 2.177
13.00 1.879
14.00 1.580
15.00 1.281
15.24 1.210
295
6.1.5 Superficial and actual velocity
Superficial and Real Fluid Velocities in Porous Media
 Darcy’s equation in terms of fluid velocity instead of volumetric rate

 u = fluid velocity in x-direction, cm/s
 The relationship between volumetric flow rate and fluid velocity is
 Darcy’s eq. in terms of fluid velocity is
297
 A = total cross sectional area of porous rock

 In case of porous rocks, total cross sectional area A is the sum of the
area filled by solid rock matrix (Am) and the area occupied by pores (Ap)

 The fluid flows only inside the pores

 The actual effective cross sectional area perpendicular to flow direction
is only a fraction of total cross sectional area
298
 Fluid velocity in Darcy’s law is lower than the real velocity

 The fluid velocity u in Darcy’s law is known as Darcy velocity or
superficial velocity
 The real fluid velocity may be obtained by dividing volumetric flow rate
by the actual cross sectional are (Ap)
 v = real fluid velocity in porous media, cm/s
299
Superficial and Actual Fluid Velocities
A
v = q/Ap
Am Ap  f A
Ap
q q u 1 k dp
v   
Αp A   μ dx
A = Ap+Am
300
 f = porosity of the porous rock

 Actual cross sectional area Ap may be approximated as below
 Cross sectional area of matrix (grains) is
 Real fluid velocity is
301
Superficial and Real Fluid Velocities - Example 3
 Reconsider the flow data given in Example 1

 Additionally, f = 0.2
 The measured data for Test # 1 are q = 0.1 cc/s, A = 5.076 cm2
 Estimate superficial velocity u, Ap, Am, and actual velocity v
302
6.1.6 Analogy of Darcy’s Law to other flux laws
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Other Physical Laws
 Darcy’s law describes incompressible liquid flow in porous media
 Darcy’s flow is analogous to several other physical laws

 Poiseuille’s law for incompressible liquid flow in circular pipes
 Fourier’s law of heat conduction
 Ohm’s law for flow of electrical current flow
304
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Poiseuille’s Law
 Single phase incompressible fluid flow through circular pipes is

formulated by Poiseuille
 Poiseuille equation relates flow rate through the pipe to pressure drop
across the pipe
 q = flow rate through pipe, cc/s

 R = internal radius of circular pipe, cm
 A = cross sectional area normal to direction of fluid flow, cm2
305
 Dp = pressure drop across pipe, atm

 m = fluid viscosity, cm
 L = pipe length, cm
 Darcy’s and Poiseuille’s laws are very similar
 Darcy’s law
 Poiseuille’s law
 R2/8 term in pipe flow corresponds to permeability term in fluid flow
through porous media
306
 The relationship above is very useful to develop semi empirical models

for permeability
307
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Fourier’s Law
 Heat flow through linear solid objects; Fourier’s law of heat conduction
 Q = rate of heat transfer, BTU/hr

 K = heat conduction coefficient, BTU/hr/ft/ºR
 A = cross sectional area normal to direction of heat flow, ft2
 DT = temperature drop, ºR
 L = length of solid object, ft
308
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Fourier’s Law
 Heat rate Q in heat conduction corresponds to volumetric flow rate q in

fluid flow through porous media
 DT in heat flow corresponds to Dp in fluid flow through porous media
 Heat conduction coefficient K in heat flow corresponds to k/m term in
309
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Ohm’s Law
 Current flow in electrical fields is defined by Ohm’s law
 I = electrical current, amperes

 C = electrical conductivity, 1/Wm
 A = cross sectional area normal to direction of heat flow, m2
 V = voltage or electrical potential, volts
 L = length, m
310
Analogy between Darcy’s Law and Ohm’s Law
 Current flow I in electrical field corresponds to volumetric flow rate q in

 Voltage drop DV in electrical field corresponds to pressure drop Dp in
 Electrical conductivity C in electrical current flow corresponds to k/m
term in fluid flow through porous media
311
Uses of Analogy Between Darcy’s Law and Other Laws
 Fluid flow in subsurface conditions is generally 2 and 3 dimensional

 The mathematical models describing multi dimensional flow problems
are quite complicated
 If we try to model 2 and 3 dimensional flow in porous media, there may
be solutions available for the corresponding heat flow or current flow
 We can adopt the solution for heat or current flow for fluid flow in
porous media
312
Uses of Analogy Between Darcy’s Law and Other Laws
 It is difficult and expensive to construct experimental apparatus to

conduct two or three dimensional flow problems for fluid flow in
porous media
 In such cases, we may resort to use the analogy between fluid flow in
porous media and heat conduction or current flow
 Do the experiments using heat flow or current flow
313
6.1.7 Compressible flow of gases
Compressible Gas Flow Through Porous Rocks
 Permeability and porosity of core samples of subsurface rocks are

generally measured using inert gases at low pressures
 The gases used in laboratory measurement of porous rock properties
 Air
 Helium
 Nitrogen
 Typically, laboratory measurements with gases are much cheaper and
faster
315
 Also, we produce lots of gas from oil and gas reservoirs

 Gases are very compressible
 Extend the Darcy’s equation for the flow of highly compressible gases in
porous rocks
316
 Consider a compressible gas flow across linear porous rock

 p1 = inlet pressure
 p2 = outlet pressure
 Compressible gas expands as it flows
 Volumetric flow rate is not constant but varies along the core length
 Gas flows at a constant mass flow rate
 Express mass flow rate in terms of volumetric flow rate and gas density
at standard conditions
317
 qsc = volumetric gas flow rate at standard conditions

 rsc = gas density at standard conditions
 wsc = mass flow rate at standard conditions
 Mass flow rate is
 The gas entering into flow system is taken from standard conditions
 Before gas could enter into core sample, it needs to be compressed to
the inlet pressure
318
 At the inlet pressure, gas mass rate stays constant

 Volumetric gas rate and density are different from those at stand. cond.
 q1 = volumetric flow rate at the inlet pressure of p1
 r1 = gas density at the inlet pressure of p1
 After entering into porous rock, as gas flows inside porous rock,
 local pressure decreases
 gas expands
 volumetric flow rate increases
 gas density decreases
319
 p(x) = local pressure at distance x

 q(x) = local volumetric flow rate at the local pressure of p(x)
 r(x) = local gas density at the local pressure of p(x)
 w(x) = local mass flow rate at distance x
 Mass flow rate across the core specimen is constant
320
p1 p2
Dp
q1, r1 q(x), r(x) q2 , r 2

w1 = wsc w(x) = wsc w2 = wsc
A
L
321
 Rearranging mass balance equation
 Using real gas EOS
 Now, we combine eq. above and Darcy’s eq.
322
 Notice that, we modified our notation for permeability to indicate that

it is the permeability to gas
 Rearranging the eq. above
 Integrating
323
 Gas flow experiments are typically run at low pressures and ambient
temperature
 In such conditions, the product of mz is nearly constant
 Integrating
324
 Rearranging for permeability
 Experiments at standard isothermal conditions; T = Tsc

 Additionally, tests are run under low pressures yielding z = 1
325
 Viscosity is evaluated at the arithmetic average of upstream and

downstream pressures
 Gas flow equation may also be expressed as below
 Gas permeameters use the eqs. above to predict gas permeability
326
Gas Flow Through Porous Rocks – Example 4
 A sandstone core plug

 d = 0.986 in and L = 1.476 in
 Nitrogen flow
 T = 72.5 ºF
 qsc = 0.399x10-3 scf/hr
 p1 = 260.3 psia
 psc = p2 = 13.307 psia
 Compute the single-phase permeability to gas
327
328
 Permeability is very low

 It is impractical to measure such low permeability values using liquids
 If we used water instead of gas, for a flow rate of q = 0.1 cc/s, Dp would
have been 585,434 atm, an impractical value
329
6.2 Limitations of Darcy’s Law
Limitations of Darcy’s Law
 Darcy’s law is very simple

 Darcy’s law is developed for incompressible liquid flow in porous rocks
 Darcy’s law is valid for low liquid velocities
 At high liquid velocities, Darcy’s law breaks down
 Another major limitation of Darcy’s law surfaces when gas flows at low
pressures
 Darcy’s law is not valid when compressible gas flows at low pressures
near atmospheric pressure
331
6.2.1 Klinkenberg Effect at low pressures
Limitations of Darcy’s Law
 Typically, we measure permeability by flowing gas through core plugs at

low pressures
 Permeability calculated using the eq. above at low test pressures is

higher than the true permeability
 This is due to a physical phenomenon known as gas slippage at the pore
surfaces
 Gas slippage phenomenon in pores is formulated by Klinkenberg
333
Gas Flow at Low Pressures and Klinkenberg Effect
 Klinkenberg developed a theory explaining the gas slippage

 When a gas is flowing along a solid wall, the layer of gas next to the
surface is in motion with respect to the solid surface
 If the wall has a zero velocity then the velocity of the gas layer in the
immediate vicinity of the wall has a finite value
 As a consequence the quantity of gas flowing through a capillary is
larger than would be expected from Poiseuille’s formula
 Klinkenberg has proven that the permeability to gas and liquid are
related through the expression below
334
 kag = apparent gas permeability, md

 kL = liquid permeability, md
 bK = Klinkenberg slip coefficient, psia
 At high pressures, the second term containing the Klinkenberg slip
coefficient tends to zero; gas and liquid permeabilities become same
 At low pressures, gas permeability is higher than liquid permeability
 Gas permeability at low pressures is also a function of average pressure
335
 As mean test pressure decreases, apparent gas permeability increases

 Klinkenberg slip coefficient is a function of gas type as well as porous
rock itself
 To determine intrinsic (true or liquid) permeability, we measure
apparent gas permeability at several mean pore pressure
 Notice that the eq. above has the form of a straight line eq.
 This observation may be used to predict both intrinsic permeability and
Klinkenberg slip coefficient as outlined below
336
 Step 1: Starting with the lowest mean pressure, measure apparent gas
permeability at several mean pressures, typically four tests
 Step 2: Construct a Cartesian plot of kag versus
 kag versus plot is referred to as Klinkenberg plot
 The Klinkenberg plot should display a straight line
 Step 3: Liquid permeability kL is equal to intercept of the straight line
 Step 4: The Klinkenberg coefficient may be computed from the slope of
the straight line on the Klinkenberg plot
337
Klinkenberg Plot
kag
kL
0 1/p~
338
 kag versus plot

 Compute slope and intercept
 y0K = intercept of the Klinkenberg plot
 mK = slope of the Klinkenberg plot
339
Klinkenberg Slip Effect – Example 5
 Klinkenberg presented extensive data showing the relationship

between single-phase gas and liquid permeabilities
 Test data reported for Core Sample A
 kL of Core Sample A using liquid is 23.66 md
 Apparent gas permeability and mean pressure data extracted from
Klinkenberg’s work are listed in Table 3
 Construct the Klinkenberg plot
 Predict intrinsic permeability and Klinkenberg slip coefficient
340
Table 3 – Apparent gas permeability at low pressures (After Klinkenberg)
p~ 1/p~ kag p~ 1/p~ kag
(psia) (1/psia) (md) (psia) (1/psia) (md)
0.1523 6.56812 290.00 44.1909 0.02263 25.43
0.1597 6.25996 280.00 47.3799 0.02111 25.09
0.1747 5.72294 259.00 64.1627 0.01559 25.02
0.2400 4.16692 197.00 74.2001 0.01348 24.72
0.2973 3.36360 165.00 74.9496 0.01334 24.62
0.3433 2.91292 148.00 93.1726 0.01073 24.34
0.4628 2.16087 117.00 93.1726 0.01073 24.29
0.8702 1.14923 75.60 94.4953 0.01058 24.25
1.3053 0.76611 60.00 131.3822 0.00761 23.79
2.1515 0.46479 46.60 131.3822 0.00761 23.85
5.0451 0.19821 34.20 135.0562 0.00740 23.93
11.7421 0.08516 28.60 182.9652 0.00547 23.66
23.0727 0.04334 26.79 183.4061 0.00545 23.82
23.2344 0.04304 26.58 241.6022 0.00414 23.67
26.4822 0.03776 26.49 241.7492 0.00414 23.77
29.9358 0.03340 26.23 294.0670 0.00340 23.55
30.0533 0.03327 26.33 294.0670 0.00340 23.65
39.0473 0.02561 25.22
341
342
Klinkenberg Plot – Example 5
343
Klinkenberg Plot – Example 5
 The predicted from gas flow tests agrees very well with the liquid
permeability of from liquid flow tests
344
Effect of Gas Composition on Klinkenberg Slip
 Apparent gas permeability measured at low pressures is influenced by

mean test pressure
 Experimental studies using different gases such as nitrogen, carbon
dioxide, air, hydrogen, and helium
 Apparent gas permeability is also controlled by gas type
 Type of gas also controls numerical value of Klinkenberg slip coefficient
 Next figure illustrates apparent permeability to different gases
345
kag
Gas 1
Gas 2
Gas 3
kL
0 1/p~
346
 Different gases exhibit different slopes on Klinkenberg plot

 This implies that Klinkenberg slip coefficient is influenced by gas
composition
347
Gas Composition Effect on Klinkenberg Slip – Example 6
 kag to helium, hydrogen, and nitrogen measured as a function

 L = 3.25 cm and d = 1.89 cm
 Test data taken from McClure’s thesis are given in Table 4
 varies from 22.5 psia to 82.5 psia
 kag values computed using
 Measured apparent gas permeabilities are tabulated for each gas
 Construct Klinkenberg plot for each gas
 Estimate liquid permeability and Klinkenberg slip coefficient
348
Table 4 – Experimental data for three different gases
Helium Hydrogen Nitrogen
p~ 1/p~ kag p~ 1/p~ kag p~ 1/p~ kag
(psia) (1/psia) (md) (psia) (1/psia) (md) (psia) (1/psia) (md)
22.519 0.0444 6.795 22.474 0.0445 6.132 22.509 0.0444 5.593
27.508 0.0364 6.490 27.474 0.0364 5.897 27.495 0.0364 5.442
32.476 0.0308 6.238 32.463 0.0308 5.737 32.513 0.0308 5.300
37.475 0.0267 6.061 37.490 0.0267 5.611 37.490 0.0267 5.181
42.473 0.0235 5.917 42.486 0.0235 5.522 42.474 0.0235 5.138
47.487 0.0211 5.893 47.468 0.0211 5.447 47.483 0.0211 5.077
52.491 0.0191 5.779 52.467 0.0191 5.365 52.467 0.0191 5.029
57.469 0.0174 5.690 57.474 0.0174 5.308 57.451 0.0174 4.992
62.478 0.0160 5.618 62.456 0.0160 5.249 62.456 0.0160 4.961
67.487 0.0148 5.566 67.475 0.0148 5.202 67.475 0.0148 4.925
72.495 0.0138 5.498 72.465 0.0138 5.150 72.501 0.0138 4.880
77.469 0.0129 5.468 77.470 0.0129 5.125 77.470 0.0129 4.870
82.478 0.0121 5.394 82.469 0.0121 5.107 82.469 0.0121 4.827
349
350
351
Table 5 – Permeability estimates using different gases

Gas mK y0K kL bK
() (md·psia) (md) (md) (psia)
Helium 42.545 4.932 4.932 8.626
Hydrogen 32.089 4.737 4.737 6.774
Nitrogen 23.473 4.572 4.572 5.134
352
 kL obtained from the intercept of the straight lines on Klinkenberg plot

varies slightly depending on the type of gas
 Helium test data give kL = 4.93 md
 Test data using nitrogen gas yield kL = 4.57 md
 Slopes of the straight lines on the Klinkenberg plot and the Klinkenberg
slip coefficient computed from the test data are different
 Helium gas yields bK = 8.63 psia
 Nitrogen gas has bK = 5.13 psia
353
6.2.1 Forchheimer’s Equation for high velocities
High Velocity Flow in Porous Media
 According to Darcy’s law, local pressure gradient is linearly proportional

to in-situ fluid velocity
 This could be directly observed by rearranging Darcy’s equation
 Darcy’s law applies only when fluid flows at low velocities

 At high flow velocities, Darcy’s equation fails
 At high fluid velocities, the relationship between pressure gradient and
velocity is represented by a quadratic equation
355
 a and b are constant coefficients

 The quadratic relationship between the pressure gradient and fluid
velocity has been observed by Forchheimer in 1901
 The quadratic equation above is known as Forchheimer equation
 Next figure illustrates the quadratic relationship between pressure
gradient and fluid velocity
356
Darcian flow
dp/dx
357
 At low fluid velocities, Darcy’s law still applies

 At high fluid velocities, the relationship between pressure gradient and
velocity start to deviate from Darcy’s law
 Pressure gradients are higher than those predicted by Darcy’s equation
 Pressure gradient is related to velocity in a nonlinear fashion
 Later researchers have confirmed the Forchheimer’s findings
 Theoretical and experimental works have proved that a better version
of the Forchheimer’s equation containing the Darcy’s law should be as
follows
358
 b is the coefficient of the quadratic term

 Many different names for b coefficient
 coefficient of inertial resistance, inertial coefficient
 turbulence coefficient, turbulence parameter, turbulence factor
 high-velocity coefficient
 non-Darcy flow coefficient
 b factor
 quadratic coefficient
 Forchheimer coefficient
359
 p = pressure, atm.
 x = distance, cm
 dp/dx = pressure gradient, atm/cm
 m = viscosity, cp
 k = permeability, d
 u = local fluid velocity, cm/s
 b = Forchheimer coefficient, atm·s2/g
 r = local fluid density, g/cc
360
High Velocity Flow in Porous Media – Example 7
 Experimental data reported by Brownell et al. (1950)

 An artificial linear porous media composed of packed glass spheres
 The glass spheres had an average diameter of 0.2 inches
 Porosity of the pack was 0.412
 They measured the pressure gradient across the pack of glass spheres
by flowing water through it
 The data extracted from their study are tabulated in Table 6
 Additionally, m = 0.945 cp and r = 0.998 g/cc
361
 Demonstrate the limitations of Darcy’s law

 Fit the experimental data with a second degree polynomial
 Using Forchheimer equation, estimate
 permeability
 Forchheimer coefficient
362
Table 6 – Pressure gradient as a function of velocity
(data adapted from Brownell et al.)
Test # u m |dp/dx|
() (cm/s) (cp) (atm/cm)
0 0.00 0.00000000
72 3.41 0.955 0.00040918
73 3.93 0.955 0.00052387
74 4.61 0.955 0.00068041
75 5.15 0.955 0.00080440
76 5.99 0.956 0.00100124
77 6.82 0.956 0.00121978
78 7.69 0.953 0.00154681
79 8.49 0.952 0.00175294
80 9.49 0.955 0.00210322
81 10.47 0.930 0.00254339
82 11.20 0.931 0.00283633
83 12.18 0.931 0.00331680
84 13.85 0.931 0.00423899
85 15.61 0.931 0.00514569
86 17.37 0.931 0.00613763
363
364
 In previous figure, the solid circles represent the measured data

 Solid line is the second degree polynomial fit to the measured data
 At low flow velocities, the pressure gradient and flow velocity may
appear linearly related as predicted by the Darcy’s law.
 The measured data deviate from the linear trend described by the
Darcy’s law
 The higher the flow velocity is, the larger the deviation between the
measured data and the apparent linear trend at low velocities
365
 Using a spreadsheet program, we determine the coefficients of the

second degree polynomial fitting the measured test data
 The polynomial equation fitting the data is given below
 Notice that, in the polynomial equation, the intercept value is zero
366
367
Unit and Dimension for Forchheimer Coefficient
 Rearranging Forchheimer equation,
 Substituting the units for all variables
 Substituting the dimensions for all variables
 b dimension is the reciprocal of length
368
Unit and Dimension for Forchheimer Coefficient
 Unit of atm·s2/g for Forchheimer coefficient is somewhat unusual

 Typically Forchheimer coefficient is given in unit of either 1/cm or 1/ft
 In cgs units, unit of 1/cm
 In field units, unit of 1/ft
 The conversion factors to convert between the units of the Forchheimer
coefficient are given below
369
Unit Conversion for Forchheimer Coefficient
 1 (atm-s2/g) =1.0134x106 (1/cm)

 1 (1/cm) = 9.868x10-7 (atm·s2/g)
 1 (1/ft) = 0.032808 (1/cm)
 1 (1/cm) = 30.48 (1/ft)
 1 (atm-s2/g) = 3.089x107 (1/ft)
 1 (1/ft) = 3.238x10-8 (atm·s2/g)
370
 In the eq. above, Forchheimer coefficient, b, is in the unit of 1/cm

 High velocity flow is generally encountered in gas wells
 When we try to model fluid flow into gas wells, we typically use the
field units
 Forchheimer equation in field unit is as follows
371
 dp/dx = pressure gradient, psi/ft

 mg = gas viscosity, cp
 kag = permeability, md
 u = local fluid velocity, Mcuft/d·ft2
 b = Forchheimer coefficient, 1/ft
 r = gas density, lbm/cuft
372
Estimation of Forchheimer Coefficient
 The Forchheimer coefficient could be determined using several

techniques as listed below
 Analysis of well test data
 Experimental measurement in lab
 Empirical correlations
 We will review experimental methods and empirical correlations
373
High Velocity Liquid Flow Experiments
 Dp across linear core plugs is measured at increasing flow rates

 Forchheimer equation is manipulated to interpret the data set
 Rearranging Forchheimer equation as shown below
 Introducing two new flow groups
374
High Velocity Liquid Flow Experiments
 A Cartesian plot of FFL = Dp/umL vs xFL = r|u|/m

 We will call this plot as Forchheimer plot
 Test data should display a straight line
 The slope of the Forchheimer plot gives b
 The intercept of the Forchheimer plot is equal to 1/k
375
High Velocity Liquid Flow in Porous Media- Example 8

 m = 0.945 cp and r = 0.998 g/cc
 Construct the Forchheimer plot
 Predict the Forchheimer coefficient and permeability
 First, we compute the flow groups FFL = Dp/umL vs xFL = r|u|/m
 The calculated values are given in Table 7
 The unit for the flow group FFL = Dp/umL is atm·s/cp·cm2
 The unit for xFL = r|u|/m is g/(cp·cm2·s)
376
Table 7 – Forchheimer Plot Functions for Example 8
Test # |dp/dx| u m Dp/umL r|u|/m
() (atm/cm) (cm/s) (cp) (atm·s/cp·cm2) (g/cp·cm2·s)
72 0.00040918 3.41 0.955 0.00012547 3.5685
73 0.00052387 3.93 0.955 0.00013963 4.1053
74 0.00068041 4.61 0.955 0.00015459 4.8160
75 0.00080440 5.15 0.955 0.00016365 5.3783
76 0.00100124 5.99 0.956 0.00017475 6.2562
77 0.00121978 6.82 0.956 0.00018695 7.1245
78 0.00154681 7.69 0.953 0.00021117 8.0486
79 0.00175294 8.49 0.952 0.00021692 8.8981
80 0.00210322 9.49 0.955 0.00023203 9.9182
81 0.00254339 10.47 0.930 0.00026121 11.2348
82 0.00283633 11.20 0.931 0.00027192 12.0094
83 0.00331680 12.18 0.931 0.00029244 13.0583
84 0.00423899 13.85 0.931 0.00032885 14.8413
85 0.00514569 15.61 0.931 0.00035414 16.7293
86 0.00613763 17.37 0.931 0.00037957 18.6172
377
378
 Forchheimer plot is shown in previous figure

 The experimental data display a well defined straight line
 The intercept is F0L = 6.941x10-5 atm·s/cp·cm2
 The slope is mFL = 1.6958x10-5 atm·s2/g
379
High Velocity Gas Flow Experiments
 The formulation of compressible gas flow under high-velocity flow

conditions are presented in Appendix A
 The final solution for Forchheimer plot for gas flow is
 wsc = mass flow rate at standard conditions, g/s

 rsc = gas density at standard conditions, g/cm3
 qsc = volumetric flow rate at standard conditions, cm3/s
380
 Introduce two new flow groups
 a Cartesian plot of the flow groups FFg vs xFg

 Forchheimer plot for gas flow experiments
381
 F0g = intercept of Forchheimer plot for gas

 mFg = slope of Forchheimer plot for gas
382
Empirical Correlations for Forchheimer Coefficient
 The literature is full of experimental and theoretical studies on the

nature of Forchheimer coefficient
 Correlate the Forchheimer coefficient to other physical rock properties
 Forchheimer coefficient correlates well with permeability, porosity, and
tortuosity
 Tortuosity is defined as the ratio of the average distance traveled by
fluid through porous rock to the core length
 Permeability, porosity, and Forchheimer coefficient measured on core
samples
383
 Data set reported by Noman and Archer (1987)

 Their data set given in Table 8
 Construct cross plots of Forchheimer coefficient vs permeability and
Forchheimer coefficient vs porosity
 The plots are given in next two figures
 Forchheimer coefficient declines as permeability increase
 A well established linear trend on log-log scale
 A linear trend on the log-log scale suggest a power law relationship
384
Table 8 – Data for Forchheimer coefficient Table 8 – Data for Forchheimer coefficient
(Adapted from Noman and Archer) (Adapted from Noman and Archer)
k f b k f b
(md) (fraction) (1/ft) (md) (fraction) (1/ft)
0.064 0.1231 4.246x1013 0.050 0.1231 1.021x1013
0.102 0.1150 1.740x1013 0.210 0.0934 3.709x1011
0.460 0.1001 8.650x1011 2.210 0.1217 1.730x1010
0.515 0.1100 7.260x1011 17.010 0.1692 2.021x109
33.000 0.2100 5.191x108 5.900 0.1490 7.379x109
15.200 0.2050 1.170x109 0.140 0.0587 7.931x1012
10.500 0.2090 2.010x109 0.230 0.0996 1.130x1012
13.000 0.2390 1.080x109 99.500 0.1517 7.660x108
32.500 0.2560 2.630x108 0.410 0.0743 8.028x1011
28.400 0.1960 6.361x108 0.041 0.0683 3.130x1013
20.800 0.1901 8.153x108 0.260 0.1139 1.140x1012
0.160 0.1005 1.190x1012 59.000 0.2076 3.679x108
0.170 0.1004 4.109x1011 2.100 0.1382 1.160x1010
0.170 0.0994 9.900x1011 0.520 0.1002 1.240x1011
0.110 0.1026 3.091x1012 0.038 0.0819 9.110x1013
0.140 0.1350 2.470x1012 0.700 0.1019 1.240x1011
0.050 0.1231 1.021x1013 4.030 0.0990 9.879x109
385
386
 a and b are constant coefficients

 Forchheimer coefficient decreases while porosity rises
 A general linear trend on the log-log scale
 Forchheimer coefficient vs porosity relationship could be formulated as
 Combining all the results
387
 Many empirical correlations

 Empirical correlations may be grouped as listed below
 Single-phase
 Gas flow at immobile liquid saturations
388
Table 9 – Beta Correlations for Single Phase Flow
Investigators Equation Eq. #
2.2348 × 1010
Firoozabadi-Katz 𝛽= (78)
𝑘1.201
6.15 × 1010
Jones 𝛽= (79)
𝑘1.55
4.85 × 104
Geertsma 𝛽= (80)
𝑘 0.5 𝜙 5.5
5.5 × 109
Tek-Coats-Katz 𝛽 = 1.25 0.75 (81)
𝑘 𝜙
8.917 × 108
Liu-Civan-Evans 𝛽= 𝜏 (82)
𝑘𝜙
Cooper-Wang- 3.11 × 109 1.943

𝛽= 𝜏 (83)
Mohanty 𝑘 1.023
4.115 × 108 3.35

Thauvin-Mohanty 𝛽= 𝜏 (84)
𝑘 0.98 𝜙 0.29
389
Table 10 - Beta Correlations for Gas Flow at Immobile Liquid Saturation
Investigators Equation Eq. #
4.85 × 104
Geertsma 𝛽 = 0.5 (85)
𝑘𝑔 ሾ𝜙ሺ1 − 𝑆𝐿 ሻሿ5.5
Noman- 1.22
𝜙ሺ1 − 𝑆𝐿 ሻ
Shrimanker- 𝛽 = 2.48 × 109 ቈ ቉ (86)
Archer 𝑘𝑔
Evans- 0.787
ൣ𝜇𝑔 /ඥ𝜌𝑔 ሺ𝑝𝑜𝑣 − 𝑝𝑅 ሻ𝑘𝑔 ൧
Hudson- 𝛽 = 13.387 (87)
Greenlee 𝑘𝑔0.5 𝜙 ሺ1 − 𝑆𝐿 ሻ
1.38 × 106
Kutasov 𝛽 = 0.5 (88)
𝑘𝑔 ሾ𝜙ሺ1 − 𝑆𝐿 ሻሿ1.5
390
6.3 Variations of permeability
Variation of Permeability
 Permeability of porous rocks changes enormously

 For unconsolidated sandstone and carbonated rocks containing
microfractures and vugs, permeability may be higher than 1 d
 In case of consolidated tight sandstones, permeability values are on the
order of 0.1 md
 Shale formations exhibit extremely low permeability values in the order
of microdarcy (10-6 d) and nanodarcy(10-9 d)
 A general permeability classification of porous rocks in next table
392
Variation of Permeability
Table 12 – Formation classification based on
permeability values
Permeability Classification
(md) ()
> 1,000 Exceptional, rare
100-1,000 Very high
10-100 High
10-1 Normal
1-0.1 Low
0.1-0.01 Very low
<0.01 Extremely low
393
Variation of Permeability – Example 11
 Permeability varies substantially with the location throughout

subsurface reservoir rock
 As an example, we present the change in core plug permeability along
the vertical depth for Hiram Well # 17
 The measured core plug permeabilities are tabulated in Table 13
 Permeability data are plotted as a function of depth in next figure
 Notice that permeability axis is logarithmic
394
Table 13 – Core plug permeability along depth, Hiram Well #17
Sample # Depth Permeability Sample # Depth Permeability
() (ft) (md) () (ft) (md)
1 2,880 1,271.0 25 2,904 49.0
2 2,881 1,239.0 26 2,905 36.0
3 2,882 1,184.0 27 2,906 23.0
4 2,883 1,891.0 28 2,907 20.0
5 2,884 1,500.0 29 2,908 0.1
6 2,885 1,271.0 30 2,909 56.0
7 2,886 1,565.0 31 2,910 49.0
8 2,887 1,325.0 32 2,911 26.0
9 2,888 967.0 33 2,912 33.0
10 2,889 717.0 34 2,913 26.0
11 2,890 728.0 35 2,914 36.0
12 2,891 554.0 36 2,915 42.0
13 2,892 130.0 37 2,916 33.0
14 2,893 218.0 38 2,917 39.0
15 2,894 466.0 39 2,918 52.0
16 2,895 684.0 40 2,919 56.0
17 2,896 600.0 41 2,920 33.0
18 2,897 336.0 42 2,921 46.0
19 2,898 150.0 43 2,922 36.0
20 2,899 277.0 44 2,923 29.0
21 2,900 78.0 45 2,924 33.0
22 2,901 101.0 46 2,925 23.0
23 2,902 82.0 47 2,926 33.0
24 2,903 82.0
395
Permeability Distribution Along Well Depth – Example 11
396
 Permeability varies significantly along the well depth

 The minimum permeability is 0.1 md
 The maximum permeability is 1,891 md
 The average permeability is 387.8 md
 The standard deviation of the permeability distribution is 527.5 md
 Four orders of magnitude difference between the maximum and
minimum permeability values
 Permeability is distributed log-normally
397
 Permeability generally decreases as the depth along the well increases

 At the top of the formation, in the interval from 2,880 ft to 2,890 ft,
logarithm of permeability values vary slightly
 In the interval from 2,890 ft to 2,905 ft, log permeability decreases
substantially, almost linearly
 In the interval from 2,905 ft to 2,926 ft, the log permeability along the
well depth changes slightly
398
 The change in the permeability may be due to the factors listed below
 Change in lithology
 Change in the grain size and grain size distribution
 Change in the clay content
 Cementation
 Change in porosity
 Sedimentation and historical geological events
399
Factors Controlling Permeability
 Many factors affect the permeability of porous rocks

 Porosity
 Microfractures and vugs
 Pore size distribution
 Lithology and mineral composition
 Burial depth
 Compaction and consolidation
 Confining pressure
 Cementation
 Clay content and clay swelling
400
 A general correlation between permeability and porosity

 Typically, permeability and porosity are directly proportional
 If porosity is large, permeability is also high
 Reservoir rocks are subject to large stresses
 Under high stresses, some reservoir rocks may be naturally fractured
 Some fractures may be several hundreds of feet long
 Some fractures may be several cm long
 Natural fractures in the order of 1 cm long are called microfractures
401
 Long fractures are treated differently than the microfractures

 Microfractures may enhance permeability of porous rocks substantially
 Some carbonated rocks contain vugs
 Vugs are very large pores in the order of 1 mm to 1 cm in diameter
 Especially, when vugs are interconnected and form a network,
permeability of porous rock may be improved considerably
 Permeability is proportional to square of the mean pore radius
 For well sorted grains, pore size is related to the grain size
402
 A porous rock with larger grains possesses higher permeability

 Smaller grain sizes lead to smaller pores and lower permeability
 In general, poorly sorted porous rocks have low permeability values
 Cementation reduces pore sizes and consequently lowers permeability
 Most reservoir rocks contains small amount of free clay particles
 Clay particles fill some of the pores
 Usually, internal surface area of pores is covered by clays
 Clays are sensitive to changes in salinity
403
 When pore filling clays are contacted by fresh water or aqueous fluids
with lesser salinity, clays swell and increase their volume
 Clay swelling may reduce permeability substantially
 In general, when burial depth increases, overburden stress acting on
reservoir rock increases
 Higher overburden stress leads to more consolidation of porous
material and reduces permeability
 As a general rule of thumb, permeability decreases with increasing
burial depth
404
 Physical properties of rocks are sensitive to net confining stress

 When net confining stress increases, both permeability and porosity
decrease
 Reduction on permeability as a function of net confining stress depends
on composition of porous rocks and degree of consolidation
405
Effect of Confining Pressure – Example 12
 Permeability of a consolidated sandstone core plug is measured at

several different net confining stress levels
 The measured permeabilities as a function of confining pressure are
given in Table 14
 Plot measured permeabilities as a function of confining pressure
 Permeability decreases as confining pressure increases

 Permeability varies nonlinearly with net confining stress
406
Effect of Confining Pressure – Example 12
Table 14 – Permeability as a
function of confining pressure
pc k
(psia) (md)
1,416 0.0370
1,945 0.0345
2,455 0.0331
2,900 0.0320
3,444 0.0319
3,927 0.0311
4,437 0.0307
4,925 0.0312
407
6.4 Permeability-porosity relationship
Permeability-Porosity Relationship
 Permeability and porosity of porous rocks are related

 In general, permeability is directly proportional to porosity
 High porosity values imply high permeability values
 Low permeability corresponds to low porosity
 Semi empirical models relating permeability and porosity

 Permeability-porosity cross plot
409
Semi-Empirical Models for Permeability-Porosity Relationship
 Some researchers have developed theoretical equations relating

permeability to porosity
 In these models, porous rocks are represented by a bundle of capillary
tubes
 There exist many semi empirical permeability models
 Some of the most common permeability models
 Kozeny-Carman
 Timur
 Wyllie and Rose
410
 Kozeny-Carman model
 c = a constant
 dg = mean grain diameter
 t = tortuosity
 Tortuosity is defined as the ratio of the average distance traveled by
fluid through porous rock to the core length
411
 Timur presented the following semi empirical equation
 Swc = connate (irreducible) water saturation

 Wyllie and Rose model
 Semi empirical permeability models give some general trends

 Their applicability to real reservoir rocks is very limited
412
Permeability-Porosity Cross Plot
 For a given porosity value, permeability may vary widely
 For a specific reservoir, permeability and porosity may correlate well
 Observations on many sets of measured permeability and porosity data
 Relationship between permeability and porosity may be represented by
an equation of the form given below
 k in md, f in fraction
 The plot indicated by the eq. above is known as permeability-porosity
cross plot
413
Permeability-Porosity Cross Plot
 The expression leads to a semilogarithmic plot

 Semilogarithmic plot should display an approximate straight line
 y0 and m are computed from the intercept and slope of straight line
 Permeability-porosity cross plot may also be alternatively expressed as
 Exponential eq. is more convenient for fitting the measured data using
spreadsheet programs
414
Permeability-Porosity Cross Plot - Example 13
 Permeability and porosity values are measured on 47 core plugs from

Hiram Well #17
 Table 15 gives the measured data
 Construct the permeability-porosity cross plot
 Fit the measured data with an exponential function
 Obtain the coefficients of the fit
415
Permeability-Porosity Cross Plot – Example 13
Table 15 - Permeability and porosity data from Hiram
Well #17
Sample
# Depth f k
() (ft) (fraction) (md) 31 2,910 0.173 49.0
1 2,880 0.289 1,271.0 32 2,911 0.178 26.0
2 2,881 0.285 1,239.0 16 2,895 0.249 684.0 33 2,912 0.178 33.0
3 2,882 0.281 1,184.0 17 2,896 0.272 600.0 34 2,913 0.156 26.0
4 2,883 0.288 1,891.0 18 2,897 0.237 336.0 35 2,914 0.174 36.0
5 2,884 0.279 1,500.0 19 2,898 0.219 150.0 36 2,915 0.173 42.0
6 2,885 0.292 1,271.0 20 2,899 0.220 277.0 37 2,916 0.168 33.0
7 2,886 0.290 1,565.0 21 2,900 0.194 78.0 38 2,917 0.166 39.0
8 2,887 0.297 1,325.0 22 2,901 0.174 101.0 39 2,918 0.172 52.0
9 2,888 0.274 967.0 23 2,902 0.184 82.0 40 2,919 0.169 56.0
10 2,889 0.278 717.0 24 2,903 0.167 82.0 41 2,920 0.152 33.0
11 2,890 0.280 728.0 25 2,904 0.169 49.0 42 2,921 0.161 46.0
12 2,891 0.222 554.0 26 2,905 0.171 36.0 43 2,922 0.174 36.0
13 2,892 0.203 130.0 27 2,906 0.159 23.0 44 2,923 0.148 29.0
14 2,893 0.215 218.0 28 2,907 0.165 20.0 45 2,924 0.157 33.0
15 2,894 0.255 466.0 29 2,908 0.130 0.1 46 2,925 0.157 23.0
30 2,909 0.168 56.0 47 2,926 0.156 33.0
416
417
 Log(k) versus f displays a well defined straight line

 Using a spreadsheet program, an exponential equation is fit to the
permeability-porosity data
 The exponential equation has the following form
418
References

1960
419
References
420
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Permeability_determination
 http://petrowiki.org/Permeability_estimation_in_tight_gas_reservoirs
 http://petrowiki.org/Core_analyses_in_tight_gas_reservoirs
 http://petrowiki.org/
Statistical_data_correlations_in_tight_gas_reservoirs
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeability_(earth_sciences)
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klinkenberg_correction
 http://perminc.com/resources/fundamentals-of-fluid-flow-in-porous-
media/chapter-2-the-porous-medium/permeability/
421
Useful Links
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgZHaqYgmRg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV5VJEdryJU
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4LBnWg-87E
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eur_qpTKzrA
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ItNoZz42c
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NLZhftPE9M
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsgTBHuXiSk
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mfBomrw0rs
422
Appendix A – Formulation of High-
Velocity Gas Flow in a Linear Core
Formulation of High-Velocity Gas Flow in a Linear Core
 Forchheimer equation for steady state flow
 Combining the eqs. Above
 Multiplying eq. above by r
424
 Mass rate is constant and equal to mass flow rate at standard cond.
 Substituting the last eq. into Forchheimer eq.
 Using real gas EOS
 Substituting in high velocity flow eq.
425
 Rearranging
 Considering isothermal flow and integrating
426
 Evaluating the integrals
 Rearranging
427
6.5 Effective and Relative Permeabilities
Absolute Permeability to Single Phase Fluid Flow
 Consider single phase flow of an incompressible liquid across a core

sample as illustrated in Figure 1
 Core is completely saturated by the incompressible liquid
 q = volumetric flow rate, cc/s
 Dp = pressure drop across core sample, atm
 m = liquid viscosity, cp
 A = cross-sectional area normal to flow direction, cm2
 L = core length, cm
429
Absolute Permeability to Single Phase Fluid Flow – Figure 1
p1 p2
Dp
q q
A
L
430
Absolute Permeability to Single Phase Fluid Flow
 Permeability of a porous rock is calculated as shown below

 (1)
 k = absolute permeability, darcies
 When a given core sample is saturated with a single phase liquid then
rock’s ability to transmit fluid is the same irrespective of the liquid
 When two fluid phases, for example oil and water, simultaneously flow
across core then porous rock’s ability to transfer fluids is hindered
431
6.5.1 Effective Permeability
Effective Permeabilities under Multi-Phase Flow
 Design several experiments under single and two-phase flow conditions
 1) Measure oil permeability at So = 1.0 and Sw = 0.0
 2) Measure water permeability at So = 0.0 and Sw = 1.0
 3) Measure oil permeability at So = 1 - Swc and Sw = Swc
 4) Measure water permeability at So = Sor and Sw = 1 - Sor
 5) Measure both oil and water permeabilities at variable So and Sw
 Skip experimental details and focus on the final permeabilities
 Additionally, assume water wet porous rock
433
 Saturated with a single phase fluid, rocks’ ability to transmit fluid is the
same irrespective of the fluid
 When two fluid phases simultaneously flow then the porous rock’s
ability to transfer fluids is reduced
 Saturate a core sample completely with oil
 Start injecting oil through core
 Under 100% oil saturation, we calculate a corresponding permeability
of ko1f where the subscript o and 1f stand for oil and single phase
434
 Saturate the same core sample totally with water
 Inject water through it and measure permeability
 Let the measured permeability at 100% water saturation be kw1f
 Compare ko1f at So = 1.0 and kw1f at Sw = 1.0
 These single phase permeability values are identical
 (2)
 Slightly modify the procedure described above
435
Effective Oil Permeability at Connate Water Saturation
 Saturate the core entirely with water, Sw = 1.0
 Start injecting oil
 Keep injecting oil until no more water is produced from core
 Due to irreducible saturation, not all the water initially contained in
pore system could be displaced out of the core
 Some portion of the initial water volume would be trapped in the
porous medium in the form of connate water saturation
 At end of oil displacing water process, saturations in core are Sw = Swc
and So = 1.0 – Swc
436
 Continue oil injection process
 Measure qo, Dpo, mo, A, and L
 Calculate permeability as follows
 at Sw = Swc (2.a)
 Compare k1f = ko1f at So = 1.0 and Sw = 0.0 and ko(Swc) at So = 1.0 - Swc and
Sw = Swc
 (3)
 (4)
437
 Adding Eqs. 3 and 4,

 (5)
 Under two phase flow conditions, even the sum of the permeabilities to
each phase is lower than the single phase permeability
438
Effective Water Permeability at Residual Oil Saturation
 Saturate core entirely with oil, So = 1.0
 Start injecting water
 Keep injecting water until no more oil is produced from core
 Due to residual oil saturation, not all oil initially contained in pore
system could be displaced out of core
 Some portion of initial oil volume would be trapped in porous medium
in form of residual oil saturation
 At end of water displacing oil process, saturations in core are So = Sor
and Sw = 1.0 – Sor
439
Effective Water Permeability at Residual Oil Saturation
 Continue oil injection process
 Measure qw, Dpw, mw, A, and L
 Calculate permeability as follows
 at So = Sor (5.a)
 Compare k1f = kw1f at Sw = 1.0 and S0 = 0.0 and kw(Sor) at Sw = 1.0 - Sor and
So = Sor
 (6)
 (7)
440
Effective Water End Point Permeability
 Summing Eqs. 6 and 7 above

 (8)
441
Effective Oil and Water Permeabilities – Two-Phase Flow
 Consider a case in which both oil and water phases are mobile
 So > Sor, Sw > Swc, So + Sw = 1.0
 Simultaneously inject oil and water at flow rates of qo and qw
 Figure 2 shows setup for measuring ko and kw under two-phase flow
 Determine effective permeabilities to both phases as a function of Sw
 Given qo, qw, mo, mw, Dp, A, and L, compute ko and kw
 (9)
 (10)
 (10.a)
442
Two-Phase Flow and Effective Permeability – Figure 2
p1 p2
Dp
qo qo
qw qw
A
L
𝑘𝑜 ( 𝑆𝑤 )=𝑞 𝑜 𝜇𝑜 𝐿/ 𝐴∆ 𝑝 𝑜 𝑘𝑤 ( 𝑆 𝑤 ) =𝑞𝑤 𝜇𝑤 𝐿/ 𝐴 ∆ 𝑝 𝑤
443
 Compare following permeability values
 k1f = ko1f(Sw=0.0) = kw1f(Sw =1.0) under single phase flow
 ko(Swc) at Sw = Swc
 kw(1-Sor) at Sw = 1- Swc
 ko(Sw) and kw(Sw) at the mobile saturations of So > Sor and Sw > Swc
 Additionally, plot ko(Sw) and kw(Sw) as a function of Sw
 From these types of experiments and results, we observe the following
444
 (11)
 (12)
 (13)
 (14)
 (15)
 Most importantly, ko and kw are strong functions of Sw
 (16)
 (17)
445
 Next figure illustrates ko and kw as functions of Sw
 ko is a nonlinear function of saturation
 kw is a nonlinear function of saturation
 Figure 3 display effective oil and water permeabilities as a function of
water saturation
 Figure 3 is for an imbibition process, oil displacement by water in a
water-wet rock
 Notice that effective kw at higher Sw is substantially decreased,
compared to effective ko at lower Sw
446
Effective Permeability to Oil and Water – Figure 3
k1 f
ko(Swc)
ko
and
kw kw(Sor)
Swc 1-Sor
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Sw
447
End Point Permeabilities at Residual Saturations
 Effective permeability to oil phase at connate water saturation is known

as end point oil permeability
 Similarly, effective water permeability at residual oil saturation is called
as end point water permeability
 koSwc = end point oil permeability at Sw = Swc
 kwSor = end point water permeability at Sw = 1 – Sor
 (18)
 (19)
448
6.5.2 Relative Permeability
Relative Permeabilities
 Relative permeability applies to multi phase flow in porous media
 Relative permeability to a phase is defined as ratio of effective phase
permeability under multi phase flow condition to a reference
permeability
 In the literature, several different permeability values have been chosen
as reference base permeability
 Among reference base permeabilities are
 Absolute air permeability
 Absolute liquid permeability under single phase flow
 Oil permeability at connate water saturation (end point oil permeability)
450
 Choice of absolute air permeability as reference base permeability
appeared in early days
 When studying older reservoir engineering literature on relative
permeability, we encounter the use of absolute air permeability as
reference base permeability
 Nowadays, absolute air permeability is not used as reference base
permeability anymore
 We will skip use of absolute air permeability as reference base
permeability
451
 If absolute liquid permeability (single phase) is chosen as the reference

permeability then oil and water relative permeabilities are defined as
 (20)
 (21)
 The definitions given above leads to the following limiting relations
452
 More importantly,

453
 If end point oil permeability at connate water saturation is chosen as

the reference permeability then oil and water relative permeabilities
are defined as
 (22)
 (23)
 According to the definitions above, oil relative permeability at connate
water saturation is equal to one; kro(Swc) = 1.0
454
 More importantly,
 Typical relative permeability curves are given Figure 4

 Figure 4 shows relative permeability curves for an imbibition process in
a water-wet rock
455
Relative Permeability – Figure 4
1.0
kro
Relative permeability
0.8
0.6
Kro
0.4 krw
Krw
0.2
Swc 1-Sor
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Sw
456
 Relative permeability curves are of paramount importance

 In general relative permeabilities are affected by many variables
 Pore size and pore size distribution
 Pore connectivity
 Types of the fluids; i.e., gas-water, gas-oil, oil-water, or gas-oil-water
 Interfacial tension between fluids
 Wettability and contact angle
 Core scale heterogeneity
 Direction of saturation change; imbibition or drainage process
457
Imbibition and Drainage Displacement Processes
 Based on wetting preference of porous rock and the type of fluid

injected into porous rock
 Fluid displacement process in porous media is classified as
 Imbibition
 Drainage
 Injection of the wetting phase fluid into a core sample is called as
imbibition process
 Injection of a non-wetting phase fluid into porous rock is defined as
drainage process
458
 Relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics of porous

rocks is strongly influenced by the type of the displacement process
 On same core sample, relative permeability curves measured during an
imbibition process are substantially different from those measured
during a drainage process
 Figure 5 illustrates oil and water relative permeabilities under drainage
and imbibition processes
 At same water saturation, kro in drainage process is higher than kro in
imbibition process
459
Relative Permeability Hysteresis – Figure 5
1.0
Drainage Imbibition
kro
0.8
krw
kro 0.6
and
krw 0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Sw
460
 At same water saturation, krw in drainage process is lower than krw in

imbibition process
461
Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Relative Permeability
 In a gas-liquid system (except mercury), liquid wets surface of reservoir

rocks
 Gas is the non-wetting phase
 Displacement of liquid by injected gas is a drainage process
 In an imbibition process conducted on a gas-liquid fluid pair, gas is
displaced by liquid
 In a gas-water system, relative permeabilities to gas and water phases
are measured by flowing gas and water simultaneously
462
Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Relative Permeability
 On the other hand, two-phase relative permeabilities to gas and oil

phases are measured in presence of connate water
463
References
1960
 Willhite, G.P.: Waterflooding, SPE Textbook Series, Volume 3, SPE,
Richardson, Texas, 1986
464
References
 Honarpour, M. et al.: Relative Permeability of Petroleum Reservoir, CRC

Press, Inc, Boca Raton, Florida, 1987
 Peters, E.J: Advanced Petrophysics: Volume 2: Dispersion, Interfacial
Phenomena/Wettability, Capillarity/Capillary Pressure, Relative
Permeability, Live Oak Book Company, Austin, Texas, 2012

465
Useful Links
 http://wiki.aapg.org/Relative_permeability
 http://wiki.aapg.org/Relative_permeability_and_pore_type
media/chapter-2-the-porous-medium/relative-permeability/relative-
permeability-curves/
466
Useful Links
 http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~earpwjg/PG_EN/CD%20Contents/
Formation%20Evaluation%20English/Chapter%2010.PDF
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEw0e1QwHg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgO1G3JUHFY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIORNcSUbD4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9cgR8oK2Q
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3lAbwLz5-4
467
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Porosity_determination
 http://petrowiki.org/Relative_permeability
 http://petrowiki.org/Connate_water_saturation_evaluation
 http://petrowiki.org/Capillary_pressure
 http://petrowiki.org/Relative_permeability_and_capillary_pressure
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porosity
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeability_(earth_sciences)
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_pressure
468
Useful Links
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mfBomrw0rs
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrewtz42Gmg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yloLN9RWjwE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLcymuK9_Co
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RrAah_yYAg
469
Useful Links
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an1QumAZWWE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vakwdXvM7v8
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y2OISCjatY
470
Module 7
Lab session: Permeability measurements
Module Outline
7.1 Measurements of absolute permeability
7.2 Estimation of relative permeability
472
Learning Objectives
• Measure porosity of actual core samples
• Use Dean-Stark distillation to estimate fluid saturations
• Measure contact angle of oil and water on reservoir rock sample
• Measure capillary pressure between oil and water
473
7.1 Measurements of absolute permeability
Methods for Measuring Permeability
 Steady state method using liquids

 Steady state method using gases
 Pulse decay tests using liquids
 Pulse decay tests using gases
475
Main Reference for Permeability Measurement

476
Steady State Method Using Liquids
 The most common liquids to measure permeability under steady state

flow conditions are listed below
 Synthetic brines
 Degassed reservoir oils
 Synthetic oils with low viscosity
 Many commercial instruments to measure permeability
 The specific details of measurement procedure vary for each
commercial instrument
 Generic description of steady state liquid permeability measurement
477
Steady State Method Using Liquids
 Components of apparatus for steady state liquid permeameter

 A cylindrical core plug
 A constant rate liquid pump
 A core holder
 A rubber sleeve
 Two end caps with flow distributers
 A differential pressure transducer
 Pressure gauges
 Back pressure regulator (BPR)
 Flow lines
478
Steady State Liquid Permeability Measurement
Pressure transducer
Dp
Confining fluid BPR
Core
V1 V1
Constant Core holder

rate pump
479
Steady State Liquid Permeameter, Vinci Technologies
480
 Core sample is cleaned, dried, and saturated with the test liquid
 Cylindrical core plugs are inserted into rubber sleeve
 Two end caps are pressed against the core sample at the axial ends
 End caps are designed with flow distributors
 A flow distributor receives the fluid from flowline and distributes it
uniformly at the face of core plug
 Flow distributor ensures that flow across core is one dimensional
 Rubber sleeve and end caps protect core plug from external fluids
481
 Annular space between core holder and rubber sleeve and end caps is
filled with a confining liquid
 Annular liquid is pressurized
 It is of utmost importance that there is no fluid leakage from the core
and there is not any external fluid entry into the core sample
 Constant rate pump injects test liquid into core sample
 Liquid injection pumps can inject fluid at several different rates
 Liquid injection pumps are equipped with a gear box to set the rate
482
 A differential pressure transducer directly measures the pressure drop

 In some cases, a back pressure regulator may be installed on the outlet
flow line
 A back pressure regulator maintains a set pressure upstream of itself
 A back pressure regulator keeps a constant pressure at the outlet
 A constant flow rate is chosen on the liquid pump
 Liquid pump is turned on
 Test liquid is injected into core plug
483
 Initially, pressure drop across the core sample increases and varies with
time
 After some time transients die out, pressure drop stabilizes and
becomes constant
 Permeability is estimated from Darcy’s equation
 Main disadvantage; liquid permeameter is impractical to measure low

permeability values
484
Steady State Liquid Permeameter – Example 9
 Reconsider Test # 1 in Example 1

 d = 2.54 cm, L = 15.24 cm, q = 0.1 cc/s, m = 1 cp, Dp = 4.76 atm
 Estimate permeability using Darcy’s equation
485
Steady State Gas Permeameter
 The most common gases used to measure permeability are listed below.
 Air
 Helium
 Nitrogen
 Other gases; hydrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and methane
 Gases are clean, nonreactive, and do not alter the pore structure
 Experimental apparatus is simpler
 Experiments using gases are much faster
 Gas permeameters can measure very low permeabilities (md and hd)
486
 Gas permeability measurements conducted at low or high pressures

 The main disadvantages are listed below
 Klinkenberg slip effect at low pressures
 Forchheimer flow at high fluid velocities
 Multiple repeated tests
 Gas permeameters designed to operate at low pressures are simple and
cheap
 Gas flow rate is measured using an instrument called gas mass flow meter
 A commercial gas permeameter from Vinci Technologies in next figure
487
488
Steady State Gas Permeameter – High Pressures
 Apparatus for gas permeameters designed to operate at high pressures are

similar to steady state liquid permeameters
 The main differences are as follows
 Gas injection is supplied by a high pressure gas tank
 Gas tank is such that it provides a nearly constant upstream pressure
 A gas mass flow meter, which measures the gas injection rate, is installed at
either the upstream or the downstream of the core holder
489
Steady State Gas Permeameter – High Pressures
Pressure transducer
Dp
Confining fluid BPR

High
pressure Core
gas tank V1 V1
Mass flow
meter
Core holder
490
 In case of gas permeameters, flow measurements are conducted at several

mean pressures, typically four different tests
 Apparent gas permeability and mean pressure for each test are calculated
using the equations below
491
Steady State Gas Permeameter – Example 10
 A gas permeameter using nitrogen, m = 0.0175 cp

 L = 0.907 cm, A = 1.79 cm2
 A total of six tests are run on the plug
 The measured inlet and outlet pressures and flow rates in Table 11
 Estimate apparent gas permeability and average pressure for each test
 Compute the liquid (intrinsic) permeability and Klinkenberg slip coefficient
492
Steady State Gas Permeameter – Klinkenberg Plot
 Klinkenberg plot is constructed

 A straight line is drawn through the test data
 The slope and intercept of the straight line are computed
 Permeability and Klinkenberg slip coefficient are calculated as follows
493
Table 11 – Pressure and rate data from a gas permeameter at low pressures –
Example 9
Test # p1 p2 qsc p~ 1/p~ kag
() (atm) (atm) (cm3/s) (atm) (1/ (d)

atm)
1 1.401 0.982 1.54E-05 1.192 0.839 2.68E-07
2 2.151 0.975 4.48E-05 1.563 0.640 2.11E-07
3 2.605 0.975 6.24E-05 1.790 0.559 1.85E-07
4 3.010 0.975 7.88E-05 1.993 0.502 1.68E-07
5 3.356 0.974 9.26E-05 2.165 0.462 1.55E-07
6 3.750 0.980 1.09E-04 2.365 0.423 1.45E-07
494
 Calculations for Test #1 presented below
 The calculated results for all 6 tests are tabulated in Table 11

 Apparent gas permeabilities vary from 1.45×10-7 d to 2.68×10-7 d
495
496
 A straight line is fit to the test data

 Using a spreadsheet program, the equation of the straight line is
497
7.2 Estimation of Relative Permeability
Relative Permeability Measurement
 Many methods to measure relative permeabilities on core samples

 Available methods may be classified as listed below
 Steady state methods
 Unsteady state methods
 Capillary pressure methods
 Centrifuge methods
 Here, we will review steady and unsteady state methods
499
Steady State Methods
 In steady state methods, a fixed ratio of two fluid phases is forced

through core sample
 Fluid injection is continued until both saturation and pressure equilibria
are reached
 A uniform saturation distribution has to be established throughout core
 Saturation gradient across core sample has to be eliminated
 Once a uniform saturation distribution is obtained and pressure drop
across core sample is stabilized then pressure drop is recorded
500
 Darcy’s equation is used to compute effective permeabilities

 There are numerous steady state techniques
 A short list of steady state relative permeability measurement methods
is given below
 Penn-State method
 Single-sample dynamic method
 Stationary fluid method
 Hassler method
 Hafford method
501
 In general, steady state methods are more accurate and reliable

 These methods are also quite expensive
 Additionally, it takes extraordinarily long time to reach saturation and
pressure equilibria across core sample
 Generally, steady state methods are not preferred
502
Steady State Methods – Test Procedure
 Assume water-wet rock and imbibition relative permeability

measurement
 Test is initiated with fluid saturations of Sw = Swc and So = 1-Swc
 Two different injection pumps are used
 One pump injects oil while the other injects water
 Oil and water are allowed to mix at inlet face before entering core
 Oil and water are simultaneously injected at a fixed rate ratio of qoI/qwI
until steady state is achieved
503
 Steady state is achieved when

 pressure drop across core sample becomes constant
 injection rate ratio of qoI/qwI is the same as production rate ratio of qop/qwp
 During test, pressure drop, oil injection rate, water injection rate, oil
production rate, and water production rate must be measured
 Additionally, fluid saturations in each step of steady state method are
measured
 Fluid saturations in core are measured by removing core from test
apparatus and weighting core at the end of each step
504
 After weight measurement, a mass balance calculation is performed to

predict water saturation in core
 Using conservation of mass, total core weight of fluid saturated core is
formulated as follows
 (24)
 Rearranging Eq. 24 for water saturation,
 (25)
505
 Wwc = weight of fluid saturated wet core, g

 WDc = weight of dry core (grain/solid/matrix weight), g
 Vp = pore volume, cc
 rw = density of water, g/cc
 ro = density of oil, g/cc
 Effective permeabilities to oil and water phases are formulated using
two-phase flow version of Darcy’s equation
506
 (26)
 (27)
 Note that, in Eqs. 26 and 27, pressure drops in oil and water phases are
different
 When oil and water flow inside porous rock, there is a pressure
difference between oil and water phases due to capillary pressure pc
 Since saturation distribution inside porous rock is uniform so is capillary
pressure
 Capillary pressure does not change along core length
507
 Inlet and outlet pressures are measured in bulk fluids at just outside
both ends of core sample not inside porous rock
 There should not be any capillary pressure in bulk fluid phases
 Pressure drops in both oil and water phases should be the same
 It is reasonable to assume that
 (28)
 Dp = pressure drop across core
 Using Eq. 28 in Eqs. 26 and 27,
508
 (29)
 (30)
 After computing ko and kw, relative permeabilities are calculated using
either Eqs. 20 and 21 or Eqs. 22 and 23
 (20)
 (21)
 (22)
 (23)
509
Steady State Method – Example 1
 A steady state relative permeability experiment on a sandstone core

sample is reported by Peters
 Test is performed under a constant pressure drop
 Saturations are estimated by weighting core sample
 All relevant data are tabulated in Tables 1 and 2
 Analyze test data and estimate oil and water relative permeabilities
510
Table 1 – Basic rock and fluid data, Table 2 – Oil and water rates and wet core
Example 1 weight data for steady state relative
Parameter Value permeability experiment
L, cm = 5.0
d, cm = 3.0
Index qo qw Wwc
f, fraction = 0.15
mo, cp = 10.0 () (cm3/s) (cm3/s) (g)
mw, cp = 1.0 1 0.05556 0.00000 84.9679
k, d = 0.15 2 0.04547 0.00434 85.0209
ro, g/cm3 = 0.85 3 0.03608 0.01736 85.0739
rw, g/cm3 = 1.05 4 0.02745 0.03906 85.1270
Dp, atm = 3.275 5 0.01964 0.06944 85.1800
A, cm =2
7.0686
Vb, cm =3
35.3429 6 0.01276 0.10851 85.2330
Vp, cm =3
5.3014 7 0.00694 0.15625 85.2860
Vm, cm = 3
30.0415 8 0.00246 0.21268 85.3390
WDc, g = 80.0906
9 0.00000 0.27778 85.3920
511
 We present calculations for fifth measured data point

 Using Eq. 25, we predict water saturation

 Using Eqs. 29 and 30,


512
 Now, we compute relative permeabilities


 Notice that we use absolute single phase permeability to normalize

relative permeabilities
 All calculated results for experiment are tabulated in Table 3
 Relative permeabilities are plotted as functions of water saturation as
shown in Figure 6
513
Table 3 –Relative permeabilities estimated from steady state experiment,

Example 1
Index Sw ko kw kro krw
() (fraction) (d) (d) (fraction) (fraction)
1 0.350 0.1200 0.0000 0.7999 0.0000
2 0.400 0.0982 0.0009 0.6548 0.0063
3 0.450 0.0779 0.0037 0.5196 0.0250
4 0.500 0.0593 0.0084 0.3953 0.0562
5 0.550 0.0424 0.0150 0.2828 0.1000
6 0.600 0.0276 0.0234 0.1837 0.1562
7 0.650 0.0150 0.0337 0.1000 0.2250
8 0.700 0.0053 0.0459 0.0354 0.3062
9 0.750 0.0000 0.0600 0.0000 0.4000
514
Steady State Method – Example 1 – Figure 6
515
Unsteady State Methods to Measure Relative Permeabilities
 Steady state measurement of relative permeability is relatively simple

 Analysis of data from steady state experiments is straightforward
 Steady state method has a major drawback; it is too slow
 It may take several weeks or even months to complete steady state
experiments
 An alternative to steady state relative permeability experiments is to
run an unsteady (transient) state flow experiment
 Unsteady state flow experiment is a much faster technique
516
Unsteady State Methods to Measure Relative Permeabilities
 Unsteady state experiment is based on a dynamic multiphase

displacement test run under transient flow conditions
 Unsteady state method is much faster and cheaper
 Two main disadvantage/limitation of unsteady state method
 Disadvantage of unsteady state methods is that test may be negatively
affected by so-called viscous fingering effect
 Another limitation is that relative permeabilities at low water
saturations just above connate water saturation cannot be measured
517
Unsteady State Methods – Test Procedure
 Consider measurement of oil and water relative permeabilities

 Assume water-wet core and an imbibition process
 Prior to running an unsteady state experiment, core sample must be
prepared for such a test
 After cleaning and drying, core plug is completely saturated with water
 Next, in a coreflooding apparatus, we inject oil and displace all
moveable water out of core
 Water saturation in core is decreased to connate water saturation
518
 core is ready for unsteady state experiment when water and oil
saturations in te core are Sw = Swc and So = 1-Swc
 At the end of core preparation stage, effective oil permeability at
connate water saturation, koSwc, is measured
 Test is started by injecting water at inlet face of core sample
 Water injection rate is kept constant; qwI = constant
 Injected water displaces movable oil under dynamic (time-dependent)
flow conditions
 During test, pressure drop across core varies with time
519
 Pressure drop across core plug is measured as a function of time

 Additionally, cumulative oil and water production at outlet end of core
are recorded at discrete points in time
 A schematic of coreflooding apparatus used in unsteady state
experiment is depicted in Figure 7
 Typical data recorded during an unsteady state test are illustrated in
Figures 8 and 9
 Figure 8 shows fluid production and injection rates
 Figure 9 displays pressure drop across core as a function of time
520
Apparatus for Unsteady State Experiments – Figure 7
Pressure transducer
Dp
Confining fluid BPR

qwI, WI
Core N p , Wp
V1 V2
Constant
rate pump
Core holder
521
Unsteady State Methods – Test Procedure – Figure 8
522
Unsteady State Methods – Test Procedure – Figure 9
523
 To interpret data from an unsteady state experiment, we need to have a

good understanding of multiphase flow under transient flow conditions
 Mathematics of transient multiphase flow in porous media is somewhat
complicated and tedious
 First, we need to derive partial differential equations (PDE) governing
physics of multiphase flow through core sample
 Then, we must solve PDE under existing boundary and initial conditions
524
 Interpretation of the unsteady state experiments is based on

 Continuity equations for oil and water phases (mass conservation)
 Fractional flow concept
 Buckley-Leverett solution for immiscible oil-water displacement
 Welge graphical interpretation of test data
 Derivation and presentation of mathematics for multiphase flow are
lengthy
 Derivations can be found in reservoir engineering textbooks
525
Unsteady State Methods – JBN Method
 There are several interpretation techniques to predict relative

permeabilities from unsteady state experiments
 Here, we will introduce method proposed by Johnson, Bossle, and
Neumann
 Johnson-Bossle-Neumann method is referred to as JBN method
 JBN method uses cumulative oil production and pressure drop data
 Since test is run under constant water injection rate, cumulative water
injection can easily be computed by multiplying injection rate by time
 We skip mathematical details and present final equations
526
 Equations used in JBN method are given below

 First, given cumulative water injection, cumulative oil production, and
pore volume of the core sample, we calculate dimensionless cumulative
water injection and dimensionless cumulative oil production
 (31)
 (32)
 WID = dimensionless cumulative water injection, unitless
 NpD = dimensionless cumulative oil production, unitless
 WI = cumulative water injection, cc
527
 Np = cumulative oil production, cc

 Vp = pore volume of core sample, cc
 Now, we compute relative injectivity ratio, which is defined below
 (33)
 Ir = relative injectivity ratio, unitless
 qwI = water injection rate, cc/s
 mo = oil viscosity, cp
 L = core length, cm
528
 k = absolute permeability to single phase flow, d

 A = cross-sectional area, cm2
 Dp = pressure drop across core, atm
 Then, we calculate fractional oil flow at core outlet
 Fractional oil flow at core outlet is defined as below
 (34)
 Subscript L refers to core outlet, where x = L
529
 foL = fractional oil flow at core outlet, fraction

 qoL = oil flow rate at the core outlet, cc/s
 qwL = water flow rate at the core outlet, cc/s
 qwI = constant water injection rate, cc/s
 Unfortunately, oil and water flow rates at outlet are not directly
measured
 We compute fractional oil flow at core outlet from dimensionless
cumulative oil production
530
 It can be shown that foL is the derivative of NpD with respect to WID
 (35)
 Next, we compute water saturation at core outlet
 Using a mass balance, it can be shown that water saturation at core
outlet can be expressed as below
 (36)
 Now, we compute a derivative that is somewhat complicated and used
in calculation of oil relative permeability
531
 Derivative group is given below

 (37)
 JBN have shown that kro is equal to foL divided by derivative group given
in Eq. 37
 (38)
 krw is calculated using eq. given below
 (39)
532
 Derivatives appearing in Eqs. 35 and 38 are computed using numerical

methods
 Experimentally measured data are always prone to measurement errors
 Measured data are not precise but prone to noise
 Due to measurement errors, numerical computation of derivatives is
cumbersome and sometimes unreliable
 Finite difference methods for calculation derivatives from noisy data do
not give accurate results
 Variables used in Eqs. 31 through 39 are all in cgs (Darcy) unit system
533
Computation of Derivatives in JBN Method
 Peters and Khataniar suggested fitting polynomial curves to measured

data
 After curve fitting, derivatives appearing in JBN method are computed
analytically
 Curve fitting smoothes measured data and suppress noise due to
measurement errors
 Peters and Khataniar proposed the following equations
 (40)
 a0, a1, and a2 are constant coefficient of polynomial fit
534
Computation of Derivatives in JBN Method
 After curve fitting and determination of coefficients, derivative

dNpD/dWID is computed using analytical equation below
 (41)
 (42)
 Similarly, for computation of derivative d(1/WIDIr)/d(1/WID) in Eq. 38,
Peters and Khataniar recommended following equations
 (43)
 (44)
535
Algorithm for JBN Method
 A stepwise procedure for computing relative permeabilities from JBN

method is presented below
 Step 1; given WI, Np, and Vp, use Eqs. 31 and 32 and predict WID and NpD
 Additionally, using Eq. 33, predict Ir
 Step 2; compute ln(WID), ln(1/WID), 1/WIDIr,and ln(1/WIDIr)
 Step 3; construct a Cartesian plot of NpD versus ln(WID)
 Using EXCEL spreadsheet, fit a second degree polynomial to
experimental NpD versus ln(WID) data
 Determine constant coefficients a0, a1, and a2 of polynomial fit
536
 Step 4; make a Cartesian plot of ln(1/WIDIr) versus ln(1/WID)

experimental ln(1/WIDIr) versus ln(1/WID) data
 Determine constant coefficients b0, b1, and b2 of polynomial fit
 Step 5; using Eq. 42, calculate derivative dNpD/dWID
 Calculated derivative is equal to foL, thus, foL is determined
 Step 6; by means of Eq. 43, compute variable z
 Then, using Eq. 44, predict derivative y = d(1/WIDIr)/d(1/WID)
537
 Step 7; use Eq. 36 and estimate SwL

 Step 8; now, we are ready to compute relative permeabilities
 Use Eq. 38 and predict kro at outlet water saturation of SwL
 Step 9; from Eq. 39, calculate krw
 Step 10; repeat calculations above for all measured data points
 Plot kro and krw as a function of SwL
538
Estimating Relative Permeabilities - JBN Method – Example 2
 Test data used in this example is given by Peters

 Unsteady state experiment is run on an artificial sandpack
 Sandpack contains highly viscous synthetic oil
 During experiment, oil is displaced by injecting water at a constant
injection rate of 100 cc/h
 Basic relevant data are reported in Table 4
 Some of data reported by Peters were in different units
 Data in Table 4 are all in cgs (Darcy) units
539
 WI, Np, and Dp sandpack recorded at discrete times are all tabulated in
Table 5
 Np and WI are plotted in Figure 10
 Figure 11 display Dp as a function of time
 Using JBN method, analyze unsteady state experimental data
 Estimate SwL, kro, and krw at core outlet
540
Table 4 – Basic data for the unsteady
state experiment, Example 2
Parameter Value
L, cm = 54.7
d, cm = 4.8
f, fraction = 0.306
mo, cp = 108.4
mw, cp = 1.0
k, d = 3.42
qwI, cc/s = 0.0278
Swc, fraction = 0.119
koSwc, d = 3.16
A, cm =2
18.0956
Vb, cm =3
989.83
Vp, cm3 = 302.69
Vm, cm = 3
687.14
541
Table 5 – Test data recorded during unsteady Table 5 – Test data recorded during unsteady
state water-oil displacement experiment state water-oil displacement experiment
t WI Np Dp t WI Np Dp
(h) (cc) (cc) (atm) (h) (cc) (cc) (atm)
0.000 0.0 0.0 0.0000 7.943 794.3 133.5 0.1647
1.026 102.6 102.0 0.6138 9.762 976.2 135.3 0.1565
1.062 106.2 103.5 0.5648 13.155 1,315.5 138.0 0.1449
1.196 119.6 106.8 0.4702 17.311 1,731.1 140.4 0.1354
1.329 132.9 109.0 0.4130 21.467 2,146.7 142.0 0.1293
1.520 152.0 111.7 0.3688 25.620 2,562.0 143.2 0.1245
1.777 177.7 114.4 0.3314 31.831 3,183.1 144.4 0.1218
2.028 202.8 116.8 0.3096 33.910 3,391.0 145.0 0.1191
2.543 254.3 120.2 0.2722 38.072 3,807.2 145.6 0.1184
3.442 344.2 124.1 0.2259 40.170 4,017.0 145.9 0.1157
4.855 485.5 128.0 0.1892 44.326 4,432.6 146.2 0.1157
6.142 614.2 130.5 0.1715 48.479 4,847.9 146.5 0.1157
542
Estimating Relative Permeabilities - Example 2 – Figure 10
543
544
 To analyze test data, we implement algorithm given previously

 We present detailed calculation for first data point
 Step 1; using Eqs. 31, 32, and 33, we compute WID, NpD, and Ir

545
 Step 2; we calculate ln(WID), ln(1/WID), 1/WIDIr, and ln(1/WIDIr)


 Calculated results for all data points are tabulated in Table 6
546
Estimating Relative Permeabilities - Example 2
Table 6 – Calculations for the interpretation of the unsteady state water-oil displacement experiment, Example 2
WID NpD Dp Ir ln(WID) ln(1/WID) 1/WIDIr ln(1/WIDIr) foL SwL y kro krw
() () (atm) () () () () () () (fraction) () (fraction) (fraction)
0.1190 0.9240 0.0000
0.339 0.337 0.6138 4.3350 -1.0818 1.0818 0.6805 -0.3850 0.1830 0.3940 0.3681 0.4971 0.0207
0.351 0.342 0.5648 4.7110 -1.0470 1.0470 0.6048 -0.5029 0.1754 0.3994 0.3562 0.4924 0.0216
0.395 0.353 0.4702 5.6587 -0.9289 0.9289 0.4474 -0.8043 0.1519 0.4120 0.3192 0.4758 0.0248
0.439 0.360 0.4130 6.4418 -0.8233 0.8233 0.3536 -1.0395 0.1334 0.4204 0.2901 0.4599 0.0278
0.502 0.369 0.3688 7.2143 -0.6892 0.6892 0.2761 -1.2869 0.1131 0.4312 0.2578 0.4388 0.0321
0.587 0.378 0.3314 8.0291 -0.5327 0.5327 0.2122 -1.5503 0.0932 0.4423 0.2258 0.4128 0.0374
0.670 0.386 0.3096 8.5938 -0.4005 0.4005 0.1737 -1.7506 0.0790 0.4521 0.2026 0.3901 0.0424
0.840 0.397 0.2722 9.7754 -0.1744 0.1744 0.1218 -2.1055 0.0594 0.4661 0.1697 0.3502 0.0516
1.137 0.410 0.2259 11.7776 0.1284 -0.1284 0.0747 -2.5946 0.0404 0.4831 0.1362 0.2964 0.0657
1.604 0.423 0.1892 14.0653 0.4725 -0.4725 0.0443 -3.1162 0.0257 0.5007 0.1085 0.2374 0.0837
2.029 0.431 0.1715 15.5165 0.7075 -0.7075 0.0318 -3.4494 0.0188 0.5118 0.0941 0.1998 0.0971
2.624 0.441 0.1647 16.1577 0.9647 -0.9647 0.0236 -3.7471 0.0132 0.5253 0.0816 0.1621 0.1126
3.225 0.447 0.1565 17.0007 1.1709 -1.1709 0.0182 -4.0042 0.0099 0.5340 0.0735 0.1348 0.1255
4.346 0.456 0.1449 18.3576 1.4693 -1.4693 0.0125 -4.3793 0.0064 0.5470 0.0641 0.1004 0.1444
5.719 0.464 0.1354 19.6490 1.7438 -1.7438 0.0089 -4.7218 0.0043 0.5587 0.0574 0.0741 0.1616
7.092 0.469 0.1293 20.5798 1.9590 -1.9590 0.0069 -4.9833 0.0030 0.5665 0.0532 0.0569 0.1747
8.464 0.473 0.1245 21.3670 2.1358 -2.1358 0.0055 -5.1977 0.0023 0.5729 0.0503 0.0449 0.1850
10.516 0.477 0.1218 21.8445 2.3529 -2.3529 0.0044 -5.4368 0.0015 0.5798 0.0473 0.0326 0.1968
11.203 0.479 0.1191 22.3438 2.4162 -2.4162 0.0040 -5.5227 0.0014 0.5826 0.0465 0.0295 0.2001
12.578 0.481 0.1184 22.4722 2.5319 -2.5319 0.0035 -5.6442 0.0011 0.5862 0.0452 0.0243 0.2059
13.271 0.482 0.1157 23.0009 2.5856 -2.5856 0.0033 -5.7211 0.0010 0.5879 0.0447 0.0221 0.2084
14.644 0.483 0.1157 23.0009 2.6840 -2.6840 0.0030 -5.8196 0.0008 0.5902 0.0437 0.0184 0.2129
16.016 0.484 0.1157 23.0009 2.7736 -2.7736 0.0027 -5.9091 0.0007 0.5924 0.0430 0.0154 0.2167
547
 Step 3; we construct a Cartesian plot of NpD versus ln(WID)

 Plot of NpD versus ln(WID) is given in Figure 12
 Using EXCEL spreadsheet, we fit a second degree polynomial to
experimental NpD versus ln(WID) data
 Constant coefficients of polynomial fit are determined as follows
 a0 = 0.4024
 a1 = 0.0476
 a2 = -0.00667
548
549
 Step 4; we plot a Cartesian plot ln(1/WIDIr) versus ln(1/WID)

experimental ln(1/WIDIr) versus ln(1/WID) data
 Figure 13 displays ln(1/WIDIr) versus ln(1/WID) data and polynomial fit
 Constant coefficients of polynomial fit are determined as below
 b0 = -2.36
 b1 = 1.57984
 b2 = 0.11298
550
551
 Step 5; using Eq. 42, we estimate derivative dNpD/dWID

 For first data point, derivative dNpD/dWID is computed as follows
 Calculated derivative is equal to fractional oil flow at outlet, foL

 foL is determined as follows

552
 Step 6; we use Eq. 43, compute variable z


 Now, we predict derivative y = d(1/WIDIr)/d(1/WID)


553
 Step 7; we use Eq. 36 and estimate SwL


 Step 8; using Eq. 38, we determine oil relative permeability


 Step 9; we use Eq. 39 and predict water relative permeability.
554
 Step 10; we repeat calculation algorithm for all recorded data points
 All calculations are presented in Table 6
 Finally we plot kro and krw as a function of SwL
 Figure 14 displays kro and krw estimated from unsteady state water-oil
displacement experiment
 Note that, in unsteady state method, we cannot estimate kro and krw in
water saturation range of Swc = 0.119 < Sw < 0.394
 In Swc = 0.119 < Sw < 0.394 interval, we simply do a linear interpolation
555
Estimating Relative Permeabilities - Example 2
Table 6 – Calculations for the interpretation of the unsteady state water-oil displacement experiment, Example 2
WID NpD Dp Ir ln(WID) ln(1/WID) 1/WIDIr ln(1/WIDIr) foL SwL y kro krw
() () (atm) () () () () () () (fraction) () (fraction) (fraction)
0.1190 0.9240 0.0000
0.339 0.337 0.6138 4.3350 -1.0818 1.0818 0.6805 -0.3850 0.1830 0.3940 0.3681 0.4971 0.0207
0.351 0.342 0.5648 4.7110 -1.0470 1.0470 0.6048 -0.5029 0.1754 0.3994 0.3562 0.4924 0.0216
0.395 0.353 0.4702 5.6587 -0.9289 0.9289 0.4474 -0.8043 0.1519 0.4120 0.3192 0.4758 0.0248
0.439 0.360 0.4130 6.4418 -0.8233 0.8233 0.3536 -1.0395 0.1334 0.4204 0.2901 0.4599 0.0278
0.502 0.369 0.3688 7.2143 -0.6892 0.6892 0.2761 -1.2869 0.1131 0.4312 0.2578 0.4388 0.0321
0.587 0.378 0.3314 8.0291 -0.5327 0.5327 0.2122 -1.5503 0.0932 0.4423 0.2258 0.4128 0.0374
0.670 0.386 0.3096 8.5938 -0.4005 0.4005 0.1737 -1.7506 0.0790 0.4521 0.2026 0.3901 0.0424
0.840 0.397 0.2722 9.7754 -0.1744 0.1744 0.1218 -2.1055 0.0594 0.4661 0.1697 0.3502 0.0516
1.137 0.410 0.2259 11.7776 0.1284 -0.1284 0.0747 -2.5946 0.0404 0.4831 0.1362 0.2964 0.0657
1.604 0.423 0.1892 14.0653 0.4725 -0.4725 0.0443 -3.1162 0.0257 0.5007 0.1085 0.2374 0.0837
2.029 0.431 0.1715 15.5165 0.7075 -0.7075 0.0318 -3.4494 0.0188 0.5118 0.0941 0.1998 0.0971
2.624 0.441 0.1647 16.1577 0.9647 -0.9647 0.0236 -3.7471 0.0132 0.5253 0.0816 0.1621 0.1126
3.225 0.447 0.1565 17.0007 1.1709 -1.1709 0.0182 -4.0042 0.0099 0.5340 0.0735 0.1348 0.1255
4.346 0.456 0.1449 18.3576 1.4693 -1.4693 0.0125 -4.3793 0.0064 0.5470 0.0641 0.1004 0.1444
5.719 0.464 0.1354 19.6490 1.7438 -1.7438 0.0089 -4.7218 0.0043 0.5587 0.0574 0.0741 0.1616
7.092 0.469 0.1293 20.5798 1.9590 -1.9590 0.0069 -4.9833 0.0030 0.5665 0.0532 0.0569 0.1747
8.464 0.473 0.1245 21.3670 2.1358 -2.1358 0.0055 -5.1977 0.0023 0.5729 0.0503 0.0449 0.1850
10.516 0.477 0.1218 21.8445 2.3529 -2.3529 0.0044 -5.4368 0.0015 0.5798 0.0473 0.0326 0.1968
11.203 0.479 0.1191 22.3438 2.4162 -2.4162 0.0040 -5.5227 0.0014 0.5826 0.0465 0.0295 0.2001
12.578 0.481 0.1184 22.4722 2.5319 -2.5319 0.0035 -5.6442 0.0011 0.5862 0.0452 0.0243 0.2059
13.271 0.482 0.1157 23.0009 2.5856 -2.5856 0.0033 -5.7211 0.0010 0.5879 0.0447 0.0221 0.2084
14.644 0.483 0.1157 23.0009 2.6840 -2.6840 0.0030 -5.8196 0.0008 0.5902 0.0437 0.0184 0.2129
16.016 0.484 0.1157 23.0009 2.7736 -2.7736 0.0027 -5.9091 0.0007 0.5924 0.0430 0.0154 0.2167
556
557
Empirical Methods for Two-Phase Relative Permeabilities
 Several investigators developed empirical relative permeability models

based on large set of experimental data
 Honarpour et al. presented several empirical model for different
combinations of
 rock type
 wetness
 multiple fluid systems
558
 Sandstone-conglomerate, water-wet, and oil-water system

 Empirical model is as follows
 (45)
 a1 = 0.035388, a2 = 0.010874 , a3 = 0.56556
 (46)
 b1 = 0.76067, b2 = 2.6318
559
 Sandstone-conglomerate, oil-wet and mixed wettability, and water-oil

systems
 (47)
 c1 = 1.5814, c2 = 0.58617, c3 = 1.2484
 Eq. 46 given previously also apply for this case to predict kro
560
 For sandstone-conglomerate rocks containing oil-gas systems,

 (48)
 (49)
 Variables appearing in empirical Honarpour et al. model are defined

below
561
 kro = relative permeability to oil, fraction

 krg = relative permeability to gas, fraction
 krw = relative permeability to water, fraction
 So = oil saturation, fraction
 Sorg = residual oil saturation to gas flooding, fraction
 Sorw = residual oil saturation to water flooding, fraction
 Sw = water saturation, fraction
 Swc = connate water saturation, fraction
562
 Sg = gas saturation, fraction

 Sgc = critical gas saturation, fraction
 krgSorg = end point relative permeability to gas at So = Sorg, fraction
 In the absence of experiment data, we rely on empirical relative

permeability models
 Empirical relative permeability models are also useful for designing
relative permeability experiments
563
References

 Honarpour, M. et al.: Relative Permeability of Petroleum Reservoir, CRC
Press, Inc, Boca Raton, Florida, 1987
564
References

 Peters, E.J: Advanced Petrophysics: Volume 2: Dispersion, Interfacial
Phenomena/Wettability, Capillarity/Capillary Pressure, Relative
Permeability, Live Oak Book Company, Austin, Texas, 2012
565
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Relative_permeability
 http://petrowiki.org/
PEH:Relative_Permeability_and_Capillary_Pressure
 http://wiki.aapg.org/Relative_permeability
 http://wiki.aapg.org/Relative_permeability_and_pore_type
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_permeability
media/chapter-2-the-porous-medium/relative-permeability/relative-
permeability-curves/
566
Useful Links
 http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~earpwjg/PG_EN/CD%20Contents/
Formation%20Evaluation%20English/Chapter%2010.PDF
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIORNcSUbD4
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9cgR8oK2Q
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3lAbwLz5-4
567
Module 8
Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Rocks
Module Outline
8.1 Electrical properties of porous rocks
8.1.1 Electrical conductivity and resistivity
8.1.2 Resistivity of sodium chloride brines
8.1.3 Total equivalent sodium chloride salinity
8.1.4 Empirical equations for resistivity
8.1.5 Analogy between Ohm’s law and Darcy’s law
8.1.6 Resistivity of porous rocks
8.1.7 Formation resistivity factor
569
Module Outline (continued)
8.2 Mechanical properties of porous rocks
8.2.1 Stress
8.2.2 Strain
8.2.3 Shear, Young, and bulk moduli
8.2.4 Poisson ratio
8.2.5 Laboratory tests
8.2.6 Rock strength
570
Learning Objectives
• Recognize electrical and mechanical properties of rocks
• Recall resistivity and conductivity
• Define and calculate the resistivity of formation brine
• Use empirical equations to estimate resistivity
• Recognize the analogy of Ohm’s Law to Dracy’s Law
• Estimate formation resistivity, tortuosity, and resistivity index
• Recognize sensitivity of permeability to formation resistivity
571
Learning Objectives (continued)
• Recognize mechanical properties of rocks
• Distinguish between stress and strain
• Define shear, Young, and bulk moduli
• Define Poisson’s ratio
• List laboratory tests to estimate mechanical rock properties
572
8.1 Electrical Properties of Porous Rocks
Electrical Properties of Porous Rocks
 Electrical properties of porous rocks are related to some other basic

rock properties such as porosity and water content
 Measurement of electrical properties of subsurface porous rocks has
been one of the widely accepted methods to characterize porous rocks
 Subsurface rocks transmit an electrical current when they contain
formation water with dissolved electrolytes
 Typically, except some types of clays and conductive metallic minerals,
reservoir rocks themselves are not electrically conductive when they
are dry
574
 Subsurface hydrocarbons do not allow electrical current flow

 Even pure water is not electrically conductive
 Electrical current flow through a porous media is accomplished through
the electrolytic particles
 Subsurface formation waters hold dissolved salts such as NaCl, KCl,
CaCl2, NaSO4, and etc
 The salts in subsurface waters are in the form of
 positively charged cations (Na+, K+, Mg++, Ca++)
 negatively charged anions (Cl -, SO4 -, CO3 - -)
575
 When subjected to an electrical field, the charged ions move inside the
body of water and transmit the electrical current through the
electrolytic solution
 In general, the denser the electrolyte concentration, the more
conductive are the formation waters
576
8.1.1 Electrical conductivity and resistivity
Conductivity and Resistivity
 Consider a cell filled by formation water containing dissolved NaCl

 L = length of cell
 A = cross sectional area of A
 An electrical current is introduced through formation water
 I = current flow in amperes, measured by an ammeter
 DV = voltage drop across cell in volts, recorded by a voltmeter
 The relationship between current flow and potential drop is given by
the Ohm’s law
578
I
Ammeter Source
DV
Voltmeter
Saline water
Na+ Cl-
A
L
579
 According to Ohm’s principle, the ratio of voltage drop to electrical

current yields the water resistance
 rw = resistance in ohm, W
 The relationship between current and potential (voltage) drop may also
be formulated in terms of resistivity Rw
 Rw = resistivity in ohm-meter, Wm
580
 Electrical current flow may also be formulated in terms of conductivity

 Electrical conductivity is the inverse of resistivity
 Cw = conductivity in 1/Wm
 Resistivity of formation waters is dependent upon
 Temperature
 Concentration of dissolved salts
 Type of dissolved salts
581
8.1.2 Resistivity of sodium chloride brines
Resistivity of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Brines
 Resistivity of saline water may be measured using an instrument called

resistivity meter
 Resistive meters are simple instruments
 Next figure shows a commercial resistive meter
 Resistivity of NaCl brines is a function
 Salinity (concentration)
 Temperature
 Table 1 presents the measured resistivity of NaCl brine as a function of
temperature at selected salinities
583
Resistivity Meter
584
Table 1 – Resistivity of Sodium Chloride Brine
Resistivity, Wm
T Sppm = 1,000 Sppm = 10,000 Sppm = 100,000
(ºF) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)
50 6.9 0.8 0.105
75 5.6 0.58 0.075
100 3.9 0.42 0.056
125 3.1 0.35 0.045
150 2.6 0.29 0.038
175 2.2 0.24 0.032
200 1.9 0.21 0.029
250 1.5 0.17 0.023
300 1.2 0.075 0.020
585
 Salinity in Table 1 is in the unit of particles per million (ppm)

 The parts per million of solids in brine is defined as grams of solids per 1
million grams of brine
 Sppm = salinity, ppm

 The resistivity data in Table 1 is plotted in next figure
586
587
 Rw of NaCl brine varies nonlinearly with both Sppm and Rw

 Rw decreases as temperature is increased
 As solid content of the brine increases, Rw reduces substantially
 Rw of oilfield waters is most relevant to interpretation of resistivity logs
 Logging companies have measured Rw of NaCl brine for a wide range of
salinity and temperature
 Rw of NaCl brine is presented in the form of graphical plots
 Many service companies offering well logging services provide graphical
plots for estimating Rw of NaCl brine
588
 The plot given in next figure displays Rw of NaCl brine as a function of

temperature and salinity
 The plot is provided by Schlumberger
 Notice that the plot shown in next figure is not a log-log plot
 The scales on the ordinate and abscissa are adjusted such that
measured Rw versus T data display approximate straight lines
 Each curve on Figure 3 is for a specific value of salinity
 Two salinity scales on the figure; parts per million (ppm) and grains/gal
 Salinity range is from 200 ppm to 300,000 ppm
589
Resistivity of Sodium Chloride Brine
590
8.1.3 Total equivalent sodium chloride salinity
Total Equivalent Sodium Chloride Salinity
 Besides sodium chloride, oilfield waters contain other salts and solids
 Total solid concentration of formation waters is obtained by simply
adding the concentration of each component
 J = number of components in formation water
 Sppmj = the concentration of the jth component
 j = the index for the components
 SppmT = total solid concentration,
 SppmT is computed as follows
592
 Account for the effect of the solid components other than NaCl
 Concentration of the other components are converted to equivalent
NaCl concentration
 For the conversion process, we define a resistivity multiplier
 Resistivity multiplier is defined as the ratio of NaCl concentration and
the concentration of any other ion yielding the same resistivity value
593
 Mj = resistivity multiplier, ratio (unitless)

 Sppmej = equivalent sodium chloride concentration of the jth ion, ppm
 Sppmj = concentration of the jth ion, ppm
 Experimental studies have shown that the resistivity multipliers are
functions of total dissolved solids and type of ion
 Next figure shows the resistivity multipliers for each ion as a function of
total salinity
594
Component Multipliers for Correcting Total Salinity
595
 The variable on the abscissa of the figure is the concentration of total

dissolved solids, SppmT
 Notice that, the resistivity multipliers for sodium and chloride are 1.0
 After determining the resistivity multiplier for each ion, we may
compute the equivalent sodium chloride concentration of the jth ion as
 Now, we define a total equivalent sodium chloride concentration
596
 After computing the total equivalent sodium chloride salinity, SppmeT, we

use the plot for the resistivity of NaCl brine to estimate the resistivity of
oilfield brines
597
Resistivity of Formation Brine – Example 1
 Average composition of brine from a sandstone formation is given in

Table 2
 Total solid content is 80,000 ppm
 Formation temperature is 150 ºF
 Estimate total equivalent NaCl concentration
 Use Schlumberger charts
 Estimate the resistivity of brine at reservoir condition
598
Table 2 – Brine composition for

Example 1
Component Sppm
() (ppm)
Ca 8,000
Mg 2,000
Na 25,000
HCO3 5,000
SO4 10,000
Cl 30,000
Total 80,000
599
 First, we estimate resistivity multipliers

 Resistivity multipliers from Schlumberger chart are tabulated in Table 3
 Next, we compute total equivalent sodium chloride salinity
 Original total solid concentration of 80,000 ppm is reduced to a total

equivalent NaCl concentration of 66,600 ppm
600
80,000 ppm
601
Table 3 – Equivalent NaCl salinity of brine in Example 1

Component Sppm M Sppme
() (ppm) () (ppm)
Ca 8,000 0.750 6,000
Mg 2,000 0.700 1,400
Na 25,000 1.000 25,000
HCO3 5,000 0.200 1,000
SO4 10,000 0.320 3,200
Cl 30,000 1.000 30,000
Total 80,000 66,600
602
80,000 ppm
603
 From Schlumberger chart, we estimate the resistivity of brine
 If we do not correct the total salinity for compositional variation and

compute resistivity of sodium chloride brine with a total salinity of
80,000 ppm, we find
604
8.1.4 Empirical equations for resistivity
Empirical Equations for Computing Resistivity
 Schlumberger charts are not convenient for multiple repetitive or

computerized calculations
 Some researchers have developed empirical equations for the data
given in Schlumberger resistivity charts
 Empirical equations developed by Hilchie
 Two step procedure
 Step 1; compute resistivity at T = 75º F
 Step 2; compute resistivity at reservoir temperature
606
 Rw75F = resistivity at 75º F, Wm

 RwT = resistivity at any temperature, Wm
 TF = temperature, ºF
 SppmeT = total equivalent NaCl salinity of brine, ppm
607
 Empirical models to compute resistivity multipliers

 For HCO3 (bicarbonate)
 If SppmeT < 1,000 ppm, M = 0.35
 If SppmeT  1,000 ppm, we use the equation below
 a0 = 2.955
 a1 = 3.736×10-5
 a2 = -1.701×10-10
608
 For SO4 (sulfate)

 a0 = 1.22235 a1 = 6.6×10-3
 For K (potassium)

 a0 = 0.861 a1 = 7.26177×10-3
 a2 = 2.6376×10-4 a3 = -8.558×10-3
609
 For CO3 (carbonate)
 a0 = - 0.9306 a1 = 0.424
 a2 = -2.486×10-4 a3 = 1.573 a4 = -3.308×10-6
 For Ca (calcium)

 a0 = 1.026 a1 = -9.7454×10-5 a2 = 0.18266

 a3 = -0.02675 a4 = 1.255×10-3
610
 For Mg (magnesium)
 a0 = 2.06566 a1 = -1.6307×10-8 a2 = -8.2966×10-3
 For Na (sodium) and Cl (chloride), M = 1

 For Br (bromide), M = 0.44
 For NO3 (nitrate), M = 0.55
611
Empirical Equations for Resistivity – Example 2

 Use the empirical equations
 Estimate the resistivity of brine at reservoir conditions
 First, we compute the resistivity multipliers
 Computation of resistivity multipliers are long but straight forward
 Resistivity multipliers should be computed using a computer program
 The resistivity multipliers are given in Table 4
 The total equivalent NaCl concentration is estimated to be 66,748 ppm
612
Table 4 – Equivalent NaCl salinity of brine in Example 2

Component Sppm M Sppme
() (ppm) () (ppm)
Ca 8,000 0.775 6,203
Mg 2,000 0.639 1,278
Na 25,000 1.000 25,000
HCO3 5,000 0.206 1,030
SO4 10,000 0.324 3,237
Cl 30,000 1.000 30,000
Total 80,000 66,748
613
 Next, we calculate Rw75F
 Finally, we estimate the resistivity at 150º F
614
8.1.5 Analogy between Ohm’s and Darcy’s laws
Analogy between Ohm’s Law and Darcy’s Law
 Ohms law for electrical current flow is analogous to Darcy’s law for fluid
flow in porous media
 Reconsider liquid flow across a linear porous rock
 The relationship between volumetric liquid flow rate and pressure drop
across the porous rock is given by Darcy’s equation
 Rearranging Darcy’s equation for permeability/viscosity
616
Analogy between Ohm’s Law and Darcy’s Law
 From Ohm’s law
 Compare two equations above

 I corresponds to q
 DV corresponds to Dp
 Cw = 1/Rw corresponds to k/m
617
8.1.6 Resistivity of porous rocks
Resistivity of Porous Rocks
 Difference between the resistivities of saline water body and porous

media
 Reconsider water resistivity experiment
 Replace the water cell with a porous rock completely saturated with the
same saline water
 Next figure shows the resistivity measurement on porous rocks
 Rf = resistivity of porous rock
619
I
Ammeter Source
DV
Voltmeter
A
L
620
 Numerical value of Rf is dependent upon not only current and voltage
drop but also cross sectional area and length
 Rock matrix itself is non-conductive
 In a porous rock, electrical current is transmitted by the motion of
electrolytic ions dissolved in saline water
 Fix electrical current and voltage drop
 Major differences between current flow through a body of saline water
and a porous rock saturated by the same saline water
 actual cross sectional area
 actual distance traveled
621
 Actual cross sectional area normal to current flow direction is smaller

 Actual distance traveled by electrons is longer
 Ap = actual cross sectional area
 Lp = tortuous pore channel length
 Rw may be computed by replacing A and L with Ap and Lp

 Next figure shows cross sectional areas both in cases of a water cell and
a water-saturated porous rock
622
Water cell Porous rock
Saline water Am
Ap
A Na + Cl
-
A
A = Ap+Am
623
 In case of water cell, the cross sectional area is A

 In case of porous rock, total area A is the sum of the area filled by the
rock matrix (Am) and pore area filled by saline water (Ap)
 Since rock matrix is non-conductive, the effective cross sectional area

open to current flow is that covered by saline water
 In porous rocks, effective area normal to flow direction may be
approximated as follows
624
 Now, compare the distances taken by electrons when they travel across
water cell and porous rock
 In case of water cell, the distance traveled by the electrons is L
 In case of current flow across porous rocks, the distance traveled by the
electrons is longer due to undulating nature of pore network
 Lp = average distance traveled by electrons through the porous rock
 The distances L and Lp are related to each other in terms of tortuosity
 Tortuosity is defined as the ratio of squares of distances Lp and L
625
Water cell Porous rock
Saline water
Na+ Cl-
L Lp
L
Lp > L
626
 Now, we formulate the resistivity of a porous rock completely saturated

by formation water
 The importance of the eq. above is that it relates formation resistivity to

saline water resistivity
627
8.1.7 Formation resistivity factor
Formation Resistivity Factor
 Formation resistivity factor is defined as ratio of resistivity of porous

rock saturated with formation water to that of formation water itself
 Previously, we have formulated the relationship between Rf and Rw
 Combining two eqs. Above
 Eq. above explicitly shows that F is inversely proportional to f
629
 F–vs–f relationship is a simplified representation of porous rocks

 The ideal relationship given above is distorted by the factors
 Rock heterogeneity
 Cementing material bonding rock grains
 Fractures
 Pore network discontinuity.
 F–vs–f given above may be generalized to extend its applicability
630
 a and m are constants

 The constant m is known as cementation exponent
 The constants a and m are obtained from the experimental data run on
core plugs
 The form of eq. above suggests a log-log plot
 log F – log f plot should display a straight line
631
 The constants a and m may also be determined by fitting the measured

F - f data with a power function
 Fitting a power function to F - f data can be easily accomplished using
a spreadsheet program
 F is an important parameter in characterization of subsurface porous
rocks from well logs
 Numerous parameters affect formation resistivity factor
 A list of variables influencing formation resistivity factor is given below
632
 Salinity of water
 Connate water saturation
 Porosity
 Tortuosity
 Temperature
 Clay content and type
 Amount and type of conductive minerals
 Fractures and vugs
 Formation layering
633
Formation Resistivity Factor – Example 3
 Wyble measured porosity and formation resistivity factor values on

several cores from three different formations
 The measured data are given in Table 5
 Construct a log-log plot of the measured data
 Using a spreadsheet program, fit the measured data with a power
function
 Determine the constants a and m
634
Table 5 – Porosity and Formation resistivity factor
Measured on Core Samples, Example 3
Core ID f F
() (fraction) ()
W20B 0.166 35.4
W20BV 0.160 33.1
W31B 0.143 43.8
W31BV 0.140 51.2
W39B 0.129 58.8
W39BV 0.130 57.2
K65 0.187 26.2
K65V 0.186 30.4
K67 0.126 49.2
K67V 0.131 51.2
K67V1 0.129 45.9
B20 0.090 127.5
B23 0.106 123.0
B26 0.116 57.7
B29V 0.110 81.9
B29V1 0.111 80.9
635
636
 Although the data are from three different formations, the measured
formation resistivity factor and porosity display a well defined straight
line on log-log plot
 Using a spreadsheet program, a power function is fit to the data
 The correlation coefficient for the power fit is 0.9, which is very good
637
Estimation of Tortuosity
 Tortuosity is defined as the ratio of the squares of the average distance

traveled by electrons through the porous rock to the actual length of
core plug

 In some petroleum engineering literature, tortuosity is defined

differently as shown below
638
Estimation of Tortuosity
 In general, the direct estimation of tortuosity is difficult

 A rough tortuosity estimate can be made from the electrical property
measurements

 F and porosity f may be directly measured on core samples
639
Estimation of Tortuosity – Example 4

 Wyble measured porosity and formation resistivity factor values on
several cores from three different formations
 The measured data are given in Table 5
 Compute square root of tortuosity
 Plot the square root of tortuosity as a function of porosity
640
Table 5 – Porosity and Formation resistivity factor
Measured on Core Samples, Example 3
Core ID f F
() (fraction) ()
W20B 0.166 35.4
W20BV 0.160 33.1
W31B 0.143 43.8
W31BV 0.140 51.2
W39B 0.129 58.8
W39BV 0.130 57.2
K65 0.187 26.2
K65V 0.186 30.4
K67 0.126 49.2
K67V 0.131 51.2
K67V1 0.129 45.9
B20 0.090 127.5
B23 0.106 123.0
B26 0.116 57.7
B29V 0.110 81.9
B29V1 0.111 80.9
641
 For core W20B, the square root of tortuosity is computed as follows
 A value of 5.88 implies that, on the average, the length of the path
taken by fluid flowing through porous media is 5.88 times longer than
the actual measured core length
 The square roots of tortuosity values for other core plugs are given in
Table 6
642
Table 6 – Tortuosity values for core samples, Example 4
Core ID f F t 1/2
() (fraction) () ()
W20B 0.166 35.4 5.88
W20BV 0.160 33.1 5.30
W31B 0.143 43.8 6.26
W31BV 0.140 51.2 7.17
W39B 0.129 58.8 7.59
W39BV 0.130 57.2 7.44
K65 0.187 26.2 4.90
K65V 0.186 30.4 5.65
K67 0.126 49.2 6.20
K67V 0.131 51.2 6.71
K67V1 0.129 45.9 5.92
B20 0.090 127.5 11.48
B23 0.106 123.0 13.04
B26 0.116 57.7 6.69
B29V 0.110 81.9 9.01
B29V1 0.111 80.9 8.98
643
 Minimum value is 4.9

 Maximum value is 13
 Average value is 7.4
 A log-log plot of and porosity is displayed in next figure
 decrease with an increase in porosity
644
645
True Formation Resistivity
 Porous rocks generally contain hydrocarbon fluids as well as water

 The presence of hydrocarbons in the pores impacts the overall
resistivity of porous rocks
 Reconsider the porous rock under the influence of an electrical field
 The porous rock is partially saturated with hydrocarbon and partially
saturated with formation water
 Rt = resistivity of rock containing both hydrocarbon and water
 This resistivity is known as true formation resistivity
646
I
Ammeter Source
DV
Voltmeter
Sw and SHC
A
L
647
 By definition, true formation resistivity is
 Hydrocarbons are electrically non-conductive

 Hydrocarbons do not contribute to transmittal of electrons across the
porous media
 Hydrocarbons decrease the effective area available for current flow
 Aw = cross sectional area occupied by formation water
648
 Assume that hydrocarbon and formation water are uniformly

distributed throughout the pore network
 Actual distance taken by the electrons may still be approximated in
terms of tortuosity
 and
 If Aw and Lp are available then Rw may directly be calculated from
 Aw may be related to Ap in terms of Sw
649
 Substituting into the eq. for Rt
 Previously, we showed that
650
 Combining last two eqs.
 Rearranging
 The importance of the eq. above is that it relates water saturation to

electrical properties which can be measured on core plugs
651
Resistivity Index
 Resistivity index is defined as the ratio of true resistivity of the porous

rock partially saturated by hydrocarbon and water to the resistivity of
the rock completely saturated by formation water
 IR = resistivity index
 Rt = true formation resistivity of partially water saturated rock
 Rf = formation resistivity of 100% water saturated rock
 Previously, we showed that
652
Resistivity Index
 Combining last two eqs.
 Resistivity index is reciprocally related to water saturation

 Theoretically derived expression given above rarely holds
 In practical applications, eq. above may be generalized as below
 n = saturation exponent
 Rearranging
653
Resistivity Index
 The eq above is of primary importance in the estimation of water

saturation from the resistivity logs
 Saturation exponent n can be determined from a log-log plot of the
measured resistivity index and saturation data
 Taking logarithm of the eq. above
 A log-log plot of IR and Sw should display a straight line
654
Resistivity Index
 The intercept value of the straight line should be zero (log1)

 The slope of the straight line is equal to saturation exponent n
 Saturation exponent n may also be determined by fitting a power
function to the IR and Sw data
 Fitting a power function to the measured data may easily be
accomplished by using a spreadsheet program
655
Resistivity Index – Example 5
 Rust measured IR and Sw on a single core

 The core sample had a permeability of 112 md and a porosity of 0.193
 The measured IR and Sw data are given in Table 7
 Construct a log-log plot of the measured data
 Using a spreadsheet program, fit the measured data with a power
function
 Determine coefficients of power fit and saturation exponent n
 log IR – log Sw plot is displayed in next figure
656
Table 7 – Measured water saturation and resistivity index
data, Example 5
Sw IR = Rt/Rf Sw IR = Rt/Rf
(fraction) () (fraction) ()
1.000 1.00 0.431 4.32
0.964 1.10 0.377 5.39
0.450 3.84 0.365 5.87
0.431 4.45 0.325 6.48
0.377 5.60 0.318 7.32
0.365 5.71 0.306 7.67
0.325 7.00 0.274 9.41
0.318 7.18 0.262 10.10
0.306 8.10 0.222 12.60
0.274 9.71 1.000 1.00
0.262 10.40 0.352 6.21
0.222 14.00 0.294 8.46
1.000 1.00 0.262 9.51
0.964 1.04 0.215 13.30
657
658
 log IR – log Sw plot shows a very well defined straight line

 Using a spreadsheet program, a power function is fit to the data
 The empirical power function is given below
 Intercept value of the power fit is nearly 1.0, which yields an intercept
value of log 1 = 0 on the log IR – log Sw plot
 The saturation exponent n of the fit is
659
Permeability and Electrical Property Relations
 Using theoretical approximations, permeability k may be related to

formation resistivity factor F
 Measurements on core samples have shown that an approximate
relationship between k and F indeed do exist
 Consider an incompressible fluid flow across a core plug
 Permeability is computed from Darcy’s equation
 u = superficial fluid velocity
660
 Actual fluid velocity v is higher than the superficial fluid velocity u

 The actual and superficial velocities are related as follows
 (Dp/L) = pressure gradient across the core sample

 Dp = pressure drop across core plug
 L = length of porous sample
 (Dp/L) term appearing in Darcy’s equation is not the actual real but a
superficial pressure gradient
661
 Let (dp/dx)s be superficial pressure gradient
 Actual path taken by fluid flowing through medium is

 Tortuous
 Longer than core length
 Lp = actual length of flow path
 Let (dp/dx)a be actual pressure gradient
662
 Since actual tortuous path is longer than core length, actual pressure
gradient (dp/dx)a is lower than superficial pressure gradient (dp/dx)s
 Multiplying the right-hand-side of the eq. for superficial pressure
gradient by Lp/Lp
 Rearranging
663
 To relate k to F, we manipulate Darcy’s equation
 Multiply the right-hand-side by fLp/fLp
 Replacing Lp/L by
 Permeability is directly proportional to
664
 Permeability eq. may also be expressed as follows
 Previously, we have established a relationship between t, f, and F
 Combining the last two eqs.
 The eq. above is far from being exact; it only shows the general trend
 The last expression may be generalized as follows
665
 Permeability is reciprocally proportional to formation resistivity factor

 Last eq has the form of a power function
 A log-log plot of k versus F should display a straight line
 The coefficient a and b may be estimated from intercept and slope
666
Permeability and Formation Resistivity Factor – Example 6
 Wyble measured k and F on core samples from three different

formations (Weir, Kirkwood, and Bradford formations)
 The measured data are given in Table 8.
 Construct a log-log plot of all the measured data from three formations
 Using a spreadsheet program, fit the measured Bradford data with a
power function
 Determine the constants of the power fit function
667
Permeability and Formation Factor – Example 6
Table 8 – Permeability and formation
resistivity factor for Example 6
Core ID F k
() () (md)
W20B 35.4 3.19
W20BV 33.1 4.63
W31B 43.8 1.42
W31BV 51.2 1.68
W39B 58.8 1.08
W39BV 57.2 1.83
K65 26.2 34.80
K65V 30.4 22.20
K67 49.2 2.38
K67V 51.2 0.74
K67V1 45.9 1.25
B20 127.5 0.476
B23 123.0 1.420
B26 57.7 10.300
B29V 81.9 2.480
B29V1 80.9 2.480
668
669
Permeability and Formation resistivity Factor – Example 6
 In general, permeability decreases with an increase in formation

resistivity factor
 The data from each formation align with a different trend
 Overall data correlates poorly.
 The data from a specific formation correlate better
 log-log plot of the Bradford data displays a well defined straight line
 The data from Bradford formation are fit with a power function
 The correlation coefficient is 0.882
 The power fit function for Bradford formation has the following form
670
Permeability and Formation Factor – Example 6
671
Semi Empirical Permeability Models
 Many empirical models

 We will review two empirical models
 Carothers’ models
 Hutchinson et al. model
 Carothers has proposed two different models for
 Sandstones
 Limestones
 for sandstones
 for limestones
672
 Hutchinson et al. Model
 k = permeability, darcy
 f = porosity, fraction
 s 2 = standard deviation of log2 grain-size distribution, mm
 F = formation resistivity factor, unitless
673
 For a nearly uniform grain size distribution, s 2 = 0
674
References

1960
675
References
676
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Formation_resistivity_determination
 http://petrowiki.org/Permeability_estimation_in_tight_gas_reservoirs
 http://petrowiki.org/Resistivity_and_spontaneous_(SP)_logging
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Electrical_resistivity_measurement_of_concrete
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie%27s_law
677
Useful Links
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hna-sgPpqr8
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOgL_vr3eE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiVXEk0ZPfE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgzaMT-25sU
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMSFJAPvCUs
678
8.2 Mechanical Properties of Porous Rocks
Mechanical Properties of Porous Rocks
 Reservoir rocks are under several stresses

 The stress conditions imposed on reservoir rocks vary with time and
production
 In reference to original undisturbed reservoir rocks in rest, changing
stress conditions results in deformation of subsurface rocks
 The most common result of the subsurface rock deformation is in the
form of subsidence
 Porous rock properties such as porosity, permeability, and electrical
resistivity are all influenced by changing in situ stress conditions
680
8.2.1 Stress
Stress and Deformation
 Consider a cylindrical porous rock specimen at rest in standard

conditions
 The bottom of the rock sample is anchored
 V0 = bulk volume of porous rock at rest
 L0 = length of porous rock at rest
 d0 = diameter of porous rock at rest
 Next figure depicts the porous rock specimen at rest
682
A Porous Rock Sample at Rest
L0
d0
683
 Now, we change the loading conditions on the rock sample

 We apply and external force on the rock sample
 Fz = applied force
 Rock sample is compressed and its shape is deformed
 Sample is under compressive stress
 The applied force Fz shortens the length and enlarges the diameter
 L = length of sample under compressive stress
 d = diameter of sample under compressive stress
684
Fz
L0 L
d0 d
685
 DL = change in length of sample

 Dd = change in diameter of sample
 Stress is defined as the ratio of applied force to cross sectional area

perpendicular to the direction of force
686
 Based on direction of applied force, rock sample may be under three

recognized stress conditions
 Compressive stress
 Tensile stress
 Shear stress
 Compressive stress has already been defined in previous figure
 Compressive stress shortens the length and increases diameter
 Now, we describe tensile stress
687
Tensile Stress
 Rock sample is loaded such that the applied force is upward

 The resulting stress tries to pull apart the sample
 Sample is elongated
 The applied force yields tensile stress
 Rock sample is under tension
 Under tensile stress conditions, sample length increases and sample
diameter decreases
 Next figure shows a porous rock sample under tension
688
Tensile Stress and Deformation
Fz
L
L0
d0 d
689
Shear Stress
 Now, consider shear loading

 Rock sample is pulled from top
 Applied force is parallel to plane it is applied to
 Sample preserves its diameter and length
 Sample is displaced in the direction that it is pulled
 Under such circumstances, rock sample is under shear stress
 Next figure illustrates shear stress on a porous rock specimen
690
Shear Stress
Ds Fs
q
L0 L0
d0 d0
691
Shear Stress
 Typically, shear stress is denote by t

 In reference to the loading in previous figure, shear stress is defined as
 In case of shear stress, applied force Fs is parallel to area A
692
8.2.2 Strain
Strain
 The effect of applied stress on the dimensions of rock sample is

quantified in terms of strain
 Reconsider the rock sample under compressive stress
 Original dimensions of rock sample at rest are L0 and d0
 Under the applied stress sz, diameter and length are L and d
 Net change in length and diameter
694
Strain
 Strains in vertical (axial) and lateral (radial) directions are
 Shear strain is expressed as below
 q is called deformation angle
695
8.2.3 Shear, Young, and Bulk moduli
Shear Modulus
 Shear modulus is the ratio of shear stress to shear strain

 Denoted by G
 Shear modulus is also known as modulus of rigidity
 Shear modulus is a measure of the resistance of a porous body against
deformation
697
Young Modulus
 Young modulus defined as the ratio of axial stress to axial strain

 Denoted by E
698
Bulk Modulus
 Bulk modulus is a measure of the increment in the stress level to cause

a unit fractional change in volume of rock sample
 Denoted by K
 By definition bulk modulus is the reciprocal of bulk compressibility
699
8.2.4 Poisson Ratio
Poisson’s Ratio
 Poisson’s ratio is defined as the ratio of radial strain to axial strain
701
Interrelations among Elastic Constants
 Young modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Poisson’s ratio are
known as elastic constants
 These four elastic constants are related to each other
 Using their definitions, relationships among the four elastic constants
may be expressed
 Any one of the elastic constants can be expressed in terms of the other
two
702
Interrelations among Elastic Constants
703
8.2.5 Laboratory tests
Laboratory Measurement of Mechanical Rock Properties
 Several different laboratory tests

 Uniaxial test
 Hydrostatic test
 Triaxial test
 Next figure shows main components of a simple uniaxial test apparatus
 In a uniaxial test, the core sample is saturated with a pore fluid,
typically water
 The fluid saturated core is placed in a core holder
 The core holder is made of stainless steel with high strength
705

 Uniaxial test
 Triaxial test
typically water
706
Uniaxial Test
 An external force representing the overburden is imposed on core

sample through a loading system
 Steel core holder restricts the expansion of rock sample in the radial
direction
 When the external load is increased, it only changes height of core
 There is also a flow line allowing fluid flow across the core sample
 Both the overburden and pore pressures are measured
707
Uniaxial Test
pov pp
Core
holder
708
Uniaxial Test
 Initially, pp is set to a high value closer to pov

 Then pp is gradually reduced by producing the pore fluid
 The setup is also equipped with sensors and gauges to measure bulk
volume and pore volume
709
Hydrostatic Test
 In a hydrostatic test, the external surfaces of core sample are sealed

 Metal caps are placed at the core ends
 Metal caps allow fluid flow across the core sample
 The circular external surface is typically sealed by using a rubber sleeve
 The circular external surface may also be treated with an adhesive
agent
 The core sample is placed in a bath of liquid in a core holder
 The annular space between the core holder and core sample is typically
filled with water or hydraulic oil
710
Hydrostatic Test
 Flow lines are attached to the core holder

 The pressure in the annular space of the core holder may be adjusted
by pumping and withdrawing the annular fluid
 The main difference between the uniaxial and hydrostatic tests is that,
in a hydrostatic test, all the external surfaces are exposed to a uniform
stress loading
 Deformation could take place both in radial and vertical directions
 Next figure shows hydrostatic test apparatus
711
Hydrostatic Test
pov
pp
Confining
fluid
Rubber sleeve
Core
holder
End cap
712
Triaxial Test
 Neither uniaxial test nor hydrostatic test represents the true stress
conditions imposed on reservoir rocks
 A triaxial cell is a much better replica of stress changes on subsurface
formations
 Next figure shows the apparatus to run a triaxial test
 The main characteristic of the triaxial test is that, on the core sample,
we could impose different stresses in vertical and horizontal directions
713
Tiaxial Test
sv
pp
Confining
fluid
Rubber sleeve
Core sh
holder
714
 Laboratory tests may also be categorized as

 Drained
 Undrained
 Uniaxial, hydrostatic, and triaxial tests may be conducted under drained
or undrained conditions
 In a drained test, the flowline allowing fluid circulation through the
porous rock sample is kept open
 Pore fluid pressure is equivalent to atmospheric pressure
715
 In an undrained test, the valves on the flowline through core sample are
shut
 Pore fluid is not allowed to drain
 In an undrained test, the pore pressure needs to be monitored
continuously
 Pore fluid may be produced to adjust the pore pressure to a desired
value
716
 Laboratory tests may also be categorized as

 Confined
 Unconfined
 Confining stress (pressure) is defined as
 When test is run under zero confining stress then it is referred to as

unconfined
 Typically, under unconfined conditions, sh = 0 and pp = 0
 In a confined test, sh > pp and sc > 0
717
8.2.6 Rock strength
Rock Strength
 Strength of solid materials is its ability to resist to changing stress

conditions without yielding or failing
 The maximum applied load causing rock failure is known as the ultimate
rock strength
 Information on the compressive rock strength is critical in wellbore
stability during drilling and production operations
 Strength of porous reservoir rocks may be determined under
compressive loading conditions in a uniaxial cell
 In such tests, axial load is gradually increased until rock sample fails
719
Rock Strength
 Simpler alternative techniques to measure compressive strength

approximately
 Among the alternative methods are
 Point load test
 Brazilian test
 Protodyakonov test
720
Mechanical Properties – Example 1
 A core sample is subject to an unconfined and drained triaxial test

 Initial dimensions of the core are L0 = 2.435 in. and d0 = 1.03 in
 When the axial load is increased to 17,375 lb, Dd = 465x10-6 in. and a
change of DL = 3,288x10-6 in. take place
 At the maximum load of 17,375 lb, the rock fails
 Calculate ultimate strength, strains, elastic constants, and bulk
compressibility
721
 Computations are outlined below
 Ultimate strength is
 Axial and radial strains are as follows
722
 Elastic constants are given below
723
 Computations are outlined below
 Ultimate strength is
 Axial and radial strains are as follows
724
 Elastic constants are given below
725
References

726
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Rock_mechanical_properties
 http://petrowiki.org/Stress_strain_relationships_in_rocks
 http://petrowiki.org/Compressive_strength_of_rocks
 http://petrowiki.org/Subsurface_stress_and_pore_pressure
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93strain_curve
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_modulus
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulk_modulus
727
Useful Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson%27s_ratio
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQnx5rtCLQQ
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7BSx-mBhQ
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkMwU9nNcRg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skVfnOMLpTg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lkZIrLp_mE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvl0ecTskDY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq4UlLm8oIs
728
Module 9
Subsurface Pressures in Porous Rocks
Module Outline
9.1 Hydrostatic pressure and pressure gradient
9.2 Overburden stress
9.3 Pore pressure
9.4 Matrix pressure
9.5 Pressure interactions during production
730
Learning Objectives
• Recall hydrostatic fluid pressure and pressure gradient
• Explain overburden stress
• Interpret pore and matrix pressures
• Contrast pore vs. matrix pressure
• Recognize pressure interactions during production
731
Subsurface Pressure Regimes
 Several pressure terms related to subsurface rocks

 Hydrostatic pressure
 Overburden (lithostatic) pressure
 Pore (fluid) pressure
 Grain (matrix) pressure
 Confining pressure
732
9.1 Hydrostatic pressure and pressure gradient
Hydrostatic Fluid Pressure and Pressure Gradient
 Consider a well full of a fluid, typically drilling mud or completion fluid

 Well is pressurized; pwh at wellhead
 The fluid is nearly incompressible
 Water
 Drilling mud
 Completion fluids
 The fluid occupying the well is static and in equilibrium; no flow
 Temperature in the well is constant
734
 How does the static fluid pressure vary with depth?

 Static fluid pressure increases linearly with depth
 Pressure profile is controlled by
 Fluid density
 Wellhead pressure
 The fluid pressure at any depth is due to applied wellhead pressure and
the weight of the fluid column above the depth of interest
 This pressure is known as hydrostatic pressure
735
Static Pressure Due To a Fluid Column
pwh
pwh p
z=0
z
Fluid
Fz
z
Slope ~ rf
736
 Formulate static pressure distribution along wellbore

 Consider a differential element of well cross-section at a depth of z
 Static pressure at any depth z is the force applied on differential
element divided by well cross-sectional area
 F(z) = force applied above differential element

 A = cross-sectional area
737
 Applied force is the sum of

 force applied by wellhead pressure
 force imposed by the weight of the fluid column
 Combining the eqs. above
738
 In engineering units, density is typically given in the unit of lbm/cuft and

pressure is expressed in the unit of lbm/sqin
 To have unit consistency, density unit needs to be converted
 Applying density unit conversion
739
Hydrostatic Pressure Gradient
 Eq. above indicates that static pressure increases linearly with depth
 Pressure gradient = change in static pressure for a unit depth change
 Differentiating eq. above with respect to depth variable z
 dp/dz = static fluid pressure gradient or hydrostatic pressure gradient
740
 In engineering applications, pure water as reference fluid

 rw = 62.4 lbm/cuft
 Static pressure gradient of pure water
741
 Subsurface waters are typically heavier than pure water

 Oilfield waters contain varying concentrations of inorganic salts
 Average specific gravity of saline water is 1.073
 Saline water generates a higher hydrostatic pressure gradient
 The hydrostatic pressure due to weight of saline subsurface water is
742
9.2 Overburden stress
Overburden Stress (Pressure)
 Reservoir rocks are sealed by an overlaying cap rock

 Many geological layers exist between reservoir rock and surface
 The reservoir rocks are exposed to stress originating from the weight of
the upper geological rock layers
 The stress acting on reservoir rock due to the weight of overlaying
formations is called overburden or lithostatic pressure, pov
 Quantifying overburden pressure?
 Information on the density of all the layers above the reservoir rock
744
Overburden Stress on Reservoir Rocks
Overburden stress Cap rock
Grain Fluid pressure
745
 Overlaying formations are composed of many different geological rocks

with different densities
 Overburden stress gradient in any layer could be predicted from the
density of the rock in the layer of interest
 rr = local rock density
 Overburden stress gradient is
 Overburden stress at any depth by integrating the eq. above
746
 In nature, overlaying formations are extremely heterogeneous

 Need to have the density profile from surface to reservoir
 Rock density profile may be derived from density logs
 Assume an average rock density of
 Overburden stress at any depth is
747
 Average specific gravity of subsurface formations is 2.3 g/cc
 Overburden stress gradient approximated as
 In the absence of density logs, this average overburden stress gradient

may be very useful to predict the overburden stress roughly
748
9.3 Pore pressure
Pore (Reservoir) Pressure in Subsurface Formations
 Porous reservoir rocks contain solid grains and fluids

 Fluids occupy pores
 Reservoir fluids are compressed
 Pore pressure = pressure of compressed fluids occupying pores
 Initial reservoir pressure increases with burial depth
 The deeper the formation, the higher the reservoir discovery pressure
750
 Based on their discovery pressure, reservoirs may be classified as

 Normally-pressured
 Overpressured
 Underpressured
 In normally pressured formations, the expected initial reservoir
pressure is in the range of hydrostatic pressure due to weight of a water
column whose height is equal to burial depth of formation
 Consider a reservoir which is connected to surface through a crack or
fracture
751
 The crack reaching to surface is full of saline water

 The pressure along the crack would gradually increase due to weight of
water column above
 At bottom of crack, hydrostatic pressure due to weight of saline water
column would be
 At the bottom of it, the crack is connected to reservoir rock

 Assume that there is no fluid flow and static equilibrium is established
752
Crack
filled
with
water
z
Reservoir
753
 Same pressure at bottom of crack and in reservoir

 Expected reservoir discovery (pore) pressure, pp, in normally pressured
subsurface formations may be approximated as
 Actual initial reservoir discovery pressure may be different from the

expected value predicted by the eq. above
754
 The parameters controlling the actual reservoir pressure are

 Geological burial history
 Reservoir rock type
 Reservoir pore volume
 Mass of the fluid stored in reservoir pores
 Fluid type and fluid compressibility
 Reservoir temperature
755
 If actual pp is noticeably (in the order of several hundreds of psi) higher

than 0.4675 z, the reservoir is
 Overpressured
 Supernormal
 If pp is markedly lower than 0.4675 z then the reservoir is
 Underpressured
 Subnormal
756
dpp/dz  0.465 psi/ft
dpov/dz  1 psi/ft
Subsurface Pressure Regimes
re
ssu ion
Pressure
pre reg
757
tic ed
sta sur
ho res
Lit verp ure
O ress
tic p
osta gion
Hydr red re
pressu
Under
Depth
9.4 Matrix pressure
Matrix (Grain) Pressure
 Reservoir rock is composed of solid matrix and void space

 Void space is saturated by reservoir fluids
 Reservoir fluids are compressed and apply pressure on pore walls
 Reservoir fluid also partially counterbalances overburden pressure
 Expected reservoir discovery pressure in range of pp(z) = 0.465 z
759
 Porous reservoir rocks under influence of overburden pressure pov

 Overburden pressure approximated as pov(z) = z
 A pressure imbalance between overburden and pore pressures
 pov(z) – pp(z) = 0.535 z
 System is in static conditions and equilibrium must be preserved
 Pressure difference of pov(z) – pp(z) = 0.535 z must be counterbalanced
760
pov
Overburden pressure
Grain
pov
Pore pressure
761
 Pore fluids compensate only a portion of overburden pressure

 Total force due to weight of overlaying rocks is counterbalanced
partially by reservoir fluids and partially by reservoir rock matrix
 Force applied due to pressure difference of pov(z) – pp(z) = 0.535 z is
exerted on matrix through a grain-to-grain contact
 This force creates an internal reactive force and stress in matrix and in
individual sedimentary grains
 Internal pressure created in matrix is called matrix or grain pressure
 pm = matrix pressure
762
 In an ideal porous medium

 Uniform external overburden pressure in all directions
 Homogenous matrix
 Uniformly sized grains
 No cementation between grains
 Grains are loose but in contact
 One dimensional consolidation
 Relationship among overburden, pore, and matrix pressures
763
Confining Pressure
 This pressure difference between overburden and pore pressures is also

known as
 Confining pressure
 Net overburden stress
 Effective stress
764
 Real reservoir rocks may not satisfy all the assumptions listed above
 Real reservoir rocks may be exposed to non-uniform vertical
overburden and external lateral stresses
 Lateral stresses in x and y directions are lower than the vertical
overburden pov
 Reservoir rocks are generally composed of many different solid
compounds
 Grains are nonuniform in size and shape
 Individual rock grains are cemented
765
 Grains are not loose to move their own

 In real reservoir rocks, the relationship among overburden, pore, and
matrix pressures cannot be represented by
 Interaction among overburden, pore, and matrix pressures are quite
complex
 As a rough approximation,
 a is a coefficient less than 1
766
 Numerical value of a depends on

 Grain size distribution
 Cementation material
 Elastic modulus
 Composition of rock
 Typically, for reservoir rocks, 0.4 < a < 0.7
 a is known as Biot’s poroelastic coefficient
767
9.5 Pressure interactions during production
Interaction among Subsurface Pressures During Production
 During production of reservoir fluids, static equilibrium is upset

 A dynamic interaction among overburden, pore, and matrix pressures
 What happens to all three pressure terms during production?
 Overburden pressure is due to weight of geological layers
 For all practical purposes, there is no change in force applied by upper
layers
 pov ≈ constant during production
769
 When reservoir fluids are produced, mass of fluid remaining in reservoir

pore volume is reduced
 Fluid pressure in reservoir pores decreases due to loss of fluid mass

 Differentiating eq. above
770
 Eq. above indicates that the changes in matrix and pore pressures are in
opposite directions
 During production ; therefore, matrix pressure increases

 While reservoir fluids are being produced, more and more of

overburden stress is counterbalanced by solid matrix structure
771
North Sea Chalk Reservoir – Example 1
 Production data from a North Sea Chalk reservoir are given

 Initial reservoir pore pressure = 7,150 psia
 Assume an overburden stress of 12,000 psia
 a = 0.7
 Estimate matrix pressure and confining pressure as a function of time
and production
772
Pore Oil Matrix Confining
Time pressure production pressure pressure
(months) (psia) (MMSTB) (psia) (psia)
0 7,150 0.000 6,995 4,850
6 6,600 8.072 7,380 5,400
12 5,800 22.549 7,940 6,200
18 4,950 36.369 8,535 7,050
21 4,500 43.473 8,850 7,500
24 4,350 49.182 8,955 7,650
30 4,060 58.383 9,158 7,940
36 3,840 64.812 9,312 8,160
42 3,660 69.562 9,438 8,340
48 3,480 74.572 9,564 8,520
54 3,260 78.400 9,718 8,740
60 3,100 81.275 9,830 8,900
66 2,940 83.879 9,942 9,060
72 2,800 86.401 10,040 9,200
773
 Calculations for the initial condition

 At initial time, pp = 7,150 psia
 Rest of the calculations given in table

 Measured pore pressure, estimated matrix and confining pressures, and
the cumulative oil production are plotted as a function of time
774
775
 As production time increases

 More oil is produced from reservoir
 Pore pressure declines
 Matrix pressure increases
 Matrix balances the nearly constant overburden pressure due to the
weight of upper geological rock layers
 Confining pressure, the difference between overburden and pore
pressures, increases
776
Useful Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poroelasticity
 http://petrowiki.org/Pore_fluid_effects_on_rock_mechanics
 http://petrowiki.org/Subsurface_stress_and_pore_pressure
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIodc9fK6dk
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R6HJwieg6A
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ0_ZwQXo4c
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXf4reGeo1M
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKqtrgCDyK8
777
Module 10
Compressibility of Porous Rocks
Module Outline
10.1 Compressibility of solid material
10.2 Compressibility of porous rocks
10.3 Porosity-compressibility relationship
10.4 Measurement of formation compressibility
10.5 Empirical correlation for formation compressibility
10.6 Changes of pore volume with production
779
Learning Objectives
• Recall compressibility of solid material
• Distinguish between solid vs. porous rock compressibility
• State porosity-compressibility relationship
• Define lab tests for compressibility
• Estimate formation compressibility from hydrostatic test data
780
10.1 Compressibility of solid material
Compressibility of Solid Material
 Consider a core size sample of solid material at rest in standard cond.

 Solid sample is placed in a steel holder
 Vsc = volume of solid material at rest
 Apply uniform pressure (stress) at the top surface
 The deformation in lateral plane is not allowed
 As pressure is increased, height and volume are decreased
 Change in pressure results in change in volume
 Next figure displays the changes in solid volume with increasing stress
782
Compressibility of Solid Materials
psc
p1
p2
p3
Vsc V1 V2 V3
783
Compressibility of Solid Material
 A Cartesian plot of solid volume as a function of external pressure

 Volume-pressure relationship in next figure
 The change in solid volume with respect to pressure in term of
isothermal compressibility coefficient
 For a solid material, isothermal compressibility is defined as
 dV/dp is negative
 A minus sign to make c a positive quantity
784
Coefficient of Isothermal Compressibility
T = constant
V
dV/dp
785
10.2 Compressibility of porous rocks
 Solid material; one pressure term and one volume term to consider
 Not the case for a porous rock sample
 Porous rocks are made of void space and matrix material
 Three volumes; bulk volume, matrix volume, and pore volume
 The relationship among these three volumes
 Several pressure (or stress) terms; overburden, matrix, and pore

 Combination of 3 volumes and 3 pressures; many different definitions
of isothermal compressibility
787
 Mostly interested in how pore volume varies with production

 Relationship between pore volume and pore pressure under constant
overburden pressure and constant temperature
 Consider a reservoir rock at rest in initial reservoir conditions
 Vpi = initial pore volume
 ppi = initial pore pressure
 pov = overburden pressure
 T = reservoir temperature
788
pov
Overburden pressure
Grain
pp
Fluid pore
pressure
789
 When reservoir fluids are produced, overburden pressure and

temperature stay constant
 During production, fluid pressure inside the pores is reduced
 Typically, total rock bulk volume and pore volume decrease with
production as well
 Vp = pore volume during production
 pp = reservoir fluid pressure during the production
 Vp and pp relationship in next figure
790
Pore Volume During Fluid Depletion
ppi, Vpi
Pore volume
pp, Vp
Late and middle time Early time
Pore pressure
791
 Change in pore volume with respect to pore pressure is nonlinear

 Different responses during production history
 Early time
 Intermediate time
 Late time
 During early time period,
 Reservoir pressure is high
 Confining pressure between the overburden and pore pressures is low
 Decrease in pore volume is typically exponential
792
 At intermediate times
 Change in Vp is less drastic
 Change in Vp approximated by a polynomial in terms of pp
 During the late stage of the production
 Reservoir pressures are low
 Confining pressure is high
 Significant consolidation has already been completed
 Vp varies almost linearly with respect to pp
793
 How much the pore volume varies during the primary production is one
of the mechanisms controlling the performance of the hydrocarbon
reservoirs
 It is necessary to predict the pore volume or the changes in the pore
with respect to initial conditions at any given production time
 The change in the pore volume with respect to the pressure decrease
owing to the depletion of the reservoir pore fluids is quantified in term
of formation compressibility or pore compressibility, cf
794
 Formation compressibility is defined as


 Notice that the definition given above does not have a negative sign
 Overburden pressure stays constant as well as the temperature
 By definition, cf has a unit that is the reciprocal of the pressure
 cf is typically estimated by measuring the pore volume on core samples
under the simulated reservoir stress and temperature conditions
795
 cf definition requires the computation of dVp /dpp

 The derivative dVp /dpp is the tangent line to the pore volume versus
pressure curve
 Once the pore volume as function of reservoir pressure is known, cf
could be calculated by drawing tangent lines to Vp versus pp curve
 Another alternative is to use a finite difference approximation
 dVp /dpp ≈ DVp /Dpp
796
 cf is a reflection of pore volume

 cf varies with reservoir (pore) pressure
 Next figure depicts the typical relationship between cf and pp
 Three different responses during primary production period
 Early time
 Intermediate time
 Late time
 During early production times, cf is a nonlinear function of pp
797
Formation Compressibility
ppi, cfi
Formation compressibility
Late time Middle time Early time

Pore pressure
798
 At intermediate times, cf is almost linear with respect to pp

 During late production times, cf is almost constant
 Typical cf values for the consolidated sandstones are in the range of
3×10-6 psia-1  cf  10×10-6 psia-1
 The unconsolidated sandstones are more compressible
 For unconsolidated sandstones, cf may be as high as 50×10-6 psia-1
799
10.3 Porosity-compressibility relationship
Porosity and Compressibility Relationship
 In addition to the original definition of cf, another alternative

compressibility definition relating cf and f has also been proposed
 To establish the relationship between cf and f, we revisit the definition
of porosity
 Differentiating the last eq. with respect to pp
801
 At this point, we assume that, compared to the changes in porosity, the

changes in bulk volume is negligible
 Vb ≈ constant and DVb ≈ 0
 In such a case, the expression for dVp/dpp reduces to
 Substituting the last eq. into the original definition of cf
802
 Since ignores the changes in Vb, <
803
10.4 Measurement of formation compressibility
Laboratory Tests to Measure Formation Compressibility

 Uniaxial test
 Triaxial test
typically water
805
Uniaxial Test
 An external force representing the overburden is imposed on core

sample through a loading system
 Steel core holder restricts the expansion of rock sample in the radial
direction
 When the external load is increased, it only changes height of core
 There is also a flow line allowing fluid flow across the core sample
 Both the overburden and pore pressures are measured
806
Uniaxial Test
pov pp
Core
holder
807
Uniaxial Test
 Initially, pp is set to a high value closer to pov

 Then pp is gradually reduced by producing the pore fluid
 The setup is also equipped with sensors and gauges to measure bulk
volume and pore volume
808
Hydrostatic Test
 In a hydrostatic test, the external surfaces of core sample are sealed

 Metal caps are placed at the core ends
 Metal caps allow fluid flow across the core sample
 The circular external surface is typically sealed by using a rubber sleeve
 The circular external surface may also be treated with an adhesive
agent
 The core sample is placed in a bath of liquid in a core holder
 The annular space between the core holder and core sample is typically
filled with water or hydraulic oil
809
Hydrostatic Test
 Flow lines are attached to the core holder

 The pressure in the annular space of the core holder may be adjusted
by pumping and withdrawing the annular fluid
 The main difference between the uniaxial and hydrostatic tests is that,
in a hydrostatic test, all the external surfaces are exposed to a uniform
stress loading
 Deformation could take place both in radial and vertical directions
 Next figure shows hydrostatic test apparatus
810
Hydrostatic Test
pov
pp
Confining
fluid
Rubber sleeve
Core
holder
End cap
811
Triaxial Test
 Neither uniaxial test nor hydrostatic test represents the true stress
conditions imposed on reservoir rocks
 A triaxial cell is a much better replica of stress changes on subsurface
formations
 Next figure shows the apparatus to run a triaxial test
 The main characteristic of the triaxial test is that, on the core sample,
we could impose different stresses in vertical and horizontal directions
812
Tiaxial Test
sv
pp
Confining
fluid
Rubber sleeve
Core sh
holder
813
Formation Compressibility - Example 1
 A core sample in a hydrostatic test cell

 Overburden pressure of pov = 9,047.7 psia
 Initial pore pressure of ppi = 8,914.7 psia
 At the initial conditions, Vbi = 204.74 cc and Vpi = 42.1 cc
 Pore fluid is produced and pore pressure is reduced gradually
 pov is kept constant
 Vb and Vp are measured at new pore pressure values pp
 All the data are given in Table 1
814
 Plot Vb – pp
 Plot Vp – pp
 Calculate matrix (grain) volume and plot Vm – pp
 Compute porosity and plot  – pp
 Calculate cf, definition based on Vp, and plot cf – pp
 Calculate cf, definition in terms of , plot cf – pp
815
Table 1 – Hydrostatic Test Data for Example 1
pov pp Vb Vp
Test
(psia) (psia) (cc) (cc)
1 9,047.7 8,914.7 204.7400 42.1000
2 9,047.7 8,014.7 204.1943 41.5483
3 9,047.7 7,014.7 203.8773 41.2246
4 9,047.7 6,014.7 203.6554 40.9960
5 9,047.7 5,014.7 203.4604 40.7945
6 9,047.7 4,014.7 203.2992 40.6268
7 9,047.7 3,014.7 203.1517 40.4728
8 9,047.7 2,014.7 203.0365 40.3511
9 9,047.7 1,014.7 202.9328 40.2410
10 9,047.7 14.7 202.8313 40.1330
816
 All the plots are given in next group of figures

 Vb – pp relationship is nonlinear
 Vb is reduced with a decrease in pp
 At high pp corresponding to early production period, reduction in Vb is
more drastic and non-linear
 At intermediate pp values, Vb varies more linearly with pressure
 At pp values corresponding to late production times, Vb varies linearly
with pressure
817
818
 A Cartesian plot of Vp – pp in next figure

 Vp varies with pp in a nonlinear fashion
 During early production period, when pp is higher, the decrease in Vp is
severe and strongly nonlinear
 At intermediate production period with intermediate pp, Vp – pp
relationship is weakly non-linear
 During the late production period with low pp, Vp changes linearly with
pp or fluid production
819
820
 Next, we compute matrix (grain) volume

 For Test # 1, Vb = 204.74 cc and Vp = 42.1 cc
 Vm for the other test points are calculated and tabulated in Table 2
 Vm is plotted as a function of pp in next figure
 Vm increases with a decrease in pore pressure
 Compared to the changes in Vb and Vp, the changes in Vm are much
smaller
821
822
 Next, we compute porosity

 For Test # 1, Vbi = 204.74 cc and Vpi = 42.1 cc
 Except early time production period, porosity decreases linearly with

decreasing pp
 During early production period, pp is high, f varies nonlinearly
 Vp–vs–pp and f–vs–pp curves have somewhat different shapes
823
824
 Next, we compute cf and cff
 cf at pp2 = 8,014.7 psia is evaluated using the data of Test #1 and 2

 pp1 = 8,914.7 psia, Vp1 = 42.1 cc, pp2 = 8,014.7 psia, Vp2 = 41.5483 cc
825
 The results are listed in Table 2 and in next figure

 The relationship between cf and pp is significantly nonlinear
 At early production period, reduction in cf is extreme
 At intermediate pore pressure, cf varies with pp in a weakly nonlinear
fashion
 At low pore pressure, cf may be considered as a linear function of pp
826
Table 2 – Analysis of Hydrostatic Test Data for Example 1
Test pp Vm f DVp /Dpp Df /D pp cf cff
(psia) (cc) (frac.) (cc/psia) (1/psia) (1/psia) (1/psia)
1 8,914.7 162.6400 0.20563
2 8,014.7 162.6460 0.20347 6.130x10-4 2.391x10-6 1.475x10-5 1.175x10-5
3 7,014.7 162.6527 0.20220 3.237x10-4 1.271x10-6 7.852x10-6 6.287x10-6
4 6,014.7 162.6594 0.20130 2.286x10-4 9.022x10-7 5.576x10-6 4.482x10-6
5 5,014.7 162.6659 0.20050 2.015x10-4 7.974x10-7 4.939x10-6 3.977x10-6
6 4,014.7 162.6724 0.19984 1.677x10-4 6.659x10-7 4.128x10-6 3.332x10-6
7 3,014.7 162.6789 0.19922 1.540x10-4 6.130x10-7 3.805x10-6 3.077x10-6
8 2,014.7 162.6854 0.19874 1.217x10-4 4.864x10-7 3.016x10-6 2.447x10-6
9 1,014.7 162.6918 0.19830 1.101x10-4 4.410x10-7 2.736x10-6 2.224x10-6
10 14.7 162.6983 0.19786 1.080x10-4 4.332x10-7 2.691x10-6 2.190x10-6
827
828
 pp1 = 8,914.7 psia, f1 = 0.2056266, pp2 = 8,014.7 psia, f2 = 0.203474


829
10.5 Empirical correlation for formation
compressibility
Empirical Correlations for Formation Compressibility
 Several correlations to predict cf

 Newman correlations
 Yale et al. correlations
 Newman presented correlations for limestone and consolidated
sandstones
 for consolidated sandstones
 for limestone
831
Empirical Correlations for Formation Compressibility
 Yale et al. presented correlations for

 Unconsolidated sandstones
 Friable sandstones
 Consolidated sandstones
 Yale et al. correlations are given below
 A, B, C, D, K1, K2, and K3 are constants and given in next table
832
Yale et al. Correlation
Table 3 – Empirical Constants of Yale et al. Correlation for Formation
Compressibility
Parameter Sandstone type
Unconsolidated Friable Consolidated
A -2.805x10 - 5 1.054x10 - 5 -2.399x10 - 5
B 300 500 300
C 0.1395 -0.2250 0.06230
D 1.183x10 - 5 -1.103x10 - 5 4.308x10 - 5
K1 0.95 0.90 0.85
K2 0.95 0.90 0.80
K3 0.75 0.60 0.45
833
10.6 Changes of pore volume with production
Changes in Pore Volume with Production
 If cf is available, we can predict how Vp varies with production

 To estimate Vp, we use the definition of cf
 Rearranging the definition of cf
 Integrating from the initial to current conditions
835
 Taking the exponential of both sides
836
 Rearranging for the current pore volume
 The argument of the exponential function is usually small

 If x < 0.1, the exponential function could be approximated as
 Using the small argurment approximation
837
 For the formations with ppi ranging from low to intermediate, cf is nearly
constant
 For such formations,
 The expression above is used in material balance equation, which is

used to predict the amount of hydrocarbons in reservoirs
838
 The last eq. may be rearranged for the net change and fractional net
change in pore volume
839
Importance of Formation Compressibility
 To quantify the importance of cf, we consider

 a shallow consolidated reservoir
 an unconsolidated reservoir with high initial pressure
840
 A shallow consolidated reservoir with low compressibility

 ppi = 3,000 psi, cf = 3x10-6 psi-1, and pp = 500 psi
 Calculate the fractional change in pore volume
 A negligibly small decrease of 0.75% in pore volume change
841
 An unconsolidated formation with high compressibility and initial

pressure
 ppi = 12,000 psi, cf = 50x10-6 psi-1, and pp = 6,000 psi
 Calculate the fractional change in pore volume
 A significant change of 30% in reservoir pore volume
842
References

1960
843
References
844
Useful Links
 http://petrowiki.org/Compaction_drive_reservoirs
media/chapter-2-the-porous-medium/compressibility-of-porous-rocks/
 https://www.spec2000.net/09-compress.htm
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UQB_cCYlfY
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq4UlLm8oIs
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiAzJAffbLo
845
Appendix
Units and Unit Conversion
Unit Systems and Unit Conversion
 In 1120, King of England decreed that the standard length in his country
would be named as yard
 A yard is equal to the distance from the tip of King’s nose to the end of
his arm stretch
 Original standard for the foot was adopted by French
 A foot was the length of the royal foot of King Louis XIV
 In 1799, the meter became the legal standard of length
 In October 1983, the meter was redefined as the distance traveled by
light in vacuum during a time of 1/299 792 458 second
847
 Several major catastrophes due to unit conversion

 Mars Climate Orbiter was launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to
study Martian climate
 On September 23, 1999, the spacecraft encountered Mars too close and
disintegrated due to computer software generating output in pound-
force-seconds instead of newton-seconds
 Anybody can be confused about the unit systems and unit conversions
848
 In petroleum engineering, US customary unit system is the most widely

used unit system
 US customary unit system is also referred to as oilfield units
 Even in case of oilfield units, the unit for a particular
parameter/variable may vary depending upon the context
 For example, flow rate may be specified in different units
 In drilling engineering, flow rate may be given in unit of gallons per minute
 In reservoir engineering, oil production rate is specified in unit of barrels per day
 Gas production rate is given as millions of cubic feet per day
 For laboratory tests, flow rate may be given in unit of centimeter cube per hour
849
 Due to wide variations of unit systems used in oil industry, it is

important that petroleum engineers
 understand different unit systems
 convert quantities expressed in one unit system to other unit systems
 convert equations given in one particular unit system to other unit systems
850
Unit Systems and Unit Conversion - References
 Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, The International System of

Units
 https://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si_brochure_8_en.pdf
 NIST, The International System of Units
 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/12/07/sp330.pdf
 NIST, General Tables of Units of Measurement
 https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2017/04/28/AppC-12-hb44-
final.pdf
851
 SPE, The SI Metric System of Units and SPE Metric Standard

 http://www.spe.org/authors/docs/metric_standard.pdf
 Earlougher, Advances in Well Test Analysis, Appendix A, Unit Systems
and Conversions
 Wikipedia, Conversion of units
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_of_units
852
 Unit Converter Pro; a unit conversion software

 https://www.unitconverterpro.com/download.html
 Note; permeability conversions in Unit Converter Pro software are for
electrical permittivity and not valid for reservoir engineering
 Download the documents and software referenced above
853
 There are several unit systems

 SI unit system (kilogram, meter, second)
 CGS (centimeter, gram, second) unit system
 FPS (foot, pound, second) unit system; also known as British or US customary
units
 Darcy unit system; used in reservoir engineering
 Oilfield unit system; similar to but different from British/US customary units
 Table 1 gives some of the main parameters in different unit systems
 Conversion factors for some of the main parameters are listed below
854
Unit Systems
Table 1 – Unit systems
Parameter Symbol Dimension cgs SI Darcy Oil field
Length l or L L cm m cm ft
Time t T s s s h or D
Mass m M g kg g lbm
Force F ML/T2 dyn, g·cm/s2 N, kg·m/s lbf
Area A L2 cm2 m2 cm2 ft2
Volume V L3 cm3 m3 cm3 ft3 or STB
Velocity u or v L/T cm/s m/s cm/s ft/s
Rate q L3/T cm3/s m3/s cm3/s STB/D or Mscf/D
Pressure p (ML/T2)/L2 dyn/cm2 Pascal, N/m2 atm psia
Density r M/L3 g/cm3 kg/m3 g/cm3 lbm/ft3
Viscosity m M/LT Poise, g/cm·s Pa·s cp cp
Permeability k L2 cm2 m2 darcy millidarcy
Acceleration a or g L/T2 cm/s2 m/s2 ft/s2
855
Unit Conversion
 Conversion factors for some of the main parameters can be found in the
references listed below
 There are also many tables for conversions factors in many physics and
chemistry textbooks
 Here, we will present some of the unit conversion factors
856
Unit Conversion - Length
 1 m = 100 cm = 1,000 mm = 106 micron

 1 km = 1,000 m
 1 ft = 30.48 cm = 0.3048 m = 12 in
 1 in = 2.54 cm = 0.0254 m
 1 mile = 5, 280 ft = 1,609.344 m
857
Unit Conversion - Mass
 1 kg = 1,000 g
 1 ton = 1,000 kg
 1 lbm = 453.59 g = 0.45359 kg
 1 kg = 2.204623 lbm
 1 slug = 32.17405 lbm = 14.5939 kg
 1 ounce = 28.3495 g
 1 lbm = 16 ounce
858
Unit Conversion - Time
 1 min = 60 s
 1 h = 60 min = 3,600 s
 1 D = 24 h = 1,440 min = 86,400 s
 1 y = 365 D
859
Unit Conversion - Force
 1 N = 1 kg·m/s2 = 105 dyne

 1 dyne = 10-5 N
 1 kgf = 9.80665 N
 1 kgf = 2.204622 lbf
 1 N = 0.2248 lbf
 1 lbf = 0.45359 kgf = 444,822.1615 dyne = 4.44822 N
860
Unit Conversion - Area
 1 m2 = 104 cm2 = 106 mm2

 1 km2 = 106 m2
 1 ft2 = 929.03 cm2 = 0.092903 m2
 1 in2 = 6.4516 cm2 = 0.00064516 m2
 1 acre = 43,560 ft2 = 4046.856 m2
 1 mile2 = 640 acre = 2,589,988.11 m2 = 27.8784×106 ft2
861
Unit Conversion - Volume
 1 m3 = 106 cm3 = 1,000 liter

 1 liter = 1,000 cm3
 1 ft3 = 30.483 cm3 = 28,316.85 cm3
 1 bbl = 5.61458 ft3 = 0.15899 m3
 1 m3 = 6.28981 bbl = 35.31467 ft3
 1 ft3 = 1,728 in3 = 7.48052 gallon
 1 gallon = 231 in3
862
Unit Conversion - Velocity
 1 km/h = 1,000 m/h = 16.6667 m/min = 0.27778 m/s

 1 m/h = 0.0166667 m/min = 0.00027778 m/s
 1 m/h = 3.280839895 ft/h = 0.05468 ft/min = 0.00091134 ft/s
 1 mile/h = 1.609344 km/h = 1,609.344 m/h = 5,280 ft/h
 1 ft/h = 0.3048 m/h = 30.48 cm/h = 0.508 cm/min = 0.0084667 cm/s
863
Unit Conversion - Rate
 1 m3/D = 0.041667 m3/h = 0.00069444 m3/min = 1.1574×10-5 m3/s

 1 m3/h = 1,000 liter/h = 106 cm3/h = 16,666.67 cm3/min = 277.78 cm3/s
 1 m3/h = 35.3147 ft3/h = 0.588578 ft3/min = 0.00981 ft3/s
 1 bbl/D = 0.15899 m3/D = 0.00662 m3/h = 1.84×10-6 m3/s
 1 bbl/D = 158,987 cm3/D = 6,624.5 cm3/h = 110.4 cm3/min = 1.84 cm3/s
 1 bbl/D = 5.61458 ft3/D = 0.2339 ft3/h = 6.49836×10-5 ft3/s
 1 ft3/h = 28,316.8 cm3/h = 471.95 cm3/min = 7.86579 cm3/s
864
Unit Conversion - Pressure
 1 Pa = 1 N/m2 = 1 kg/m·s2
 1 atm = 1.01325 bar = 76 cm mercury = 101,325 Pa = 14.696 psia
 1 MPa = 1,000 KPa = 106 Pa
 1 dyne/cm2 = 9.869×10-7 atm = 10-6 bar = 0.1 Pa = 1.450×10-5 psia
 1 bar = 0.9869 atm = 105 Pa = 14.50378 psia
 1 MPa = 9.869 atm = 10 bar = 145.0378 psia
 1 psia = 0.06804596 atm = 0.06894757 bar = 6,894.76 Pa
 1 psia = 144 lbf/ft2
865
Unit Conversion - Viscosity
 1 Pa·s = 1 kg/m·s = 1 N·s/m2

 1 poise = 1 g/cm·s
 1 poise = 100 cp
 1 poise = 0.1 Pa·s
 1 Pa·s = 10 poise = 1,000 cp
 1 Pa·s = 0.67197 lbm/ft·s = 2,419.1 lbm/ft·h
 1 Pa·s = 0.020885 lbf·s/ft2 = 0.000145 lbf·s/in2
866
Unit Conversion - Permeability
 1 darcy = 1,000 millidarcy = 106 microdarcy = 109 nanodarcy
 darcy = d, millidarcy = md, microdarcy = md, nanodarcy = hd
 Permeability has dimension of area
 In SI units, permeability unit is m2
 1 m2 = 104 cm2 = 106 mm2 = 1012 mm2 = 1018 hm2
 1 m2 = 1.01325×1012 d = 1.01325×1015 md = 1.01325×1018 md
 1 mm2 = 1.01325 d
 1 d = 0.986923×10-12 m2 = 0.986923×10-8 cm2
 1 d = 0.986923×10-6 mm2 = 0.986923 mm2
867
Unit Conversion
 Conversion factors given above are not complete
 References given previously should be checked for more extensive list of
conversion factors
 Next, we present several examples illustrating unit conversions
 We present two sets of examples
 Conversion of individual parameters
 Conversion for equations
868
Conversion for Individual Parameters/Variables
 To safely convert from one unit to another, we systematically follow the
steps below
 Write the conversion factor as a fraction
 Multiply the unit to be converted by the fraction
 Cancel any units appearing at both numerator and denominator of the
multiplication
869
Conversion for Individual Variables – Example 1
 Convert a length of 3 km to ft

 uc = unit conversion factor

 We would like to determine unit conversion factor uc
 From unit conversion factors, we obtain

870
 Now, we write the conversions above in the form of fractions
 Next, we multiply the unit of L(km) by the conversion fractions above
 Notice that, in the eq. above, km and m both appear in the numerator and
denominator and they cancel out
 In both sides of eq. above, the unit is ft
871
 Now, we multiply the terms in parentheses as below
 When we multiply the terms in parentheses, m terms cancel out

 Notice that unit conversion factor has a unit of ft/km
 Combining two eqs. above
 Notice that, in eq. above, km terms cancel out and we get ft on both
sides of eq.
872
 Now, we insert = 3 km in last eq.
 The later approach above is more general and more consistent

 We will use the latter approach
873
 Convert an area of 160 acres to km2
 From tables, we obtain unit conversion factors and write them as

fractions
 →
 →
 →
 Now, we multiply unit of A(acre) by fractions above
874
 Next, we combine terms in parentheses
 Substituting A(acre) = 160 acre in eq. above
875
 Convert a volume of 155 m3 to bbl (oil barrels)

fractions
 →
 →
 Now, we multiply unit of A(acre) by fractions above
876
 Substituting V(m3) = 155 m3 in eq. above
877
 Convert a velocity of 90 km/h to ft/s

fractions
 →
 →
 →
 Now, we multiply unit of v(km/h) by fractions above
878
 Substituting v(km/h) = 90 km/h in eq. above
879
 Convert a density of 1,000 kg/m3 to g/cm3

fractions
 →
 →
 Now, we multiply unit of r(kg/m3) by fractions above
880
 Substituting r(kg/m3) = 1,000 kg/m3 in eq. above
881
 Convert a rate of 111 bbl/D to cm3/s

fractions
 →
 →
 →
 Now, we multiply unit of q(bbl/D) by fractions above
882
 Substituting q(bbl/D) = 111 bbl/D in eq. above
883
Conversion of Equations
 Conversion of equations from one unit system to another is similar but

also somewhat different from the conversion for individual variables
 We present two examples for converting equations
884
Conversion of Equations – Example 7
 Liquid flow in a linear porous media is given by Darcy’s equation
 (1)
 All the variables are in Darcy units
 q = flow rate, cm3/s
 k = permeability, d
 A = cross-sectional area, cm2
 Dp = pressure drop, atm
 L = length, cm
885
 Convert Darcy’s equation to field units

 Variables in field units have the following units
 q = flow rate, STB/D
 k = permeability, md
 A = cross-sectional area, ft2
 Dp = pressure drop, psia
 L = length, ft
886
 Let’s write Darcy’s equation including the units for each variable
 In Darcy units,
 (2)
 In oil field units,
 (3)
 uc = unit conversion constant
 We need to determine the unit conversion constant uc
887
 In case of equation, we convert each variable as before

 However, there is a subtle difference
 In case of oil field units, all the variables are given in the oil field units
 Although we would like to convert Darcy’s equation from Darcy units to
field units, we actually do the conversions other way around
 We convert from field units to Darcy units since the data are given in
field units
 For example, for rate, we convert rate from STB/D to cm3/s
 For pressure, we convert pressure from psia to atm
888
 After converting all variables from field units to Darcy units, we

substitute converted variables into the original equation in Darcy units
 From the conversion tables, we obtain the conversion factor for each
variable and write them as fractions
 →
 →
 →
 →
 →
889
 Now, we convert each variable from field units to Darcy units

 (4)
 (5)
 (6)
 (7)
 (8)
890
 In Eqs. 4-8, notice that

 the variables on the left-hand-side are in Darcy units
 the variables on the right-hand-side are in field units
 Now, we substitute Eqs. 4-8 into the original Darcy’s equation in Darcy
units, Eq. 2
 (8)
 In Eq. 8, field units cancel out and we end up with Darcy units
 Rearranging Eq. 8
891
 (9)
 Performing numerical computations
 (10)
 Unit conversion factor is as given below
 uc = 1.127×10-3
892
 Liquid flow in a circular pipe is given by Hagen-Poiseuille equation

 (1)
 All the variables are in cgs units
 Dp = pressure drop, dyn/cm2
 v = liquid velocity, cm/s
 m = viscosity, poise
 L = length, cm
 d = pipe diameter, cm
893
 Convert Hagen-Poiseuille equation to oil field units

 The variables in field units have the following units
 Dp = pressure drop, psia
 v = liquid velocity, ft/s
 L = length, ft
 d = pipe diameter, in
894
 Write Hagen-Poiseuille equation including the units for each variable

 In cgs units,
 (2)
 In oil field units,
 (3)
 uc = unit conversion constant to be determined
 From the conversion tables, we obtain the conversion factor for each
variable and write them as fractions
895
 →
 →
 →
 →
 →
 Now, we convert each variable from field units to cgs units
896
 (4)
 (5)
 (6)
 (7)
 (8)
897
 In Eqs. 4-8, notice that

 the variables on the left-hand-side are in cgs units
 the variables on the right-hand-side are in field units
 Now, we substitute Eqs. 4-8 into the original Hagen-Poiseuille equation
in cgs units, Eq. 2
 (9)
 Rearranging Eq. 9
898
 (10)
 (11)
 (12)
 uc = 6.683×10-3 = 1/1,496.3
899
References
 Gluyas, J. and Swarbrick, R.: Petroleum Geoscience, Blackwell

Publishing, Malden, Massachusetts, USA, 2004
 Link, P.K.: Basic Petroleum Geology, OGCI Publications, Tulsa, Oklahoma,
USA, 1985
 North, F.K.: Petroleum Geology, Unwin Hyman, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA,
 Yergin, D.: The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power, Simon &
Schuster, New York, 1992
900
Useful Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstream_(petroleum_industry)
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midstream
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downstream_(petroleum_industry)
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_industry
 http://www.abc.net.au/science/crude/
 https://web.archive.org/web/20130729191500/http://www.lclmg.org/
lclmg/Museums/OilMuseumofCanada/BlackGold2/OilHeritage/
OilSprings/tabid/208/Default.aspx
901
Useful Links
 https://aoghs.org/offshore-history/offshore-oil-history/
 https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/energy-
economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2018-full-report.pdf
 http://petrowiki.org/Origin_of_petroleum
 http://wiki.aapg.org/Petroleum_system
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_geology
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHsxXEVB1M
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9IsP5KtoVU
902
Useful Links
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C7SW2bHyIM
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-NopWfiJ44
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYsHBY6ians
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29g8yYMgE3c
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOs8Cbo_KYk
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbT0l3LoTs
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ybsEhlT2DA
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpmAG24ixxo
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4cVxGndh9g
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EO Rock Properties 2021-2022

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EO Rock Properties 2021-2022

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Reservoir Rock Properties

 Soil, concrete, asphalt, beach sand, brick

 Pores in reservoir rocks are extremely small and not visible

 Physical properties of porous rocks are measured on small cylindrical

 Vb = bulk volume of core plug, cm3 or in3

 A must have reference

 Three volumes for porous rocks

 We will use the symbol Vm to denote grain/matrix/solid volume

 Determination of porosity requires the measurement on two of the

 Vpe = effective interconnected pore volume

 What counts is the interconnected pore volume contributing to storage

 In other engineering disciplines such as civil, ground water, soil,

 Porosity varies substantially with the location throughout subsurface

 Porosity varies significantly along the well depth

 In the interval from 2,890 ft to 2,905 ft, porosity decreases substantially,

 Sandstones are mainly composed of quartz (silicon oxide, SiO2) and

 Consider uniform grain size

 Consider uniform grain size

Cubic Hexagonal Rhombohedral Orthorhombic Tetragonal Triclinic

0.476 0.395 0.26 0.395 0.302 0.26

Table 5 – Porosity of spherical grains

 Compute theoretical porosity of cubic packing of spherical grains with

Unit symmetric cell

 Unit symmetric cell is cubic in shape

 Formulate grain volume

 8 particles with a particle size of one-eighth of a sphere with radius r

 Porosity independent of radius of spherical grain

 Roundness is a measure of degree of angularity of the particles

 Sphericity describes how much shape of a real grain approaches

 Porosity is independent of grain size if grain size is uniform

 In case of real reservoir rocks, grain sizes are distributed log-normally

Poorly sorted Poorly sorted Well sorted Very well sorted

Table 6 – Effect of grain sorting on porosity

Grain sorting Porosity

 The grains constituting real reservoir rocks are bonded together by

 Under the effect of high pressure and temperature, cementation

Mineral Water Cement

Loose sediment Cemented sediment

 Compared to size of sand grains, clay minerals are much smaller

 Reservoir rocks are overburdened by weight of geological layers above

 Overburden pressure is much higher than reservoir fluid pressure

Table 7 – Effect of confining pressure

 A cylindrically shaped core sample

 Measure diameter, length, and weight J number of times

 Compute Vb, using the equation for the volume of a cylinder

 dj, Lj, and Wj of a shale core plug measured 5 times

88.177 3.325 3.798

88.175 3.316 3.800

88.175 3.319 3.797

88.175 3.326 3.395

 dj, Lj, and Wj of a shale core plug measured 5 times

 Caliper method is simple and easy

 Core plug is immersed in a liquid

 A generic stepwise procedure for immersion in liquids is given below

 Additionally, measure the density of immersion liquid

 Using Wssa and WssiL, calculate weight of immersion liquid displaced

 Wild = weight of the immersion liquid displaced

 Vb is equal to volume of immersion liquid displaced by core

 A core sample is completely saturated with water

 When cores sample is saturated by a gas, typically air, it is referred to as

 A generic stepwise procedure given below

 Using WDa and WcsDa, predict weight of the coating material