PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

PMRE 6001: RESERVOIR ENGINEERING

LECTURE: 3

Credit Hour: 3/week

Course Teacher: Dr. Afifa Tabassum Tinni

PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Absolute permeability: measure of the capacity of the porous medium to transmit fluid
 Mathematical expression of permeability

Darcy’s experiment
- System fully saturated with the fluid
- Laminar flow
- Nonreactive system

k, absolute permeability is the property of the medium only

PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Dimensional analysis of permeability: what is the unit of permeability

Permeability is expressed in Darcy

A porous medium has a permeability of 1 darcy when a single-phase

fluid of 1cp viscosity that completely fills the voids of the medium will
flow through it under conditions of viscous flow at a rate of 1 cm3/s
per square cm cross-sectional area under a pressure or equivalent
hydraulic gradient of 1 atm/cm
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Permeability of combination layer

 Parallel flow
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Permeability of combination layer

 Series flow
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Laboratory measurements of permeability

- Direct application of Darcy’s law either using a perm plug( small core sample) or a larger core sample
- Liquid or gas is used as the fluid
- Perm plug preparation: removal of residual fluid and saturating with air
- Permeability device is used where core is placed in a holder and flow rate of the flowing fluid is observed under a
differential pressure

Slope= k/µ
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Permeability measurement with gas

Permeability measurement with gas is convenient because
- Gas is clean, nonreactive, does not alter pore network
- The basic procedure is similar to the measurement with liquid
The problems with gas measurements are
• Gas is compressible: volume changes at inlet at outlet pressure. Usually, outlet gas flow rate it taken which is
expressed using average pressure: (P1+p2)/2
Using Boyle’s law :
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Permeability measurement with gas

• Permeability determined with gas is higher than that measured with liquid: Klinkenberg effect
Occurs due to gas slippage
Gas slippage: when diameter of the capillary opening ≈ mean free path of the gas
Mean free path = f( size of the gas molecule, kinetic energy of the gas)
Klinkenberg effect = f( the gas with which the permeability is measured), MW gas slippage

b= Klinkenberg factor, depends on

means free path of the gas and size of the
opening, function of permeability
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: P E R M E A B I L I T Y

• Factors affecting permeability

• Rock related factors: grain sorting, cementation
• Fluid phase related factors: gas (Klinkenberg effect), water (clay swelling)
• Mechanical factor: overburden pressure

Porosity-permeability relationship
• No fixed general relationship
• Kozeny correlation: using Darcy’s law and Poiseuille’s equation for
flow through n number of capillary tube

Kz, Kozeny constant

PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: S AT U R AT I O N

• Measure of how much of a certain fluid phase occupies the space

• Initial fluid saturation- very important to know as mistake in determination causes
gross over or underestimation
Development of fluid saturation
- initially formation is filled with water
- Petroleum migrates and replaces the water
- Phases are distributed according to the equilibrium established by the balance
between gravitational and capillary forces
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: S AT U R AT I O N

• Laboratory measurement of fluid saturation

• Indirect approach- capillary pressure, well logs
• Direct approach- performed on core plug
• Heating the sample- retort distillation
• Leaching with solvent- Modified ASTM method

• Retort method-involves heating to vaporize oil and water and subsequent condensation and
collection
- Problem- at high temperature water of crystallization also evaporates resulting higher water
saturation, cracking and coking of hydrocarbon resulting lower HC saturation
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: S AT U R AT I O N

• Modified ASTM method- extraction fluid (vapor of tolune or naptha) rises through the sample
extracting oil and water
Type of water saturation
-Connate water saturation- saturation developed during fluid accumulation
- Irreducible water saturation – unmovable water
- Critical gas saturation- below which gas is immobile
- Residual oil saturation- below which oil is immobile
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Density:

• Specific gravity: Ratio of the density of a gas at a given temperature and pressure to the desity of air at the same
temperature and pressure, usually at 600 F and 1 atm pressure.
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Gas viscosity: measure of the resistance to fluid flow, cp

Gas viscosity
- decreases with decreasing pressure at all T
- Increases with increasing T at low P (higher
collisions between molecules
- Decreases with increasing T at high P
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: S AT U R AT I O N

• Laboratory measurement of fluid saturation

• Indirect approach- capillary pressure, well logs
• Direct approach- performed on core plug
• Heating the sample- retort distillation
• Leaching with solvent- Modified ASTM method

• Retort method-involves heating to vaporize oil and water and subsequent condensation and
collection
- Problem- at high temperature water of crystallization also evaporates resulting higher water
saturation, cracking and coking of hydrocarbon resulting lower HC saturation
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

R O C K P R O P E R T Y: S AT U R AT I O N

• Modified ASTM method- extraction fluid (vapor of tolune or naptha) rises through the sample
extracting oil and water
Type of water saturation
-Connate water saturation- saturation developed during fluid accumulation
- Irreducible water saturation – unmovable water
- Critical gas saturation- below which gas is immobile
- Residual oil saturation- below which oil is immobile
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Density:

• Specific gravity: Ratio of the density of a gas at a given temperature and pressure to the desity of air at the same
temperature and pressure, usually at 600 F and 1 atm pressure.
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Gas compressibility factor/ Gas deviation factor/ Z-factor: ( explains the deviation from ideal behavior): ratio os the
volume actually occupied by a gas at a certain temperature to the volume it would occupy if it behaved ideally
• Gas tends to behave ideally at low pressure and high temperature
Actual volume is usually less than the ideal volume

- At low p, z≈ 1
- Increasing P –deviation from ideal
behavior
- At high P, compression becomes
more difficult,
- At very high P, repulsive force takes
place
- T deviation
- Gas gravity deviation
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Measurement of Z factor
• Lab measurement: by measurring the volume of gas at desired T, P and measuring volume at atmospheric P and
sufficiently high T
• Estimation from specific gravity: by using pseudoreduced properties
• Sutton’s method for estimation of pseudocritical properties
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Measurement of Z factor
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Isothermal gas compressibility: change in gas volume with pressure at constant temperature

For ideal gas Z=1

dZ/dp= 0
Cg= 1/p
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Gas formation volume factor( gas FVF): volume of gas that 1 standard cubic ft of gas will occupy in reservoir
condition (Bg)

Standard condition – 14.7 psia and 600F

Zsc= 1, Psc = 14.7 psi, Tsc = 5200R

PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Gas properties
• Gas viscosity: measure of the resistance to fluid flow, cp

Gas viscosity
- decreases with decreasing pressure at all T
- Increases with increasing T at low P (higher
collisions between molecules
- Decreases with increasing T at high P
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Crude oil properties

• Gas solubility, solution gas oil ratio, Rs: No of standard cubic feet of gas that will dissolve in 1 stock tank barrel of
crude oil at certain pressure and temperature (SCF/STB)
Rs= f( P,T, API gravity, gas gravity)

Rs=
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Crude oil properties

• Oil formation volume factor/ oil FVF, B0: Volumes in barrels that 1 stock tank barrels occupies in the formation at
reservoir pressure and temperature (bbl/STB)

A higher or lower value of B0 is more desired?

PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Crude oil properties

• Two phase formation volume factor/Bt: Volumes in barrels that 1 stock tank barrels and its initial complement of
dissolved gas occupies in the formation at reservoir pressure and temperature (bbl/STB)

Rsi= solution GOR at initial reservoir condition

Rs= solution GOR at any condition
Above Pb, Bt=B0
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S

• Crude oil properties

• Producing/ Cumulative GOR, Rp: cumulutative volume of gas produced with 1 stock tank barrel of oil

𝐶𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒(𝑆𝐶𝐹 )

𝑅𝑝 =
𝐶𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒(𝑆𝑇𝐵 )
PMRE 6001: Reservoir Engineering – Lecture 3

P E T R O L E U M F L U I D P R O P E RT I E S