Rock Wettability

Instructional Objectives
• Define Wettability, interfacial tension,
and adhesion tension
• Define and give examples of drainage
and imbibition processes
• Explain the difference between water-
wet and oil-wet rocks
• Explain the effects of wettability on
waterflood performance
• List the common laboratory methods to
measure wettability
 Definition of Wettability

• Definitions
– Wettability: Tendency of one fluid to
spread on or adhere to a solid surface
in the presence of other immiscible
fluids
– Wettability refers to interaction
between fluid and solid phases
 Definition of Interfacial
Tension
• Interfacial tension is the force per unit
length required to create a new surface

– Interfacial tension is commonly

expressed in Newtons/meter or
dynes/cm
 Definition of Adhesion
Tension
• Adhesion tension can be expressed as
the difference between two solid-fluid
interfacial tensions

AT   os   ws   ow cos 
 Contact Angle

ow
Oil

Oil  Water Oil

os ws Solid

 In Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

• Solid surface is reservoir rock (i.e.,

sandstone, limestone, dolomite or
mixtures of each)

• Fluids are oil, water, and/or gas

 Wetting Phase Fluid
• Wetting phase preferentially wets the solid
rock surface
• Because of attractive forces between rock and
fluid, the wetting phase is drawn into smaller
pore spaces of porous media
• Wetting phase fluid often is not very mobile
• Attractive forces prohibit reduction in wetting
phase saturation below some irreducible value
(called irreducible wetting phase saturation)
• Many hydrocarbon reservoirs tend to be either
totally or partially water wet
 Nonwetting Phase Fluid
• Nonwetting phase does not preferentially
wet the solid rock surface
• Repulsive forces between rock and fluid
cause nonwetting phase to occupy largest
pore spaces of porous media
• Nonwetting phase fluid is often the most
mobile fluid, especially at large nonwetting
phase saturations
• Natural gas is never the wetting phase in
hydrocarbon reservoirs
 Water-Wet Reservoir Rock
• Reservoir rock is considered to be water-wet
if water preferentially wets the rock surfaces
• The rock is water-wet under the following
conditions:
ws > os
AT < 0 (i.e., the adhesion tension is negative)
0 <  < 90
If  is close to 0, the rock is considered to
be “strongly water-wet”
Force Balance - Water-Wet Rock
ow

Oil
 Water

os ws Solid

Note: 0 <  < 90

 Oil-Wet Reservoir Rock
• Reservoir rock is considered to be oil-wet if
oil preferentially wets the rock surfaces
• The rock is oil-wet under the following
conditions:
os > ws
AT > 0 (i.e., the adhesion tension is positive)
90 <  < 180
If  is close to 180, the rock is considered
to be “strongly oil-wet”
Force Balance - Oil-Wet Rock

ow
Water

Oil

os ws Solid

Note: 90 <  < 180

 Imbibition
• Fluid flow process in which the
saturation of the wetting phase
increases and the nonwetting phase
saturation decreases

• Mobility of wetting phase increases as

wetting phase saturation increases
 Drainage
• Fluid flow process in which the
saturation of the nonwetting phase
increases
• Mobility of nonwetting fluid phase
increases as nonwetting phase
saturation increases
 Implications of Wettability

• Wettability affects the shape of the

relative permeability curves.
– Oil moves easier in water-wet rocks
than oil-wet rocks.
 Implications of Wettability
• Primary oil recovery is affected by the
wettability of the system.
– A water-wet system will exhibit
greater primary oil recovery.
 Implications of Wettability
• Oil recovery under waterflooding is
affected by the wettability of the
system.
– A water-wet system will exhibit
greater oil recovery under
waterflooding.
 Implications of Wettability
Core Percent
no silicone Wettability
Recovery efficiency, percent, Soi

1 0.00 0.649
80 2 0.0200 0.176
1 3 0.200 - 0.222
2 4 2.00 - 0.250
3 5 1.00 - 0.333
60
Curves cut off at Fwd •100
4
40 5

20

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Water injected, pore volumes
Implications of Wettability
Squirrel oil - 0.10 N NaCl - Torpedo core ( • 33 O W • 663,
K • 0945, Swi • 21.20%)
Recovery efficiency, percent Spi

Squirrel oil - 0.10 N NaCl • Torpedo Sandstone core,

after remaining in oil for 84 days ( • 33.0 W • 663, K •
0.925, Swi • 23.28%)

80

60

40

20

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Water injection, pore volumes
Laboratory Measurement of
Wettability
• Most common measurement
techniques
– Contact angle measurement method
– Amott method
– United States Bureau of Mines
(USBM) Method
Nomenclature
References