PET 323: RESERVOIR ENGINEERING I

Department of Petroleum Engineering,

Covenant University, Ota
Nigeria
 PART 6: ESTIMATION OF OIL AND GAS IN
PLACE
Outline:
– Introduction
– Definition of Terms
– Methods of Estimation
– The Volumetric Calculations for Oil Reservoirs
– The Volumetric Calculations for Gas Reservoirs
– Determination of Recovery Factors

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INTRODUCTION
The main responsibilities of the reservoir engineering team are the focus of this course. Two of
such responsibilities for convenience are presented here below:
• Estimation of amount of hydrocarbon-in-place, in conjunction with geologists and
petrophysicist.
• Determination of recovery factors – the fraction of hydrocarbon-in-place that can be
recovered.
The estimation of hydrocarbon-in-place in a newly discovered reservoir is arguably the first
call-to-duty for the reservoir engineering team. The result of such estimation has both economic
and technical significance.
Economically, the amount of hydrocarbon-in-place in a reservoir is a major consideration in
investment decision analysis. The business of exploring and producing oil and gas is highly
capital intensive; hence, the amount of hydrocarbon-in-place (the only hope of revenue) must
be shown to be sufficient to guarantee profitability of the investment.

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Technically, the amount of fluid estimated to be in place in the reservoir is also a major
consideration in making various decisions concerning development strategies. For instance, the
amount of oil and gas in place is required in the design of surface processing and storage
facilities (separators, compressors, stock tanks) because facilities must be built to specifications
appropriate for the volumes expected – must not be under-specified, and should not be over-
specified. The amount of hydrocarbon-in-place will also determine the need (or otherwise) to
implement a secondary or tertiary recovery project at the end of primary recovery.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Some terms and parameters pertinent to the concept at hand are herein defined.
• Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place (STOIIP), N – this is the number of barrels (stock tank
barrel) of oil initially in place in a reservoir. The term ‘stock tank barrel’ indicates that the
amount of hydrocarbon in place must be reported in terms of units applicable at the
surface (stock tank is at the surface); and not in terms of units applicable at the reservoir.
By now, you probably know that a barrel of oil at the reservoir does not amount to a barrel
of oil at the surface due to oil shrinkage. Knowing that nobody goes downhole to buy fuel;
would you then blame the management of your company for demanding to know the
amount in place in terms of surface units? In this chapter, the conversion of reservoir
barrel to surface barrel would be well highlighted. The unit of STOIIP is STB.
• Gas Initially In Place (GIIP), G – this is the number of standard cubic feet of gas initially in
place in a reservoir. As in oil, amount of gas is equally reported in terms of units applicable
at the surface. The term ‘standard’ refers to volumes of gas measured at standard pressure
and temperature of 600F and 14.7 psia; these pressure and temperature conditions are
taken to be applicable at surface. The unit of GIIP is SCF.

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The fact that both STOIIP and GIIP are reported in terms of surface volumes does not mean
that they refer to amounts of hydrocarbon that may be available at the surface, rather, they are
still amount of hydrocarbons available downhole at the reservoir, only that they are being
reported (via appropriate conversion) in terms of surface units.
• Recovery Factor (RF) – this is the fraction of hydrocarbon-in-place that can be
commercially recovered under a set of operational (technical) and economic conditions.
This implies that not all of the quantity of hydrocarbon in place can be commercially
recovered to the surface; hence the recovery factor will always be less than 1 (i.e. less than
100%). But why?
The main reason why there cannot be a hundred percent recovery is attributable to the inadequacy of the
energy driving the reservoir fluid to the surface. The source of this energy reservoir pressure; unfortunately
as fluid is being withdrawn from the reservoir, the reservoir pressure is dropping thereby making the
reservoir to lose the energy to pump its fluid at a commercially sustainable rate. Yes, as the pressure drop so
low, theoretically, the reservoir may still be pumping itself (primary drive mechanism), but the rate of
production may be too low that it cannot guarantee profitability again; at such a time, the end (of primary
recovery) has come; even though there may still be an enormous amount of hydrocarbon still left in the
reservoir at that point in time - but thankfully, there is life after life (there is secondary and enhanced oil
recovery that may be implemented to ‘help’ the reservoir in pumping its fluid content to the surface). The
fraction (or percentage) of the initial hydrocarbon in place that is recovered at the end of primary recovery
is referred to as Recovery Factor for that primary recovery.

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• Ultimate Recovery (UR) – it is the actual amount (not fraction as in RF) of hydrocarbon (oil
or gas) that can be commercially recovered from a reservoir from start to finish (of primary
recovery) under a given set of operational (technical) and economic conditions. The unit of
UR is STB for Oil and SCF for Gas. Expectedly, the UR is related to both the STOIIP or
GIIP (i.e. N or G) and RF as follows:
𝑈𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑁 × 𝑅𝐹 − − − − − − − − − 6.1
𝑈𝑅𝑔𝑎𝑠 = 𝐺 × 𝑅𝐹 − − − − − − − − − 6.2
• Reserves, R: In its simplest form, Reserves refers to the estimated volume of oil (or gas)
anticipated or expected to be commercially recoverable from a given date forward, under
currently existing economic conditions, and by established operating practices. Expectedly,
Reserves value R is related to N, UR and RF as follows:
𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑈𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 − 𝑁𝑝 − − − − − − − − − −6.3
𝑅𝑔𝑎𝑠 = 𝑈𝑅𝑔𝑎𝑠 − 𝐺𝑝 − − − − − − − − − −6.4
Where Np (or Gp) is the cumulative number of STB of oil (or SCF of gas) that has been actually
produced from start to the current date to which the reserves value refers.

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THE VOLUMETRIC CALCULATIONS FOR OIL RESERVOIRS
This method of determining oil initially in place treats the reservoir as some sort of
underground tank of known volume – hence the term volumetric. The equation known as
Volumetric Equation for Oil Reservoirs is given below:
− − − − − − − − − − − − − −6.5
Where:
STOIIP, N = Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place, STB
Area A = Drainage Area of the Reservoir, in Acres
Thickness h = productive oil zone thickness, in ft
Porosity ϕ = formation porosity, in fraction – the fraction of the bulk reservoir made up of pore
spaces.
Saturation Swi = initial water saturation, in fraction
Boi = Oil Formation Volume Factor at initial reservoir pressure, RB/STB.
7758 = conversion factor
Now, a thorough review of the build-up of the equation is very important. We shall therefore
examine the various components of the formula.

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• Drainage Area, A: That is the cross-sectional area of the supposed ‘underground tank’.
Measured in Acres.
• Thickness, h: It is the thickness of the oil zone. Measured in ft.
• Reservoir Bulk Volume, BV: Mathematically, volume of a 3-D figure is given as cross
sectional area multiplied by height. Therefore,
𝐵𝑉 = 𝐴ℎ − − − − − − − 6.6
the unit of BV will then be Acre-ft
If BV is required in ft3 instead (and yet A is still given in acre), then equation 6.6 becomes:
𝐵𝑉 = 43560 𝐴ℎ − − − − − − − 6.7
1 Acre = 43560 ft2
Kindly (please), take note that BV is the volume of the entire reservoir both rock
grains, and spaces housing the various fluids in the reservoir.
Reservoir Pore Volume, PV: In order to determine the volume of the reservoir spaces housing
the fluid (you perhaps don’t want to report grain volume), there is need to multiply the BV with
the fraction of pore spaces, porosity; and that’s the pore volume.
𝑃𝑉 = 𝐴ℎϕ − − − − − − − 6.8
The unit of PV is also Acre-ft. If required in ft 3, you know what to do. Right? PV refers to the
total volume of fluids (oil/gas and water) in the pore spaces.

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Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV: In order to isolate the volume of only oil or gas
present in the pore spaces (you know it is a career suicide to include volume of water in the
calculation of STOIIP or G), there is therefore the need to discount the volume of water away;
that is done by multiplying the PV with (1-S wi) to get the Hydrocarbon (oil or gas) Pore
Volume, HCPV.

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) − − − − − − − 6.9

The unit of HCPV is still Acre-ft.

Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV (expressed in ft3): To get HCPV in ft3 with Area
still given in Acres, we simply multiply the RHS of equation 6.9 by 43560 (because 1 acre =
43560ft2) to get equation 6.10 below:

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 43560𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) − − − − − − − 6.10

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Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV (expressed in reservoir barrels, RB): To get
HCPV in barrels (i.e Reservoir Barrels, RB) with Area still given in Acres, and thickness still
given in ft, we simply divide equation 4.10 with 5.615 (because 1 barrel = 5.615ft3) to get
equation 4.11 below
− − − − − − − 6.11𝑎

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 7758𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) − − − − − − − 6.11𝑏

Now you know where 7758 comes from, now you know it is not imposed on you. It is actually
the combination of two conversion factors – conversion from acre-ft to ft 3, and conversion from
ft3 to barrels, RB.
Finally, Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place (STOIIP): Equation 6.11b gives oil in place in terms of
reservoir barrels, RB; where as, STOIIP is required to be expressed in stock tank- barrel units
i.e STB. The conversion from RB to STB is easily implemented by dividing equation 6.11 with
the oil formation volume factor at initial pressure, B oi to give the final expression presented as
equation.
− − − − − − − − − − − − − −6. 𝟓

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Class Work:
Given the following data:
A = 1600 Acres
h = 135 ft
Porosity = 22%
Initial water saturation = 20%
Np = 5MM STB (i.e. 5 X 106 STB)
RF = 29.3 %

Boi = 1.23 RB/STB

Calculate the following:
1. Reservoir Bulk Volume, BV in Acre-ft
2. Reservoir Pore Volume, PV in Acre-ft
3. HCPV, in Acre-ft

4. HCPV in ft3
5. HCPV in RB
6. STOIIP
7. Ultimate Recovery
8. Reserves.
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Solution:
1. Reservoir Bulk Volume, BV:
Using equation 6.6,
𝐵𝑉 = 𝐴ℎ = 1600 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠 × 135 𝑓𝑡 = 𝟐𝟏𝟔, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝑨𝒄𝒓𝒆 − 𝒇𝒕
2. Reservoir Pore Volume, PV:
Using equation 6.8,
𝑃𝑉 = 𝐴ℎϕ = 1600 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑠 × 135 𝑓𝑡 × 0.22 = 𝟒𝟕, 𝟓𝟐𝟎 𝑨𝒄𝒓𝒆 − 𝒇𝒕
3. Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV, in Acre-ft:
Using equation 6.9,

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) = 1600 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒 × 135 𝑓𝑡 × 0.22 × (1 − 0.2) = 𝟑𝟖, 𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝑨𝒄𝒓𝒆 − 𝒇𝒕

4. Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV, in ft3:

Using equation 6.10,

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 43560𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) = 43560 × 1600 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒 × 135 𝑓𝑡 × 0.22 × (1 − 0.2)

= 𝟏, 𝟔𝟓𝟓, 𝟗𝟕𝟔, 𝟗𝟔𝟎 𝒇𝒕𝟑

5. Reservoir Hydrocarbon Pore Volume, HCPV, in RB:
Using equation 6.11b,

𝐻𝐶𝑃𝑉 = 7758
CU PET 323, 𝐴ℎϕ(1 − Swi ) = 7758 × 1600 𝐴𝑐𝑟𝑒
2012/2013 × 135 𝑓𝑡 × 0.22 × (1 − 0.2)
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6. STOIIP, in STB
Using equation 6.5,
𝑆𝑇𝑂𝐼𝐼𝑃, 𝑁 = =
= 𝟐𝟑𝟗, 𝟕𝟕𝟐, 𝟓𝟐𝟔 𝑺𝑻𝑩
7. Ultimate Recovery, UR
Using equation 6.1,
𝑈𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑁 × 𝑅𝐹 = 239,772,526 𝑆𝑇𝐵 × 0.293 = 𝟕𝟎, 𝟐𝟓𝟑, 𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝑺𝑻𝑩
8. Reserves
Using equation 6.3,
𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑈𝑅𝑜𝑖𝑙 − 𝑁𝑝 = 𝟕𝟎, 𝟐𝟓𝟑, 𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝑺𝑻𝑩 − 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑺𝑻𝑩 = 𝟔𝟓, 𝟐𝟓𝟑, 𝟑𝟓𝟎 𝑺𝑻𝑩

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Data Requirements for the Volumetric Calculations
Sources of the various data required to implement the volumetric calculations for oil reservoirs
are here presented:
• Area, A: Seismic survey; Geological Interpretations (sub-surface mapping) and Well Test.
• Thickness, h: Well Logs; Repeat Formation Tester, RFT.
• Porosity, 𝛟: Well Logs, Core Analysis
• Water Saturation, Swi: Well Logs, Core Analysis
• Formation Volume Factor, Boi: Laboratory PVT Analysis, EOS Correlations

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Gas Reservoirs:
Reservoirs containing only free gas are termed gas reservoirs. Such a reservoir contains a
mixture of hydrocarbons, which exists wholly in the gaseous state. The mixture may be a dry,
wet, or condensate gas, depending on the composition of the gas, along with the pressure and
temperature at which the accumulation exists.
o Gas reservoirs may have water influx from a contiguous water-bearing portion of the
formation or may be volumetric (i.e., have no water influx).
o Most gas engineering calculations involve the use of gas formation volume factor B g and
gas expansion factor Eg

Where gas formation volume factor,

gas expansion factor,

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THE VOLUMETRIC CALCULATIONS FOR GAS RESERVOIRS
In a scheme very similar to that employed in oil reservoir, the Initial Gas In Place GIIP is
calculated with the equation below:
𝐺 =− − − − − − − − − − − − − −7.3
Where:
GIIP, G = Gas Initially in Place, in SCF
Area A = Drainage Area of the Reservoir, in Acres
Thickness h = productive oil zone thickness, in ft
Porosity ϕ = formation porosity, in fraction – the fraction of the bulk reservoir made up of pore
spaces.
Saturation Swi = initial water saturation, in fraction
Bgi = gas formation volume Factor at initial reservoir pressure, ft3/SCF.
43560 = conversion factor
This equation can be applied at both initial and abandonment conditions in order to calculate
the recoverable gas, as stated below:
-----------------------7.4

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THE VOLUMETRIC CALCULATIONS FOR GAS RESERVOIRS

Work Example
A gas reservoir has the following characteristics:
;

Calculate the cumulative gas production and recovery factor at 1,000 and 400 psi

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THE VOLUMETRIC CALCULATIONS FOR GAS RESERVOIRS
Further Class Work:
Question 1.
Estimate gas initially in place in a reservoir with an areal extent of 2550 acres, average
thickness of 50 ft, average porosity of 20%, connate water saturation of 20%, reservoir
temperature of 1860F, initial reservoir pressure of 2651 psia, and reservoir gas deviation factor
of 0.880 at 1860F and 2651 psia.
Question 2.
A volumetric gas reservoir has the following production history.

The following data are also available:

Φ=13% ; .
Calculate the gas initially in place volumetrically.

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THE VOLUMETRIC CALCULATIONS FOR GAS RESERVOIRS

Note:

The recovery factors for volumetric gas reservoirs will range from 80% to 90%. If a strong
water drive is present, trapping of residual gas at higher pressures can reduce the recovery
factor substantially, to the range of 50% to 80%.

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