Overview

Reservoir

Rock Properties

Fluid Properties

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Reservoir
To form a commercial reservoir of hydrocarbons, a geological
formation must possess three essential characteristics:
Sufficient void space to contain hydrocarbons (porosity).

Adequate connectivity of these pore spaces to allow

transportation over large distances (permeability).
A capacity to trap sufficient quantities of hydrocarbon to
prevent upward migration from the source beds(cap rock).

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Reservoir
Migration of hydrocarbon from source rock to reservoir
rock and trapped by cap rock.

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Reservoir

Rock Body
Porous & Permeable
Contains Oil (and/or) Gas + Water

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Rock
Grains + Pores + Cementing Material

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Porosity
Porosity is the storage capacity of reservoir rock
A rock can be made up of small grains or large grains
but have the same porosity
Porosity depends on grain packing, not the grain size

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Porosity classification

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Permeability
The ability of the rock to transmit fluids
through its pores
Darcys Law

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Permeability classification
Absolute Perm.
The ability to flow or transmit fluids through a rock, conducted
when a single fluid, or phase is contained in the pores (under
the action of an applied pressure gradient).

Effective Perm.
The ability to preferentially flow or transmit a particular fluid
when more than one immiscible fluids are present in the
reservoir

Relative Perm.
Relative permeability is the ratio of effective permeability of a particular
fluid at a particular saturation to absolute permeability of that fluid at
100 % saturation. It is normally assumed that the effective permeability
is the same for all fluids at 100% saturation, this permeability is denoted
as the (absoulte) permeability of the system.
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Permeability and Grain size

Large Grain Size = High Permeability
Small Grain Size = Low Permeability

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Reservoir Fluids
Oil
Gas
Water

Oil Volume +
Gas Volume +
Water Volume
= Pore Volume
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Fluid Saturations
Fluid Saturation =

Fluid Volume
---------------------Pore Volume

So + Sw + Sg = 1

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Fluid Saturation in Pores

Hydrocarbon Volume = x (1- Sw)
Water Volume = x Sw
Grain volume or Matrix = 1-

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Water-Wet System
Pertaining to the adhesion of a liquid to the surface of a
solid. In water-wet conditions, a thin film of water coats the
surface of the formation matrix, a condition that is desirable
for efficient oil transport.

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Oil-Wet System
Pertaining to the preference of a solid to be in contact with an oil
phase rather than a water or gas phase. Oil-wet rocks
preferentially imbibe oil.
Generally, polar compounds or asphaltenes deposited from the
crude oil onto mineral surfaces cause the oil-wet condition.

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Hydrocarbons
A naturally occurring organic compound comprising hydrogen and
carbon. Hydrocarbons can be as simple as methane [CH4], but
many are highly complex molecules, and can occur as gases,
liquids or solids. The molecules can have the shape of chains,
branching chains, rings or other structures. Petroleum is a complex

mixture of hydrocarbons. The most common hydrocarbons

are natural gas, oil
Methane
Propane

CH4

C3H8

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Aromatics
A type of compound containing hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a
symmetrical 6-carbon ring structure with single (C-C) and double (C=C) bonds
alternating around the ring. Rings are single, multiple or fused and can have
other chemical groups attached in place of hydrogen. Benzene, C6H6 is the
simplest single-ring aromatic, napthalene, C10H8, the simplest fused-ring
aromatic and toluene is the simplest aromatic, having an alkyl side chain,
C6H5-CH3. Xylene, a common oilfield chemical, has two methyl side chains,
C6H4-(CH3)2.

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Phase Diagram
A phase diagram in physical chemistry, engineering, mineralogy, and materials
science is a type of chart used to show conditions at which thermodynamically
distinct phases can occur at equilibrium.

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Reservoir Pressure
The pressure of fluids within the pores of a reservoir, usually hydrostatic
pressure, or the pressure exerted by a column of water from the
formation's depth to sea level. Because reservoir pressure changes as
fluids are produced from a reservoir, the pressure should be described as
measured at a specific time, such as initial reservoir pressure.

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Reservoir Temperature
The reservoir temperature represents the temperature of the
formation. It increases with reservoir depth and differs widely
depending on the reservoir location's geothermal gradient.
Although the thermal gradient varies from place to place, it
averages 25 to 30 oC/km [15 oF/1000 ft].

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Capillary Pressure
The pressure difference existing across the interface
separating two immiscible fluids in capillaries (e.g.
porous media).

Pc = pnwt - pwt
Pc = capillary pressure
Pnwt= pressure in nonwetting phase
pwt = pressure in wetting phase

One fluid wets the surfaces of the formation rock (wetting phase) in

preference to the other (non-wetting phase)

Gas is always the non-wetting phase in both oil-gas and water-gas systems.
Oil is often the non-wetting phase in water-oil systems.
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Capillary Tube
Air-Water System

Considering the porous media as a collection of capillary tubes

provides useful insights into how fluids behave in the reservoir pore
spaces.
Water rises in a capillary tube placed in a beaker of water, similar to
water (the wetting phase) filling small pores leaving larger pores to
non-wetting phases of reservoir rock.
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The height of water in a capillary

tube is a function of:
Adhesion tension between the air and water
Radius of the tube
Density difference between fluids

h = Height of water rise in capillary tube, cm

aw = Interfacial tension between air and water, dynes/cm

= Air/water contact angle, degrees

r = Radius of capillary tube, cm
g = Acceleration due to gravity, 980 cm/sec2
aw = Density difference between water and air, gm/cm3
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Combining the two relations results in the following

expression for capillary tubes:

From a similar derivation, the equation for capillary

pressure for an oil/water system is:

Pc

= Capillary pressure between oil and water

ow

= Interfacial tension between oil and water, dyne/cm

= Oil/water contact angle, degrees

= Radius of capillary tube, cm

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Capillary Curve

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Drainage and Imbibition capillary

Pressure curve

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Reservoir Flow Forces

To analysis of flow behavior in terms of force , there are three major forces;
viscous, gravity and capillary forces:
Viscous Force =

0.00633 k

u, psi/ft

Gravity Force =
, psi/ft
144
Capillary Force = Pc =

dPc
S, psi/ft
dS

where, S is the saturation of interest. Inspection of these equations gives us

some understanding of the forces. For example, we could say that
1. If there is no flow then viscous force = 0.
2. If there is no density difference (single phase, for example) then gravity force= 0.
3. If there is no saturation gradient(single phase, for example) then capillary force= 0.
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NEXT SESSION
Log-Log type curves
Time derivative type curves
Type curves as qualitative
diagnostic tools

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