ES-409/ES-475

Petroleum Geology
Subsurface Environment

Porosity
The porosity of a porous medium (such as rock or sediment)
describes the fraction of void space in the material, where the
void may contain, for example, air or water. It is defined by the
ratio:
= VV/VT

where VV is the volume of void-space (such as fluids) and VT is

the total or bulk volume of material, including the solid and
void components. Both the mathematical symbols and n are
used to denote porosity
Porosity is a fraction between 0 and 1, typically ranging from
less than 0.01 for solid granite to more than 0.5 for peat and
clay. It may also be represented in percent terms by multiplying
the fraction by 100

Porosity

A value for porosity can alternatively be calculated from

the bulk density bulk and particle density particle:

= 1 (bulk / particle)
Normal particle density is assumed to be approximately
2.65 g/cm3, although a better estimation can be obtained
by examining the lithology of the particles

Porosity

Porosity can vary with depth, the relationship is given by

(z) = 0 e-kz
where 0 is the surface porosity, k is the compaction
coefficient (m1) and z is depth (m).

Sorting and porosity

Well sorted (grains of approximately all one size) materials
have higher porosity than similarly sized poorly sorted
materials (where smaller particles fill the gaps between
larger particles).

Well-sorted sand or gravel 25 to 50% porosity

Silt 35 to 50% porosity
Clay 30 to 60% porosity

Dual porosity
Consolidated rocks (e.g. sandstone, shale, or limestone)
potentially have more complex "dual" porosities, as
compared with alluvial sediment. The porosity can be split
into connected and unconnected porosity. Connected
porosity is more easily measured through the volume of
gas or liquid that can flow into the rock, whereas fluids
cannot access unconnected pores

Types of geologic porosities

Primary porosity : The main or original porosity system in
a rock or unconfined alluvial deposit.
Secondary porosity : A subsequent or separate porosity
system in a rock, often enhancing overall porosity of a
rock. This can be a result of chemical leeching of minerals
or the generation of a fracture system. This can replace the
primary porosity or coexist with it.
Fracture porosity : This is porosity associated with a
fracture system or faulting. This can create secondary
porosity in rocks that otherwise would not be reservoirs
for hydrocarbons due to their primary porosity being
destroyed (for example due to depth of burial) or of a rock
type not normally considered a reservoir (for example
igneous or metamorphic rocks).

 Vuggy porosity : This is secondary porosity generated by

dissolution of large features (such as macrofossils) in
carbonate rocks leaving large holes, vugs, or even caves.
Effective porosity (also called open porosity) : Refers to
the fraction of the total volume in which fluid flow is
effectively taking place. This is very important for
groundwater and petroleum flow, as well as for solute
transport.
Ineffective porosity (also called closed porosity) : Refers to
the fraction of the total volume in fluids or gases are
present but in which fluid flow can not effectively take
place and includes the closed pores. Understanding the
morphology of the porosity is thus very important for
groundwater and petroleum flow.

 Macro porosity : Refers to pores greater than 50 nm in

diameter. Flow through macropores is described by bulk
diffusion.
Meso porosity : Refers to pores greater than 2 nm and less
than 50 nm in diameter. Flow through mesopores is
described by Knudsen diffusion.
Micro porosity : Refers to pores smaller than 2 nm in
diameter. Movement in micropores is by activated
diffusion.

Measuring porosity
Direct methods (determining the bulk volume of the
porous sample, and then determining the volume of the
skeletal material with no pores (pore volume = total
volume material volume).
Optical methods (e.g., determining the area of the material
versus the area of the pores visible under the microscope).
The "areal" and "volumetric" porosities are equal for
porous media with random structure.
Imbibition methods, i.e., immersion of the porous sample,
under vacuum, in a fluid that preferentially wets the pores
(pore volume = total volume of water volume of water
left after soaking).
Water evaporation method (pore volume = (weight of
saturated sample weight of dried sample)/density of
water)

Permeability
Permeability in fluid mechanics and the earth sciences
(commonly symbolized as , or k) is a measure of the
ability of a porous material (often, a rock or
unconsolidated material) to allow fluids to pass through it
Units : The SI unit for permeability is m2. A traditional
unit for permeability is the darcy (D), or more commonly
the millidarcy (mD) (1 darcy 1012 m2). The unit of cm2 is
also sometimes used (1 m2 = 104 cm2)

Permeability
The concept of permeability is of importance in
determining the flow characteristics of hydrocarbons in oil
and gas reservoirs, and of groundwater in aquifers.
For a rock to be considered as an exploitable hydrocarbon
reservoir without stimulation, its permeability must be
greater than approximately 100 mD (depending on the
nature of the hydrocarbon - gas reservoirs with lower
permeabilities are still exploitable because of the lower
viscosity of gas with respect to oil). Rocks with
permeabilities significantly lower than 100 mD can form
efficient seals (see petroleum geology). Unconsolidated
sands may have permeabilities of over 5000 mD.

 Permeability is part of the proportionality constant in

Darcy's law which relates discharge (flow rate) and fluid
physical properties (e.g. viscosity), to a pressure gradient
applied to the porous media:
= ( P) / ( x)

or = ( x) / P

Where
v is the superficial fluid flow velocity through the medium (i.e., the
average velocity calculated as if the fluid were the only phase
present in the porous medium) (m/s)
is the permeability of a medium (m2)
is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid (Pas)
P is the applied pressure difference (Pa)
x is the thickness of the bed of the porous medium (m)

The Darcy flow equation defines

permeability, and after some
rearrangement, is used to
calculate permeability from
laboratory measurements.
Q = K * A * (P1 - P2) / ( * L)
Where:

LAB PROCEDURE FOR MEASURING AIR PERMEABILITY

Cut core plugs from whole core or use sample from whole core
Clean core and extract reservoir fluids, then dry the core
Flow a fluid through core at several flow rates
Record inlet and outlet pressures for each

Q = flow rate
K = permeability
A = area
P1 - P2 = pressure drop
L = path length
= mobility
Source: Cairn
Cairns petrophysical Handbook

Subsurface waters
Petroleum geology is largely concerned with the study of
fluids, not just the oil and gas, but also the waters with
which they are associated and through which they move.
Two types of waters in the subsurface
Free water : free to move in and out of pores in response to
pressure differential
Interstitial (irreducible) water: bonded to mineral grain (as OH) or
as a discrete film of water, can not be removed during oil/gas
extraction from reservoir

Genesis
Meteoric water: water near the earths surface which
originates from precipitation (rain/snow), negligible
salinity, tend to be oxidizing, usually acidic
Connate water: water trapped in the pores of sedimentary
rocks as they were deposited, contains many mineral
components as ions in solution, during lithification connate
water is usually expelled, if the escape route for these
fluids is blocked, the pore fluid pressure can build up,
leading to overpressure
Juvenile water : exists within or are derived from a
magma, can be released to the atmosphere during a
volcanic eruption or within the Earth's crust as
hydrothermal fluids during the late stages of magmatic
crystallization or solidification
Mixed water : mixture of above

Eh, v

Chemistry of water

pH

Analysis

Measurement of resistivity of formation water, Rw, is

essential for accurate assessment of water saturation, Sw
and hence hydrocarbon saturation
Sw = 0% (0.00) if all the pores are filled by oil/gas
Sw = 100% (1.00) if all the pores are filled by water
Rw is closely related to salinity

Sub-surface temperatures
Temperature increases from the surface of the earth
towards its center

Temperature gradients at 24 shallow

boreholes, Coso geothermal area,
California

Average oceanic and continental

geothermal gradients

Geothermal gradient
Geothermal gradient is the rate of change of
temperature (T) with depth (Z), in the earth.
Units of measurement are C/100 m or C/km
Measurement of T is strongly associated with heat
flow, Q, by the simple relation: Q=KT/Z, where
K is the thermal conductivity of the rock
Earth's internal heat (Q) comes from a
combination of residual heat from planetary
accretion (about 20%, mantle heat flux)) and heat
produced through radioactive decay (80%) of
potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and
thorium-232 within the crust

 Depths to about 60 m (200 ft ) below the surface,

the temperature is constant at about 10C (55F)
In a zone between the near surface and about 120
m (400 ft ), the gradient is variable because it is
affected by atmospheric changes and circulating
ground water
Below that zone, temperature almost always
increases with depth.
However, the rate of increase with depth
(geothermal gradient) varies considerably with
both tectonic setting and the thermal properties of
the rock.

 High gradients (up to 200C/km or 11F/100 ft)

are observed along the oceanic spreading centers
(for example, the Mid-Atlantic Rift) and along
island arcs (for example, the Aleutian chain); the
high rates are due to molten volcanic rock
(magma) rising to the surface
Low gradients are observed in tectonic subduction
zones because of thrusting of cold, water-filled
sediments beneath an existing crust
The tectonically stable shield areas and
sedimentary basins have average gradients that
typically vary from 0.821.65F/100 ft (15
30C/km).

Plate tectonics

High
geothermal
gradient

High
geothermal
gradient

Bottom hole temperatures (BHTs)

BHTs can be recorded from wells and are
generally taken several times at each casing point
Several readings at each depth are taken because
the mud takes several hours to reach ambient
temperature
BHTs are recorded together with number of
hours since circulation of mud
Isotherms are seldom laterally horizontal for very
far because of
Non-planar geometry of sediments (folded or lenticular
strata)
Movement of fluids
Regional variation in heat flows

Local thermal variations

Local thermal variations

Sub-surface pressures
There are basically two types of pressures : Lithostatic
pressure and fluid (hydrostatic) pressure
Lithostatic pressure (PLith) is caused by the pressure of
rock, which is transmitted through the subsurface by
grain-to-grain contacts; also called geostatic pressure
Lithostatic pressure gradient varies according to depth,
density of the overburden, and the extent to which grainto-grain contacts may be supported by water pressure
Fluid pressure (PFl) is caused by fluids within the pore
spaces
Total pressure (PTot) or overburden pressure is
PTot = PLith + PFl

Sub-surface pressures
Both lithostatic and
hydrostatic pressures
can be calculated using
the familiar relation:

P=gh
Over
s ur e

p r e s su

pr e s

Under
re

 Complication may arise because density may vary with

depth and a more rigorous relation for calculation of
pressure:

Normal Pressure: The pore pressure of rocks that is

considered normal in areas in which the change in
pressure per unit of depth is equivalent to hydrostatic
pressure. The normal hydrostatic pressure gradient for
freshwater is 0.433 pounds per square inch per foot
(psi/ft), or 9.792 kilopascals per meter (kPa/m), and 0.465
psi/ft for water with 100,000 ppm total dissolved solids (a
typical Gulf Coast water), or 10.516 kPa/m.
Fluid pressure may be overpressure or under pressure

Overpressure
Geological overpressure in stratigraphic layers is
caused by the inability of connate pore fluids to
escape as the surrounding mineral matrix compacts
under the lithostatic pressure caused by overlying
layers. Fluid escape may be impeded by sealing of
the compacting rock by surrounding impermeable
layers (such as evaporites, chalk and cemented
sandstones). Alternatively, the rate of burial of the
stratigraphic layer may be so great that the efflux of
fluid is not sufficiently rapid to maintain hydrostatic
pressure.

Implications:
It is extremely important to be able to diagnose
overpressured units when drilling through them, as
the drilling mud weight (density) must be adjusted
to compensate. If it is not, there is a risk that the
pressure difference down-well will cause a dramatic
decompression of the overpressured layer and result
in a blowout at the well-head with possibly
disastrous consequences.
Because overpressured sediments tend to exhibit
better porosity than would be predicted from their
depth, they often make attractive hydrocarbon
reservoirs and are therefore of important economic
interest.

 Pore 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.
Reservoir pressure: The pressure of fluids within the pores
of a reservoir, usually hydrostatic pressure; 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; also
called pore pressure or formation pressure
Virgin pressure: The original, undisturbed pressure of a
reservoir prior to fluid production

 Pressure gradient: The change in pressure per unit of

depth, typically in units of psi/ft or kPa/m. Pressure
increases predictably with depth in areas of normal
pressure. The normal hydrostatic pressure gradient for
freshwater is 0.433 psi/ft, or 9.792 kPa/m, and 0.465 psi/ft
for water with 100,000 ppm total dissolved solids (a typical
Gulf Coast water), or 10.516 kPa/m. Deviations from
normal pressure are described as high or low pressure.

 Fluid pressure in oilfield usage: In US oilfield units, this is

calculated using the equation:

P=MW*Depth*0.052
where MW is the drilling fluid density in pounds per
gallon( lb/gl), Depth is the true vertical depth or "head" in
feet, and 0.052 is a unit conversion factor chosen such that
P results in units of pounds per square in. (psi).

The fluid height in columns A and B is identical, but the pressure reading
on the gauges differs because of the different fluid densities.
Hydrostatic head refers to the column height; hydrostatic pressure
refers to the force exerted by the fluid.