Basic Reservoir Concepts

By V S Chimmalgi (GT 2005 19-7-05: For Internal Circulation only)

1.

Course Content: Introduction 1.1 Petroleum reservoir 2 Rock Properties 2.1 Porosity 2.2 Isothermal compressibility of rock 2.3 Saturation 2.4 Interstitial or Connate Water Saturation 2.5 Capillary forces 2.6 Wettability 2.7 Capillary pressure 2.8 Permeability Reservoir Fluid properties 3.1 Gravity of oil 3.2 Solution Gas-oil Ratio (Rso) 3.3 Formation volume factor (FVF Bo) 3.4 Isothermal Compressibility of Oil 3.5 Formation volume factor for Gas ( Bg) Fluid flow in reservoirs 4.1 Well-bore damage and improvement effects

5 Phase behavior and Classification of Reservoirs 6 Reserve Estimation Method 6.1 Volumetric method: 6.2 Material balance 6.3 Decline curve analysis 6.4 Simulation 7. Enhanced oil recovery References: 1. Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering by L P Dake

1.

2. Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering tool, B.C. Craft & Hawkins 3. Applied Reservoir Engineering , Smith, Tracy, Farrar Introduction
Petroleum deposits occur in a variety of ways and forms both as surface deposits and subsurface deposits. These deposits are found on all continents and regions, although the abundance of finding may vary very widely. Oil and gas seepages, tar asphalt or bitumen are various forms of petroleum that occur at the surface of the ground. The subsurface occurrences can be classified as Pools, Fields and Provinces. Pool is a body of oil or gas or both found underground occurring as a separate reservoir and under a single pressure system. Field Constitute several such pools having a single geologic feature. Gandhar and Ankleshwar fields having many major and minor pools. For example

Petroleum province is a region, in which a number oil and gas pools and field occur in a similar geologic region like Southeastern Oklahoma, Kansas, Western Texas of US and Upper Assam and South Gujarat in India 1.1

Petroleum Reservoir

The petroleum reservoir is that portion of the rock that contains the pool of petroleum. A reservoir consists of four essential elements, a) The reservoir rock b) reservoir pore space c) reservoir fluids and d) reservoir trap. The reservoir rock is that material in which oil and gas are found. Oil and gas are chiefly found in sand stones, lime stones and dolomites and are essentially sedimentary rocks. Out of all rocks lime stone and dolomites contain the most of the world petroleum. Petroleum reservoirs of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Mumbai High field of ONGC are Lime stone reservoirs. Maximum number of reservoirs is found in sand stones, however the total quantity of petroleum produced from carbonate reservoirs is more than that produced from sand stone reservoirs. A sand stone or lime stone would qualify for becoming a petroleum reservoir rock only when it is porous and the pores are interconnected. These two essentials of a reservoir rock are defined as porosity and permeability respectively. The pores provide space for storage of the reservoir fluids while permeability of the rock gives the ability of the rock to permit the flow of petroleum fluids through it so that they could be produced.

Oil, gas and water are the three fundamental fluids of a petroleum reservoir. The properties of each of these fluids, the fluid fluid interaction and fluid rock interactions play a very important role in determining the recovery processes and how much can be recovered from a given reservoir. For example a heavy oil and highly viscous reservoir may need thermal recovery process for maximizing the recovery. Since oil and gas are lighter than water the petroleum fluids move vertically and laterally within the rock stratum until it is barred from further movement by an impervious rock which we generally call as cap rock. A cap rock that is concave when viewed from the bottom traps the oil and gas from escaping both laterally and vertically. Such a trap is called structural trap. While the traps formed due to changes in the lateral properties like permeability due to changes in the facies , truncations of sands due to faulting along with cap rocks constitute Stratigraphic traps. Initially the petroleum exploration mainly concentrated around finding out concave traps which we call them as Anticlines. With the advent of advanced exploratory tools like 2D, and 3 D surveys more and more difficult stratigraphic traps are being discovered.

We will go through the Basic reservoir engineering concepts a reservoir engineer makes use of for arriving at Fluids in place, recovery with respect to time and other improved recovery processes to enhance the recovery from the reservoirs.

2.

Rock Properties The study of the pore space and its characteristics is termed petrophysics
The reservoir engineer is concerned with quantities of fluids contained within the rock, the transmissibility of fluid through the rocks and other related properties. Porosity, Permeability, isothermal compressibility and fluid saturations are some of the very important properties of rock which a reservoir engineer needs to take into consideration while developing a petroleum reservoir. 2.1 Porosity Porosity is a measure of the void space in a reservoir rock, which is not occupied of by the solid framework of the rock. It is defined as the ratio of the total void space to the total bulk volume of the rock. This is also referred as Absolute porosity.
=
Total Volume of Void Space * 100 Total Bulk Volume

Effective porosity is the ratio of the interconnected void space that contributes to fluid flow to the bulk volume of the rock. Effective porosity is usually measured in the laboratory and used for calculation of fluid flow.

 =
eff

Interconne cted Pore Volume * 100 Total Bulk Volume

Hydrocarbon porosity is the porosity that contains the hydrocarbon. It is the total porosity multiplied by the fraction of the pore volume that contains hydrocarbon. Normally effective porosity is measured and reported. Reservoir porosity can be measured directly from core samples using methods like Boyles law porosometer, water saturation and organic liquid saturation methods or indirectly using logs. However as core coverage is rarely complete, logging is the most common method employed, and the results are compared against measured core porosities where core material is available. When there is variation in the porosity across the reservoir, the average porosity is found on weighted volume basis. The porosity of a rock depends on size and shape of grains, nature of packing cementation and presence of vugs and fractures. For example in case of cubic packing of uniform size spheres we can have 47.6 % porosity where as in case of rhombohedral packing the porosity is 26%. Hence in any system we cannot have more than 47.6% porosity as it is impossible to have the same sized particles packed together and invariably there would be cementing material which would hold the grains together. The porosity of the reservoirs range from 5 to 30 %. Porosity may be classified according to the mode of origin as , a) primary b) secondary porosity. Primary porosity is the porosity developed during deposition of the rock material. Examples are intergranular porosity of sand stones and the intercrystalline porosity of lime stones. Secondary porosity is that developed by some geologic process subsequent to deposition of the rock. Fractures and vugs (solution cavities) found in some shales and lime stones. . 2.2 Isothermal compressibility of Rocks In a petroleum reservoir, the reservoir is constantly subjected to constant external pressure due to overburden , while the fluids contained within the reservoirs are at higher pressure the an the surrounding fluid gradients. When the fluid pressure within the reservoir pore space is reduced , the bulk volume of the rock decreases while the volume of the solid material like sand grains increases. Both these volume changes result in reduction of the porosity of the rock slightly of the order of 0.5 % for 1000 psi change in

the internal pressure. This change in porosity is depends only on the difference between the internal and external pressures and not on the absolute pressure. The pore volume compressibility is Cf at any value of external pressure internal pressure difference may be defined as the change in pore volume per unit of pore volume per unit change in pressure. The pore compressibility may range between 3 35 X 10 -6 /psi . This plays many times as drive energy for producing an under saturated reservoir. 2.3 Fluid Saturation

More than one fluid is normally occupied in the pore space of the reservoir. From the history of the formation of the petroleum reservoirs it is noted that the pore of the rocks were initially filled with water, the oil/gas then moved into the reservoir displacing the water to some minimum residual saturation. Thus in a reservoir there may be oil, water and gas distributed in some manner through out the reservoir. The term fluid saturation is used to define the extent of occupancy of the pore spaces by any particular fluid. Fluid saturation is defined as that fraction or percent of the total pore space occupied by a particular fluid. For example the saturation of oil may be defined as

So =

Oil Volume * 100 Total Pore Volume

and sum of oil, gas and water saturations expressed as fraction will be equal to unity So + Sg + Sw = 1 Where So, Sg, Sw refer to saturation of oil, gas and water respectively. The saturation can be determined either by direct or indirect method. In direct method the fluids are extracted and measured. The indirect methods use logging or capillary pressure measurements.

2.4 Interstitial or Connate Water Saturation Nearly all reservoirs are water bearing prior to hydrocarbon charge. As hydrocarbons migrate into a trap they displace the water from the reservoir, but not completely. Water remains trapped in small pore throats and pore spaces and absorbed on the mineral surfaces. Interstitial water is present in all petroleum reservoirs and as we go deeper the water saturation increases towards the bottom of the pool and finally into free water. The amount of interstitial water ranges from 10% to 50% or more of the pore space. The amount of interstitial water generally increases with decrease in the porosity.

2.5 Capillary forces: Surface tension and Interfacial tension: Whenever immiscible phases co-exist in a porous medium the surface energy related to the fluid interfaces influence the saturations, displacements and distribution of phases.

Oil

Connate water

Sand grain Fig 3 - Oil and Water distribution between sand grains Water co-exists with oil even when the reservoir has not been water flooded or flooded by a natural water drive. Even though the water is immobile , interfacial forces affect the subsequent flow process. Figure 4 shows liquid and Air /liquid surface and the position of molecules A, B and C of liquid at different positions within the liquid. Molecules well below the position A experience equal attraction in all direction due to cohesive forces while the molecules B and C which are near to surface experience unequal forces. . A net downward force tends to pull these molecules into the body of the liquid. Thus the surface acts like a stretched membrane tending to shorten as much as possible. This force is tensile in nature and is called surface tension. If the surface is between two liquids then this force is called Interfacial tension. Surface tension of water is 73 dynes/cm, while the interfacial tension between water and oil varies between 30 to 50 dynes/cm at room temperature.

Air and Liquid Vapour Liquid Molecules B A

Liquid

Fig-4 Free liquid Surface and Molecular position

2.6

Wettability

Fluid distributions in porous media are not only affected by the forces at fluid-fluid interfaces but also by the forces at solid-fluid interfaces. Wettability is the tendency of one fluid to spread over or adhere to a solid surface in the presence of a second fluid. When two immiscible fluids are placed over a solid surface usually one fluid gets more attracted to the solid than the other. The more strongly attracted phase is called the wetting phase.

Oil drop

Water

Water Wet System

Oil Wet System

Fig-5 Effect of Wettability on Residual saturation

Rock wettability affects the fluid saturations. Fig-5 shows the residual oil saturation in a strongly water wet and strongly Oil wet systems. Non wetting phase tends to be trapped as isolated drops when a non wetting phase is displaced by a wetting phase. The isolated droplets are held by strong capillary forces that cannot be overcome by the by relatively small viscous force. The wettabilty decides the location of the different phases within the pore space, hence relative permeability

Fig -6

Oil wet System Water wet System

of phases is strong function of wettability. Fure-6 shows relative permeability curves for water and oil phases in oil wet and water system systems. At a given saturation the relative permeability of a non wetting phase is greater than the wetting phase. If we observe the

Figure 6 it is clear that in case of oil wet system the water is more mobile and the oil relative permeability becomes zero at higher residual oil saturation resulting in lower recoveries compared to Water wet systems. The wettability depends upon the rock mineralogy and fluid properties. The wettability may vary from point to point within a rock depending upon physico chemical properties of minerals present at the point under consideration.

Fig -7 There are no direct methods of determining wettability. Instead contact angle is used as a measure of wettability. In Oil- Water system if contact angle is less than 90 degrees then the rock is considered water wet , while if it is greater than 90 degrees it is said to be oil wet. A contact angle approaching zero degree indicate strong water wet and an angle approaching 180 degrees indicate strong oil wet system when the contact angles are measured through water phase. Mixed wettability occurs when contact angle is around 90 degrees. . 2.7 Capillary pressure. Because interfaces are in tension in the system, a pressure difference exists across the interface. This pressure is called capillary pressure. This can be easily demonstrated by the rise of water in the capillary tubes immersed in water tray. Figure 8 shows the height of the water rise increases with decrease in the size of capillary tube.

Figure 8 Smaller the capillary tubes larger the capillary pressure The fluids in most of reservoirs are believed to have reached a state of equilibrium, and therefore will have become separated according to their density. There will be connate water distributed through out the oil and gas zones, the irreducible water. The forces retaining the water in the oil and gas zones are referred to as capillary forces because they are important only in pore spaces of capillary size. Capillary pressure is related to the height above Fig -9 the free water level. Fig 9 shows Capillary pressure data converted to a plot of h vs. Sw. Changes in pore size and changes in reservoir fluid densities will alter the shape of the capillary pressure curve and the thickness of transition zone. A reservoir rock system with small pore sizes will have a longer transition zone than a reservoir rock system comprised of large pore sizes.

Pc = h * * g =

Where Pc = capillary pressure h = height above the free liquid surface = difference in density

2 Cos r

g = acceleration due to gravity = interfacial tension between the fluids = contact angle r = radius of capillary 2.8Permeability : is a measure of the ease of the flow of a fluid through a porous medium. The permeability of an oil reservoir is as important as the porosity, for not only the actual volume of oil in place important, but at the rate at which the oil will flow the reservoir is equally important. A rock of one darcy permeability is one in which a fluid of one centipoises viscosity will move at a velocity of one centimeter per second under a pressure gradient of one atmosphere per centimeter. Flow Geometry: a number of different flow geometries have been considered in reservoir fluid flow. The three are most common are: linear, radial and spherical. Horizontal Steady-State Single-Phase Flow of Fluids The basic equation is Linear flow: q = A dL Radial flow: q = 2
kh P ln (re/rw )
k dp

Linear bed in series On occasion, calculations are necessary where linear beds in series are thought to be present. Notice that pressure drops are additive.

kavg =

Li (L i/k i)

Linear bed in parallel Often flow in reservoir through parallel strata having different permeabilities. The total flow is the sum of the individual flow in each zone.

kavg =

kihi ht

Radial bed in series Depositionally, it is hard to imagine radial bed in series occurring in an actual reservoir. However, this condition is needed due to the alteration of reservoir properties that can occur in the vicinity of well-bores during drilling, production, and stimulation operations.
kavg = ka ke ln (re/rw ) ka ln (re/ra) + ke ln (ra/rw )

Radial bed in parallel Most sedimentary reservoirs are comprised of strata of different properties. Where calculation of the producing rates are desired, it is useful to determine the average permeability, or that permeability which will allow the system to be treated as a single radial bed with total thickness.
kavg = k1 h1 + k2 h2 +... + kn hn ht

Effective Permeability : At least two fluids are present in most petroleum reservoirs and in many cases three different fluids may be present and flowing simultaneously. Therefore the concept of absolute permeability must be modified to describe the flow conditions when more than one fluid is present in the reservoir. Effective permeability is defined as the permeability to a fluid when the saturation of that fluid is less than 100 percent. Effective permeability can vary from zero, when the saturation of the measured phase is zero, to the value of the absolute permeability, when the saturation of measured phase is equal to 100 percent. One of the phenomena of effective permeabilities is that the sum of effective permeabilities is always less than the absolute permeability. Relative Permeability : Relative permeability is defined as a ratio of effective permeability to absolute permeability. Relative permeability is very useful term since it shows how much the permeability of a particular phase has been reduced by the presence of another phase. 3.0 Crude Oil Properties 3.1 Gravity Generally the density of oil is expressed in terms of API unit. API gravity is defined by the following formula
131 .5 where o is specific gravity of oil. Hence the API gravity of 0 water is 10. API of oil can range from 10 and go as high as 46. Higher the API better the quality and lesser the handling problems. API = 141 .5

3.2

Solution Gas-oil Ratio (Rso)

Crude oil can be said as live oil. The oil at reservoir conditions has dissolved gas in it. The solubility of the natural gas depends upon the temperature, pressure, and composition of oil and gas. The solubility increases with increase in pressure and decreases with increase in temperature. Solubility increases for higher API gravity oil and higher

gas gravity of gas. Gas is infinitely soluble in crude oil. The quantity being limited only by the pressure or by the quantity of gas available. Saturated oil : A crude oil is said to saturated at any temperature and pressure if on slight reduction of pressure some gas is released from solution Under saturated oil: If no gas is released on reduction of pressure, then that oil is said to be under saturated at that pressure. Any reservoir having gas cap is said to be saturated reservoir, for the crude oil is in equilibrium with gas and any reduction of pressure will result in release of gas from the oil. If a reservoir has no gas cap , then this implies that the crude has capacity for absorbing gas at that pressure and temperature and the reservoir is said to be Undersaturated reservoir. Bubble point pressure : In case of under saturated oil, if the pressure is reduced at isothermal condition, the reduction in pressure will only result in expansion of crude oil and no gas is liberated. As we continue to reduce pressure at certain pressure first bubble of gas gets liberated, this pressure at which first bubble of gas appears in the crude is called Bubble point pressure. This pressure plays a very important role in exploiting under saturated reservoirs. The effort is made to keep the flowing bottom hole pressures above the bubble point in the initial phase so that the expansion energy of oil and rock and connate water is used for producing oil, and then the energy of liberated gas is used for producing oil during later period of producing life.

Gas solubility under isothermal conditions is expressed in terms of the increase in solution gas per unit of oil per unit increase in pressure.

(SCF/STB/psi.). Volume of oil at reservoir condition considerably increases appreciably because of solution gas .For precise reservoir calculations the total solution gas is expressed as SCF/STB. 3.3

Formation volume factor (FVF Bo)

When the oil is produced to the surface the solution gas gets liberated and the oil shrinks in volume. In order to make the volumetric calculations and arriving at material balance the liberated gas is put back into the oil and equivalent volume at reservoir condition is arrived at. To facilitate this Formation volume factor is determined. It is defined as the ratio volume in barrels that one stock tank barrel occupies in the formation at reservoir pressure and temperature. The Formation volume factor is always greater than 1 . In case the reservoir is under saturated the FVF increases with decrease in reservoirs pressure and attains maximum at bubble point pressure. For pressures lower than bubble point pressure the FVF goes on decreasing and eventually at atmospheric pressure it equals to unity. Some times the shrinkage in volume of oil at surface at reduced pressures is expressed in terms of shrinkage factor, which is nothing but the reciprocal of FVF.. In case of pressures in a reservoir falling below bubble point pressure, the solution gas gets liberated within the formation and further reduction in pressure results in expansion of this liberated gas. Hence to consider this aspect two phase formation volume factor is defined. Two phase Formation volume factor is defined as the volume of one barrel of stock tank oil and its initial complement of dissolved gas occupies at reservoir temperature and pressure. In other words it includes the liquid volume Bo , plus the volume of the difference between the initial solution gas-oil ratio, Rsoi and the solution gas-oil at the specified pressure Rso, If Bg is the formation volume factor of gas in barrels per standard cubic foot, of the solution gas , then the two phase volume factor is defined as

Bt = B0 + Bg ( Rsoi- Rso) Above the bubble point pressure Rsoi = Rso, and single phase and two phase volume factors will be same. Below the bubble point pressure the single phase volume factor decreases while the two phase volume factor increases due to increase the volume og gas liberated at lower pressures. 3.4

Isothermal Compressibility of Oil

Some times in reservoir engineering calculations it would be required to work with liquid compressibilities rather than the relative volume factors like FVF. The compressibility or bulk modulus of oil is defined by Co = - 1/V * dV/dp. It is the change in unit volume of a fluid per unit change in the pressure at constant temperature. The compressibility of oil above bubble point pressure is found to vary from 13 to 20 X 10-6 /psi while for that of crude below bubble point is found to around 100 to 200 X 10 6 /psi 3.5

Formation volume factor for Gas

Gas volume or gas formation volume factor, Bg is the volume of a standard cubic foot gas at reservoir temperature and pressure. Bg = Psc* Z *T/ Tsc* P For standard pressure and temperature of 14.7 psi and 60 degree F

Bg = 0.02829Z T/P cft/SCF = 0.00504 ZT/P bbl/SCF 4

Fluid Flow in Reservoirs

The basic work on flow through porous material was published in 1856 by Darcy, who was investigating the flow of water through sand filters for water purification. Later investigations found that other fluids flowing in a porous media also can be modeled with Darcy equation as long as they do not react with the porous media. Reacting normally means any type of interaction that changes the size or shape of the flow channels or changes the surface forces between the rock and fluid.
q = kA (h 1 - h2) L

In the above equation, A is the cross-sectional area and h1 and h2 are heights above the standard datum of the water in manometers at the input and output faces, respectively. L is the length of sand pack, and k is a constant proportionality found to be characteristics of the porous media. In reservoir engineering, it is necessary to modify the equation to reflect differing fluid viscosity, dip angle for flow, and various flow geometries. Also note that flow must be laminar. Generalized form of Darcys Law: Darcy equation for linear horizontal system is;
q= - A k ( P) L

Where: k = permeabilities, darcies q = outlet flow rate, cc/sec = fluid viscosity, cp L = system length, cm A = cross-sectional area, cm2 P = pressure differential across porous medium, atm The above equation can be modified slightly to describe single phase fluid flow within the porous media as
qB k dp = 0.001127 0.433 cos A ds

v=

Where v = the apparent velocity bbl/day-ft2 K = permeability in md

= fluid viscocity , cp
p = pressure in psia s = distance along flow pathin ft = specific gravity of the fluid = the angle of bed measured counter-clockwise from the downward vertical to the positive s direction B = Formation volume factor A = apparent or total cross sectional area of the rock in ft2 The term 0.433 cos represents driving force. The driving force may be ds caused by fluid pressure gradients
dp ds

dp

and /or hydraulic gradients 0.433 cos . In

many cases the hydraulic gradient are small compared to the fluid pressure gradients are generally neglected.( eg. for brines .5 - .433 psi/ft, for HP gas .1 to .3 psi/ft ) However incase of production by pumping from the reservoirs whose pressures have been depleted and gas cap expansion reservoirs with good gravity drainage characteristics , the hydraulic gradients must be considered. Darcy law applies only to the laminar flow regimes. Fortunately except in very high injection and production rates, the flow regime is turbulent in the vicinity of the well bore hence can be used through ought the reservoir length. Darcy law does not apply to flow within the individual pore channels. Owing to the porosity of the rock and tortuosity of the flow path, the fluid velocities in general are not measurable. Hence the term apparent velocity is defined. The average fluid velocity in the direction of the flow can be calculated by dividing apparent velocity of the fluid by the porosity of the rock, when the rock is completely saturated with the fluid under motion. While describing the flow and displacement of on fluid with another within the reservoir systems , many times reservoir engineers use term mobility and mobility ratio. Mobility is the ratio of permeability of the medium to a fluid divided by the viscosity of the fluid under consideration.

= while the mobility ratio is ratio of mobility of displacing fluid to the mobility w of the displaced fluid. M = o Reservoir flow systems can be classified considering a) Type of fluid b) flow geometry c) time considerations required for the system to attain steady state condition.

Reservoir fluids can be classified into three major types of fluids a) incompressible b) slightly compressible c) Compressible. Incompressible fluids are one whose volume does not change with pressure. Water, heavy oils devoid of dissolved gas fall in this category. However on should note that there no truly incompressible fluids. Slightly compressible fluids are defined those whose volume change can be expressed by the equation V = V R e c ( PR P ) Where R is reference condition, and c is compressibility of the fluid.. Highly saturated oil may be considered in this category All gases fall in the category of compressible fluids and the compressibility varies with pressure. The compressibility of such a system is given by c g = p z dp Flow geometry Although the actual paths of fluid particles in rocks are irregular due to the shape of the pore spaces, the overall flow geometry can be represented as linear, radial and spherical. In petroleum reservoirs the flow within the reservoirs is considered to be linear while the flow around well bore is modeled as radial. In some cases spherical geometry is considered where the pressure is reducing three dimensionally towards the center of the sphere. Time dependence Flow system in a petroleum reservoir can be classified considering the time it takes the reservoir to stabilize. Depending upon different states of flow the flow system can be classified as a) transient flow, b) late transient c) Pseudo steady state d) Steady state flow. In order to discuss these different flow regimes let us consider a single well located in a reservoir as shown in figure. Let us aasume Pe the reservoir of uniform re rw thickness h feet and let rw be the radius of single well at the P w center of the reservoir, and re be the radius of the reservoir, rw the radius of well and Pe and Pe be the pressure of the h
1 1 dz

Fig- Single well in a circular reservoir

reservoir at its boundary and flowing bottom hole pressure at the sand face of the well bore. It is assumed that the flow rate after the disturbance has occurred is constant. As the flow rate is changed at the well , the movement of the pressure begins to move away from the well. The travel of pressure wave is a diffusion phenomenon and is modeled by the diffusivity equation.

ct 2 p 1 p p + = 2 r r .0002637 k t r
The pressure moves at rate proportional to the formation diffusivity
=
k where k is the effective permeability of the flowing phase, is ct

the total effective porosity, is viscosity of the flowing phase and ct is the total compressibility of the porous medium.

The total compressibility is obtained by adding the weighted averages of the different components of the system

Ct=cgSg+coSo+cwSw+cf
Transient flow condition During this time period the pressure is traveling at the rate of Cf. During this time the outer boundary of the reservoir has no influence on the pressure movement and the reservoir acts like a infinite in size. Late transient flow condition ; During this time period the pressure has reached the boundary of the reservoir and the pressure is in the process of getting stabilized. During this period the pressure no longer travels at a rate proportional to . It is difficult to model the pressure behavior during this period. Pseudo steady state flow condition : During this period the pressure has stabilized and the pressure at every point throughout the reservoir is changing at constant rate and as a linear function of time. The time required for attaining pseudo steady state may be estimated using the equation
1200 ct re2 t pss = k For example for a well producing an oil with viscosity at reservoir condition of 1.5 cp and a total compressibility of 15 *10-6 /psi and reservoir thickness is 1000 ft with a permeability of 100 md. and total effective porosity of 20 %, then the time required for attaining pseudo steady state is given by the above equation and equals 54 hours. This

means that it would take 54 hours for the flow in the reservoir to reach pseudo steady state. It also implies that if the well is closed it would take 54 hours for pressure to stabilize throughout the drainage area of the well. In case of gas wells this period would be less as the viscosity of gases is very small which offsets the greater compressibility of the gas. This period would be very long in case of tight reservoirs.

4.1

Well-bore damage and improvement effects

The popular method for representing well-bore condition is by steadystate pressure drop at well face in addition to normal transient pressure drop in the reservoir. The additional pressure drop called skin effect occurs in an infinitesimally thin skin zone. In flow equation the degree of damage (or improvement) is expressed in terms of a skin factor s, which is positive for damage and negative for improvement. It can vary from about 5 for a hydraulically fractured well to + for a well that is too badly damaged to produce.
ps = 141.2 qB s kh

Since damaged zone thickness is considered to be infinitesimal, the entire pressure drop caused by the skin occurs at the well face. The thin skin approximation results in a pressure gradient reversal for well bore improvement (s < 0). Although this situation is physically unrealistic, the skin factor concept is valuable as a measure well bore improvement. If the skin is viewed as a zone of finite thickness with permeability ks then
s =( k rs 1) ln ( ) ks rw

The flow efficiency (also called the condition ratio) indicates the approximate fraction of a wells undamaged producing capacity.
Flow Efficiency = Jactual Pws - Pwf - s P = Jidea l Pws - Pwf

The damage ratio and damage factor are also relative indicators of well bore condition. The inverse of flow efficiency is the damage

ratio. By subtracting the flow efficiency from 1, we obtain the damage factor.

5 Phase behavior of Reservoirs

and Classification

As the conditions of pressure and temperature vary, the phases in which hydrocarbon exist, and the composition of the phases may change. Phase behavior describes the phase or phases in which a petroleum fluid exists at a given conditions of pressure, volume and temperature (PVT). Figure shows Pressure - Temperature diagram for a petroleum fluid. Both gas phase and liquid phase co-exist in the region enclosed by the bubble point line and the dew point lines. The dotted lines within this region indicate the percentage liquid phase for any temperature and pressure. Initially each petroleum reservoir will have its own phase diagram depends only on the composition of the accumulation.

. Consider the phase diagram for a fluid as shown. If the reservoir pressure and temperature is at point A, then the reservoir will be a single Phase gas reservoir. Further if during course of production the pressure reduction in the reservoir is along the AA1 then the reservoir will produce single phase gas only and the composition of the well fluid doesnt change as the reservoir is depleted. This is true for all reservoirs above cricondentherm temperature.

Event though the fluid left in the reservoir remains in one phase, the fluid produced at surface may enter into two region owing to temperature reduction as shown by line AA2. This accounts for production of condensate at the surface. Consider the reservoir at point B, between critical point and cricondentherm point, the reservoir initially would be having single phase gas. As we start producing this reservoir, the composition will remain same till point B1. As the pressure falls below this pressure the liquid starts getting condensed in the reservoir. This type of reservoir is called Dew-point or Retrograde gas condensate reservoir. Condensation results in production of lighter and lighter fractions of gas to the surface as heavier components getting condensed in the reservoir pores. Retrograde condensation continues till point B2. This also results in phase envelope itself shifting as the hydrocarbon composition of the reservoir itself is changing. The retrograde liquid in the reservoir at any point of time is composed largely of methane and ethane by volume. After point B2 the condensed liquid starts getting vaporized which at surface would results in decreasing GOR. The overall retrograde loss will be greater for lower reservoir temperature, higher abandonment pressures, greater shift of the phase envelope to the right. If the HC accumulation had occurred around point C, the reservoir would be single phase liquid state. During exploitation phase the reservoir would produce single phase liquid till point C1 is reached. As the pressure falls below point C , the gas bubbles or free gas is released. The quantity of gas released would go on increasing with depletion of pressure. Such type of reservoir is called solution gas/dissolved gas /depletion drive reservoir. These kinds of reservoirs are also called as Under saturated reservoir. If the HC accumulation had occurred around point D, the reservoir fluid would be a two phase reservoir, oil layer overlain by gas cap. As the composition of oil and gas zones are entirely different, they may be represented by separate phase diagrams. In such a reservoir the oil will be at its bubble point and the gas cap gas would be at dew point and may be retrograde and non retrograde. 6.0 5.1

Reserve Estimation Method

Volumetric Material Balance Reservoir simulation Decline curve analysis

Volumetric method:

One of the important functions of a reservoir engineer is the periodic calculation of reservoir oil and gas in place and the recovery anticipated under the prevailing exploitation strategies. Oil reserves are usually obtained by applying recovery factors to the oil in place. The oil in place (IOIP) is calculated either by a) volumetric method b) by material balance method c) by reservoir simulation d) by decline curve analysis. The volumetric method for estimating oil in place is based on the log and core analysis data to determine the bulk volume, the porosity , fluid saturations and on PVT analysis to determine the oil/gas volume factors.

The volumetric method uses subsurface isopachous maps based on the data from electric logs, cores and drill-stem and production tests. A subsurface contour map is drawn by connecting the points of equal elevation on top of a marker bed. This map shows the geologic structure of the reservoir. A net isopachous map is drawn by connecting the points with equal formation thickness. Reservoir engineer uses these maps to determine the bulk productive volume of the reservoir. The contour map is used in preparing the isopachous map when there is an oil water contact , gas oil contact or gas water contact. The contact line is called zero isopach line. The volume is obtained by planimetering the areas the areas between isopach lines of the entire reservoir or the unit under consideration.

The main problem in preparing a map of this type are the proper interpretation of net sand thickness from the well logs and outlining of the productive are of the field as defined by the fluid contacts, faults or permeability barriers on the subsurface contour map. Once we know the bulk volume of the reservoir then we can calculate oil/gas in place by using
GIP = 43560 * Vb * * (1 S w ) Bg 7758 * Vb * * (1 S w ) Bo

OIP =

Where Bo is and Bg are the FVF for oil and gas respectively. Rb/STB and RCF/SCF and bulk volume is in Acre- foot. Oil in place is in STB while the unit of gas volume is SCF. As the gas volume factor changes with pressure the gas in place also changes with pressure. The gas pore volume may also be changing with water influx. 6.2 Calculation of Petroleum Volumes by Material Balance Material balance of a reservoir is essentially is a volumetric balance of the reservoir fluids at any pint of time with respect to the original volumes in place. Even though the modern day reservoir engineers are equipped with most advanced tools for reservoir analysis which use numerical simulation and consider spatial reservoir heterogeneity ,fluid parameters ,inter phase mass transfer along with the facility of simulation in two, three or four dimensions, volumetric material balance analysis can give an insight into the reservoir and can be used as a diagnostic tool . This tool has been effectively developed by Howlena and Odeh and others to anlyse the effect of the different drive energies on recovery of hydrocarbons. Schilthuis was first to present the general material balance equations in 1941. General material balance equations are developed on a very simple concept, that at any pint of time the algebraic sum of the volume changes oil, free gas, and water and rock volumes in the reservoir must be zero. This is also many times called a Tank model. Let us consider reservoir as shown in Figure- 4.1 at initial pressure pi with aquifer at the bottom and a gas cap above oil. When we drill a well and complete it in oil zone and on production the well will start flowing to the surface. During the course of production following events would take place. As we produce oil from the reservoir there would be reduction in pressure which would result in liberation of solution gas from the oil,

some of it would get produced and while some will remain within the reservoir. The aquifer water encroaches into the oil zone and simultaneously the gas cap gas expands into the oil zone. Due to reduction in pressure the rock grains and the interstitial water within the pores expand resulting in reduction in pore volume.

Gas Cap

Oil

Aquifer
Oil Reservoir at initial and after producing a certain quantity The general material balance equation may be written as Original HC volume = Remaining HC volume + Vol. of Net water Influx + reduction in HCPV due to rock and connate water expansion The material balance equation can be used for a) determining initial hydrocarbon in place b) calculating water influx c) predicting reservoir pressures. 5.3 Decline curve analysis Production decline curve analysis is a statistical method of predicting decline process of a well or reservoir. Being a statistical method it nee only past production history. Using standard mathematical function decline curve analysis is carried out. Advantages: No assumptions about size, type or other properties of reservoir. Need only production history. Fast, cheap. Very accurate under certain circumstances. Results in production versus time prediction. Disadvantages: Well must be producing under constant conditions. Need at least 6 months history (better 2-10 years). Ambiguous (does not necessarily give unique answer). Cannot be used under changing well conditions. Not applicable to all reservoirs.

Decline curve functions The generalized hyperbolic decline equation takes the form: dq / q = - dt / (a + bt) where a and b are constants Three special cases of decline equations are determined by the values of b. b =0.0 corresponds to the constant percentage or exponential decline equation of the form. b = 0.5 corresponds to the hyperbolic decline equation, and b = 1.0 describes the harmonic decline curves

Exponential decline equation Most commonly used in economic application of the decline curve analysis of many reservoirs because they are simple to use. The exponential decline equation also called constant percentage decline equation takes the form: dq / dt = -aq Integration the above decline curve equation yields a timeproduction rate equation: q (t) = q0 e-at Further integration from t=0 to T produces a cumulativeproduction rate relationship: Q(t) = q0/a (1 - e-at) = (q0 - q) / a

The exponential or constant percentage decline curves are simple to use either mathematically or graphically for most economic analysis. Reservoir simulation With the increase in speed and data storage capacity of the modern day computers, reservoir simulation has become one of the most important tool in the petroleum industry. With the help of the reservoir simulators we can carry out three dimensional flow analysis of the reservoirs, model for their IOIP and decide on production strategies. Various kinds of simulators are available. The simulators can be of broadly divided into a) Black oil where the composition of oil/gas doesnt change with time b) Compositional where the composition of the oil/gas changes with time/production. Compositional simulators are usually used for simulating EOR processes and volatile reservoirs like retrograde condensate reservoirs 7. 0 Enhanced Oil Recovery

EOR results principally from the injection of gases or liquid chemicals and/or the use of thermal energy. Hydrocarbon gases, CO2, nitrogen, and flue gases are among the gases used in EOR processes. A number of liquid chemicals are commonly used, including polymers, surfactants and hydrocarbon solvents. Thermal processes typically consist of the use of steam or hot water, or rely on the in-situ generation of thermal energy through oil combustion in the reservoir rock. EOR processes involve the injection of fluid or fluids of some type into a reservoir. The injected fluid or injection processes supplement the natural energy present in the reservoir to displace oil to producing wells. Injected fluid interacts with reservoir rock/oil system to create conditions favorable for oil recovery. Examples: result in lower IFTs, oil swelling, oil viscosity reductions, wettability modification or favorable phase behavior. The interactions are attributable to physical and chemical mechanisms and to the injection or production of thermal energy. General classification and description of EOR processes: Mobility control, Chemical, Miscible, Thermal, Microbial EOR

Mobility Control: is a generic term describing any process where an attempt is made to alter the relative rates at which injected and displaced fluids are move through reservoir. The objective of mobility control is to improve volumetric sweep efficiency of a displacement process. Mobility control is usually discussed in terms of the mobility ratio, M, and a displacement process is to have mobility control if M less equal to 1.0. Volumetric sweep efficiency generally increases as M is reduced. Because it is often not feasible to change the properties of the displaced fluid when it is oil or the permeabilities of the rock to the displaced fluids, most mobility control

processes of current interest involve addition of chemicals to injected fluid. These chemicals increase the apparent viscosity of the injected fluid and/or reduce the effective permeability of rock to the injected fluid. The chemicals are primarily polymers when the injected fluid is water and surfactants that forms foams when injected fluid is a gas. In some cases, mobility control is attained by WAG (water alternate gas) injection. Miscible Displacement Processes: are defined as processes where the effectiveness of the displacement results primarily from miscibility between oil in place and the injected fluid. Displacement fluids, such as hydrocarbon solvents, CO2, flue gas and nitrogen are considered. The displacement processes treated here are classified as FCM (first contact miscible) and MCM (multiple contact miscible) i.e. on the basis on which miscibility is developed. In a specified fluid and reservoir system, MMP (minimum miscibility pressure) is an important parameter for these processes. Chemical Flooding: The process treated in depth, called the micellar/polymer process, is based on injection of chemical system that contains surface-active agents i.e., surfactants. The processes to improve recovery efficiency primarily through the use of displacing fluid that has a low interfacial tension (IFT) with the displaced crude oil. In the process, injection of micellar solution usually is followed by injection of an aqueous solution to which polymer has been added to maintain mobility control. Thermal Recovery Processes: rely on the use of thermal energy in some form both to increase the reservoir

temperature, thereby reducing oil viscosity, and to displace oil to producing well. The processes can be sub-divided into cyclic steam stimulation, steam-drive, and in-situ combustion. The motivation for developing thermal recovery processes was the existence of major reservoirs all over the world that were known to obtain billions of barrels of heavy oil and tar sand that could not be produced with conventional methods. In many reservoirs the oil viscosity so high that primary recovery on the order of few percent of original oil in place was common.