You are on page 1of 20

Lecture 02-1

Rock Properties
Keyy Principles
p

Dr. Shafiee
Winter 2012
CONTENTS:

1. Rock Properties

2. Interacting Forces, Saturation and

Displacement
TO FORM A COMMERCIAL RESERVOIR OF HYDROCARBONS, A
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION MUST POSSESS THREE ESSENTIAL
CHARACTERISTICS;

1 Porosity
1.

2. Permeability

3. Capacity
POROSITY
Porosity is defined as a percentage or fraction of void to the
bulk volume of the rock. While the proportion of void can be
calculated from regular arrangements or uniform spheres.
PERMEABILITY
Permeability is a measure (under turbulent flow conditions) of
the ease with which fluid flows through a porous rock, and is a
function of the degree
g of interconnection between the p
pores.
Permeability is measured in Darcy units or more
commonly milliDarcy.

PERMEABILITY MEASURING
Permeability Affecting Factors
While grain size has a negligible effect on the porosity of a rock,
this parameter has a predominant effect on permeability. Each rock
grain has a wetted surface surrounding it where fluid velocity is always
zero by definition, thus shearing friction is formed between this zero
velocity layer and any passing fluids. Thus more frictional forces are
encountered passing the same fluid through a fine granular pack than
through a coarse granular pack of equal porosity.
Back
WHEN TWO OR MORE FLUIDS EXIST WITHIN A
RESERVOIR (MULTIPHASE SYSTEM) THE NUMBER OF
INTERACTING FORCES INCREASES AND THUS THE
COMPLEXITY OF THE SIMULATED MODEL.
1. Surface and Interfacial Tension
2. Wetting
3. Capillary
p y and Saturation
4. Irreducible Water Saturation
5. Residual Oil
6. Relations between Permeability and Fluid
Saturation
SURFACE AND INTERFACIAL
TENSION

The apparent film which separates two


i
immiscible
i ibl fluids,
fl id suchh as air
i andd water
t is
i causedd
by unequal attractive forces of molecules at the
interface The work required to move a molecule
interface.
of water across this barrier gives rise to surface
tension. When the fluids are water and oil,, the
phenomenon is known as interfacial tension.
The tendency of one fluid to displace
another from a solid surface is determined by
the relative wettability of the fluids to the solid.

WETTING
Capillary and Saturation
In the reservoir, although the pore spaces do not form the uniform

capillary tubes of the laboratory, nevertheless they do interconnect to form a

complex maze of capillary systems which in turn gives rise to capillary forces.

However, both silica and calcite have a strong tendency to remain

water wetted which means even after hydrocarbon percolation some connate

water will always remain within the rock structure.


IRREDUCIBLE WATER SATURATION
However since the wetting phase will become discontinuous
at some finite capillary pressure there will always be some
irreducible water saturation, a saturation which cannot be reduced
b displacement
by di l t by
b a non-wetting
tti phase
h no matter
tt how
h greatt a
pressure is applied to the system.
RESIDUAL OIL
Water tends to displace oil in a piston like fashion,
movingg first close to the rock surface where it is aided byy
capillary forces in squeezing oil from the smaller channels.

Natural Displacement of oil by water in a single pore channel


Natural displacement of oil by gas in a single pore channel
Capillary forces cause water to move ahead faster in low permeability pore
channel (A) when water is moving slow through high permeability pore
channel (B).
Gas first
G fi t displaces
di l oilil from
f hi h permeability
high bilit pore channels.
h l
Residual oil occurs in lower permeability pore channels.
RELATIONS BETWEEN PERMEABILITY
AND FLUID SATURATION

Back
ANY QUESTIONS?

You might also like