Formation Characteristics

Section 2

Printed: 8/24/2007

Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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 Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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EDC, Tomball, TX

Formation Characteristics
O Mineralogy is a science that deals with:
t Minerals
t Crystallography
t Physical Properties
t Chemical Properties
t Mineral Classification

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 Mineralogy
O Introduction
t Types of Rocks Associated with Reservoirs
t Importance of Mineralogy and Texture
t Techniques Available in Core Studies
O Mineralogy and Texture of Sedimentary
Rocks
t Clastics Rocks
t Non-Clastic More Details
In Text

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EDC, Tomball, TX

Mineralogy
O Types of Reservoir Rocks (Sedimentary)
t Clastic Rocks (fragments of pre-existing rocks)
“ Sandstones
“ Shales
“ Wackes (clay rich poorly sorted sandstones)
t Non Clastic Rocks
“ Limestones
“ Evaporites (gypsum)
t Igneous Rocks (formed by melting of pre-
existing rocks)
“ Volcanic Flows
“ Volcanoclastics - tuffs
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 Mineralogy
O Importance of Mineralogy and Texture
t Grain Size
t Grain Shape
t Pore Morphology
t Cementing method and material
O Techniques Available in Core Studies
t X-Ray Diffraction
t Scanning Electron Microscope
t Polarized Light Microscope

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Mineralogy (cont.)
O Laboratory Device Summary
t Sample Preparation
t Data Collection, Interpretation
t Information
t Discussion

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 X-Ray Diffraction

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XRD Sample Carousel

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 XRD Results

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SEM

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 ESEM

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Open, Intergranular Porosity

Nice Sandstone with Clay Coating

Triangular Pore Throats = Intergranular Porosity

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 Chlorite
(Mg,Al,Fe)12[(Si,Al)8O20](OH)16

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Petrographic Microscope

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 Thin Section Saw

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Thin Section Polisher

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 Thin Section Analysis
Intergranular, Dissolution, & Intragranular Porosity

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Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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 Porosity
O Porosity is the amount, volumetrically, of
a porous media (rock) which is not
occupied by solid material, expressed as a
percentage or decimal.
O In other words, if a one cubic foot sample
of a particular formation contained 0.75 ft3
of solid material and 0.25 ft3 of void
space, the porosity would be :
0.25 ft3 / 1 ft3 = 0.25 = 25 %

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Porosity
O Pores or Openings in a formation
t Affects the fluid leak-off rate
t Determines oil and gas in place
t May be determined by log analysis
t May be determined by core analysis
O Primary φ original space rock matrix
O Secondary φ created by tectonic forces
and post burial mechanisms
O Φ is defined by type and size
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 Porosity (cont.)
Primary Porosity

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Porosity (cont.)
Secondary Porosity

3.6%∅, 0.02 md 14.8%∅, 0.70 md

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 Porosity Types
O Intergranular porosity
O Dissolution porosity
O Natural fracture porosity

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Pore Size Definitions

O Macroporosity
t Pore throat radii > 0.5 microns
O Microporosity
t Pore throat radii < 0.5 microns
t Originally defined by Pittman, 1975

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 Intergranular Porosity
O Pore space between framework grains

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Open, Intergranular Porosity

in SEM

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 “Natural Fracture Porosity”

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Things To Remember About

Natural Fracture Porosity
O Usually less than 2% of bulk volume
O Up to 100% of reservoir storage
O Can be high perm pathways in the
reservoir
O Mud loss causes near-wellbore damage
O Cement loss yields poor isolation and
damage
O Fractures may cause screenouts

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 Things To Remember About
Natural Fracture Porosity (cont.)
O Natural fractures impact waterfloods
O Can create elliptical drainage areas
O May cause compartmentalization
O Natural fractures are often unrecognized
until major unexplained screen-outs occur
O Natural fractures may cause stress
sensitive leak-off

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Microporosity

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 Five Things To Remember
About Microporosity
O Most often associated with clays or chert
grains
O May range from 0-100% of pore space
O Is measured as porosity on logs
O Usually not effective for hydrocarbon
production
O Can cause capillarity (fluid retention)
problems

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Remember ...
1
O We need to know
pore types &
sizes present, as SAND

well as total Solid

porosity, when
working with well SILT

problems, 1
DRY CLAY
V sh

formation Sb BOUND WATER

damage, and Swt Liquid

Sw FREE WATER
treatment design. φt

φe
HYDROCARBON
Sh φh

0 0
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 Graphical Example

Isolated or Non-
effective Porosity

Cementing Material

Sand Grain

Interconnected or
Effective Porosity

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Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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 Permeability
O Measure of ease of flow through the pores in
a formation
t Affects the desired penetration
t Affects the leak-off rate
t May be determined by core analysis
t May be determined by well tests
O Absolute permeability for single fluid
O Relative permeability for multiple fluids
O Determined - DST - Drawdown - Buildup Test
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Permeability (cont.)

Darcy’s Law for radial flow

Q = 7.08 (pe -pwf) K h

μ ln(re/rw)

where: Q = rate (bpd)

K = permeability (D)
pe = reservoir pressure (psi)
pwf = wellbore pressure (psi)
H = height (ft)
μ = fluid viscosity (cp)
re = reservoir radius (ft)
rw = wellbore radius (ft)

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 Permeability (cont.)
O Graphical Example

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Permeability Types
O Absolute permeability (specific permeability)
t Single phase viscous flow
t 100% fluid saturation
t Routine core analysis perm is ksg (single-phase air perm
at 100% saturation)
O Effective (in-situ) permeability
t Perm to reservoir fluid under reservoir conditions of
temperature, nob pressure, & saturation
“ May occur under conditions of 1-, 2-, or 3-phase flow
“ Almost always less than bench permeability
O Relative permeability
t Ratio of effective permeability to specific permeability
t Reported as % of specific permeability

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 Permeability (cont.)
Relative Permeability
1
0.9
0.8
Relative Oil Perm

Irreducible Water
0.7

Residual Oil
0.6
Oil Perm
0.5
Water Perm
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Water Saturation (% of Pore Space)
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Permeability
O Horizontal & vertical flow capacity
O Permeability distribution
O Permeability profile
O Permeability is a tensor value

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 Sources Of Horizontal
Permeability Estimates
O Routine and special core analysis tests
O Pressure transient tests
O Repeat formation tester
O Wireline log correlations to porosity
t Classical transforms
t SP inversion processing
O Pre-treatment injection tests

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Sources Of Vertical
Permeability Estimates
O Vertical permeability measurements from
routine core analysis
O Vertical interference tests

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 Permeability Values From
Conventional Core
O “Routine core analysis”
O Usually reported as a “specific gas permeability”
(ksg)
O May be corrected for gas slippage (Klinkenberg
perm, kinf)
O May be measured on plugs or “whole core”
O Must be corrected to “effective perm to the
appropriate fluid”
O Rule of thumb - if routine core values are used...
t Kroutine > 100 md, divide by 2 (source = Stimex)
t Kroutine <1 md, divide by 50
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Permeability Values From

Percussion Sidewall Cores
O Not a measurement
O Estimated from a nomograph or computer
program and based on “operator
experience”
O Be very careful!
O Rule of thumb
t If percussion swc perms < 100 md, divide by
100 to estimate in-situ perm

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 Petrophysical Crossplot

PETROPHYSICAL CROSSPLOT
DEEP TUSCALOOSA

1000.00

100.00

BENCHTOP PERMEABILITY (MD)

10.00

1.00

0.10

0.01

0.00
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0
POROSITY (%)
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High permeability for the porosity is

likely to be caused by natural fractures
or shale laminations in sandstones
PERMEABILITY VS POROSITY

100

10
PERMEABILITY (MD)

0.1

0.01
0 5 10 15 20 25
POROSITY (%)

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 Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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Understanding Reservoir
Fluids
O Phases present & saturations
O Chemical compositions
t Water analysis
t H2S in gas
O Physical properties
t Oil gravity
t GOR
t Oil viscosity
t Pour point
t Paraffin & asphaltene content
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 Reservoir Fluids
O Gas
t Creates few problems
t What about oil-based frac fluids in dry gas
wells?
O Formation water
t Creates few frac fluid problems that we know
of...
“ Wet zones?
“ pH of formation water
X Range ≈ 4.5 - 7.9
“ Salinity of formation water
X Range ≈ <1,000 - >250,000 mg/l

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Irreducible Water Saturation

(artist conception)

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 Water Saturation & Relative
Permeability

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Reservoir Fluids
O Oil
t Emulsions
t Paraffin & asphaltene deposition

t CO2 compatibility
t Thermal shock
t Mixing incompatible oils

t Test in the lab, not down hole

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 Reservoir Fluid Viscosity
O Critical rate-controlling variable
O Inverse relationship between reservoir
fluid viscosity and producing rate

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Fluid Mobility
O Mobility λ = k/μ, permeability per unit
viscosity, expressed as md/cp
O Mobility in tight gas
t 0.1 md / .02 cp = 5 md/cp
O What is the mobility of a 2 cp oil in a 10
md rock?

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 Formation Characteristics
O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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Reservoir Pressure
O Pressure within the pores of the formation
t Affects the desired penetration
t Affects the fluid leak-off rate
t Determined from pressure build-up test

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 Reservoir Pressure (Pres)
O Pres is a fundamental, producing rate
controlling variable
O Pres also is a controlling variable in gas
reservoir storage

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Reservoir Pressure Gradient

O Pressure gradient caused by the total
weight of the connected vertical column of
fluid
t Under pressured ≈ << .43 psi/ft
t Normally pressured ≈ .43 - .45 psi/ft
t Over pressured ≈ >> .45 psi/ft

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 Effect of Permeability
on Capillarity
Surface Contact
Permeability Porosity Pc
Tension Angle
0.001 35 70 12 1,311.3
0.01 35 70 12 414.7
0.1 35 70 12 131.1
1 35 70 12 41.5
10 35 70 12 13.1
100 35 70 12 4.1
1,000 35 70 12 1.3
10,000 35 70 12 0.4
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Capillary Pressure
O Pc = { (σ cosΘ) / (keff / Φ)0.5 } [J]

O Where:
t Pc = capillary pressure, psi
tσ = surface tension, dynes / cm
tΘ = contact angle, Deg
t keff = effective water permeability, mD
tΦ = porosity, dimensionless
tJ = Leverett’s J function, dimensionless
Pc & J based on specific Sw
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 Formation Characteristics
Review

O Characteristics
t Mineralogy
t Porosity
t Permeability
t Reservoir Fluids
t Reservoir Pressure

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