Lab Measurements of Capillary Pressure

All Roads Lead to Rome: Water Saturation at

Capillary Equilibrium in the Core

Carlos A Grattoni

London Petrophysical Society - One day Seminar

14 December 2009

®
A proper understanding of capillary pressure behaviour is
crucial for reservoir characterisation and hydrocarbon
production

Capillary pressure play a role in:

ƒ Saturation-height models for determination of hydrocarbon in place
ƒ Calculating original saturations through depleted zones
ƒ Thin bedded zones that resistivity logs cannot resolve
ƒ Checking irreducible water saturations calculated from logs
ƒ Residual oil saturation determination
ƒ Derivation of free water level from formation pressure data
ƒ Explaining differences in contacts between wells
ƒ Sealing capacity
ƒ ….

Slide 2
®
Capillary Pressure
Controlling factors

Pc = ∆ρ g h Fluids density, height

Slide 3
®
Capillary Pressure Definitions

Entry pressure
⎛1 1 ⎞
Pc = σ ⎜ + ⎟⎟
⎜
⎝ R1 R2 ⎠

Threshold,
Breakthrough,
Bubbling Pressure Water blocking
Snap-off

Saturation: Fraction of the pore space occupied by a given fluid

Slide 4
®
Capillary Equilibrium (water-wet)

Sw

Slide 5
®
Static Water Saturation Distribution

Slide 6
®
Quantitative Measurement Saturation on Cores

For core cut in water based mud,

Retort Method is used to
identify potential oil and gas
reservoirs

For core cut in oil based mud,

Retort Method and Dean-Stark
water saturation can provide
accurate measurement of
connate water saturation

Slide 7
®
 Capillary Pressure Cycles (water-wet)

Swi

• Pc(Sw) depends on the Pc

Water-wet system
saturation history. This
effect is known as
hysteresis
• Drainage: the wetting Primary Drainage
phase saturation decreases Secondary Drainage

• Imbibition: the wetting

phase saturation increases Imbibition

Sor
0 1

Slide 8
®
LABORATORY METHODS FOR MEASURING Pc
Determination of Pc(Sw) function: air/brine, air/oil, oil/brine, Hg-vac
• Porous diaphragm method (plate or membrane)
• Confining stress or unconfined
• Slow (weeks, months)
• Includes Resitivity index
• Low - high pressures

• Mercury injection method

• Unconfined or confined
• Very fast (min, hrs)
• High pressures
• Hazard, destructive, corrections are needed

• Centrifuge method
• Fast (days, weeks)
• Low - medium pressures
• Saturation function must be calculated
Combined methods (CT scans, NMR)

• Vapour equilibrium (desorption) method

• Very high pressures
• Simple technique
• Very slow (months)
Slide 9
®
 POROUS DIAPHRAGM METHOD
Restored State Cell
Nitrogen
pressure
Saran tube
Crude oil Scale
Neoprene
stopper

Spring-
Core Oil
Seal
Kleenex
paper

Ultra-fine
fritted
glass disk
Brine

Modified from Welge and Bruce, 1947

Slide 10
®
 POROUS DIAPHRAGM METHOD
Unconfined Confined stress
Laboratory procedure Air or Gas Gas or Oil
•Begin with core and porous disk
saturated with wetting fluid

•Use non-wetting fluid pressure to force

into core, thus displacing wetting fluid
through the porous disk

•The pressure difference between the fluids Saturated

equals the capillary pressure diaphragm
Water Water
•Wait until equilibrium is reached (i.e., no
more wetting fluid is displaced)

•Measure/ determine wetting phase saturation

in core at each pressure increment

• Repeat at successive higher pressures

Slide 11
®
POROUS DIAPHRAGM- example

Data

Slide 12
®
MERCURY INJECTION METHOD

Displacement
Reading

Sample

Mercury
Sample Chamber Mercury Pump
0-200 psi pressure gauge
0-2,000 psi pressure
gauge
Regulating valve Up to 60000 psi
To
Lucite window atmosphere
Cylinder
Fully automatic:
U-tube monometer vacuum, volume
Lucite window
injected, low-high
pressure

From Purcell, 1949

Slide 13
®
MERCURY INJECTION, examples
0.18 Increm ental Intrus ion (m L/g) 100000 Capillary Pres s ure (ps i)
0.16
0.14 10000
0.12
Pore Size Distribution,
0.1
1000 Inference of pore
0.08
100 network characteristics
0.06
0.04 10
0.02 Needs converting to
0 1 Other fluid systems
1000 10 0.1 0.001 0 20 40 60 80 100
Pore Diam eter (m icrom eters ) % Hg Saturation

Slide 14
®
Pc Conversion
Data conversion to reservoir conditions

γ w−o cosθ w−o

(Pc )yac = (Pc )lab
γ w− a cosθ w− a
Typically
In the lab In the reservoir
γa-w ≈ 70 dynes / cm γo-w ≈ 28 dynes / cm
θa-w ≈ 0o θo-w ≈ 33 a 55o

(Pc )w−o / yac 28 x0.70

(Pc )w−o / lab (Pc )w−o / res ≈
1
=
70 (Pc )w−o / lab 3a 4
Slide 15
®
Typical Values of γ,θ
PC ratio

8.7

15

Slide 16
®
CENTRIFUGE METHOD

Slide 17
®
 Schematic drawing of the centrifuge set-up

SEALING SCREW

SCALE
Malla
MESH
CORE PLUG ROTATION VELOCITY
CENTRIFUGE TUBE 1500-20000 r.p.m
CALIBRATE
D SCALE

Slide 18
®
Analysis and Calculations
Capillary pressure PC
35000

⎛ L⎞
= ∆ρ n ⎜ re − ⎟ L
Mean saturation
2
Pc inlet
30000

⎝ 2⎠ 25000
n: number of revolutions per minute
L: sample length 20000

Re: distance from sample to rotor 15000

10000

5000
Saturation
0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Hagoort, SPEJ 1980

Sw

lit y?
R ea

Slide 19
®
Combined methods (CT scans, NMR)

Slide 20
®
Comparison of Main Capillary Pressure Methods

Slide 21
®
Vapour equilibrium (desorption) method
• Thompson (1870) showed that the vapour pressure above a liquid
surface is a function of its curvature.
• Capillary pressure is therefore related to vapour pressure for porous
media containing water in equilibrium with its vapour.

where
Pc = capillary pressure,
R = universal gas constant,
RH = relative humidity,
T = absolute temperature,
Vm = molar volume of water (0.018016).

Slide 22
®
 Vapour equilibrium method
Plugs placed in constant humidity chambers until weight/saturation stabilises

Saturated solutions of different salts

Very high pressures, simple and cheap technique, very slow (months)

Other systems: Glycerol - water

Slide 23
®
Comparison Vapour desorption- centrifuge

Newsham et al., SPE 89866

Slide 24
®
Comparison Hg- combined VD-HSC-HPPP

Slide 25
®
Phyllosilicate-frame analogue

(converted to Hg)

Slide 26
®
Heterogeneous samples

Capillary Sample F Sample H

Pressure (psi) Sample M Break T 2
Break T 1
100000 PcHg converted to gas-brine

10000

1000

100

10

0.1
0 20 40 60 80 100
Gas Saturation

Slide 27
®
Capillary pressure of combined rocks

Slide 28
®
Fault rocks- sealing capacity

Slide 29
®
Water Saturation at Capillary Equilibrium

Do all Roads Lead to Rome?

Slide 30
®