Copyright 2005, Society of Petroleum Engineers

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Abstract
The practical interpretation formulae which can be used for
determination of the relative permeability data from the
production and/or injection performance data are derived
based on the formulation of the near-well-bore immiscible
fluid displacement process. The formulations for convenient
calculation of the relative permeability data similar to the J BN
method are provided and validated using the laboratory data
obtained by the radial immiscible fluid displacement tests in
horizontal porous disks. The applications demonstrate the
capabilities of the present interpretation method.

Introduction
By-and-large, the present relative permeability determination
methods have been developed for applications in the linear
flow systems such as in the laboratory core plugs. However,
determination of the relative permeability data from the
injection and production well data requires a radial flow
interpretation method.
For this purpose, the convenient interpretation formulae
elaborated and demonstrated by the authors (Tth et al.
1-6
)
previously for determination of relative permeability from
unsteady-state two-phase linear fluid displacements in
laboratory core tests under constant rate or pressure conditions
are transformed for displacement in the radial distance around
a well. Special formulae for laboratory simulation of such
radial flow in circular disks of relatively small thickness are
also derived for interpretation of laboratory data. The
interpretation method developed in this paper is somewhat
similar to the J BN method for displacement in core plugs but
applicable for radial flow and also improved in accuracy by
means of special straight-line plotting schemes. In contrast to
the J BN method, however, the present method yields the
relative permeability functions instead of calculating the point
values of the relative permeability data. The new approach
taken in this study is based on the theory of the displacement
processes according to the Buckley-Leverett model and
Darcys law considering the variation in the cross-sectional
area with the radial distance (Marle
7
, Latil
8
)
Parallel to the above-mentioned theoretical development,
also the laboratory investigations of the radial flow systems
have been carried out to derive and verify the relevant
displacement relationships and to determine the relative
permeability functions from the production data. The
laboratory flow tests have been carried out using horizontal
disks of typical sandstone samples in 4 outer diameter sizes
containing 0.5 diameter holes in the center. The upper and
lower flat surfaces of these disks have been coated with epoxy.
The disk-shaped cores have been first saturated with oil. Then,
the oil has been displaced by injecting or pumping water
through the hole inside the disks to represent the flow
condition around a well. The production data obtained under
constant injection rate and constant pressure difference
conditions have been measured accurately and used with the
present interpretation formulae. The relative permeability
curves have been constructed using such data and compared
with each other.

Fluid Displacement in Radial Systems
Radial rock samples were prepared for investigations where
the fluid is flowing from the mantle of the disk-shaped
samples to a small diameter well drilled into the core center.
The core is considered homogeneous. Its porosity is and
permeability is k. The height of the core sample is h, the radius
of the axial well is r
w
, and the external radius is r
e
. The core is
saturated with a fluid denoted by a subscript k. Then, this pore
fluid is displaced by another fluid denoted by a subscript d.
Both fluids are assumed incompressible and immiscible with
each other. The volumetric rate of the injected fluid is q
i
. The
effect of the capillary forces is supposed to be negligible
(P
c
=0) during the displacement processes. The pressure at the
mantle (fluid inlet face) is p
e
, the pressure inside the small
diameter well (fluid outlet face) is p
w
. Thus, the pressure
difference between the outer and inner faces of the disk is p
= p
e
- p
w
(see Fig. 1). In this section, the theoretical
foundations of the relative permeability determination from
radial flow immiscible displacements are presented by
extending the application of the Tth et al.
1-6
approach.







SPE 94994
Determining Relative Permeability From Unsteady-State Radial Fluid Displacements
J . Toth, T. Bodi, SPE, and P. Szucs, U. of Miskolc, and F. Civan, SPE, U. of Oklahoma
2 SPE 94994
1. Flow equations
The radial flow equations and the relevant boundary
conditions are described here.

1.1. The mantle of a radial core as an inlet face
The sum of the fluid rates measured at the outlet face is
equal to the injected fluid rate at the inlet face. Thus,

d k i
q q q + =
. (1)

The radial Darcy flow equations are given by:

dr
dp hrkk 2
q
d
rd
d

= , (2)

dr
dp hrkk 2
q
k
rk
k

=
, (3)

and

( ) ,
dr
dp
S hkrY 2
dr
dp k k
hkr 2 q
d
k
rk
d
rd
i
=

=
(4)

where Y(S
d
) expresses the total mobility function as
following:

( ) .
k k
S Y
k d
k
rk
d
rd
d
+ =

=
(5)

Next, the Leverett functions are introduced for the
fractional flow equations as:

( )
d d
rd
i
d
d
S Y
k
q
q
f

= =
, (6)

( )
,
S Y
k
q
q
f
d k
rk
i
k
k

= =
(7)

, 1 f f
k d
= +
(8)

k k
d d
rk
rd
f
f
k
k

=
. (9)

After rearranging Eq. (4), a differential equation can be
obtained as:

( ) r
dr
S hkY 2
q
dp
d
i

=
. (10)

The following boundary conditions are applied for the
integration:

w w e e
r r at p p and r r at p p = = = =
. (11)

Further, we consider that p
e
>p
w
for injection from the
external surface of a disk-shape porous media. Consequently,
we obtain the following expression:

( )

= =
e
w
r
r
d
i
w e
S rY
dr
hk 2
q
p p p
. (12)

Because Y(S
d
) is a function of S
d
, the r variable in Eq. (12)
should be transformed as a function of S
d
. For this purpose,
consider the general solution of the Buckley-Leverett
displacement equations in a radial flow system, given as:

( )
( )
( )
d
'
d
i
d
2
S f
h 2
t V
S r

=
, (13)

where

( ) dt q t V
t
0
i i

=
, (14)

( )
d
d
d
'
d
dS
df
S f =
. (15)

A differentiation of Eq. (13) provides:

( )
'
d
i
df
h 2
t V
rdr 2

=
. (16)

On the other hand, the ratio of Eqs. (14) and (13) yields:

'
d
'
d
f
df
2
1
r
dr
=
. (17)

Hence, the new integral boundary conditions become:

and r r at 0 f d , 0 f , 1 f
e d d d
= = = =

w 2 d d 2 d d 2 d d
r r at f d f d , f f , f f = = = =
. (18)
SPE 94994 3
As a result of considering Eq. (18) and substituting Eq.
(17) into Eq. (12), we obtain:

( )

=
0
f
d
'
d
'
d i
'
2 d
S Y f
df
hk 4
q
p
. (19)

A new equation can be derived as following after
introducing a special G function defined later and
reformulating the above relationship:

( )
G
hk 4
q
S Y f
df
hk 4
q
p
'
2 d
f
0
i
d
'
d
'
d i

=
. (20)

The time derivative of Eq. (20) is the following:

( )

dt
dq
G
dt
dG
q
hk 4
1
dt
p d
i
i
. (21)

Differentiating Eq. (14) consecutively twice with respect to
time yields:

( ) ( )
2
i
2
i i
i
dt
t V d
dt
dq
and
dt
t dV
q = =
. (22)

After rearranging Eq. (20), the next two equations can be
derived:

i
q
p hk 4
G

=
(23)

and

( )
2
i
2
i
i
dt
t V d
q
p hk 4
dt
dq
G

=
. (24)

The (q
i
dG/dt) expression is interpreted as following for the
outlet face (denoted by subscript 2):

( ) dt
df
f S Y
q
dt
dG
q
'
2 d
'
2 d 2 d
i
i
=
. (25)

Then applying Eq. (13) at the outlet face (r =r
w
), the time
derivative is derived as:

( ) t V
r h 2
f
i
2
w '
2 d

=
(26)
and

( )
( )
( )
i
2
i
2
w i
2
i
2
w
'
2 d
q
t V
r h 2
dt
t dV
t V
r h 2
dt
df
=

=
. (27)

Thus, using Eqs. (26) and (27), Eq. (25) can be
reformulated to give:

( ) ( ) t V S Y
q
dt
dG
q
i 2 d
2
i
i
=
. (28)

Finally, involving Eqs. (24) and (28), Eq. (21) can also be
rewritten as:

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
=

t V S Y
q
dt
t V d
q
p hk 4
hk 4
1
dt
p d
i 2 d
2
i
2
i
2
i

( )
( ) ( ) t V S hkY 4
q
dt
t V d
q
p
i 2 d
2
i
2
i
2
i

= . (29)

Then, considering the typical experimental conditions, two
different types of boundary conditions can be applied for
Eq. (29):
a) p = Constant and thus V
i
(t) is changing, and
b) q
i
= Constant and thus V
i
(t)=q
i
t and p(t) are
changing.
a) p = constant. The left side of Eq. (29) is zero. As a
result, the following equation can be derived for the sum of the
fluid mobilities (see Eq. (5)).

( )
( )
( )
2
i
2
i
3
i
2 d
dt
t V d
t pV hk 4
q
S Y

=
. (30)

b) q
i
= constant. In this case
( ) 0 dt t V d
2
i
2
=
in
Eq. (29) and the sum of the fluid mobilities is given by:

( )
( )
dt
p d
hkt 4
q
S Y
i
2 d

=
. (31)

Thus, the relative permeability functions can be
determined with the help of Eqs. (9) and (30) or (31). Eq. (30)
is always positive. This means that Y(S
d2
) >0 if V
i
(t) is
increasing continuously, because the following relations also
exist:

( ) ( )
. 0
dt
t V d
and 0 q
dt
t dV
2
i
2
i
i
> > =
(32)

4 SPE 94994
The Y(S
d2
) >0 condition can only be fulfilled in Eq. (31) if
( ) 0 dt / p d <
, because all the other parameters are definitely
positive.
The above-mentioned conditions can be justified with the
help of the flow hydraulics. As the displacement process is
progressing in space and time, the relative permeability of the
displacing fluid should be increasing because the phase
saturation is also increasing.

1.2. The surface of the radial well as an inlet face
Consider the boundary conditions given by:

w w e e
r r at p p and r r at p p = = = =
. (33)

If the injection of the displacing fluid is taking place inside
the radial well, then the solution of the partial differential
Eq. (12) is given as:

( )

= =
e
w
r
r
d
i
w e
S rY
dr
hk 2
q
p p p
. (12/a)

This equation is different from Eq. (12) with a minus sign.
The solution is derived as following by applying the boundary
conditions given by Eq. (20):

( )

=
'
2 d
f
0
d
'
d
'
d i
S Y f
df
hk 4
q
p
. (20/a)

Note that there is a +sign difference in the above equation
compared to Eq. (19). This derived form is equivalent to Eq.
(20). As a result, Eqs. (21)-(31) given in Section 1.1 are also
applicable for the displacement conditions considered here.

2. The displacement equations.
Consider a disk-shape radial core sample, where S
di
is the
initial saturation of the displacing fluid. The volume of the
displacing fluid injected into this core during t time is denoted
by V
i
(t). During this period the volume of the displaced fluid
is V
k
(t). On the other hand, the displacing fluid can also be
produced with an amount of V
d
(t). As a result, the following
expressions can be written:

( ) ( ) ( ) t V t V t V
d k i
+ =
(34)

and

( ) ( ) ( ) dt q t V , dt q t V , dt q t V
t
t
d d
t
0
k k
t
0
i i
a

= = =
, (35)

where t
a
indicates the breakthrough time of the injected
fluid phase. These equations can be called as the general flow
equations. After the breakthrough (t > t
a
), the following
relationship has been proven to be valid for the different
volumes (Tth et al.
1-6
) and this relationship was found also
valid for the radial system:

p
i
k
i
V
V
b a
V
V
+ =
, (36)

where a denotes the fraction of the displaced fluid at the
saturation front and its value is less than 1.0. The following
relation can be written for the constant b, where
1.0 <b =1/(S
dmax
-S
di
).
The average saturation of the displacing fluid in the radial
core sample after t time is expressed as (Tth et al.
1-6
):

p
k
di d
V
V
S S + =
, (37)

where S
di
is the initial saturation of the displacing fluid.
The saturation of the displacing fluid at the outlet face
(Denoted by subscript 2) is:

2
p
i
p
i
di 2 d
V
V
b a
V
V
b S S

+
+ =
. (38)

The Leverett-type fractional fluid volumes can be provided
in the following manner based on Eqs. (34), (6), and (7):

2
p
i
k
V
V
b a
a
f

+
=
and f
d
=1-f
k
. (39)

Using Eq. (36), the displacement efficiency can be
calculated as:

( )
di
p
i
p
i
di p
k
D
S 1
V
V
b a
V
V
) S 1 ( V
V
E

+
=

=
. (40)

3. The applied empirical relationships.
The knowledge of Eq. (14) is necessary to determine the
relative permeability functions if the p =constant condition
is considered. Similarly, the p(t) function should be known in
case of q
i
=constant.
SPE 94994 5
a) p = constant: It can be concluded from Eq. (30)
that the V
i
(t) function should increase monotonously. As a
result, its second derivative fulfils the condition that
d
2
V
i
(t)/dt
2
>0. The following expressions can be written after
the breakthrough time (Tth et al.
1-6
):

1
b
1 i
t a V =
, (41)

( )
( )
( ) 2 b
1 1 1
2
i
2
1 b
1 1 i
1 1
t 1 b b a
dt
V d
and t b a q

= =
. (42)

Thus, if a
1
>0, then b
1
>1.0. Besides these conditions,
Eq. (30) can be rearranged as:

( )
( )
( ) 1 b p kh 4
t b a
S Y
1
1 b 2
1 1
2 d
1

=

. (43)

b) q
i
= constant: Eq. (31) can only be positive if the
expression of d(p)/dt is negative. If the following relation can
be applied after the breakthrough time,

2
b
2
t a p=
(44)

then, the first derivative will be negative if b
2
<0. Thus,
Eq. (31) can be expressed as:

( )
2
b
2 2
i
2 d
t b kha 4
q
S Y

=
. (45)

4. Saturation distributions in radial displacement systems
It can be concluded from Eq. (13) that the average
displacing fluid saturation at any arbitrary location in the core
at a given time can be expressed with the help of the following
relationship:

2
2
w
2
e
2 2
e
di d
B
r r
r r
A
S S

+ =
, (46)

where the A and B parameters for a given time (t) can be
determined using the values of S
dmax
, S
d2
and S
di

(Tth et al.
1-6
):

( ) ( )
di 2 d di max d
di 2 d di max d
S S S S
) S S )( S S (
A


=
, (47)
( ) ( )
di 2 d di max d
di 2 d
S S S S
) S S (
B


=
. (48)

Fig. 13 shows the distribution of the oil saturation at the
breakthrough time of the radial water displacement process.
Note that the radial flow equations presented in this paper
can be transformed to linear flow equations readily by
applying the following coordinate transformation, inferred by
Civan
9
:

2
w
2
e
2
w
2
r r
r r
L
x

=
(49)

such that

w w
r r , 0 x = =
, (50)

e e
r r , L x = =
. (51)

Applications for Laboratory Core Tests.
Figure 1 represents the radial geometry of the investigated
core samples taken from a natural water wetting sandstone.
The main properties of the investigated core samples are given
in Table 1. First, the core samples were dried out completely.
Then, they were vacuum saturated with water and the porosity
values were determined. As a next step, the samples were put
into the displacement system described in Fig. 2a (photo in Fig
2b). First, the water phase (The initial water saturation is
S
wi
=1.0.) was displaced with oil (drainage displacement).
Then, the oil was displaced with water (imbibition
displacement). In case of the No. 1 core, the applied pressure
difference was suitable. In case of No. 2 and No. 3 cores, the
applied pressure differences were only suitable during the
second drainage-imbibition experiments when the capillary
effects were negligible.
The injection of the displacing fluid took place at the
mantle of the investigated cores towards the inner central
bores. Figs. 3-5 show the main results according to Eq. (36) in
case of the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 cores. Table 2 gives the a
and b parameter values for the different displacement
processes.
Using the obtained parameters, the Leverett functions can
be determined with the help of Eq. (39) for each core sample
(see Fig. 6). The calculation of the water saturation is based on
Eq. (38). Figs. 7, 8, and 9 give information about the
displacement efficiencies involving Eq. (40). The relative
permeability ratio functions are derived using the Eqs. (9),
(38), and (39). The obtained results are described in
Figs. 10, 11 and 12.

Applicability in Field Tests
The present radial displacement interpretation formulae can be
used for determination of the relative permeability data from
the injection and production well data. For example, in case of
6 SPE 94994
an oil well with significant water-cut, the actual water fraction
(f
w
) can be determined using the ratio of produced oil- and
water quantities by:

o o w w
w w
w
B q B q
B q
f
+
=
. (52)

This water fraction belongs to the average saturation at the
well drainage area, expressed as:

wi
p
t
0
o o
wi
p
o p
w
S
V
dt q B
S
V
B N
S + = + =

. (53)

The outlet surface saturation can be determined as a
function of the average saturation by:

( )( ) ( )

+ = + =

t
0
o o
t
0
w w w w w p o p w w w
dt q B dt q B f 1 S B W B N f 1 S S
.
(54)
Based on Eq. (36), it can be written that

p
w p o p
o p
w p o p
V
B W B N
b a
B N
B W B N +
+ =
+
. (55)

Thus, using Eq. (9) and knowing the viscosity data, the
relative permeability ratio can be calculated by:

( )
o w
w w
ro
rw
f 1
f
k
k


=
. (56)

Conclusions
The theoretical investigations have proven that the
displacement equations can be derived conveniently for the
radial flow systems under constant pressure difference or
constant fluid injection rate conditions. The derived
relationships enable the interpretation of laboratory
displacement experiments carried out using radial core
samples. The obtained relationships can be applied to interpret
and analyze the experimental data of the radial flow systems
of real production wells. Although the derived equations are
more complicated than the linear displacement equations, their
applications are advantageous and required in radial flow
cases. The laboratory model experiments demonstrated that
the same displacement equations are applicable for both the
linear and radial flow systems. The flow equations can be
expressed by the power-law type empirical functions after the
breakthrough time for both cases. However, the predictability
of the fluid saturation distributions in case of radial flow
systems is more complicated because the flow areas are
changing with the distance in the radial direction.
The various case studies accomplished with the present
laboratory experiments have proven the validity and
applicability of the derived relationships for determination of
the displacement processes and the relative permeability
curves in radial flow systems. The interpretation method
presented in this paper can be readily applied for
determination of relative permeability data from field
production data.

Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support
provided by the Hungarian Research Fund (OTKAT 048329),
the Bolyai J anos Research Scholarship of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences and the GVOP program (GVOP-3.1.1.-
2004-05-0187/3.0).

Nomenclature
a, a
1
, a
2
= constant parameters
A = cross-sectional area of a core sample, cm
2

B = formation volume factor
b, b
1
, b
2
= constant parameters
E
D
= displacement efficiency
f = fractional flow
G = supplementary function
h = height of core sample, cm
k = permeability, D
k
r
= relative permeability
L = length of core sample, cm
M = mobility ratio
N = cumulative produced oil volume, m
3

p = pressure, bar
p = pressure difference, bar
q = volumetric flow rate, cm
3
/s
S = fluid saturation
t = time, sec
V = cumulative fluid volume, cm
3

W = cumulative produced water volume, m
3

Y(S
d
) = supplementary function, D/mPa.s
= dynamic viscosity, mPa.s

Subscripts
a = breakthrough condition
d = displacing fluid
f = displacement front condition
i = injected fluid or initial condition
k = displaced fluid
o = oil
p = pore or produced
max = maximum
w = water
1 = inlet face
2 = outlet face

References
1. Tth, J ., Bdi, T., Szcs, P., and Civan, F., Practical Method
for Analysis of Immiscible Displacement in Laboratory Core
Tests, J . Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 31, 1998, pp. 347-
363.
2. Tth, J ., Bdi, T., Szcs, P., and Civan, F., Analytical
Techniques for Determination of Relative Permeability from
SPE 94994 7
Displacement Experiments, Progress in Mining and Oilfield
Chemistry, I. Lakatos (ed.): Novelties in Enhanced Oil and Gas
Recovery- Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, Vol. 2, pp. 91-100,
2000.
3. Tth, J ., Bdi, T., Szcs, P., and Civan, F., Linear Equations
Derived from Laboratory Experiments to Describe Immiscible
Displacement, Book Chapter in Intellectual Service for
Oil&Gas Industry- Analysis, Solutions, Perspectives,
Proceedings, A. M. Shammazov and L. Besenyei (Eds.), UFA
State Petroleum Technological University and Miskolc
University, ISBN 5-7831-0311-X, pp. 259-276, 2000.
4. Tth, J ., Szcs, P., Bdi, T., and Civan, F., Direct
Determination of Relative Permeability from Non-Steady-State
Constant Pressure and Rate Displacements, Paper SPE 67318,
SPE Mid- Continent Operations Symposium held in Oklahoma
City, OK, March 2001.
5. Tth, J ., Bdi, T., Szcs, P., and Civan, F., Convenient
Formulae for Determination of Relative Permeability from
Unsteady-State Fluid Displacements in Core Plugs, J ournal of
Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 36, Nos. 1-2, pp. 33-
44, 2002.
6. Tth, J ., Szcs, P., Bdi, T., and Civan, F., Determination of
Relative Permeability For Homogeneous and Heterogeneous
Cores From Unsteady-State Fluid Displacements, 12th
European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery- Kazan,
Russia, 8 - 10 September 2003, 11 p.
7. Marle,C. M.: Multiphase flow in porous media. Editions
Technip, Paris, 1981.
8. Latil M.: Enhanced oil recovery. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston,
1980.
9. Civan, F., Reservoir Formation Damage- Fundamentals,
Modeling, Assessment, and Mitigation, Gulf Pub. Co., Houston,
TX, 2000, 742 p.

Table 1. Rock and Fluid Properties
Parameters Core #1. Core #2. Core #3.
Outer diameter (d
e
), mm 87.30 89.80 89.10
Borehole diameter (d
w
), mm 4.00 5.20 5.00
Core length (h), mm 60.00 80.60 86.30
Total volume (V), cm
3
359.00 509.00 537.00
Pore volume (V
p
), cm
3
98.70 83.60 90.00
Porosity (), 0.275 0.164 0.168
Water permeability (k
w
), mD 746.00 10.50 30.30
Water viscosity (
w
), mPa s 1.00 1.00 1.00
Oil viscosity (
o
), mPa s 2.27 2.27 2.27

Table 2. Parameters of the Relative Permeability
Functions
Displacement
parameters
Core #1. Core #2. Core #3.
Water displacement
by oil:

p, bar 0.105 3.500 1.340
S
oi
0.000 0.353 0.278
A 0.204 0.576 0.427
B 1.404 2.404 2.884
a
1
0.0220 0.0007 0.0111
b
1
1.367 1.553 1.134
Oil displacement
by water:

p, bar 0.088 3.301 1.450
S
oi
0.336 0.281 0.452
A 0.013 0.223 0.081
B 2.899 2.884 3.509
a
1
--- -- --
b
1
--- -- --



Fig 1. Radial flow in a disk-shape core sample.

Fig 2a. Schematic of the laboratory system.


Fig 2b. Photograph of the complete laboratory system.

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
V
i
, cm
3
V
i
/
V
k
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water
Core #1.

Fig 3. The data of the radial water and oil displacement processes
for Core #1.
8 SPE 94994

0
2
4
6
8
10
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360
V
i
, cm3
V
i
/
V
k
Core #2.
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water

Fig 4. The data of the radial water and oil displacement processes
for Core #2.





0
1
2
3
4
5
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
V
i
, cm
3
V
i
/
V
k
Core #3.
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water

Fig 5. The data of the radial water and oil displacement processes
for Core #3.






0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
S
w
f
w
Core #3.
Core #2.
Core #1.

Fig. 6. Leverett functions of the drainage process.



0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
0 5 10 15 20 25
V
i
/V
p
E
D
Core #1.
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water

Fig. 7. Displacement efficiency for Core #1.






0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
0 5 10 15 20 25
V
i
/V
p
E
D
Core #2.
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water

Fig. 8. Displacement efficiency for Core #2.







0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
V
i
/V
p
E
D
Core # 3.
Water displacement by oil
Oil displacement by water

Fig. 9. Displacement efficiency for Core #3.

SPE 94994 9
1.0E-05
1.0E-04
1.0E-03
1.0E-02
1.0E-01
1.0E+00
1.0E+01
1.0E+02
1.0E+03
1.0E+04
1.0E+05
1.0E+06
1.0E+07
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
S
w
k
r
w
/
k
r
o
Core #1.
Water displacement
by oil
Oil displacement
by water

Fig. 10. The relati ve permeability ratio curves for Core #1.

1.0E-05
1.0E-04
1.0E-03
1.0E-02
1.0E-01
1.0E+00
1.0E+01
1.0E+02
1.0E+03
1.0E+04
1.0E+05
1.0E+06
1.0E+07
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
S
w
k
r
w
/
k
r
o
Core #2.
Oil displacement
by water
Water displacement
by oil

Fig. 11. The relati ve permeability ratio curves for Core #2.

1.0E-05
1.0E-04
1.0E-03
1.0E-02
1.0E-01
1.0E+00
1.0E+01
1.0E+02
1.0E+03
1.0E+04
1.0E+05
1.0E+06
1.0E+07
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
S
w
k
r
w
/
k
r
o
Core #3.
Oil displacement
by water
Water displacement
by oil

Fig. 12. The relati ve permeability ratio curves for Core #3.







0,0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
0,7
0,8
0,9
1,0
0,25 0,75 1,25 1,75 2,25 2,75 3,25 3,75 4,25 4,75
r and x, cm
S
o
Linear system
(inlet face at the drilled hole)
Linear system
(inlet face at the mantle)
Radial system
(inlet face at the drilled hole)
Radial system
(inlet face at the mantle)

Fig. 13. Comparison of the oil saturation distributions in radial
and linear systems.