Summary. Relationships of permeability to porosity are shown from analyses of more than 2,100 core plugs from nine wells in the
Travis Peak, a low-permeability, tight-gas sandstone formation in northeast Texas. Effects of reservoir vs. ambient stress are shown
for permeability, porosity, and the Klinkenberg factor. The relationship of brine permeability to gas permeability is also shown.
Introduction
In a cooperative effort, the Gas Research Inst. (GRI) and various from logs, such as porosity. Correlations are presented for the Travis
industry partners collected core and log data from nine wells to Peak formation relating k~ to porosity, both measured at net over-
form an extensive data base from which important correlations of burden stress. These correlations are greatly improved when frac-
porosity and permeability at both ambient and net overburden pres- tured cores are omitted and further improved when derived for
sures have been developed for the Travis Peak formation. Routine specific environmental rock types.
and special analyses were performed on more than 2,100 core plugs
taken from 2,093 ft of core from these wells. Fig. 1 shows the lo- Amblent.Poroslty Measurements
cations of the nine wells; the two outlined areas show where the A common method of measuring core porosity is to measure the
major activity was focused. grain volume by use of helium and the bulk volume by immersion
Travis Peak is a sand-rich Lower Cretaceous formation with en- in mercury. This method is reliable when carefully performed 8 and
vironments that include a fluvial/deltaic section of low-energy flood- was used for most of the ambient porosities measured in this study.
plain mudstones and siltstones, high-energy crevasse splays and A second method is to determine the porosity by saturating the core
main channel sandstones, and a marine-influenced environment with with brine. This porosity could differ if the rock has reactive clays.
tidal flat mudstones and channel sands.! Coring intervals were A third method is to determine the pOrosity by saturation with
selected to provide data representative of all these different deposi- toluene, which should not react with the rock. All the above methods
tional environments. Table 1 lists the cored intervals and depths were used on a set of 41 core plugs from Well Howell No.5.
for each well. Fig. 2 compares porosities measured by saturation with 15% NaCI
A major factor in developing representative core analysis results brine and with helium, with the best-fit reduced-major-axis (RMA)
is the importance of simulating in-situ reservoir conditions for the line as shown. Generally, the brine porosity is 0.25 porosity units
porosity and permeability measurements. The effect of reservoir less than the helium porosity. Fig. 3 compares porosities measured
(called net overburden here) stress on permeability and porosity with toluene and with helium again, with the best-fit RMA line as
is particularly important for low-permeability rocks. This has been shown. The toluene porosity is generally about 0.6 porosity units
the subject of many studies 2- 7 but, in most, only a few cores were less than the helium porosity, with the difference greater at low
involved from any particular formation or rock type. Most of the porosities. Incomplete liquid saturation of the low-porosity, low-
routine analyses in this study include measurements made at both permeability cores may be a factor, although extra care was used
ambient and net overburden stress. As a result, these data consti- in this step. Our conclusion is that, because the helium and brine
tute the most exten~ive data base of this kind for a specific low- porosities are essentially in agreement, porosities measured with
permeability formation. The core analyses were performed by four helium should be reliable. Thus, for the overall data base, porosi-
different service laboratories, and in some cases companion sam- ties were routinely measured with helium in dry, extracted cores.
ples were tested by two different laboratories.
Three different methods were used to conduct routine ambient- Porosity Measured at 800.psl Stress
porosity measurements on selected plugs. Porosities were obtained
on the dry, extracted cores by use of helium and by saturating the Among the four different service laboratories used for the routine
core plugs with toluene and then brine. The purpose of these com- core analyses, one had automated equipment for measuring porosity
parisons is to determine whether the porosity of the Travis Peak and permeability at net overburden stress on two study wells, Wells
formation is influenced by the presence of brine and whether helium Howell No.5 and SFE No.2. In this system, the base routine porosi-
porosities match those measured by saturation with a nonreactive ty of each core was determined by measuring the PV with helium
liquid. Next, ambient helium porosity is compared with that meas- while the core was confined in a core holder at 800-psi sleeve pres-
ured at either 800 psi or net overburden stress to determine the ef- sure. On the basis of sleeve stiffness and conformance, the porosi-
fect of stress on porosity. ties measured in this manner were reported 9 to match porosities
To address the effect of stress on gas permeability, correlations measured at ambient (or unstressed) conditions.
are shown of Klinkenberg-corrected gas permeabilities, k~, meas- Fig. 4 compares porosities measured with helium on 176 dry cores
ured at near-ambient conditions and at net overburden stress. These at ambient conditions with porosities measured with helium at 800-
correlations are greatly improved after cores with either induced psi sleeve pressure for Wells Howell No.5 and SFE No.2. Data
or natural fractures are omitted. Correlations are also presented for are included only for those cores that were free of induced or natural
the Klinkenberg factor that are somewhat different from those previ- fractures. The best-fit RMA line shows a good match for low porosi-
ously presented in the literature and that are also improved after ties ( < 5 %). In the higher range, porosity is reduced about 1 porosity
the fractured cores are omitted. Further, a correlation that relates unit when going from ambient to 800-psi sleeve pressure. Evidence
brine permeability to k~ is presented and compared with previ- therefore suggests that a significant reduction in porosity may occur
ously published literature. for these cores when confined by 800-psi sleeve pressure in this
For reservoir description and engineering applications, it is im- particular system compared with ambient porosity.
portant to relate permeability to some rock property measurable
Effect of Net Overburden Stress on Porosity
• Now at Ercill Hunt & Assocs. Inc. To relate routine, ambient core analysis measurements in tight gas
Copyright 1991 Society of Petroleum Engineers rocks to reservoir rock properties, it is important to determine the
I HARRISON CO
I
MOBIL ARK'LA
I PRODUCING
Cargill No. 14
EXPLORATION
No.5 T.P. Scott
Waskom Field\ :,ask~m Field
I '<l
I' .
S.A. HOLDITCH
-; ~I:i
x : Vi
GR EGG CO
l--,
\...
& ASSOCIATES
No.5 Howell
w IS'3
)- :
~
Belle Bower Field
I• CLAYTON WILLIAMS
No. 1 Sam Hughes
I • I
!
!
SE Pinehill Field
L_ j ____ ------------~\
RUSK CO \
\. SHELBY CO
S.A. HOLD"ITCH
L- .- _________ :F~~)~S
T, • • North Appleby Field
/' PRAIRIE PRODUCING 1 '~ " , ;?Om,
"'-., No.1 A. T. Mast.t at A·I , (0 )Okm
---,' Naconiche Creek Field \
') NACOGDOCHES CO N
(
(
\--
\
\
• ASHLAND EXPLORATION' \ ,
No.1 S.F.O. T.
Wildcat
"
....."
--
1
Fig. 1-Locatlon of nine cooperative, cored wells In the GRI Tight Gas Sands program, Tra-
vis Peak formation.
effect of net overburden stress. Helium was used to measure core burden stress. The most reliable method is to measure permeabili-
porosities at both ambient and net overburden stress on dry core ties directly at net overburden stress, as was done with most of the
samples from Wells SFE No.2, Cargill No. 14, Scott No.5, and cores in this study. However, this is more expensive and tedious
Howell No.5. In these measurements, net overburden stress was than making the measurements at near-ambient conditions. Thus,
applied hydrostatically (i.e., equal on all core surfaces) and varied it would be useful to determine the relation of gas permeability meas-
to match that expected for the reservoir overburden pressure and ured at net overburden stress to that measured routinely at a low
pore pressure for the depth at which each core sample was taken. sleeve pressure. Fig. 6 presents this comparison for 936 core sam~
For these four wells, net overburden pressure ranged from 2,058 pIes from six wells. These results include measurements made on
to 5,572 psi, with an average of ""4,600 psi. Fig. 5 presents core dry cores, where both pulsed and unsteady-state methods were used
porosity at net overburden pressure vs. that at ambient conditions to measure gas permeability. All measurements are either corrected
for 348 core samples. Data are included only for those cores that
for the Klinkenberg effect or were conducted at high pore pres-
were free of induced or natural fractures. The best-fit RMA line
sure. The net overburden pressure ranged from 3,303 to 5,572 psi
is weighted to give equal credit to core samples with higher porosi-
ties, which are relatively fewer in number. The equation of the best- and averaged about 4,650 psi.
fit line is Results shown in Fig. 6 are rather scattered. When all core sam-
ples were examined more carefully to understand the cause of this
CPN=0.953CPA -0.003, ....................... , ...... (1) scatter, many were found to have small coring-induced cracks that
with porosity as a fraction. This shows that cores from the Travis had gone unnoticed by the service laboratory. Fig. 7 shows such
Peak formation lose from 0.5 to 1.0 porosity units when going from an induced fracture from a thin-section taken from the end trim
ambient to net overburden stress loading. This is comparable to of a core that had measured k"" =0.010 md and cP =6.9% at net
that for other tight gas rocks. 2 overburden stress and k"" =0.065 md at ambient pressure. The
microfracture in Fig. 7 is "" 100 #Lm wide. For a perspective of
Effect of Net Overburden Stre•• on Permeability the importance of a microfracture on permeability, note that, ac-
In low-permeability rocks it is very important to conduct the core cording to Randolph et al., 10 in a core with a plane fracture 10
analyses so that permeability measurements are derived at net over- #Lm wide extending axially along a 1 ~-in.-diameter plug with the
fracture extending across the full diameter, the fracture would pro- ments were made with the automated core-analysis system previ-
vide an apparent permeability of2.8 md even with a host rock per- ously mentioned, 9 which uses an unsteady-state method. Results
meability of 0 md. Although the induced fracture shown in Fig. from these two wells are shown in Fig. 9 (with fractured-core data
7 would almost close under stress, even a small residual crack would omitted), with far less scatter than Fig. 6. Note that for this sys-
lead to a high permeability measurement not representative of the tem, the lower limit of the permeability measurement was 0.01 md.
host rock. The best-fit line shown in Fig. 9 is a polynomial form
Fig. 8 shows the same data as those presented in Fig. 6 after
exclusion of the permeability measurements determined to be in- log k"",N = -0.077 + 1.053 log k"",A -0.094(log k"",A)2
valid. There is much less scatter, especially in the permeability range
above 0.01 md. In two of the six wells, the permeability measure- +0.044(log k oo ,A)3. . ............................ (2)
'"'f-!
C\I
/
/
/ d
/
/ /
/ /
/ /
o ./
--
o ./
"! C\I
o // o //
/ /
/ /
/
/
/ /
;I'
./
/ ,./
/'
.r
y' /
/
n _ 41
• .1' .;/ n _41
r _ 0.995
.// r - 0.998
,,_ 0.002 /.
.,(
,,_ 0.004
/ ,J/ •
'"oo
/
,. ."
o
o
/.
/ /
/ /
/ /
o
o .r:;./
0.0 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
o
o
0.0
vr 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
POROSITY (HELIUM) POROSITY (HELIUM)
Fig. 2-Comparison of ambient core porosities: brine Fig. 3-Comparlson of ambient core porosities: toluene
resaturatlon vs. helium grain-volume methods. resaturatlon vs. helium grain-volume methods.
w'"
a:: 0
o
-- ---1----
I
- L- ~-----+------l
~ /
/ ii5
(/)
/ w
Cii ./ g:
a.. /
~~
0'"
o~
"'0
""
I-
+-
I-
« «
~
iii
00 -
a::~
1(0
. . I
.(
I"
/
.
/
/
/.
n - 176
r • 0 .974
~
1ii
00
~6 -- -- - r--~~·
w
l5o
-:.-.--
I
I .•'
n - 348
r _ 0 .992
#F
<>=0.005
0:0.0038
. . j'
~
'"oo '.~:' 1 -- -.
'. ' - - - --
Ii)
o
• 1
o
.;". '. . I
o.
o
;:( o
0.0 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
POROSITY AT AMSIENT STRESS CORE POROSITY AT AMBIENT CONDITIONS
Fig. 4-Comparlson of core porosities: BOO-psi sleeve pres- Fig. 5-Compari80n of core porosities: net overburden (NOB)
sure vs. ambient pressure with helium. vs. ambient stress with helium.
Fig. 10 shows this same curve overlying all data from the six wells pressure is negligible for most rocks. The relation of kao to meas-
(fractured-core data omitted). The match is not very satisfactory ured gas permeability, k, is
in the range below 0.01 md . However, the observed permeability
kao =k[lI(1 +bl p)], . ......... .. .. ..... . ......... . . . (3)
behavior in this low range seems unreasonable; i.e., there is very
little apparent reduction in permeability at net overburden stress. where b is the Klinkenberg correction factor and p is the mean pore
Reasons for this behavior are unclear. pressure used during measurement of k. Klinkenberg correction fac-
tors have been rather widely reported2.7.11-14 for different rock
Kllnkenberg Correction Factor types and permeabilities. Data collected for this study include
For routine core analysis, it is common practice to measure appar- Klinkenberg factors derived from the previously mentioned auto-
ent gas permeability at only a single pressure drop at low mean mated core-analysis system 9 on core samples from two wells,
pore pressure. A Klinkenberg correction is needed to convert this Wells Howell No. 5 and SFE No. 2, at both near-ambient (800
to gas permeability at infinite mean pore pressure, k ao . The value psi) and net overburden stresses with helium as the flowing gas.
of kao is usually assumed to represent reservoir pore pressure con- Fig. 11 presents the Klinkenberg factor (psi) for all core sam-
ditions because the difference between kao and k at reservoir pore ples at 8oo-psi stress as a function of kao, with significant scatter
present in the data. Fig, 12 presents the same data with fractured-
core permeability data excluded and much less scatter. For com-
parison, two previously published correlations 2. 12 are shown that
g~---'-----r----~----~----r----.----~
~~
are in fair agreement with the Fig. 12 data. The equation for the
.'
best-fit RMA line shown in Fig . 12 is
[/": b=17.38k~0.43 . . . . ... . . . ... . .. . . .. . ............. . (4)
~~~--~----+---~--~~--~--~~~--~ ••
t! .. ,
.,. According to Ostensen, 13 if the flow-controlling apertures in the
pore network are slot-like, the exponent in Eq. 4 should be 0.33 ,
Fig. 6-Gas permeability at net overburden vs. ambient pres- Fig. 7-Thln.sectlon mlcrophotogrsph with Induced fracture.
sure (both Kllnkenberg corrected) for six wells, all data. Maximum fracture width = 100 I'm.
..,:
~E ;11
ll! .,..,If w
a:
~ .~
~ ~E - ~~
,if'
w
~ ,...
~ !,,!,,: •• l
a:
Cl.
III
o~ I
~ O~E----+-----~---+I~~t~~,~P. ..:~_~,,----~---+----~ ZO --f--- ---+-----j---->-.l"s.:..-I------t ---+------=1
« t:: 'i':.~-l'
!;( . I
.;, :~~:,~, !!
....... ~fF: .;,
8~----r-----~·~~~.~:'~·l~·----~----~----~----;
.
, .:
I:,~·.·.'
~,. .0 •• n-522
o •••; ;0 !-."
8~E----4+_~~~··~~~~~---+-----+----~----~
o .•. 0-
o o
o o
O~~~II~IU~~"~"I~~~~I~'_'~""~I~~~lIlil~'~I~IW"~"~~IJ~lil o~~~~~~y-Uli~~~~~~~~~~~~
. 00001.0001 .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100. '.00001 .0001 .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100 .
K~ AT NOMINAL AMBIENT PRESSURE K~ AT NOMINAL AMBIENT PRESSURE
Fig. 8-Gas permeability at net overburden vs. ambient pres- Fig. 9-Permeabllity results from Wells Howell. No.5 and SFE
sure (both Kllnkenberg corrected) for six wells, Invalid per- No, 2 measured with automated core-analysis system, 9 In-
meability data excluded. valid data excluded.
as found by Jones and Owens. 2 If the apertures are controlled by shown in Fig. 13 is
spherical grains, however, the permeability exponent should be 0.5. b= 12.05k~O.40. . ................................. (5)
On this basis, the typical pore network for Travis Peak appears to
be characterized as some intermediate combination of spherical Note that the effect of net overburden stress has decreased the ex-
grains and slot apertures. ponent in the direction of slot-like apertures.
All the above data were developed from core measurements made
at near-ambient stress. Fig. 13 presents the Klinkenberg factor for Relation of Brine and Gas Permeability
helium flow through core samples at net overburden stress, with All permeability measurements in the preceding discussion deal with
fractured-core data omitted. Here, net overburden stress ranged gas flow through dry cores. To relate these results to the flow of
from 3,303 to 5,572 psi, with an average of =::4,700 psi. Data are gas in rocks at reservoir conditions at partial water saturations,
more scattered here than those for the same core samples meas- several added linkages are needed. First, the permeability of the
ured at near-ambient stress. The equation for the best-fit RMA line rock at net overburden stress when saturated with formation brine
ci
8~------~------~-------r------~-------'
w
a:
:J
gs
w
", ,
a: , '. _
e:z ',' :"~'"
·.~v:.,. -:.
~g~----'~'~~~~'~-~'~~'~4--------+--------+------~
:::;~ :I~~'-"
«
;i, . '''!<.f::~~~,:~,~"
.Ie .,"10.
• .. •
Z ... ~. - !~ ..••
~ .:. :.;~:..::-.,.,.
z •• : ,~~..:." .~ ..
!;( " •• ' •• ~~{:.,
. ••••" . " '" :"'1~~':
.'
en ~ ••
~~~------+-----~~.•.----.,-r.~~~~~~----~
C) .",': #"
ffi •• )-;-: ', ..
~ n-S18 ~ ••
W .,'.
::.:: r-O.844 •• "
Z 0-0.236 ,
~
~
~
.,
II' , I
.00001.0001 .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100.
K~ AT NOMINAL AMBIENT PRESSURE .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100 .
K~ AT NOMINAL AMBIENT PRESSURE
I I.
From Lullel and Randall
12
n _ 290
r _ 0.911
,,=0.174 n - 291
r - 0.711
,,=0.3'-4
~.~-W~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~.001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100. .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100 .
K.., AT NOMINAL AMBIENT PRESSURE K.., AT NOB PRESSURE
Fig. 12-Kllnkenberg factor at nominal ambient pressure for Fig. 13-Kllnkenberg factor at net overburden stress for heli-
helium, Wells Howell No.5 and SFE 2, Invalid data excluded. um, Wells Howell No.5 and SFE No.2, Invalid data excluded.
needs to be related to koo at net overburden stress. Then, effects clays collapsed during extraction and drying. This led to permea-
of varying partial water saturations on relative permeabilities to gas bility increases by a factor of 5 to 30. On the other hand, subse-
and water need to be determined. Relative permeability relation- quent work 17 in another study of North Sea reservoir rocks showed
ships in the Travis Peak formation are currently under study in the that resaturation of air-dried samples with brine largely restored
GRI Tight Gas Sands program, but are not treated in this paper. the original illite morphology.
With regard to the relation of brine permeability to gas permea- Work lS was recently reported in which plugs from preserved
bility in the Travis Peak formation, it· is necessary to consider the Travis Peak cores were saturated with brine, permeabilities were
effects of clays present. Recent work by Tye et al. 15 shows the measured, plugs were extracted and dried, gas permeabilities were
presence of fibrous illite in the Travis Peak, which is matted ~d measured, brine was resaturated, and brine permeabilities were
altered by normal extraction and drying of the rock. Previous remeasured. These results showed that gas permeabilities of dry
work 16 reported for rock samples from the North Sea containing cores averaged three times the brine permeabilities of preserved
illite and mixed-layer illite and smectite demonstrated that these cores, but brine permeabilities of extracted, resaturated cores were
~
N _ 956
r - 0.697
,,=0.943
.'
o
o
o
~~.0~1----~--L-~~~-UU.·1-----L--~-L-L-L~~
: i:. ~. ~.'
~ , "1:.'
::> .: "..: fol ":"
~~~----------2--T~~~----------------~
~
Cl. t'.,1,1,;,:.:'.
·1.:'; '.
~~~--------~~~·:·x~·~~·~··~:y::~·~~---------------d
~ ~F :~~:~:..~~.~.
1 . ~~~ . .; ..,
~ o~------~'~:~~~~~'~~'~;~~~~:-'~~~'------------------d n _ 320
~ • ,.·· .. il' .' ' .•
•
" .1.,.. :.'
~ :IA lo .. ' : '
N.585
r '"' 0.797
r _ 0.883
0= 0.714
a ....Z",.J... ". (J= 0.930
~E~----~-.~·~$*:~·L-.~··~·--~-----------------d~
~ .r.- a
g j ...
0-
o
o~.O~1----~~--~-L~~.1~--~---L-L-L-L~~1.0
o.~071----~~--~~~~.1----~---L~~-L~~1.0
CORE POROSITY AT NOB PRESSURE
POROSITY AT NOB PRESSURE
increased only by a factor of 1.5 compared with the preserved state. This correlation shows that at high permeability very little reduc-
This suggests that the illite morphology was largely restored in these tion in permeability occurs when going from a dry to a brine-
rocks upon resaturation. saturated core. At low permeability (e.g., 0.001 md), there is a
Although the questions raised above still are not fully resolved reduction of a factor of 5. This behavior is compared in Fig. 14
for the Travis peak formation, some useful interim data have been with two previous correlations 2 •19 reported for other tight gas
developed. In 23 selected core samples from Wells Howell No. sands. The Travis Peak behavior is similar but generally shows less
5 and SFE No.2, koo at net overburden stress was measured on reduction comparing brine with gas permeability.
the extracted, dry samples. Then the core samples were saturated
with equivalent formation brine (15 % NaCl) and brine permeabil- Relation of Permeability to Porosity
ities, kw, measured at net overburden stress. Fig, 14 compares In tight gas sands, permeability prediction from log analysis is of
these gas and brine permeabilities, with gas permeability ranging major importance for predicting productivity, selecting well com-
from 0.001 to 44 md. The best-fit RMA line shown in Fig. 14 is pletion intervals, assisting in design of fracture stimulation, and
estimating reserves. There are several major controls to consider
kw=O.52 kJ;J3 . ................................... (6) when relating permeability to rock properties: porosity, grain size,
• !,
:, .:>
."/. /
I
/
UJ
---------- :Jf:~~- .
, ..1./ .
. ,I,· . w
1=-----------------
, /
.I /
/
/
-1---._-------
a: cr
::> : o":/oIC:·· .... ::>
~~ -·-·---:·-:f)~ - ~~ _ _ _ _L -_ _ _ _ ~~----------------~
UJ w
a: .' r' l cr
" . /:'
~ ..1. ,;,
Cl. Cl.
, t·
<Xl
- --~--;.,.:;:...:..,:','~:"
!D , '. i:' .
o~
ZO
!;( .
I." 0.iJ. •• ;.: ...=-. r
o~
ZO
!;( . --. -~.. ,',y',;:
:./- ..
:.'1 .
. ':¢"":·:~::··I
~ .0"
'~4;
......
,
I
'., ~ . '.' l..!.o':_·t-----------------d
:;::-".7··---~-""'
•
_ -0,
./
i- a.
• •••
• • '1
t .----
i
-----~---
n 441
~
'. / ~.
~---""""f"'" . ' -
I ,. : ' n - 144
r _ 0.821
• -1',': . . , I ' . , r - 0.700
0.890 ./ " G=o.n7
,.>'..'. .
0=
_~l~;~'~-"___ _
----'-'-·~r';-·---.-.:.,-----------------.,,1
I.
ao I" g I
/
g~.071----~~--~~~~.1~--~--~~~-L~~1.0 g.~071----LL~~~-L~~.1----~---L-L-L-L~~1.0
CORE POROSITY AT NOB PRESSURE CORE POROSITY AT NOB PRESSURE
Fig, 18-Relatlon of Kllnkenberg·corrected gas permeability Fig. 19-Relatlon of Kllnkenberg-corrected gas permeability
to porosity at net overburden stress, all sandstones, Invalid to porosity at net overburden stress, siltstones and mud-
data excluded. stones, Invalid data excluded.
-. IJ
W.tr.ff
eight wells. The best-fit RMA line is shown. An unsatisfactory
amount of scatter is shown with a standard deviation equivalent to
a factor of 8.8 on permeability. A great deal of this scatter results
:' c--.. ~ 1·[ '--
•
' I
from permeability measurements included from cores with induced IT:
'\i~ • !
I '. '
6200
I
-~
I~
W
)
fractures. Fig. 16 presents the correlation with the fractured-core
~-~- J~-I
permeability data excluded, showing a significant improvement.
<\
'-I ""
,,-
As mentioned earlier, five major environmental rock types exist F-r--:::
r- - :-+--"'''''- ---+ t- -~
in the Travis Peak formation in the study area. I The rock type of
most economic interest is the fluvial/deltaic channel sand. Fig. 17 ,
:,
J .~
I, I'
~-·+--I--
r-p::
, ~
-- ·-t-~
: I
presents the permeability and porosity relation for this rock type,
-- ..':.~-t- -- _._--- L ""'t;"
-1.. <j:::::;;
with a much improved correlation and a standard deviation corre- '}
sponding to a factor of 5.2 on permeability. - - • 6250
I .:r~
ft: -~- r- -
Each of the five major rock types is difficult to distinguish from ~
,
,-
logs alone. Fig. 18 presents the correlation of permeability and - - .- .'S
~
,.-'-
porosity for the three sandstone rock types of the fluvial/deltaic _l~
---
lJ - - r- . - I--;~ --1-+
r ~
-
--"
:--:-=
crevasse splay, fluvial/deltaic channel, and delta fringe channel.
These rock types can be distinguished as a group from log responses
,-'
S"lJ
, --f;"
1--- .- -- ··-'r--- -t -~
k--;""
f ··-
f--" ~
\
-- ._''~~ -
'. . - i-
and appear generally as relatively clean sandstones. Note that the
best-fit RMA line does not differ significantly from that shown in -;)
-'
r-- --
~
v:
..
Fig. 17. The equation for the best-fit RMA line shown in Fig. 18 is ' .' 7
" ,-
-- .
6300
,D i b"i k:'
koe =6.47 X 10 7 cp8.03. . ..•....•......•.....•........ (7)
'P--
,)
-
-'V tr (?:r-
The two remaining rock types, fluvial/deltaic flood plain and delta
fringe tidal flat, are generally siltstones and mudstones. These can "rt-"
1'3,
r - :f':
r
--- -i r- ~~ -- --
I>- I> I'-
also be distinguished as a group from log responses because they
are shalier and have lower porosities. Fig. 19 presents permeabil-
ity and porosity data for these two rock types. Note the lower porosi- Fig. 20-Comparlson of core analysis permeability to that cal·
ty range and the different best-fit RMA correlation, given by culated from log analysis and study correlation, Well Howell
No.5.
koe =3.52 X 10 4 cp5.81. . ............................. (8)
To illustrate the application of these correlations for predicting 4. Correlations are presented for predicting koe from porosity.
koe, Fig. 20 shows results from log analysis in a cored section of These correlations are improved when applied to specific environ-
Well Howell No.5. In this example, porosity was calculated from mental rock types.
a combination of log responses as described by Howard and
Hunt 20 in the following way. Porosity was calculated separately Nomenclature
for the density and neutron logs, then corrected for shaliness. For
cases where gas effects were present (corrected density porosity b = Klinkenberg correction factor, psi
>corrected neutron porosity), a weighted-average final porosity k = permeability to gas, md
was calculated with 80% weighting on the corrected density porosi- kw = permeability to water, md
ty. For cases where heavy mineral effects were present (corrected koe = Klinkenberg-corrected gas permeability, md
density porosity < corrected neutron porosity), 50% weighting was n = number of samples
used. Core porosities measured at net overburden stress are shown p = mean pore pressure, psi
for comparison with log porosities in Fig. 20 and are in good agree- r = correlation coefficient
ment. Calculated values of koe are then derived from Eqs. 7 and (J= standard deviation
8, as described above, with log-calculated porosities. Fig. 20 shows cp = porosity, fracture
good agreement between predicted permeabilities and those meas-
ured directly by core analysis over the wide range from 0.001 to Subscripts
'" 30 md. Note that invalid core permeability results caused by frac-
A = ambient stress, psi
tures have been omitted in Figs. 17 through 20. Also note that,
in the correlation for the sandstones represented by Fig. 18 and N = net overburden stress, psi
Eq. 7, permeability is very sensitive to small variations in porosi-
ty, requiring that extreme care be used to calculate porosity from Acknowledgments
log analysis for satisfactory permeability predictions. This work was prepared for and funded by the GRI under Contract
No. 5084-211-1062 under the management of Kent Perry.
Conclusions
1. A correlation is presented for determining porosities at net References
overburden stress from routine porosities measured at ambient con- 1. Dutton, S.P. and Finley, R.J.: "Controls on Reservoir Quality in Tight
ditions. Sandstones of the Travis Peak: Formation, East Texas," SPEFE (March
2. A correlation is presented for relating Klinkenberg-corrected 1988) 97-104.
gas permeability, koe' at net overburden stress to koe measured at 2. Jones, F.O. Jr. and Owens, W.W.: "A Laboratory Study of Low-
near-ambient conditions. This correlation is greatly improved when Permeability Gas Sands," lPT(Sept. 1980) 1631-40.
fractured-core data are omitted. 3. Jennings, J.B., Carroll, H.B., and Raible, C.J.: "The Relationship of
Permeability to Confining Pressure in Low Permeability Rock," paper
3. Correlations for the Klinkenberg factor are presented for both SPE 9870 presented at the 1981 SPE/DOE Low Permeability Sympo-
net overburden and near-ambient stress. These correlations are spe- sium, Denver, May 27-29.
cific to the Travis Peak formation and suggest a pore network that 4. Walls, J.D.: "Tight Gas Sands-Permeability, Pore Structure, and
is a combination of grain-supported and slot-like apertures. Clay," lPT(Nov. 1982) 2708-14.