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PETROPHYSICS – FMEV 2003

Dr. Maria Ramnath
 HOUSE RULES

• There are no stupid questions!

• The instructor is here to instruct and provide guidance through
learning. No spoon feeding!!
• Please say when you need help, I do not have a crystal ball!
• Cell phones must be in silent/vibrating mode. Any calls must be
answered outside the classroom.
• When absent from class is your responsibility to get notes from your
classmates….not the instructors.
• No obscene language or aggressive behavior will be tolerated.

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 KEY OBJECTIVES

• Understand concepts, principles and theories behind

petrophysics.
• Calculations of reservoir engineering parameters that
impact net pay and reserves.
• Log evaluation and core analysis interpetation skills
• Understand how pore geometry and fluid dynamics
impact rock properties and well productivity.

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 COURSE CONTENT
1.Introduction toPetrophysics
2.Geology andPetrophysics

3. Porosity

4.Permeability
5.Porosity and Permeability

6.Capillary Pressure

7.Formation Evaluation Calculations

8. Shale and Clays

9.Coring and CorePreservation

10.Value of CoreData 4
 COURSE MAP
WEEK TOPIC/ MODULE ASSIGNMENT/QUIZ/LAB
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1 – 4th September 2017 Module 1

2 – 11th September 2017 M2 – Geology and Petrophysics Assignment 1 & group
project dispensed
3 – 18th September 2017 M3 - Porosity Assignment 2 dispensed
4 – 25th September 2017 Public Holiday

5 – 2nd October 2017 M4 – Permeability & Assignment 1 & 2 DUE

M5 – Poro-perm relationships
6 – 9th October 2017 M6 – Capillary Pressure
7 – 16th October 2017 Midterm Exam
8 – 23rd October 2017 Lab Assessment
9 – 30th October 2017 M7 – Formation Evaluation
10 – 6th November 2017 Project Presentation Project Report DUE
11 – 13th November 2017 M8- Shales and Clays Lab Assessment DUE
12 – 20th November 2017 M9 - Core
 COURSE EVALUATIONS

• Group research and presentation project – 15 %

• Mid-term exam –15%
• Laboratory exercise 10 % (Surface tension and Interfacial
tension)
• Assignments - 10 %
• Final Exam –50 %

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MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO PETROPHYSICS

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 OBJECTIVES

•Define Petrophysics.

•Description of the purpose of Petrophysics.

•Familiarize with the domain and range of data that petrophysics integrates.

•Understand the role of modern day petrophysics in the reservoir

characterization process.

•Understand the necessary conditions for accumulation of hydrocarbons in

a reservoir and calculations of hydrocarbon in place.

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 WHAT IS PETROPHYSICS?

•Petrophysics is defined as the study of the physical and chemical properties of

rock and their contained fluids (gases, liquids, hydrocarbon and aqueous
solutions).

•Petrophysics uses rock properties and relationship among these rock properties
to identify and evaluate hydrocarbon reservoir, source rocks, seals and aquifer
(SPE reprint No.39)

•Petrophysics plays a fundamental role in the description, characterization and

evaluation of the reservoir (this is done by integrating petrophysical data from
geology and engineering)
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 WHY IS PETROPHYSICS
IMPORTANT?
• Understanding the fluid transport properties of rocks and the fluid- rock
interactions that influence the flow of the fluids, in order to evaluate the
maximum rate of production and maximum recovery of the
hydrocarbons of a petroleum reservoir.

• Field analysis only provides general knowledge of fluid characteristics.

Specific reservoir behavior , can only be predicted from analyses of the
petrophysical properties of the reservoir and fluid-rock interactions
obtained from reservoir core samples.

• Analyses of the cores only yields data at point locations within the
reservoir; therefore, the petrophysical analyses must be examined with
respect to the geological, mineralogical and well log correlations of the
reservoir to develop a meaningful overall performance estimate.
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 PETROPHYSICS & FORMATION
EVALUATION
What does a Petrophysicist do?

• Integrate and analyze all available information to evaluate the physical and
chemical properties of the rocks in the sub-surface, and their mineral
components. Particular emphasis given to the quantity and distribution of
those fluids present i.e. water, oil and gas.

• Data is extracted from wireline log data and data from experiments done on
cores extracted from the well. Other sources of information will also be
consulted and integrated such as engineering and production logs, as well
as mud logging data.

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 PETROPHYSICS & FORMATION
EVALUATION
• Differentiate between oil, gas and water bearing formations, estimate the
porosity of the formation or formations and evaluate the quantity of the
hydrocarbons present in each formation.

• Use laboratory data to estimate how easy it will be to extract the hydrocarbon in
place and to design reservoir management strategies to optimize long term oil
recovery.

• Utilize database information whose volume and variety increases as time passes.
This data includes information provided in the table on the next slide.

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MAIN SOURCES OF DATA

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 SUMMARY

THE MAIN JOB OF THE PETROPHYSICIST IS TO

EVALUATE THE AMOUNT OF HYDROCARBON IN PLACE
IN THE RESERVOIR.

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 PART 2:
IMPORTANCE OF PETROPHYSICS IN
HYDROCARBON DETERMINATION

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 EVALUATION SEQUENCE

For any given well interval:

1. Distinguish between reservoir and non-reservoir rock.

(Reservoir rock contains a reasonably high connected porosity.)

2. For the reservoir intervals only, distinguish between hydrocarbons and

water filling the pores, hence calculate water saturation in reservoir rocks.
(Hydrocarbons are electrical insulators, while water conducts.)

3. For the hydrocarbon fraction, distinguish between oil and gas, hence
calculate gas and oil saturations in reservoir rocks.
(Gas has a much lower density than oil.)
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 FUNDAMENTAL PETROPHYSICAL
PARAMETERS

The following properties are fundamental controls on reservoir

quality:
Porosity (φ)
Permeability(k)
Saturation (S)

Reserve determination is based on the field-wide distribution of

these fundamental reservoir properties.
( A major part of the work of a petrophysicist is to define these three
parameters as accurately as possible, in the subsurface)

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 THE HYDROCARBON SYSTEM

Low permeability
rock, preventing
furthermigration

Trap

Migration
pathway
Pressureand
temperature
conditions 18
 CONDITIONS FOR THE
ACCUMULATION OF
HYDROCARBONS IN A RESERVOIR
Oil and gas reservoirs have come into being over large periods of time as the result
of geological processes. The gasses and oils have been formed from organic
remains, have migrated into the reservoir rock, and then have been trapped there
by overlying rock formations with very low permeability. Hence, for a hydrocarbon
reservoir to exist we need the following to be available at the same location:
1. A source rock containing the original organic remains.
2. Pressure and temperature conditions suitable to convert the organic remains
into oil and gas.
3. A porous, permeable reservoir rock where the hydrocarbon can accumulate.
4. A migration pathway from the source rock to the reservoir rock for the
hydrocarbons.
5. A suitable trap to keep the hydrocarbons in the reservoir rock until we wish to
exploit it.

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Processes take extremely long periods of time. Most reservoirs are
sedimentary rocks, where the deposition of organically rich material has
been followed by clean sandstones that form high porosity well connected
pore systems, and are subsequently capped by shales with very low
permeabilities. Here the burial of the initial deposition provides the
pressures and temperatures to produce hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons
are less dense than water, so migrate upwards into the sandstones,
replacing the water that originally occupied the reservoir sandstone, where
the hydrocarbons are constrained from rising further by the shale cap. The
hydrocarbon then waits until we decide to produce it.

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Fluids separate in hydrocarbon
reservoirs due to differences in
densities. Gas<Oil<Water.

Gravity is the force that separates

the fluids into layers.

Contacts not always horizontal. This

depends on horizontal and vertical
permeability of the reservoir rock,
no complicated structures or
fractures.
 CALCULATING RESERVOIR
RESERVES
Reservoir rock = significant porosity and permeability to contain oil

or gas in appreciable quantity.

Non reservoir rock = porosity and permeability too low to allow

hydrocarbon saturation.

Note: Lithology is a major control on φ and k. E.g. shales can contain

hydrocarbon with high saturations, but have porosities and permeabilities
that are much too low for the hydrocarbon to be extractable. In contrast a
high porosity, high permeability sandstone could be a reservoir rock
providing that the hydrocarbon saturations are sufficiently high.
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 To c alc ulate hydroc arbon volume,
need to know:
1. Volume of thereservoir formation
2. Porosity of each formation
Non reservoir 3. Hydroc arbon saturation of eac h
formation.
Thic kness
of
Reservoir zone 1 Each zone has its own thickness, areal
reservoir
extent, porosity and hydrocarbon
Non reservoir saturation.

Identify which formations have the

Reservoir zone 2 required porosity to enable it to be a
reservoir rock, and determine whether
Non reservoir the formation c ontains hydroc arbons.
Reservoir rocks c ontaining
hydrocarbons are alloc ated a zone
Areal/ lateral extent
code.
Schematic of partitioned zones.
Lithology controlled.
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 VOLUME OF RESERVOIR ROCK
We can define a reservoir rock as one that has a porosity and
permeability that allows it to contain a significant amount of
extractable hydrocarbon, AND contains hydrocarbons.
Thebulkvolume of reservoir rock ina single zone:
Vbulk = A x h

Where:
A = Area of the zone (ft2)
h = thickness of the reservoir rock in the zone. (ft)

The area is obtained usually from seismic data (from the reservoir geologist) and is
the only data used in the calculation of hydrocarbon volumes in place that is not
derived from petrophysical techniques. The thickness of reservoir rock is derived
from the zonation of the reservoir based upon an initial lithological interpretation
and zonation of the reservoir from the wireline logs.

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The majority of this volume is occupies by the solid rock matrix, and the remainder
is made up of the pore space between the minerals.
Porosity is a measure of the total pore space in the rock. This is measured as a
volume or percent. The amount of porosity depends on the minerals that make up
the rock and the amount of sorting that occurs within the rock structure.
The relative amount of pore space to the bulk volume is denoted by the porosity φ,

Φ = V pore
V bulk

Note: the fractional form is used in ALL calculations. The pore volume in any
given zone is therefore
Vpore= φ x Ax h.

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 VOLUME OF HYDROCARBONS

Generally, porosity (pore spaces) are occupied by either water and / or hydrocarbons.
Where the water saturation is Sw and hydrocarbon saturation is Sh. Sh + Sw = 1
In most reservoirs the hydrocarbon has replaced all the water that it is possible to
replace i.e. the fraction of the pore space occupied by water when the hydrocarbon
content is at maximum. Under these conditions the water saturation is termed the
irreducible water saturation Swirr.
Now we can write the hydrocarbon saturation as Sh = (1 – Sw).

Hence the volume of hydrocarbons in place can be written as:

Vh = A x h x φ x (1 – Sw )

Determining this value is the primary job of the petrophysicist, and requires a lithological
assessment and zonation of the reservoir. At a later stage the petrophysicist may also be
called upon to assess the permeability of the reservoir under various conditions.
However, the primary function of the petrophysicist is to assess the amount of
hydrocarbons initially in place.

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The oil industry uses a range of industry standard units, in which all calculations should be
carried out. The volume of oil is measured inbarrels,the amount of gas incubic feet,
thickness in feet, and area inacres (sometimes square ft).
Conversionsforthese are given inthe table below.

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Hence, for an oil reservoir zone, the volume of oil in place (OIP) is:
OIP = 7758 x A x h x φ (1- Sw) = bbl
Where:
A = area in acres
h = thickness in feet.

For a gas reservoir of the same dimensions, the volume of gas in place (GIP) is
GIP = 43560 x A x h x φ (1- Sw) = cu. ft

Note that sometimes these values are phrased as the amount of oil originally in place
(OOIP) and gas initially in place (GOIP).

If the area is not known, the amounts of oil or gas are quoted in bbl/acre or cu.ft/acre
respectively, and if the reservoir zone thickness is also not known, the values are
given in bbl/acre.foot and cu.ft/acre.ft respectively.

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 RESERVOIR ZONES

These calculations are done for reservoir zones with similar formation thicknesses, lithology and
cleanness (i.e. minimal clay content), porosity, permeability, and hydrocarbon saturation (i.e. deep
resistivity).

•The zonation of a reservoir is a qualitative exercise that often depends upon the individual
petrophysicist. There will often be a minimum thickness for a zone that depends upon the study.
However, zones less than 5 ft. thick are rarely explored. The thickness of the reservoir zone used in this
calculation isthe net sand.

•The net sand is the thickness of clean, permeable, hydrocarbon-containing sand in the reservoir zone.
The gross sand is the thickness of sand in the reservoir zone irrespective of whether it is clean, its
permeability or its fluid saturation. The net to gross ratio (thickness of net sand divided by the thickness
of grosssand) isoften used to represent the quality of a reservoir zone. 29
 REFERENCES AND
ADDITIONALREADING

• Dr.Paul Glover Course Notes. Msc. Petrophysics

• Djebbar Tiab and Erle C. Donaldson. Petrophysics. Theory and practice

of measuring reservoir rock and fluid transport properties.(2004)

• Maurice E.Tucker. Sedimentary Petrology. ThirdEdition. Blackwell

Publishing(2001)