Que:: Calculation of unit recovery from volumetric gas reservoirs.

Volumetric estimates of Original oil in place (OOIP) and original gas in place (OGIP) are
based on a geological model that geometrically describes the volume of hydrocarbons in the
reservoir. However, due mainly to gas evolving from the oil as pressure and temperature are
decreased, oil at the surface occupies less space than it does in the subsurface. Conversely, gas at
the surface occupies more space than it does in the subsurface because of expansion. This
necessitates correcting subsurface volumes to standard units of volume measured at surface
conditions.
One basic volumetric equation is

where
N = OOIP (STB)
7758 = conversion factor from acre-ft to bbl
A = area of reservoir (acres) from map data
h = height or thickness of pay zone (ft) from log and/or core data
= porosity (decimal) from log and/or core data
Sw = connate water saturation (decimal) from log and/or core data
Boi = formation volume factor for oil at initial conditions (reservoir bbl/STB) from lab
data; a quick estimate is
, where N is the number of
3
hundreds of ft of gas produced per bbl of oil [for example, in a well with a GOR of
1000, Boi = 1.05 + (10 0.05)]
Another basic volumetric equation is

where

G = OGIP(SCF)

43560 = conversion factor from acre-ft to ft3

Bgi = formation volume factor for gas at initial conditions (RES ft3/SCF)

Recoverable reserves are a fraction of the OOIP or OGIP and are dependent on the efficiency of
the reservoir drive mechanism. The basic equation used to calculate recoverable oil reserves is

where RF = recovery factor, which equals RFP + RFS

The primary recovery factor, RFP, is estimated from the type of drive mechanism.
The secondary recovery factor, RFS, equals

where

ED = displacement efficiency

EA = areal sweep efficiency

EV = vertical sweep efficiency

These efficiency terms are influenced by such factors as residual oil saturation,
relative permeability, reservoir heterogeneity, and operational limitations that govern reservoir
production and management. Thus, it is difficult to calculate the recovery factor directly using
these terms, and other methods, such as decline curves, are often applied.
The basic equation to calculate recoverable gas reserves is

In this case, the recovery factor (RF) is typically higher than for oil reservoirs; it is often near
unity for dry gas reservoirs.