SPE 75213
Saturation Modeling in a Multilayered Carbonate Reservoir Using Log-Derived
Saturation-Height Function
Rajesh Kumar,SPE, P.K.Cherukupalli,SPE, B.L.Lohar and Dinesh Chandra,SPE, Oil & Natural Gas
Corporation Ltd., India
Copyright 2002, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium
held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 13–17 April 2002.
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Abstract
The conventional and widely used way of distributing
saturation arrays in reservoir simulation models is through
porosity-weighted water saturation values. In this way, each
grid cell has an assigned porosity and initial water saturation.
The porosity and water saturation are estimated with the help
of well logs using established procedures. However, for
producing reservoirs, log derived saturations may not
represent initial saturations due to various reasons like
depletion due to production and effect of water injection etc.
One of the ways to estimate the initial water saturation is by
the use of relationship between depth and bulk volume of
water (BVW). Such relationship, known as Saturation-Height
function is used to estimate saturation values away from the
well locations and to calculate the hydrocarbons in place
volumetrically. This approach has been used in a multi layered
carbonate reservoir of an Indian offshore field.
Layer-wise saturation height functions are developed by
establishing relationships between height above the free water
level and bulk volume of water derived from the wells drilled
in the initial phase of field development. The scatter in the
BVW plot has been reduced by further classifying the data for
different porosity facies. These porosity intervals are treated as
rock types for that layer. Since each layer has a particular
range of porosity, different porosity based rock types are
identified. Height above the free water level versus water
saturation plots are then generated for different rock types
using the relationship developed for each geological
layer.These equations were used to assign initial water
saturation in the reservoir simulation model.
Introduction
The distribution of water saturation within a 3-D reservoir
model is a key task of an integrated reservoir description.
Possible ways of distributing water saturation values to the
various layers in a reservoir simulation model are,
1. By mapping, so each grid cell has an assigned initial
water saturation, calculated by integrating porosity-
weighted water saturation values over the mapped zone
for each well. This entails the use of “pseudo capillary
pressures” at each grid cell to maintain initial equilibrium.
2. By the use of relationship such as bulk volume of water
(BVW) versus depth curve. BVW has the added
advantage of compensating to a certain extent for
different average porosity levels within
comparable zones.
Initially, efforts were made to establish different rock types
using core analysis based capillary pressure data. Fig.1 shows
the layer wise capillary pressure versus water saturation plot.
It is evident that it would be difficult to identify different rock
types for different layers as in each layer irreducible water
saturation values cover a wide range and overlap with other
layers. Therefore, In order to calculate saturation-height
functions without using core measurements, an alternative
method was adopted.
A significant amount of work to generate saturation height
functions is available in the literature1-5. These functions
calculates water saturation based on one or more of the
parameters like, porosity, oil water contact, gas water contact,
irreducible water saturation, height above contact etc. But, all
these functions have their own merits and demerits. Saturation
height function based on bulk volume of water and height
above the free water level has also been reported in the
literature6-7. A methodology for identifying different rock
types based on the variation of porosity in each layer in a
multi-layered carbonate reservoir using saturation height
function concept is discussed in the present paper.
2 R. KUMAR, P.K.CHERUKUPALLI, B.L.LOHAR AND D. CHANDRA SPE 75213

Brief Description of the Field porosity variation in layers A1, A2IV, A2VII and C are
shown in Figs. 2,3,4 and 5 respectively.
Geological layers
The reservoir under consideration is a heterogeneous, multi- Fluid contacts
layered carbonate reservoir interbedded by thin shale bands The reservoir under consideration is a saturated oil reservoir
and argillaceous limestones. The top of this reservoir is easily with gas cap and edge water. The free water levels for
identifiable on logs due to the presence of a thick over-lying different layers are presented below:
shale. The shallowest litho-stratigraphic reservoir unit is
designated as the A1 layer and is underlain by another
regional shale marker, known historically as the M shale in Oil Water Contacts by Layer
this Indian offshore field. The various sub units and
Sub sea Depth
interbedded shales are presented below: Geological Layer(s)
(metres)
A1 to A2-IV 1408
A2-V to A2-VII 1398
A1 B 1379
M shale C 1379
A2-1 D 1362
M1-Shale
Saturation - Height Function Approach
A2-2 Methodology and Discussion of Results
M2-shale A water saturation-height function can be used in the
A2-3 volumetric calculation of the hydrocarbons in place using the
F-41 Shale porosity and water saturation values from well logs. This
A2-4 function is based on the bulk volume of water, which is the
product of porosity and water saturation. To apply this
M3-shale
approach in this multi-layered carbonate reservoir, a total
A2-5 number of 53 wells were selected. All of these wells were
M4-shale drilled prior to the commencement of water injection and were
A2-6 covering the entire field.
M5-shale Height above the free water level (free water level depth
A2-7 minus the mean MSL depth of well), Hfwl of all the wells
N-shale versus BVW ( i.e. product of well averaged Phi and Sw values
from logs) on log-log scale were plotted for each layer.
B
Established a regressed straight line of the type,
O-shale
C log (BVW ) = a log (Hfwl) + b
P-shale
D as depicted in Figs. 6,7,8 and 9 for some of the layers A1,
A2IV, A2VII and C. In these figures BVW calculated from
both using conventional log water saturation values and Sw
derived from saturation height function (shf) approach have
been plotted against Hfwl. The values of the constants a and b
of the regressed straight lines for all the layers are given in
Shale layers M, F-41, N, O and P are correlatable over the
Table 1.
larger part of the field, whilst the shale layers Ml to M5
Using these equations, height above the free water level
are not laterally persistent throughout the field area.
(Hfwl) versus Sw plots for each layer were made on linear
These shales grade into carbonate facies at certain
scale as shown in Figs. 10,11,12 and 13 for layers A1, A2IV,
locations across the field. This provides open windows
A2VII and C. These plots were made for different porosity
between some of the layers for
classes depending on the variation of porosity in each layer. It
fluid/pressure transmission.
is seen that in case of all the layers,
The porosity range in different layers broadly vary as
i) As Hfwl decreases, Sw increases for all porosity
A1(13-29%),A2I(11-22%),A2II(12-27%),A2III(13-28%),
classes. From top to bottom in the reservoir i.e. from
A2IV(12-28%),A2V(13-30%),A2VI(10-26%), A2VII(14-
layer A to A2VII or C, Sw increases at a much faster
29%), B(14-29%), C(15-24%) and D(12-22%). The
rate as Hfwl decreases. In other words, the shape of
 SATURATION MODELING IN A MULTILAYERED CARBONATE
SPE 75213 RESERVOIR USING LOG-DERIVED SATURATION-HEIGHT FUNCTION 3

the saturation-height curve tends to tilt towards References

higher Sw values from nearly straight line portion of 1. Haseldine, G.M. : “A method of averaging capillary pressure
the curve from top to bottom in the reservoir. This curves”, The Transactions of the Society of Professional Well
indicates that relatively higher saturation values will Log Analysts, 15th Annual Logging Symposium, June 2-5, 1974.
be obtained in bottom layers in comparison to upper
2. Lee, S.T. :“Capillary-gravity equilibria for hydrocarbon fluids in
layers upto few meters above their respective free porous media ”, 64th Annual SPE Tech Conference, 1989, SPE
water levels. 19650.
ii) As the porosity class interval increases, Sw
decreases at all values of Hfwl. Therefore, the curves 3. Ma, S, .Jiang, M.X., Morrow,N. R. : “Correlation of capillary
corresponding to different porosity ranges would pressure relationships and calculation of permeability”, 66th
distribute the Sw values in a more accurate manner Annual SPE Tech Conference, 1991, SPE 22685.
rather than distributing Sw values corresponding to
averaged value of porosity. 4. Prickeu, H.D., Bremer, R.E. : “Improved initial water saturation
Although porosity class intervals in layers A1 and distribution for a three dimensional model”, 6th SPE Middle East
Oil Show, SPE 17958, 1989.
A2VII are almost similar, the saturation distribution
would be much different. Therefore, almost identical 5. Xie, X. :“A formulation for the capillary pressure relationship
porosity class would act as different rock types for and a statistical description of pore distribution”, Academia,
these two layers because of their different SPE 21890, 1991.
relationships with Hfwl.
6. Cuddy, Steve, Allinson Gareth and Steele Richard :“A simple
convincing model for calculating water saturations in southern
Based on the porosity variation, different rock types in each north sea gas fields”, SPWLA 34th annual logging symposium,
geological layer are presented in Table 2. It is seen that 5 June 13-16, 1993.
distinct rock types in each of the 11 layers could be 7. Skelt, Christoper and Harrison, Bob :“An integrated approach
established. Saturation Height Functions for all the layers with to saturation height analysis”, SPWLA 36th annual logging
respect to single free water level are shown in Fig.14. This symposium, Paris, France, 1995.
gives the estimate of different capillary pressure threshold
values for different layers.
To validate this approach, layer wise well to well
comparisons between Sw(log) i.e.Sw from logs and Sw(shf)
i.e. Sw computed from saturation-height functions were made
as shown in Figs. 15,16,17 and 18 for layers A1, A2IV,
A2VII and C. A reasonably good match has been observed on
well to well basis in each layer. It was observed that there is a
difference of less than or equal to 5% in Sw values in about
50% of the wells considered for the present study.The
equations so developed for different layers of this multi-
layered carbonate reservoir were used to calculate water
saturation away from the well locations and hence to assign
initial water saturation in the reservoir simulation model.

Conclusions
The quality of reservoir description plays a very important role
in the performance of any reservoir simulation study. The
distribution of water saturation within a 3-D reservoir model is
a key task of an integrated reservoir description. Saturation-
Height function approach has been found very suitable for this
purpose in a multi-layered carbonate reservoir. It also helped
in identifying layerwise porosity based rock types for further
enhancing the quality of description of the reservoir.

Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful to management of ONGC for giving
permission to publish this work. Authors also acknowledge
GGM-Head, IRS, ONGC,Ahmedabad, for providing an
opportunity and all necessary facilities to prepare this paper.
4 R. KUMAR, P.K.CHERUKUPALLI, B.L.LOHAR AND D. CHANDRA SPE 75213

TABLE 1- SATURATION-HEIGHT CORRELATIONS TABLE 2 - POROSITY BASED ROCK TYPES FOR DIFFERENT
FOR DIFFERENT LAYERS LAYERS
BVW = 10**(-a*LOG(Hfwl)-b) Layer Porosity Rock Types
Layer fwl a b Range I II III IV V
A1 1408 0.1685 0.685 %
A2I 1408 0.1375 0.723 A1 13-29 13-17 17-20 20-23 23-26 26-29
A2II 1408 0.1877 0.618 A2I 11-22 11-14 14-16 16-17 17-20 20-22
A2III 1408 0.3319 0.477 A2II 12-27 12-16 16-18 18-20 20-22 22-27
A2IV 1408 0.1874 0.812 A2III 13-28 13-18 18-20 20-22 22-24 24-28
A2V 1398 0.2278 0.645 A2IV 12-28 12-17 17-19 19-22 22-24 24-28
A2VI 1398 0.1435 0.710 A2V 13-30 13-18 18-21 21-23 23-26 26-30
A2VII 1398 0.4462 0.270 A2VI 10-26 10-15 15-17 17-19 19-21 21-26
B 1379 0.2909 0.648 A2VII 14-29 14-19 19-21 21-23 23-25 25-29
C 1379 0.4870 0.322 B 14-29 14-17 17-19 19-21 21-24 24-29
D 1362 0.2293 0.726 C 15-24 15-17 17-19 19-20 20-21 21-24
D 12-22 12-14 14-16 16-17 17-19 19-22

160
A1
140
A2I

120 A2II
capillary pressure, meters

100 A2III

A2IV
80
A2V
60
A2VI

40 A2VII

B
20
C
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
w ater saturation, %

Fig.1- Layerwise capillary Pressure versus water saturation

 SATURATION MODELING IN A MULTILAYERED CARBONATE
SPE 75213 RESERVOIR USING LOG-DERIVED SATURATION-HEIGHT FUNCTION 5

0.2

0.2
0.16
Frequency, fraction

0.16

Frequency, fraction
0.12
0.12
0.08
0.08
0.04
0.04
0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36
Porosity, %
Porosity, %

Fig.2- Porosity Distribution in Layer A1

Fig.3- Porosity Distribution in Layer A2IV

0.2
0.2

0.16
0.16
Frequency, fraction

Frequency, fraction

0.12
0.12

0.08
0.08

0.04
0.04

0
0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36
Porosity, %
Porosity, %

Fig.4- Porosity Distribution in Layer A2VII Fig.5- Porosity Distribution in Layer C

6 R. KUMAR, P.K.CHERUKUPALLI, B.L.LOHAR AND D. CHANDRA SPE 75213

1000
1000
100
100

Hfwl, m
10
Hfwl, m

10
1
BVW(shf)
1 BVW(log)
BVW(shf) 0.1
BVW(log) 0.01 0.1 1
0.1
0.01 0.1 1 BVW

BVW

Fig.7- Log-Log plot of BVW versus Hfwl for Layer A2IV

Fig.6- Log-Log plot of BVW versus Hfwl for Layer A1

1000
1000

100
100
Hfwl, m
Hfwl,m

10
10

1
1 BVW(shf)
BVW(shf)
BVW(log)
BVW(log) 0.1
0.1
0.01 0.1 1
0.01 0.1 1
BVW
BVW

Fig.8- Log-Log plot of BVW versus Hfwl for Layer A2VII Fig.9- Log-Log plot of BVW versus Hfwl for Layer C
 SATURATION MODELING IN A MULTILAYERED CARBONATE
SPE 75213 RESERVOIR USING LOG-DERIVED SATURATION-HEIGHT FUNCTION 7

160 140
13-17 12-17
140 120
17-20 17-19
120 20-23 100 19-22
100 23-26 22-24
80

Hfwl, m
Hfwl, m

26-29 24-28
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw , f raction
Sw , fraction

Fig.11-Porosity based Rock Types for Layer A2IV

Fig.10-Porosity based Rock Types for Layer A1

120
14-19 80
15-17
100 19-21 70
17-19
21-23
60 19-20
80 23-25
50 20-21
Hfwl, m

25-29
Hfwl, m

60 21-24
40

40 30
20
20
10
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw , f rac tion
Sw , fraction

Fig.12- Porosity based Rock Types for Layer A2VII

Fig.13- Porosity based Rock Types for Layer C
8 R. KUMAR, P.K.CHERUKUPALLI, B.L.LOHAR AND D. CHANDRA SPE 75213

160 1
A1
140 A2I
120 A2II 0.8
A2III
100
A2IV 0.6
Hfwl, m

A2V

Sw(shf)
80
A2VI
60 0.4
A2VII
40 B
C 0.2
20
D
0
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
BVW Sw (log)

Fig.14- Saturaion Height Functions for different Layers

Fig.15- Sw(log) versus Sw(shf) for Layer A1
1

0 .8

1
0 .6
Sw(shf)

0.8
0 .4
0.6
Sw(shf)

0 .2 0.4

0.2
0
0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1
0
S w ( lo g ) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw (log)
Fig.16- Sw(log) versus Sw(shf) for Layer A2IV

Fig.17- Sw(log) versus Sw(shf) for Layer A2VII

0 .8

0 .6
Sw(shf)

0 .4

0 .2

0
0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1
S w ( lo g )

Fig.18- Sw(log) versus Sw(shf) for Layer C