| Reservoir: «. _Engineering . SECOND EDITION j Be Call : » Me rlawkins noe ae Hie Ronald E eeApplied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Second Edition B. C. CRAFT and M. F. HAWKINS Louisiana State University Revised by RONALD E. TERRY Brigham Young University = Prentice Hall PTR. Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Craft. B. C. (Benjamin Cole) Applied petroleum reservoir engineering / B.C. Craft and MF. Hawkins. — 2nd ed./revised by Ronald E. Terry. Pom. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-13-039884-5 1. Oil reservoir engineering. I. Hawkins, Murray F. 11, Terry, Ronald E. TM. Title. ‘TN871.C67 1990 622'.338—de20 90-47806 cP Editorial/production supervision and interior design: Fred Dahl and Rose Kerman Pre-press buyer: Kelly Behr Press Manufacturing Buyer: Susan Brunke © 1991 by Prentice Hall PTR Prentice-Hall, Inc. A Simon & Schuster Company Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means. without permission in writing from the publisher. This book can be made available to businesses and organizations at a special discount when ordered in large quantities. For more information contact: Prentice-Hall, Inc. ‘Special Sales and Markets College Division Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 07632 Printed in the United States of America 1098 7 ISBN O-13-039884-5 | il 78013059884! Prentice-Hall International (UK) limited, London Prentice-Hall of Australia Pty. Limited, Sydney Prentice-Hall Canada Ine., Toronto Prentice-Hall Hispanoamericana, $.A.. Mexico Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi Prentice-Hall of Japan, Inc., Tokyo ‘Simon & Schuster Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore Editora Prentice-Hall do Brasil, Ltda., Rio de Janeiro To RebeccaContents PREFACE, ix NOMENCLATURE, ix Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO RESERVOIR ENGINEERING, 1 History of Reservoir Engineering, 1 . Petroleum Reservoirs and Production from Petroleum Reservoirs, 4 Reservoir Types Defined with Reference to Phase Diagrams, 6 Review of Rock Properties, 9 Review of Gas Properties, 12 Review of Crude Oil Properties, 31 Review of Reservoir Water Properties, 45 Summary, 48 Problems, 48 References, 53 PN Ase oN Chapter 2 THE GENERAL MATERIAL BALANCE EQUATION, 56 1. Introduction, 56 2. Derivation of Material Balance Equation, 56vi Contents 3. Uses and Limitations of the Material Balance Method, 64 4. The Haviena and Odeh Method of Applying the Material Balance Equation, 66 References, 67 Chapter 3 SINGLE-PHASE GAS RESERVOIRS, 69 1, Introduction, 69 2, Calculating Gas in Place by the Volumetric Method, 70 3. Calculation of Unit Recovery from Volumietric Gas Reservoirs, 76 4. Calculation of Unit Recovery from Gas Reservoirs Under Water Drive, 78 5. Material Balance, 83 6. The Gas Equivalent of Produced Condensate and Water, 91 7. Gas Reservoirs as Storage Reservoirs, 95 8. Abnormally Pressured Gas Reservoirs, 97 9. Limitations of Equations and Errors, 99 Problems, 100 References, 105 Chapter 4 GAS-CONDENSATE RESERVOIRS, 107 1, Introduction, 107 2. Calculation of Initial Gas and Oil, 110 3. The Performance of Volumetric Reservoirs, 118 4. Use of Material Balance, 127 5. Comparison Between the Predicted and Actual Production Histories of Volumetric Reservoirs, 130 6. Lean Gas Cycling and Water Drive, 134 7. Use of Nitrogen for Pressure Maintenance, 139 Problems, 140 References, 144 Chapter 5 UNDERSATURATED OIL RESERVOIRS, 146 1. Introduction, 146 Calculation of Initial Oil in Place by the Volumetric Method and Estimation of Oil Recoveries, 148 3. Material Balance in Undersaturated Reservoirs, 153 4. Kelly-Snyder Field, Canyon Reef Reservoir, 158 Contents vil 5. The Gloyd-Mitchell Zone of the Rodessa Field, 163 6. Calculations Including Formation and Water Compressibilities, 170 Problems, 177 References, 182 Chapter 6 SATURATED OIL RESERVOIRS, 184 Introduction, 184 Material Balance in Saturated Reservoirs, 186 Material Balance as a Straight Line, 191 Flash and Differential Gas Liberation, 194 ‘The Calculation of Formation Volume Factor and Solution Gas-Oil Ratio from Differential Vaporization and Separator Test, 200 ‘Volatile Oil Reservoirs, 201 7. Maximum Efficient Rate (MER), 203 Problems, 205 References, 209 peepee an Chapter 7 SINGLE-PHASE FLUID FLOW iN RESERVOIRS, 210 Introduction, 210 Darcy's Law and Permeability, 210 ‘The Classification of Reservoir Flow Systems, 213 Steady-State Flow Systems, 218 Development of the Radial Differential Equation, 231 ‘Transient Flow Systems, 233 Pseudosteady-State Flow Systems, 242 Productivity Index (PI), 246 Superposition, 249 Introduction to Pressure Transient Testing, 253 Problems, 263 References, 271 Beananauye Chapter 8 WATER INFLUX, 273 1, Introduction, 273 2. Steady-State Models, 275 3. Unsteady State Models, 280vili 4. Contents Pseudosteady-State Models, 325 Problems, 329 References, 333 Chapter 9 THE DISPLACEMENT OF OIL AND GAS, 335 L peep Introduction, 335 Recovery Efficiency, 335 Immiscibie Displacement Processes, 347 Introduction to Waterflooding, 375 Introduction to Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes, 380 Problems, 386 References, 389 Chapter 10 HISTORY MATCHING, 391 1 Introduction, 391 2, Development of the Model, 392, 3. An Example of a History Match, 394 Problems, 419 References, 424 INDEX, 425 Preface Shortly after undertaking the project of revising the text Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering by Ben Craft and Murray Hawkins, several colleagues expressed the wish that the revision retain the flavor and format of the original text. I am happy to say that ! have attempted to do just that. The text contains many of the field examples that made the original text so popular and still more have been added. The revision includes a reorganization of the material as well as updated material in several chapters. Thave attempted to reorganize the chapters following a sequence that I have used for several years in teaching an undergraduate class in reservoir engineering. The first chapter contains a review of fluid and rock properties. Severak new correlations are presented in this chapter that will assist those doing computer modeling. Chapter 2 contains a development of the general material balance equation. The next four chapters present information on the different reservoir types which the original text treated in the first four chap- ters, New material has been added in several places throughout these four chapters. Chapter 7 presents a discussion of one phase fluid flow. The radial diffusivity equation is derived and pressure transient analysis is introduced. Chapter 8 contains new material on water influx. Both edgewater and bottom- water drives are discussed. Chapter 9 is an update of the original Chapter 7 but ixx Preface also contains some new material on waterflooding and enhanced oil recovery techniques. Chapter 10 is a new chapter on history matching. This is a concept to which each reservoir engineer should have some exposure. The approach taken in the chapter is to provide an example of a history match by combining the Schilthuis material balance equation with a fluid flow equation. There were some problems in the original text with units. I have at- tempted to eliminate these problems by using a consistent definition of terms. For example, formation volume factor is expressed in reservoir volume/surface condition volume. A consistent set of units is used throughout the text. The ‘units used are ones standardized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have in some part contributed to the text. For their encouragement and helpful sugges- tions, I give special thanks to the following colleagues: John Lee at Texas A.M., James Smith formerly of Texas Tech, Don Green and Floyd Preston of the University of Kansas, and David Whitman and Jack Evers of the University of Wyoming. Ronald E. Terry Nomenclature Definition areal extent of reservoir or well cross sectional area perpendicular to fluid flow water influx constant gas formation volume factor gas formation volume factor at i pressure gas formation volume factor at abandonment pressure formation volume factor of injected gas oil formation volume factor ial reservoir oil formation volume factor at bubble point from separator test oil formation volume factor at initial reservoir pressure oil formation volume factor at bubble point pressure oil formation volume factor at bubble point from differential test Units ates or ft? fe bbvpsia 40 /SCF or bo/SCF §t'SCF or boVSCF ft'/SCF or bo/SCF AVUSCF or bol/SCF DbUSTB or ft'/ STB DbISTB or ft*/ STB bbUSTB or ft/ STB bbUSTB or ft?/ STB bbISTB or f'/ STBxl Normal Symbol By ae Tee PPE Definition ‘two phase oil formation volume factor water formation volume factor isothermal compressibility reservoir shape factor formation isothermal compressibility gas isothermal compressibility * oil isothermal compressibility reduced isothermal compressibility total compressibility total compressibility at initial reservoir pressure water isothermal compressibility overall recovery efficiency microscopic displacement efficiency vertical displacement efficiency expansion of oil (Havlena and Odeh method) expansion of formation and water (Haviena and Odeh method) expansion of gas (Havlena and Odeh method) ateal displacement efficiency macroscopic ot volumetric displacement efficiency gas cut of reservoir fluid flow watercut of reservoir fluid flow net production from reservoir (Haviena and Odeh method) ratio of vertical to horizontal permeability initial reservoir gas volume remaining gas volume at abandonment pressure volume of free gas in reservoir volume of injected gas gas from primary separator gas from secondary separator gas from stock tank as equivalent of one STB of condensate liquid as equivalent of one STB of produced water gas-oil ratio formation thickness injectivity index productivity index specific productivity index productivity index for a standard well permeability water influx constant average permeability permeability to gas phase permeability to oil phase Nomenelature Units bBVSTB or ft'/ 1 STB bbISTB or ft'/ fraction, unitless fraction, unitless traction, unitless bbYSTB ‘bbYSTB bbUSTB fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless bbl unitless SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF SCF/STB ft STB/day-psi STB/day-psi STB/day-psi-ft STBiday-psi md bbl/day-psia md md md Nomenclature Normal Definition Symbol ke permeability to water phase ky relative permeability to gas phase kro relative permeability to oil phase ken relative permeability to water phase L length of linear flow region m ratio of initial reservoir free gas volume to initial reservoir oil volume m(p) _real gas pseudo pressure m(pi) real gas pseudo pressure at initial reservoir pressure m(pwe) Teal gas pseudo pressure, flowing well M mobility ratio My molecular weight Myo molecular weight of oil n oles N initial volume of oil in reservoir Ny cumulative produced oil Nec capillary number P pressure Po pressure at bubble point Pe Pressure at critical point P. capillary pressure Po dimensioniess pressure Pe Pressure at outer boundary B pressure at initial reservoir pressure Pie Pressure at one hour from transient time period on semilog plot Pre pseudocritical pressure Por Teduced pressure Pr pressure at a reference point Pre Pressure at standard conditions Pw pressure at wellbore radius Pot Pressure at wellbore for flowing well Prnae-o) pressure of flowing well just prior to shut in during a pressure build up test Pwo shut in pressure at wellbore P volumetric average reservoir pressure ap change in volumetric average reservoir pressure q flow rate in standard condition units q total flow rate in the reservoir in reservoir volume units r distance from center of well (radial dimension) "> dimensionless radius te distance from center of well to outer boundary T. distance from center of well to oil reservoir boundary re distance from center of well to wellbore xiii Units md fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless ft ratio, unitless psia*/cp_ psia/ep psia/ep_ ratio, unitless Ib/ib-mole Ibitb-mole Tb-mole STB STB ratio, unitless psia psia psia psia ratio, unitless psia psia psia psia ratio, unitless psia psia psia psia psia psia psia STB/day (liquid) bbVday ft ratio, unitless ft ft ftxiv Normal Symbol Definition instantaneous produced gas-oil ratio universal gas constant cumulative produced gas-oil ratio solution gas-oil ratio solution gas-oil ratio at bubble point pressure solution gas-oil ratio, from differential liberation test solution gas-oil ratio at bubble point pressure, from differential liberation test solution gas-oil ratio, sum of separator gas and stock tank gas from separator test solution gas-oil ratio at initial reservoir pressure solution gas-water ratio for brine solution gas-water ratio for deionized water solution gas-oil ratio for liquid stream out of separator solution gas-oil ratio for liquid stream out of stock tank recovery factor relative volume from a flash liberation test fluid saturation gas saturation residual gas saturation total liquid saturation oil saturation water saturation water saturation at initial reservoir conditions time time of transient test dimensionless time time of constant rate production prior to well shut in time to reach pseudosteady state flow region temperature temperature at critical point pseudocritical temperature reduced temperature pseudo reduced temperature temperature at standard conditions volume bulk volume of reservoir pore volume of reservoir relative oil volume volume at some reference point width of fracture water influx Nomenclature Units SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCFISTB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB SCF/STB fraction, unitless ratio, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless fraction, unitless hour hour ratio, unitless hour hour °F or°R ‘For °R °F or °R fraction, unitless fraction, unitless °F or’R fe #0 ox acre-ft rg ee fe ft bbl Nomenciature Normat Definition Symbol Wey dimensionless water influx We encroachable water in place at initial reservoir conditions w, volume of injected water Ww, cumulative produced water z gas deviation factor or gas compressibility factor z gas deviation factor at initial reservoir pressure Greek Definition Symbol « 90%-dip angle 6 porosity 7 specific gravity %s as specific gravity Yo oil specific gravity w well fluid specific gravity Y fluid specific gravity (always relative to water) ” specific gravity of gas coming from separator ” specific gravity of gas coming from stock tank a formation diffusivity a mobility (ratio of permeability to viscosity) dy mobility of gas phase de mobility of oil phase Re mobility of water phase » viscosity Me gas viscosity by viscosity at initial reservoir pressure Be oil viscosity Hoe oil viscosity at bubble point Boa dead oil viscosity te water viscosity Bat water viscosity at 14.7 psia and reservoir temperature be viscosity at 14.7 psia and reservoir temperature ’ apparent fluid velocity in reservoir Ye apparent gas velocity in reservoir ye apparent total velocity in reservoir 8 contact angle P density Ps gas density p reduced density Paar oil density wo oil-brine interfacial tension Units Tati, unitless bbl STB STB ratio, w ratio, unitless Units degrees fraction, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless ratio, unitless md/ep md/ep mdiep mdlep cp °p p p p @ 7 @ op bbl/day-ft? bbV/day-ft? bbl/day-ft* degrees lb/ft? Ibvft? ratio, unitless °API dynesicmChapter 1 Introduction to Reservoir Engineering 1, HISTORY OF RESERVOIR ENGINEERING Crude oil, natural gas, and water are the substances that are of chief concern to petroleum engineers, Although these substances sometimes occur as solids or semisolids, usually at lower temperatures and pressures, as paraffin, gas- hydrates, ices, or high pour-point crudes, in the ground and in the wells they oveur mainly as fluids, either in the vapor (gaseous) or in the liguid phase or, quite commonly, both. Even where solid materials are used, as in drilling, cementing, and fracturing, they are handled as fluids or slurries, The division of the well and reservoir fluids between the liquid and vapor phases depends mainly on the temperature and pressure. The state or phase of a fluid in the reservoir usually changes with pressure, the temperature remaining substan- tially constant. In many cases the state or phase in the reservoir is quite unrelated to the state of the fluid when it is produced at the surface. The precise knowledge of the behavior of crude oil, natural gas, and water, singly or in combination, under static conditions or in motion in the reservoir rock and in pipes and under changing temperature and pressure, is the main con- cern of petroleum engineers. As early as 1928 petroleum engineers were giving serious consideration to gas-energy relationships and recognized the need for more precise infor-2 Introduction to Reservoir Engineering mation concerning physical conditions in wells and underground reservoirs. Early progress in oil recovery methods made it obvious that computations made from wellhead or surface data were generally misleading. Sclater and Stephenson described the first recording bottom-hole pressure gauge and thief for sampling fluids under pressure in wells." ' It is interesting that this refer- ence defines bottom-hole data as referring to positive measurements of pres- sure, temperature, gas-oil ratios, and the physical and chemical nature of the fluids. The need for accurate bottom-hole pressures was further emphasized when Millikan and Sidwell described the first precision pressure gauge and pointed out the fundamental importance of bottom-hole pressures to petro- Jeum engincers in determining the most efficient methods of recovery and lifting procedures. With this contribution the engineer was able to measure the most important basic information for reservoir performance calculations: reservoir pressure. The study of the properties of the rocks and their relationship to the fluids they contain in both the static and flowing states is called petro-physics. Porosity, permeability, fluid saturations and distributions, electrical conduc- tivity of both the rock and the fluids, pore structure, and radioactivity are some of the more important petrophysical properties of rocks. Fancher, Lewis, and Barnes made one of the earliest petrophysical studies of reservoir rocks in 1933, and 1934 Wycoff, Botset, Muskat, and Reed developed a method for measuring the permeability of reservoir rock samples based on the fluid flow equation discovered by Darcy in 1856. Wycoff and Botset made a significant advance in their studies of the simultaneous flow of oil and water, and of gas and water in unconsolidated sands.> This work was later extended to consoli- dated sands and other rocks, and in 1940 Leverett and Lewis reported research on the three-phase flow of oil, gas, and water.§ It was early recognized by the pioneers in reservoir engineering that before the volumes of oil and gas in place could be calculated, the change in the physical properties of bottom-hole samples of the reservoir fluids with pressure would be required. Accordingly in 1935 Schilthuis described a bottom-hole sampler and a method of measuring the physical properties of the samples obtained.’ These measurements included the pressure-volume- temperature relations, the saturation or bubble-point pressure, the total quan- tity of gas dissolved in the oil, the quantities of gas liberated under various conditions of temperature and pressure, and the shrinkage of the oil resulting from the release of its dissolved gas from solution. These data made the development of certain useful equations feasible, and they also provided an essential correction to the volumetric equation for calculating oil in place, The next significant development was the recognition and measurement of connate water saturation, which was considered indigenous to the forma- tion and remained to occupy a part of the pore space after oil or gas accumula- * References throughout the text are given at the end of cach chapter. 1, History of Reservoir Engineering 3 tion.®? This development further explained the poor oil and gas recoveries in low permeability sands with high connate water saturation, and introduced the concept of water, oil, and gas saturations as percentages of the total pore space. The measurement of water saturation provided another important cor- Tection to the volumetric equation by correcting the pore volume to hydro- carbon pore space. Although temperature and geothermal gradients had been of interest to geologists for many years, engineers could not make use of these important data until a precision subsurface recording thermometer was developed, Milli- kan pointed out the significance of temperature data in applications to reser- voir and well studies. From these basic data Schilthuis was able to derive a useful equation, commonly called the Schilthuis material balance equztion."" It is a modification of an earlier equation presented by Coleman, Wilde, and Moore and is one of the most important tools of reservoir engineers.” Basi- cally it is a statement of the conservation of matter and is a method of account- ing for the volumes and quantities of fluids initially present in, produced from, injected into, and remaining in a reservoir at any state of depletion. Odeh and Havlena have shown how the material balance equation can be arranged into a form of a straight line and solved." In reservoirs under water drive the volume of water which encroaches into the reservoir also enters into the ma- terial balance on the fluids. Although Schilthuis proposed a method of calcu- lating water encroachment using the material-balance equation, it remained for Hurst and, later, van Everdingen and Hurst to develop methods for calcu- lating water encroachment independent of the material balance equation, which applies to aquifers of either limited or infinite extent, in either steady- state or unsteady-state flow." The calculations of van Everdingen and Hurst have been simplified by Fetkovich." Following these developments for calculating the quantities of oil and gas initially in place or at any stage of depletion. Tarner and Buckley and Leverett laid the basis for calculating the ail recovery to be expected for particular rock and fluid characteristics."*” Tamer and, later, Muskat™ presented methods for calculating recovery by the internal or solution gas drive mechanism, and Buckley and Leverett presented methods for calculating the displacement of oil by external gas cap drive and water drive. These methods not only provided means for estimating recoveries for economic studies; they also explained the cause for disappointingly low recoveries in many fields. This discovery in turn pointed the way to improved recoveries by taking advantage of the natural forces and energies, and by supplying supplemental energy by gas and water injection, and by unitizing reservoirs to offset the losses that may be caused by competitive operations. During the 1960s, the terms reservoir simulation and reservoir mathe- matical modeling became popular.”-"” These terms are synonomous and refer to the ability to use mathematical formulas to predict the performance of an oil or gas reservoir. Reservoir simulation was aided by the development of large-scale, high-speed digital computers. Sophisticated numerical methods4 introduction to Reservoir Engineering were also developed to allow the solution, of a large number of equations by finite-difference or finite-element techniques. ‘With the development of these techniques, concepts, and equations, reservoir engineering became a powerful and well-defined branch of petro. Jeum engineering. Reservoir engineering may be defined as the application of scientific principles to the drainage problems arising during the development and production of oil and gas reservoirs. It has also been defined as “the art of developing and producing oil and gas ftuids in such a manner as to obtain a high economic recovery.” * The working tools of the reservoir engineer are subsurface geology, applied mathematics, and the basic laws of physics and chemistry governing the behavior of liquid and vapor phases of crude oil, natural gas, and water in reservoir rocks. Because reservoir engineering is the science of producing oil and gas, it includes a study of all the factors affecting their recovery. Clark and Wessely urge a joint application of geological and engineering data to arrive at sound field development programs. Ultimately reservoir engincering concerns all petroleum engineers, from the drilling en- gineer who is planning the mud program to the corrosion engineer who must design the tubing string for the producing life of the well. 2, PETROLEUM RESERVOIRS AND PRODUCTION FROM PETROLEUM RESERVOIRS: il and gas accumulations occur in underground traps formed by structural and/or stratigraphic features.” Fortunately they usually occur in the more porous and permeable portions of beds, which are mainly sands, sandstones, limestones, and dolomites, in the intergranular openings, or in pore spaces caused by joints, fractures, and solution activity. A reservoir is that portion of a trap which contains oil and/or gas as a single hydraulically connected system. Many hydrocarbon reservoirs are hydraulically connected to various volumes of water-bearing rock called aquifers. Many reservoirs are located in large sedimentary basins and share a common aquifer. In this case the production of fluid from one reservoir will cause the pressure to decline in other reservoirs by fluid communication through the aquifer. In some cases the entire ttap is filled with oil or gas, and in this case the trap and the reservoir are the same. Under initial reservoir conditions, the hydrocarbon fluids are in either a single-phase or a two-phase state. The single phase may be a liquid phase in which all the gas present is dissolved in the oil. There are therefore dissolved natural gas reserves as well as crude oil reserves to be estimated. On the other hand, the single phase may be a gas phase. If there are hydrocarbons vapor- ized in this gas phase that are recoverable as natural gas liquids on the surface, the reservoir is called gas-condensate, or gas-distillate (the older name). In this case there are associated liquid (condensate or distillate) reserves as well as the gas reserves to be estimated. Where the accumulation is in a two-phase state, the vapor phase is called the gas cap and the underlying liquid phase, the «2. Petroleum Reservoirs and Production from Petroleum Reservoirs 5 oil zone. In this case there will be four types of reserves to be estimated: the free gas or associated gas, the dissolved gas, the oil in the oil zone, and the recoverable natural gas liquid from the gas cap. Although the hydrocarbons in place are fixed quantities, which are referred to as the resource, the reserves depend on the method by which the reservoir is produced. In 1986 the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) adopted the following definition for reserves: Reserves are estimated volumes of crude oil, condensate, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and associated marketable substances anticipated to be commercially recoverable and marketable from a given date forward, under existing economic conditions, by established operating practices, and under current government regulations. The amount of reserves is calculated from available engineering and geologic data. The estimate is updated over the producing life of the reservoir as more data become available. The SPE definition is further broken down into proved and unproved reserves. These definitions are fairly lengthy, and we encourage you to obtain a copy of the reference if you desire further information, The initial production of hydrocarbons from the underground reservoir is accomplished by the use of natural reservoir energy and is referred to as primary production. The oil and gas are displaced to production wells under primary production by (a) fluid expansion, (b) fluid displacement, (c) gravita- tional drainage, and/or (d) capillary expulsion. When there is no aquifer and no fluid is injected into the reservoir, the hydrocarbon recovery is brought about mainly by fluid expansion; however, in the case of oil it may be materi- ally aided by gravitational drainage. When there is water influx from the aquifer or when, in lieu of this, water is injected into selected wells, recovery is accomplished by the displacement mechanism, which again may be aided by gravitational drainage or capillary expulsion. Gas is injected as a displacing fluid to help in the recovery of oil and is also used in gas cycling to recover gas-condensate fluids. The use of either a natural gas or a water injection scheme is called a secondary recovery operation. When a water injection sheme is used as a secondary recovery process, the process is referred to as waterflooding. The main purpose of either a natural gas or a water injection process is to maintain the reservoir pressure. Hence, the term pressure maintenace program is also used to describe a secondary recovery process. Other displacement processes called tertiary recovery processes have been developed for application in situations in which secondary processes have become ineffective. However, the same processes have also been considered for reservoir applications when secondaty recovery techniques were not used because of low recovery potential. In this latter case, the word tertiary is a misnomer. For some reservoirs, it is advantageous to begin a secondary or a tertiary process before primary production is completed. For these reservoirs,6 Introduction to Reservoir Engineering the term improved recovery was introduced and has become popular in re- ferring to, in general, any recovery process that improves the recovery over what the natural reservoir energy would be expected to yield. In many reservoirs several recovery mechanisms may be operating simul- taneously, but generally one or two predominate. During the producing life of a reservoir, the predominance may shift from one mechanism to another, either naturally or because of operations planned by engineers. For example. the volumetric reservoir (no aquifer) may produce initially by fluid expansion. When its pressure is largely depleted, it may produce to the wells mainly by gravitational drainage, the fluid being lifted to the surface by pumps. Still later, water may be injected in some wells to drive additional oil to other wells. In this case, the cycle of the mechanisms is expansion-gravitational drainage- displacement. There are many alternatives in these cycles, and it is the object of reservoir engineering to pian these cycles for maximum recovery, usually in minimum time. 3. RESERVOIR TYPES DEFINED WITH REFERENCE TO PHASE DIAGRAMS: From a technical point of view, the various types of reservoirs can be defined by the location of the initial reservoir temperature and pressure with Tespect to the two-phase (gas and liquid) region as commonly shown on pressure- temperature (PT) phase diagrams. Figure 1.1 is the PT phase diagram of a particular reservoir fluid. The area enclosed by the bubble-point and dew- point lines to the lower left is the region of pressure-temperature combinations in which both gas and liquid phases will exist. The curves within the two-phase region show the percentage of the total hydrocarbon volume that is liquid for any temperature and pressure. Initially each hydrocarbon accumulation will have its own phase diagram, which depends only on the composition of the accumulation. Consider a reservoir containing the fluid of Fig. 1.1 initially at 300°F and 3700 psia, point A. Since this point lies outside the two-phase region, it is originally in a one-phase state, commonly called gas as located at point A. Since the fluid remai in the reservoir during production remains at 300°F, it is evident that it will remain in the single-phase or gaseous state as the pressure declines along path AA,. Furthermore, the composition of the pro- duced well fluid will not change as the reservoir is depleted. This is true for any accumulation of this composition where the reservoir temperature ex- ceeds the cricondentherm, or maximum two-phase temperature (250°F for the present example). Although the fluid left in the reservoir remains in one phase, the fluid produced through the wellbore and into surface separators, although the same composition, may enter the two-phase region owing to the temperature decline, as along line AA;. This accounts for the production of condensate liquid at the surface from a gas in the reservoir. Of course, if the 3. Reservoir Types Defined with Reference to Phase Diagrams 7 4000 3500 ¢3000 I 2 1 ws 1 proce a 8 5 i ; E i500 a 4 1 1000 A i 1 ° 50 300350 100180200250 RESERVOIR TEMPERATURE, *F Fig. 1.1. Prossure-temperature phase diagram of a reservoir fluid cricondentherm of a fluid is below say 50°F, then only gas will exist on the surface at usual ambient temperatures, and the production will be called dry gas. Nevertheless, it may contain liquid fractions that can be removed by low-temperature separation or by natural gasoline plants. Next, consider a reservoir containing the same fluid of Fig. 1.1 but at a temperature of 180°F and an initial pressure of 3300 psia, point B. Here the fluid is also initially in the one-phase state, commonly called gas, where the reservoir temperature exceeds the critical temperature. As pressure declines because of production, the composition of the produced fluid will be the same as for reservoir A and will remain constant until the dew-point pressure is reached at 2700 psia, point B,. Below this pressure a liquid condenses out of the reservoir fluid as a fog or dew, and this type of reservoir is commonly called a dew-point reservoir, This condensation leaves the gas phase with a lower liquid content. Because the condensed liquid adheres to the walls of the pore spaces of the rock, it is immobile. Thus the gas produced at the surface will have a lower liquid content, and the producing gas-oil ratio therefore rises. This process of retrograde condensation continues until a point of maxi- mum liquid volume is reached, 10% at 2250 psia, point B,. The term retro-8 introduction to Reservoir Engineering grade is used because generally vaporization, rather than condensation, occurs during isothermal expansion. Actually, after the dew point is reached, because the composition of the produced fluid changes, the composition of the remain- ing reservoir fluid also changes, and the phase envelope begins to shift. The phase diagram of Fig. 1.1 represents one and only one hydrocarbon mixture, Unfortunately for maximum liquid recovery, this shift is toward the right, and this further aggravates the retrograde liquid loss within the pores of the reser- voir rock. Neglecting for the moment this shift in the phase diagram, for qualitative purposes vaporization of the retrograde liquid occurs from B, to the abandon- ment pressure B;. This revaporization aids liquid recovery and may be evi- denced by decreasing gas-oil ratios on the surface. The overall retrograde loss will evidently be greater (a) for lower reservoir temperatures, (b) for higher abandonment pressures, and (c) for greater shift of the phase diagram to the right—this latter being a property of the hydrocarbon system. The retrograde liquid in the reservoir at any time is composed to a large extent of methane and ethane by volume, and so it is much larger than the volume of stable liquid that could be obtained from it at atmospheric temperature and pressure. The composition of this retrograde liquid is changing as pressure declines so that 4% retrograde liquid volume at, say, 750 psia might contain as much stable surface condensate as, say, 6% retrograde liquid volume at 2250 psia. If the accumulation occurred at 2900 psia and 75°F, point C, the reser- voir would be in a one-phase state, now called liquid, because the temperature is below the critical temperature. This type is called a bubble-point reservoir; as pressure declines, the bubble point will be reached, in this case at 2550 psia, point C,. Below this point, bubbles, or a free-gas phase, will appear. Even- tually the free gas evolved begins to flow to the well bore, and in ever increas- ing quantities. Conversely, the oil flows in ever decreasing quantities, and at depletion much unrecovered oil remains in the reservoir, Other names for this type of liquid (oil) reservoir are depletion, dissolved gas, solution gas drive, expansion, and internal gas drive. Finally, if this same hydrocarbon mixture occurred at 2000 psia and 150°F, point D, it would be a two-phase reservoir, consisting of a liquid or oil zone overlain by a gas zone or cap. Because the composition of the gas and oil zones are entirely different from each other, they may be represented separately by individual phase diagrams that bear little relation to each other or to the composite. The liquid or oil zone will be at its bubble point and will be produced as a bubble-point reservoir modified by the presence of the gas cap. The gas cap will be at the dew point and may be either retrograde as shown in Fig. 1.2 (a) or nonretrograde, Fig. 1.2 (b). From this technical point of view, hydrocarbon reservoirs are initially either in a single-phase state (A, B, and C) or a two-phase state (D), depend- ing on their temperatures and pressures relative to their phase envelopes. On volumetric depletion (no water influx), these various one-phase reservoirs 4. Review of Rock Properties 9 PREssuat PRESSURE TEMPERATURE to Fig. 1.2, Phase diagrams of a cap gas and oil zone fluid showing (a) retrograde cap gas and (b) nonretrograde cap gas may behave as simple, single-phase gas reservoirs (A), in which reservoir temperature exceeds the cricondentherm; or retrograde condensate (dew- point) reservoirs (B), in which reservoir temperature lies between the critical temperature and the cricondentherm; or dissolved gas (bubble-point) reser- voirs (C), in which reservoir temperature is below the critical temperature. When the pressure and temperature lie within the two-phase region, an oil zone with an overlying gas cap exists. The oil zone produces as a bubble-point oil reservoir and the gas cap either as a single-phase gas reservoir (A) or a retrograde gas reservoir (B). 4, REVIEW OF ROCK PROPERTIES Properties discussed in this section include porosity, isothermal compressi- bility, and fluid saturation. Although permeability is a property of a rock matrix, because of its importance in fluid flow calculations, a discussion of permeability is postponed until Chapter 7, in which single phase fluid ‘low is considered. 4,1. Porosity The porosity of a porous medium is given the symbol of ¢ and is defined as. the ratio of void space, or pore volume, to the total bulk volume of the rock. This ratio is expressed either as a fraction or in pecent. When using a value of porosity in an equation it is nearly always expressed as a fraction. The term hydrocarbon porosity refers to that part of the porosity that contains hydro- carbon, It is the total porosity multiplied by the fraction of the pore volume that contains hydrocarbon. ‘The value of porosity is usually reported as either a total or an effective porosity, depending on the type of measurement used. The total porosity represents the total void space of the medium. The effective porosity is the10 Introduction to Reservoir Engineering amount of the void space that contributes to the flow of fluids. This is the type of porosity usually measured in the laboratory and used in calculations of fluid Ww. The laboratory methods of measuring porosity include Boyle’s law, water-saturation, and organic-liquid saturation methods. Dotson, Slobod, McCreery, and Spurlock have described a porosity-check program made by five laboratories on 10 samples.” The average deviation of porosity from the average values was +0.5 porosity %. The accuracy of the average Porosity of a reservoir as found from core analysis depends on the quality and quantity of the data available and on the uniformity of the reservoir. The average porosity is seldom known more precisely than to 1 porosity % e.g., to 5% accuracy at 20% porosity. The porosity is also calculated from electric logs and neutron logs, often with the assistance of some core measurements. Logging tech- niques have the advantage of averaging larger volumes of rock than in core analysis. When calibrated with core data, they should provide average poros- ity figures in the same range of accuracy as core analysis. When there are variations in porosity across the reservoir, the average porosity should be found on a weighted volume basis. 4.2. Isothermal Compressibility thermal compressibility for a substance is given by the following equation: =-i# e=-35 G1) where, ¢ = isothermat compressibility v =volume p = pressure The equation describes the change in volume that a substance undergoes during a change in pressure while the temperature is held constant. The units are in reciprocal pressure units. When the internal fluid pressure within the pore spaces of a rock, which is subjected to a constant external (rock or overburden) pressure, is reduced, the bulk volume of the rock decreases while the volume of the solid rock material (e.g., the sand grains of a sandstone) increases. Both of these volume changes act to reduce the porosity of the rock slightly, of the order of 0.5% for a 1000 pst change in the internal fluid pressure (¢.g., at 20% porosity to 19.9%). Studies by van der Knaap indicate that this change in porosity for a given rock depends only on the difference between the internal and external pres- sures, and not on the absolute value of the pressures.” As with the volume of 4, Review of Rock Properties W reservoir coils above the bubble point, however, the change in pore volume is nonlinear and the pore volume compressibility is not constant. The pore volume compressibility ¢ at any value of external-internal pressure difference may be defined as the change in pore volume per unit of pore volume per unit change in pressure. The values for limestone and sandstone reservoir rocks lie in the range of 2 x 10° to 25x 10° psi”! If the compressibility is given in terms of the change in pore volume per unit of bulk volume per unit change in pressure, dividing by the fractional porosity places it on a pore volume basis. For example, 2 compressibility of 1.0 x 107 pore volume pet bulk volume per psi for a rock of 20% porosity is 50 x 10 pore volume per pore volume per psi. Newman measured isothermal compressibility and porosity values in 79 samples of consolidated sandstones under hydrostatic pressure.” When he fit the data to hyperbolic equation, he obtained the following correlation: 97.3200(10)"$ 74 55.87216) (2) & This correlation was developed for consolidated sandstones having a range of porosity values from 0.02 < <0.23. The average absolute error of the cor- relation over the entire range of porosity values was found to be 2.60%. Newman also developed a similar correlation for limestone formations under hydrostatic pressure.” The range of porosity values included in the correlation was 0.02< @ <0.33, and the average absolute error was found to be 11.8%. The correlation for limestone formations is as follows: _ 0.853531 oO TEAC ™ os) Even though the rock compressibilities are small figures, their effect may be important in some calculations on reservoirs or aquifers that contain fluids of compressibilites in the range of 3 to 25(10)-¢ psi-!. One application is given in Chapter 5 involving calculations above the bubble point. Geertsma points out that when the reservoir is not subjected to uniform external pressure, as are the samples in the laboratory tests of Newman, the effective value in the reservoir will be less than the measured value.” 4.3. Fluid Saturations ‘The ratio of the volume that a fluid occupies to the pore volume is called the saturation of that fluid. The symbol for oil saturation is S,, where S refers to saturation and the subscript o refers to oil. Saturation is expressed as either a fraction or a percentage, but it is used as a fraction in equations. The satu- rations of all fluids present in a porous medium add to 1. There are, in general, two ways of measuring original fluid saturations:12 Introduction to Reservoir Engineering the direct approach and the indirect approach. The direct approach involves either the extraction of the reservoir fluids or the leaching of the fluids from a sample of the reservoir rock. The indirect approach relies on a measurement of some other property, such as capillary pressure, and the derivation of a mathematical relationship between the measured property and saturation. Direct methods include retorting the fluids from the rock, distilling the fluids with a modified ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) procedure, and centrifuging the fluids. Each method relies on some procedure to remove the rock sample from the reservoir. Experience has found that it is difficult to remove the sample without altering the state of the fluids and/or rock. The indirect methods use logging or capillary pressure measurements. With either method, errors are built into the measurement of saturation. However, under favorable circumstances and with careful attention to detail, saturation values can be obtained within useful limits of accuracy. 5. REVIEW OF GAS PROPERTIES. 5.1 Ideal Gas Law Relationships that describe the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) behavior of gases are called equations of state. The simplest equation of state is called the ideal gas law and is given by: pV =nR'T (1.4) where, p is absolute pressure V is total volume nis moles T is absolute temperature R’ is the gas constant When R’ = 10.73, p must be in pounds per square inch absolute (psia), V in cubic feet, n in pound-moles (Ib-moles), and T in degrees Rankine, The ideal gas law was developed from Boyle’s and Charles's laws, which were formed from experimental observations. The petroleum industry works with a set of standard conditions—usually 14.7 psia and 60°F. When a volume of gas is reported at these conditions, it is given the units of SCF (standard cubic feet). Sometimes the letter M will appear in the units (¢.g., MCF or M SCF). This refers to 1000 standard cubic feet. The volume that 1 Ib-mole occupies at standard conditions is 379.4 SCF. A quantity of a pure gas can be expressed as the number of cubic feet at a 5. Review of Gas Properties 413 specified temperature and pressure, the number of moles, the number of pounds, or the number of molecules. For practical measurement, the weighing of gases is difficult, so that gases are metered by volume at measured tem- peratures and pressures, from which the pounds or moles may be calculated. Example 1.1 illustrates the calculations of the contents of a tank of gas in each of four units. Example 1.1. Calculating the contents of a tank of ethane in moles, pounds, molecules, and SCF. Given: A 500 cu ft tank of ethane at 100 psia and 100°F. SoLuTiON: Assuming ideal gas behavior: 100 x 500 _ Moles = 79 73 5c 569 = 8:32 Pounds = 8.32 x 30.07 = 250.2 Molecules = 8.32 x 2.733 x 10° = 22.75 x 10% At 14.7 psia and 60°F: SCF = 8.32 x 379.4 = 3157 Alternate solution using Eq. (1.4): R'T _ 8.32 x 10.73 x 520 P 147 SCF= 3158 5.2 Specific Gravity Because the density of a substance is defined as mass per unit volume, the density of gas, p,, at a given temperature and pressure can be derived as follows: mass _ 1M volume V density = density = p,= where, M, = molecutar weight