FIELD

CASE
HISTORY

Canada's Pembina Field

JOHN J. JUSTEN MOBIL OIL OF CANADA, LTD.

MEMBER AIME CALGARY, ALTA., CANADA

Abstract the up-dip "shale-out" of the Cardium sand.' The strike

is slightly north of northwest and regional dip is to the
The Pembina field is the largest in Canada and one southwest at a rate varying from 30 ft/mile in the
of the largest in the North American continent. Much northeast extremity of the field to 60 ft/mile in the
of the published data concerning this reservoir is com- southwest portion of the field. The Cardium sand is
pared and summarized such that the geological, rock, encountered at depths varying from 4,600 to 5,800 ft
and crude characteristics are indicated. The reservoir across the field. A contour map on top of the porosity
was initially undersaturated. is presented in Fig. 2.
The production history is reviewed. The natural Fig. 3, an isopachous map of the net oil pay in the
recovery mechanism is indicated to be solution gas Pembina field, indicates major features of the reservoir:
drive. Engineering studies indicate that the ultimate the thinning of the effective pay in all directions, the
recovery for various areas will be more than doubled
1References given at end of paper.
if pressure is maintained by water flooding. With pres-
sure maintenance the field will be in the billion barrels
reserve class. Pressure maintenance operations have
commenced in various areas, using the existing wells
in a 160-acre, five-spot pattern. A response to water
injection has been reported in one area. By the end of
1957 about 50,000 acres will be under flood with water
obtained from the North Saskatchewan River.

Introduction
In mid-1953 the successful completion of the wildcat,
Pembina No.1, recorded the disc~very of the Pembina
field. Today, four years later, one-fifth of Canada's
daily crude oil production, and one-eighth of Canada's
daily crude oil requirements are produced by the Pem-
bina field.
The Pembina field is located in the Province of
Alberta in Western Canada, 70 miles west-southwest
from the city of Edmonton as indicated in Fig. 1. Its
area, as defined by Alberta's Oil and Gas Conservation
Board, is in the order of 400,000 acres. There are cur-
rently more than 1,750 producing wells representing
..
Fig. I-Location of the Pembina field.
""~
~ "I
175,000 developed acres. The current production rate is
over 110,000 BOPD. There are 43 operators in the :·1
field ranging from Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. which
recently completed its SOOth well, to Canadian Delhi,
Ltd. with one well. .,I
In area and production, this field is the largest in "I

Canada. It is also one of the largest in the North

American continent.

Geology
The reservoir is a stratigraphic trap resulting from
CONTOUR INTERVAL: 50 FT
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers
office on May 15, 1957. Revised manuscript received Aug. 22, 1957.
Paper presented at Third Annual Joint Meeting of Rocky Mountain
Petroleum Sections in Billings, Mont., May 23-24, 1957. Fig. 2-Contours on top of porosity.

SEPTEMBER, 1957
SPE 856-G 21
midfield thin pay area, and areas of maximum pay. obtained from core analysis data for the sand zone in
The producing limits are governed in all directions by the northeastern portion of the field. Porosities up to
the minimum thickness of effective pay that can be 29 per cent and permeabilities in excess of 100 md are
economically produced. Thus, the main portion of the encountered. Net pay has generally been defined as
reservoir is being developed on 80-acre spacing with having at least 0.1 md permeability and 9.0 per cent
the flank areas being developed on 160-acre spacing. porosity. Using this cutoff, the average net pay indi-
Fig. 4 is a dip cross-section of the reservoir. The cated by all core analysis data is 18.5 ft with a weighted
main reservoir is the upper sand, a fine-grained, well porosity of 14.4 per cent.'
sorted, quartzose sandstone. The thickness varies up Fig. 7 presents a porosity-interstitial water saturation
to 25 ft. In some areas, it has been eroded. Overlying relationship indicated by core samples obtained in oil-
the upper sand is a conglomerate which is extremely phase drilling muds. 4 While this relationship is based
erratic in deposition and variable in thickness. It is on data from the southeastern portion of the field,
not considered important in the over-all picture of the similar relationships have been indicated for other
reservoir. Separating the upper sand from the lower areas. These data indicate the interstitial water satura-
sand is a shale member in the order of 20 ft in thick- tion in the Cardium sand to be generally low and has
ness. In some areas a good sandstone develops in the led to the suggestion that the sand is oil wet.'" The
upper portion of this shale member. The lower sand is average interstitial water saturation for the whole field
a zone, 10- to 15-ft thick, consisting of numerous shale has been reported to be 10.5 per cent."
and sand lenses. In limited areas the sand is developed Three studies 4 ,'.G of various portions of the reservoir
in a manner such that it is comparable to the upper reported the following average properties of the rock:
sand, so that it is important in adding to the total
Area, acres 11,200 6,400 4,800
effective thickness. Thickness, ft 23.1 12.4 20.2
Porosity, per cent 16.7 17.4 16.4
Permeability, md 14.7 34.4 12.9
Rock Characteristics Interstitial water saturation, oer cent 7.5 9.2 11.0

There has been extensive coring in the Pembina field. Fluid Characteristics
Initially, four wells per section were cored; currently,
two wells per section are cored. Fig. 5 presents typical Many reservoir fluid samples have been obtained in
logs of the Cardium with the permeability and porosity the Pembina field. A great variation in PYT character-
distribution. Logging programs have consisted of com-
ELECTRiCAL M1CROLOG- RADIOACTIVITY CORE
binations of the type logs shown, such as the electrical-
LO G CALIPER LOG ANALYSIS
MicroLog or the gamma-ray-neutron. The MicroLog
has been useful for estimating net pay. An empirical
correlation can be established between gamma radia-
tion and core analysis porosity, resulting in that tool ! I
I l
being used to estimate net pay as well as the average
porosity.' "'0- ~~
Fig. 6 presents a porosity-permeability relationship ~
'000"--1-
.(,--

t
Fig. 5-Typical Cardium logs and core analysis.

I
~
100

~
~

"
~
0

r 10
NET PAY z
w
u
CZ) 0 - 10'
~ II -20' ~
w
<:Z::> 21 - 30' ~

~ 30'

PEMBINA FIELD ,
" PERMEABILITY, MILLIDARCIES

Fig. 6-Porosity-permeability relationship.

Fig. 3-Isopachous map. z
A ; ~ 60- 1 -
~ ~ I
~ ~ 50'
r
""0-580
O~ 1-16
~w
'-'l:3
~~
40~- - -~--t-T
I- I.L. 30> - ~ '-t- -+, _ -----t- ---L_~_
~o 1
~§
~~ IO~-

~ ~ 0 L

10 15 20 25 30

POROSITY, PER CENT OF BULK VOLUME

Fig. 7-Porosity.interstitial water saturation

Fig. 4-Dip cross·section. relationship.

22 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

istics has been indicated. These samples indicate satura-
tion pressures from 1,443 to 2,666 psig, solubilities
from 382 to 933 scf/bbl, formation volume factors at
the saturation pressure from 1.188 to 1.480, and vis-
cosities at the saturation pressure from 1.408 to 0.636
cpo API gravities are reported to range over several
degrees with 37.10 being the average.'
Initial producing gas-oil ratios are generally indica-
tive of the solubility of the crude. Therefore, the
average producing gas-oil ratio during the first six
months of production of each battery in the Pembina
field was used to prepare Fig. 8. The area where the
average producing gas-oil ratio was less than 500
scf/bbl is shaded. It is apparent that a great portion of
the reservoir had an initial solubility that did not exceed
500 scf/bbl. This solubility can be correlated with a
saturation pressure of about 1,700 psig. Therefore, the
reservoir can be said to have been originally undersatu-
rated.
If Fig. 8 had been prepared using the first month's
producing gas-oil ratio at each battery instead of the six-
month average, a larger area would have been shaded.
This would indicate that rapid changes can occur in the
saturation distribution in the vicinity of the wellbore.
Therefore, PVT samples that were not obtained very
early in a well's life can be non-representative of the
reservoir fluid.
Reservoir Performance
Fig. 9 presents the initial reservoir pressure recorded
in the discovery well, 2,715 psig at 2,236 ft subsea.'
Indicated also is the improvement that is obtained by
fracture treatment. Prior to fracturing the well pro-
duced at a rate of 76 BOPD; after fracturing the rate
increased to 281 BOPD with the drawdown cut in half,
1,935 to 964 psig.
Nearly every well has to be fractured to obtain pro-
duct ion in commercial quantIties. The improvement in
productivity of the wells is several-fold. In the south-
eastern portion of the pool the natural productivity
index was calculated from core analysis and PVT data
to be 0.148 B/D per pound pressure drop. Actual PI
measurements in 27 wells after fracturing averaged
0.47 B/D per pound pressure drop. The calculated PI
decline as a function of reservoir pressure in this area
for natural and for fractured conditions is presented in
Fig. 10.'
With the crude originally undersaturated by as much
as 1,000 psig in some areas, a rapid pressure decline in
developed areas was anticipated. Therefore, the op-
erators, through their engineering committee, began a
program of field wide pressure measurements on a reg-
ularly scheduled basis. The pressure buildup in indi-
vidual wells is exceedingly slow with a shut-in time up
to a month being required. It has been necessary to
apply a method of pressure buildup analysis, such as the
Horner method, in order to obtain the static pressure
with a minimum shut-in time. To minimize the resulting
production loss, certain wells have been permanently
shut in for pressure measurement and their allowables
transferred to adjacent wells. There are now 33 pres-
sure observation wells. For fieldwide pressure survey
additional wells are shut in and buildups obtained.
In the fieldwide survey of Sept., 1956, there were
109 observation and shut-in wells. The isobaric map is
presented in Fig. 11. Of interest are the pressure sinks
throughout the field. These sinks exist in areas where
development was initially concentrated. Due to the low
capacity of the formation and the large distances in-
volved, equalization of pressure has not occurred.
The reservoir performance history is presented in
Fig. 12. By rearranging these data as shown in Fig. 13
the pressure-production performance of the pool is
0.'

0.'

0.'
-
0
~
AFTER FRAC
0.'
0
0.2 BEFORE FRAC
0
m
0.1

3000 2500 2000 1,o0 lOCO 500

RESERVOIR PRESSURE. PSt G

Fig. 10-Effect of fracturing on PI decline.

~4~-H~",+-------
~ AREA WITH INITIAl GOR ~ESS
~"'\:::0 TKAN 500 SCF/8

,
I"ig. 8-Initial producing gas-oil ratio. "
2800
____;.:-.7--':- Po ~ 2115
~
~
2400
2200
,
FRACTURE TREATIoIENT
2000 @)
"
1800
P,01151 PSIG ~

1600 0

FRACTURE TREATMENT
1400

1200 .
w
.,,
.
~
0
1000 0
w
P,-782 PStG 600

28 24 20 16 12 08 0.4

lOG • Tc ... e DATUM ~2300 FT

,
• CONTOUR INTERVAL 200 PSIG "
Fig. 9-0riginal reservoir pressure,
Pembina No. 1. Fig. II-Isobaric map, Sept., 1956.

SEPTEMBER, 1957 23
clearer. There has been an initial rapid pressure decline
followed by an arrest in the rate of decline. With the
arrest in the rate of the pressure decline there has been
an increase in gas-oil ratio. The initiill rapid pressure
decline is typical of an undersaturated reservoir. The
arrest in the rate of pressure decline with the simul-
taneous increase in gas-oil ratio is indicative of a solu-
tion gas-drive mechanism. With the thinning of the
effective pay in all directions, there is little likelihood
of a natural water drive. Therefore, the natural recovery
mechanism is solution gas drive.
Primary Depletion Predictions
Three detailed reports·,5,. which analyzed the per-
formance of various portions of the Cardium reservoir
and predicted the recovery by primary depletion have
been presented to the provincial regulatory body. In
addition, a generalized study of a 200,000-acre area has
been prepared by a subcommittee of the operators.'
~- ~ that the residual oil saturation after water flooding
g~o_:II. 100- ..J
Each of these studies based the primary depletion pre-
dictions on relative permeability to oil and gas data
obtained with Cardium core samples and the crude
properties for the area investigated. The relative per-
meability data and crude properties used in the thret
detailed studies are presented in Figs. 14 and 15.
The three detailed studies indicate primary depletion
recoveries of 13.1, 18.3, and 13.0 per cent, respectively.
The generalized study which divided the 200,000-acre
area into 20 parcels reported individual parcel recovery
factors varying from 17.2 per cent in the main portion
of the pool to 3.6 per cent in the southern portion.
The average recovery factor was 12.5 per cent. It was
estimated that 3.19 billion bbl were originaIly in place
and that 398 million would ce produced by solution
gas drive.
Pressure Maintenance Predictions
The three detailed reports·",6 mentioned earlier were
presented to the provincial regulatory body in support
of requests to initiate pressure maintenance operations
by injecting water in order to increase the recovery.
The predicted pressure maintenance recoveries were
43.1, 42.6, and 30.2 per cent, respectively.
Laboratory data presented in each report indicated

~ 40- ~ 80- ~ 2000--

would be in the order of 35 per cent of the pore
~ '0- ~ 60- ~ volume. These reports also indicate that the reservoir
3 20- ~ .,,'-_ ~ .: 1000- can be water flooded on a 160-acre, five-spot pattern.
~ 10- ~
This pattern is achieved in the 80-acre spacing area of
@ ® CD the field by injecting water in alternate rows of wells.
Fig. 12-Graphic reservoir history. Using these three studies as a basis, a subcommittee
of the operators investigated the feasibility of pressure
2700
maintenance in a 235,000-acre area of the field.' The
2600 1000 Committee's report concluded that 125,000 acres could
0
0
2500 - be water flooded. This generalized study estimated that
2400
0 within this area there were 2.23 billion STB of oil
@) originally in place and that 838 million bbl would be

.
2300

2200 500
.
0

~
recovered by pressure maintenance. The indicated re-
covery factor was 37.5 per cent. In the other 110,000
2100
0
acres a more detailed study of pressure maintenance is
m
z
2000

1900
.
0
necessary. In that area it was estimated that 1.45 billion
STB of oil were originaIly in place and that 110 mil-
lion, or 7.6 per cent, would be recovered by natural
1800 - _0
1
0 '0 40 50
depletion. For the total 235,000-acre area, a total
CuMULATIVE OIL, MM BBL recovery of 948 million STB was predicted, 25.8 per
Fig. 13-Pressure-production performance. cent of the 3.68 billion STB originally in place.

t.O .;

;r
I

----+----1 o.r ~

~
I~ ~

!" ~ I
!'
:-------:~:-------:'------JJ, "0'
GAS SATUIIATIO" - p.,cent of .~~:: :.~:::"" Ie

Fig. 14-Average relative permeability data for various portions of the reservoir.

24 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 ~ 1.10

; I

,~::,~ 1-·..~:g··:;;;,""
I I
- 4 OIIVI~~';;I~t-----+-·-- 1.08
I
,~ I j
,I

IIESEIIVOIII ""EnUIE - ""il REHRVOIR PIIESSURE - P1il RESERVOIR .. RES$URE -p111

Fig. IS-Reservoir fluid characteristics for various portions of the reservoir.

This report also compared the recoveries by primary
depletion and pressure maintenance for an area (85,760
acres) with an estimated 1.66 billion STB originally in
place. Under primary depletion a recovery of 265 mil-
lion STB, 15.9 per cent, was predicted; under pressure
maintenance a recovery of 664 million STB, 40 per cent,
was predicted.
A summary of the primary and pressure maintenance
recoveries indicated in these studies is presented in
Table 1. Pressure maintenance by water flooding will
increase the recovery from the flooded areas about 2V2
times, raising the field to the billion barrels reserve
status.
Pressure Maintenance Projects in Operation
Initial water injection into the Cardium was com-
menced in April, 1956 by the Pan American Petroleum
Corp. After it was determined that water in large quanti-
ties could be injected, the project was increased to
include eight injection wells. Canadian Seaboard Oil
Co. initiated waterflood operations in Nov. 1956. The
flood has been extended to nearly all their acreage.Mobil
Oil of Canad~, Ltd. initiated waterflood operations in
Dec., 1956. Water is being injected into six wells com-
prising two closed five-spots. At least two other oper-
ators have commenced injection in 1957. By the end
of 1957 it is anticipated that waterflooding operations
will have commenced in approximately 50,000 acres.
These operations will be in the area developed on 80-
acre spacing and will employ a five-spot pattern.
Very little data has been released regarding the
waterflood operations in progress. Injection rates up to
500 BWPD and injection pressures up to 1,500 psig
at the wellhead have been reported. The average injec-
tion rate is in the order of 200 to 300 BWPD with the
pressure at the wellhead varying from 400 'to 1,500
psig.
Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd. is planning an extension
of its pilot operation in view of the response to water
flooding. Fig. 16 is typical of a producing well in the
five-spot pattern. The gas-oil ratio which was in the
order of 1,000 scf/bbl prior to injection, increased as a
result of the higher production rate due to the transfer
of the allowable from the injection well. Within three
months the gas-oil ratio began to decline, stabilizing at
the normal 400 scf/bbl even though the producing rate
remained high. Stabilization occurred with less than
45,000 bbl of water having been injected into each
injector.
Fig. 17 presents the typical injection well perform-
ance. The injection rate in each well in Mobil Oil's pilot
operation was increased to 300 BWPD over a six-week
period. The wellhead pressure, after initially increasing
rapidly, has stabilized in the 600 to 700 psig range.
Fig. 18 presents the reservoir pressure response re-
ported. There has been a reduction in the rate of
pressure decline in an observation well directly offsetting
two injection wells, while the established rate of pres-
sure decline continues in other observation wells further
removed from the pilot area.
The only novel feature of any of these pressure main-
tenance operations is the pre-injection heating of water
by Canadian Seaboard in order to increase the injec-
tivity.' By heating the water such that it will enter the
0
wellhead at 90 F, it is estimated that the water will
0
enter the sandface at the reservoir temperature, 129 F,
0
instead of 95 F. The improved injectivity results from
the reduction in water viscosity from 0.86 to 0.60 cpo
Canadian Seaboard estimates that by increasing the

TABLE I-PRIMARY AND PRESSURE MAINTENANCE RECOVERIES

Area, -acres* 11,200 6,400 4,800 200,000 125,000 85,760
Thickness, ft 23.1 12.4 20.2 18.5** , 8.5** , 8.5**
Reservoir Volume, acre-ft 259,070 79,360 96,960 3,700,000 2,312,500 1,586,560
Oil Initially in place
STB/acre-ft 958 994 861 863 963 1,047
STB/acre 22,154 12,321 17,400 15,959 17,820 19,374
STB 248,127,000 78,852,000 83,520.000 3,191,700.000 2,227,500,000 1,661,500,000
Recoverable oil (Primary Depletion)
STB/acre-ft 126 182 112 i08 167
STB/acre 2,913 2,253 2,2'8 1,992 3,088
STB 32,624,000 14,422,000 10,840,000 398,300,000 264,800,000
Recovery Factor, per cent 13.1 18.3 13.0 12,5 15.9
Recoverable Oil (Pressure Maintenance)
STB/acre-ft 413 423 261 362 419
STB/acre 9,557 5,249 5,266 6,700 7,745
STB 107,034,000 33,593,000 25,275,000 837,500,000 664,200,000
Recovery Factor, per cent 43.1 42.6 30,2 37,5 40,0
Gain over primary
STB/acre-ft 287 242 149 252
STB/acre 6,644 2,996 3,007 4,657
STB 74,410,000 19,171,000 14,435,000 399,400,000
Ratio 3.28 to 1 2.33 to 1 2,33 to 1 2.51 to 1
* Ref. 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9
'" '" Fieldwide overage for on area larger than 200,000 acres.

SEPTEMBER, 1957 25
injectivity the recovery from 11,200 acres will be Water Supply
increased from 102 to 107 million bbl.
About 2 million bbl of water have been injected
An actual field measurement of sand face injection into the Cardium sand. Ful! scale injection has been
temperature has been reported to be 110 0 F when the curtailed in some of the area already converted to water
wellhead temperature of the water is 40 0 F and the flooding because anticipated sources of water have not
injection rate is 250 BWPD." materialized. Originally, it was hoped that shallow
formations would furnish an adequate water supply.
Thus, water would be available locally at each pump
2000-,-------------------, station.
The North Saskatchewan River will now be the
, I~OO
major source of water for injection. Since as much as
,.o 200,000 bbl of water may be injected daily, a major
: pipeline system will be used to distribute water to the
=
o
1000 various pump stations.

.
~

C!I 500
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to express appreciation to Mobil
o :0
z~ "A 0 +-_...L._____________---\ Oil of Canada, Ltd., and to the Pembina Operators
z I Committee for permission to use data from its reports
~ w
~

g:
~

4
IfOMTMLT ... U..O ..... L~
_ _ _ _ ...J --, ..---
on the Pembina field.
o •
o 0 MOIITMLT IO"ODUCTIOM
~ ~
a. ; Z
References
~ ~
x ~

~~ ~~ 0 +=:-'-:=-,..,,..,,...r7.,,,-,r.;:-:o-;;;;;-,-;;;;;-r-,;;;;-rm;-1
NOV DEC I~~~ FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
1. Neilsen, A. R.: "Cardium Stratigraphy of the Pembina
Field," Jour., Alberta Soc. of Petro Ceol. (April, 1957),
6, No. ,t
Fig. I6-Typical producing well response to 2. Kernahan, G. M.: "Pembina· Radiation Logging," Canadian
water injection. Oil and Cas Industries (June, 1955), 8, No.6, 79.
3. Reservoir Engineering Digest, Petroleum Digests, Ltd.,
~ '00 Calgary, Alta.
4. Wahl, J.: "An Engineering Analysis of Methods for In-
.
i,oa creased Oil Reserves, Cardium Reservoir Buck Cr.eek-
Wolf Creek-Buck Lake Area of the Pembina Field, Al-
berta, Canada," J. A. Lewis Engineering, Inc., March, 1956.
5. Justen, J. J.: "High Pressure Maintenance by a Five-Spot
Waterflood, Block 1, Cardium Reservoir, Pembina Field,
Alberta," Mobil Oil of Canada, Ltd., June, 1956.
6. Maughan, J. B., et al: "Secondary Recovery Study, Pem-

r ,-,. ", , . ,
bina Field, Alberta, Canada, Part I-Stanolind-Hudson's

i '00
~ 00,
. Bay Pembina Crown "F" Lease," Standard Oil and Gas
Co., Oct., 1956.
7. Thorne, S. M., and Fleming, P. K.: "Pembina Well Stimu-
t 2'0
lation," Canadian Oil and CI1,5, Industries (June, 1955),
8, No.6, 91. r.. '..
.... 150
8. Justen, J. J., et al: "An Analysis of Primary Depletion,
'-CUMULATIVE HJECTION Cardium Sand Reservoir, Pembina Field, Alberta, Canada,"
- lOa
Reservoir Working Subcommittee, Pembina Operators
Committee, June, 1956.
9. Justen, J. J., et al: "A Prediction of Oil and Gas Produc-
Fig. I7-Typical injel'tion well performance. tion Rates, Cardium Sand Reservoir, Pembina Field,
Alberta, Canada," Reservoir Working Subcommittee, Pem-
"HSSURE 08SERVATION WELL PRESSURE OBSERVATION WELL
bina Operators Committee, March, 1957. ***
OFFSETTING PILOT AREA 3/4 MILE FROM PIL.OT AREA

JOHN J. JUSTEN received his BS

-~ degree from the Georgia Institute
I
of Technology in 1946 and his MS
..
",1700
degree in petroleum engineering
from The University of Texas in
1951. Employed by the Pan Amer-
ican Petroleum Corp. in the Gulf
Coast, he later joined Magnolia's
Field Research Laboratory in Dallas.
In 1955 he transferred to Mobil Oil
5[10 OCT NOV DEC I~~~ FEB M"I! APII ,....., JU/'I JUL
of Canada, Calgary, Alta., where
Fig. I8-Pressure response to water injection. he is in charge of reservoir engineering.

26 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY