COVENANT UNIVERSITY, CANAANLAND, OTA.

PET 527 - PETROLEUM ENGINEERING LABORTORY II

EXPERIMENT 4: ASSIGNMENT ON LABORATORY

DETERMINATION OF FLUID SATURATION

BY

ADEYEMI M. OLUWAFISAYO
15CN03211

DATE SUBMITTED: OCT-8-2020

PET 527 – Assignment 4

Assignment on Laboratory Determination of Fluid Saturation

Question One:
Make a concise note on how the following affect fluid saturation laboratory
measurements.
i. Mud Filtrate
ii. Hydrostatic pressure (Gas Expansion)
Question Two:
You are to analyze core sample containing oil, water and gas, the following
measurements were taken;
Core Dimensions
Runs Diameter (cm) Length (cm)
1 3.10 6.41
2 2.93 6.50
3 3.12 6.43

Initial weight of the core sample = 216.7 𝑔

The sample was evacuated, and the gas space was saturated with water
New weight 𝑊𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 219.7 𝑔
The water within the sample is removed and collected
𝑉𝑤 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 13.0 𝑐𝑚3
The oil is extracted, and the sample is dried
𝑊𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑦 = 199.5 𝑔
Calculate the following
a. Porosity
b. Water saturation
c. Oil saturation assuming 35o API
d. Gas saturation
e. Matrix density
f. lithology
 Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS & MATERIALS .................... 5
CHAPTER 3: PROCEDURE ............................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...................................................................................... 7
References ............................................................................................................. 9
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The quantity of fluid contained in the pores, expressed as a percentage of Vp is
called fluid saturation.
Before measuring porosity and permeability, the core samples must be cleaned
of residual fluids and thoroughly dried. The cleaning process may also be a part
of fluid saturation determination.
Fluid saturation is defined as the ratio of the volume of fluid in a given core
sample to the pore volume of the sample

where Vw, Vo, Vg and Vp are water, oil, gas, and pore volumes respectively
and Sw, So and Sg are water, oil and gas saturations. Note that fluid saturation
may be reported either as a fraction of total porosity or as a fraction of effective
porosity. Since fluid in pore spaces that are not interconnected cannot be
produced from a well, the saturations are more meaningful if expressed on the
basis of effective porosity. The weight of water collected from the sample is
calculated from the volume of water by the relationship

where ρw is water density in g/cm3. The weight of oil removed from the core
may be computed as the weight of liquid less weight of water

where WL is the weight of liquids removed from the core sample in gram. Oil
volume may then be calculated as Wo/ρo. Pore volume Vp is determined by a
porosity measurement, and oil and water saturation may be calculated
CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS & MATERIALS

Working Principles of the Manual Core Saturator

A manual core saturator is used to saturate dry core samples with brine, water, oil
or other liquids. It is made up of the following:

• Vacuum/pressure control panel

• Saturation vessel (core chamber)
• Oil-free water drive reciprocating pump
• Vacuum pump
• 3 valves

The configuration allows one or more core plugs to be fully saturated up to high
pressures of about 2000 psi.

Figure 1: Manual Core Saturator (Vinci Technologies, n.d.)

 CHAPTER 3: PROCEDURE
Procedure

• Firstly, the samples are inserted into a basket constructed from wire mesh,
and then put into the saturation cell (core chamber). All three valves on the
equipment must be closed.
• The cell is then closed with a threaded plug.
• The electric pump is then turned on. It allows for aeration of the saturation
vessel. During this period, the brine contained in the chamber is evacuated
into the into the liquid trap tank.
• In this process, the cell is emptied by applying a high vacuum for some hours.
The vacuum pump is linked to the system through a liquid trap tank and a feed
tank. The configuration allows for evacuating air and deaerating liquid. The
trap tank protects the vacuum pump by collecting vapor droplets.
• This process continues over the next one hour.
• Immediately total vacuum is shown to exist, the pump is then switched off
and the tubing is then disconnected manually i.e. the pump is deaerated. This
makes the deaerated liquid in the feed tank to invade the whole system, i.e.
cell, tubing, and injection pump.
• Lastly, a manual pump is used to increase the pressure in the system to 2,000
psi. This pressure must be maintained for a minimum of four hours to
guarantee maximum core saturation. This is confirmed by a stable reading on
the manometer.
 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS
Question 1
Mud Filtrate: During drilling, fluids from the drilling fluid join the structure of the tank,
contributing to the creation of filter layer, which may impact fluid saturation
measurements. Which does, however, depend on the form of drilling fluid used. There
is an improvement in water saturation with a water-based fracking product, as the gas
filtrate will penetrate the core content and displace the oil current, contributing to
higher water saturation. Whereas in the case of an oil-based mud, if it is at irreducible
saturation, the original water saturation is unchanged, so if the water saturation is
transient, the mud filtrate may impact water saturation. So, a fair estimation of the
irreducible water concentration in a reservoir is given by the oil-based drilling fluid.
Hydrostatic Pressure (Gas Expansion)
Gas expansion is a significant aspect contributing to mistakes in fluid saturation
measurements; it contributes to variations in pressure and temperature influencing
the properties of the hydrocarbon found in the core material. The liquid hydrocarbons
produce condensed solvent gas at a reservoir pressure and temperature. When core
samples are extracted from the tank, the sample is exposed to a decrease in pressure
and temperature, this drop of pressure results in the release of gasses which are
originally dissolved in the hydrocarbon as a consequence of the expansion of the
gasses and the reduction in the amount of oil. And the pressure and temperature
results contribute to altered saturation of the substance.
The leakage of gases allows the amount of oil to decrease, resulting in changed
measures of fluid saturation contrasted with those of the reservoir. Measurements of
fluid saturation on a central sample are not a good measure of reservoir saturation.

Question 2
You are to analyze core sample containing oil, water and gas, the following
measurements were taken;
Core Dimensions
Runs Diameter (cm) Length (cm)
1 3.10 6.41
2 2.93 6.50
3 3.12 6.43
Avg 3.05 6.446
𝜋𝐷2 3.052
Total Volume = 𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒, 𝑉𝑏 = ℎ=𝜋∗ ∗ 6.446 = 47.09 𝑐𝑚3
4 4
 Initial weight of the core sample = 216.7 𝑔
The sample was evacuated, and the gas space was saturated with water
New weight 𝑊𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑤 = 219.7 𝑔
The water within the sample is removed and collected
𝑉𝑤 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 13.0 𝑐𝑚3
The oil is extracted, and the sample is dried
𝑊𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑦 = 199.5 𝑔
Calculate the following
𝑊𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑊𝑑𝑟𝑦
g. Porosity𝑉𝑝 =
𝜌𝑤
(𝑊𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑊𝑑𝑟𝑦 ) 219.7 − 199.5
𝑉𝑝 = = = 20.2 𝑐𝑚3
𝜌𝑤 1
𝑉𝑝 20.2
𝜙= = = 0.428 = 42.8 %
𝑉𝑏 47.09

𝑉𝑤 13.0
h. Water saturation𝑆𝑤 = = = 0.6435
𝑉𝑝 20.2
141.5 141.5
i. Oil saturation assuming 35o API 𝑆. 𝐺 = = = 0.849
𝐴𝑃𝐼+131.5 35+131.5

𝜌𝑜 = 𝑆. 𝐺 ∗ 𝜌𝑤 = 0.849 ∗ 1 = 0.849 𝑔/𝑐𝑐

(𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 − 𝑊𝑑𝑟𝑦 ) − 𝑉𝑤 𝜌𝑤 (216.7 − 199.5) − 13.0 ∗ 1

𝑉𝑜 = = = 4.946 𝑐𝑚3
𝜌𝑜 0.849

𝑉𝑜 4.946
𝑆𝑜 = = = 0.244
𝑉𝑝 20.2

j. Gas saturation 𝑆𝑔 = 1 − 𝑆𝑤 − 𝑆𝑜 = 1 − 0.6435 − 0.244 = 0.1125

𝜌𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑘 −𝜙𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
k. Matrix density 𝜌𝑔 =
1− 𝜙𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 199.5
l. 𝜌𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑘 = = = 4.24 g/cc
𝑉𝑏 47.04
𝜌𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑘 −𝜙𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 4.24−0.428∗1
𝜌𝑔 = = = 6.657 g/cc
1− 𝜙𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 1−0.428∗1
m. Lithology
 References
Vinci Technologies. (n.d.). Core saturation: Vinci Technologies. Retrieved
from Vinci Technologies: http://www.vinci-technologies.com/products-
explo.aspx?IDR=82293&idr2=82576&IDM=589835