COVENANT UNIVERSITY, CANAANLAND, OTA.

PET 527 - PETROLEUM ENGINEERING LABORTORY II

EXPERIMENT 5: PERMEABILITY DETERMINATION

USING THE PERL-200 PERMEAMETER

BY

ADEYEMI M. OLUWAFISAYO
15CN03211

DATE SUBMITTED: OCT-8-2020

 ABSTRACT

In this experiment, the PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter is used to measure the

difference in pressure and rate at which water is flowing through a brine saturated
core plug sample of certain dimension.

Using Darcy’s Law, the permeability is calculated. The values are recorded and
investigated by relating them to typical permeability values of laboratory core plugs.

Permeability is a rock property that quantifies the ease with which fluids can flow in
a reservoir. It measures the ability of the rock to transmit fluids the property that
measures the rocks capacity to transmit fluids. A reservoir can be highly porous but
possess a low permeability value. The permeability of a rock is dependent on the
degree of interconnectivity between the pore spaces. Permeability is mostly used to
obtain the flow properties of hydrocarbons in reservoirs.

For this experiment, a Core Lab PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter is employed to

measure the permeability to liquid of a core plug with a diameter dimension of
2.6 cm. The permeameter is to be used with only water or brine and assumes an
incompressible, single phase fluid, and interactions between the rock and fluid
for accurate measurement. In the experiment, the permeability was measured to
be 144 mD.
PET 527 –Permeability Determination Assignment

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Permeability (K) is the measure of the ability of a rock to transmit fluids. The rock contains

pore spaces that are saturated with either oil, gas, or water. A reservoir can be highly porous

but possess a low permeability value. The permeability of a rock is dependent on the degree of

interconnectivity between the pore spaces.

Classification of Permeability.

1. Absolute Permeability – Permeability of a rock assuming a single fluid is present i.e

100% saturation.

2. Effective Permeability – Permeability of a rock to a specific fluid in the presence of

another fluid.

3. Relative Permeability – This is the ratio of the effective permeability to the absolute

permeability.

A manually operated Core Lab PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter was used to carry out this

experiment. It measured the permeability to liquid of core plugs with a diameter of 2.5 cm.

The equipment operates under the following assumptions:

1. Single phase fluid

2. Incompressible fluid

3. No interactions between the rock and the fluid

 CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS & PROCEDURE

This chapter discusses the apparatus and equipment used to carry out the experiment also, the

procedure, maintenance of equipment and precautions observed in performing this experiment

are discussed.

2.1 EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS & MATERIALS

Equipment and apparatus used for the experiment include the following:

• Core Lab PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter.

• Beaker

• Vernier caliper. The material utilized for this experiment is a

• Core plug

• Brine

• Gas cylinder

• Stopwatch

2.1.1 Core Lab PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter

This is used for measuring the permeability to liquid of a core plug of approximately one-inch

diameter. This equipment works with only brine and water .

Figure 2.1: The Fancher Holder & Core Lab PERL-200 Liquid Permeameter
2.1.2 Vernier Caliper

This is a measuring instrument used to directly read the dimension of the core plug.

Figure 2.2: Vernier Caliper

2.1.3 Beaker

A glass object used to hold fluids and chemicals in a laboratory. They are cylindrical in shape

with a flat bottom.

Figure 2.3: Beaker

2.1.4 Core Plug

Core plugs are samples taken from conventional core for investigation.
 Figure 2.4: A Core Plug

2.1.5 Stopwatch

This is used to record how long it takes for the brine meniscus to move from the upper

calibration mark to the lower calibration mark of the measuring tube.

Fig 2.5: Stopwatch

 CHAPTER 3 - EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

a) I totally saturated the test sample with the test brine before loading it into the Fancher

holder.

b) Then, I used brine to fill the Liquid Permeameter by;

- closing valve 4 (V4) and then pouring brine into the reservoir

- turning valve 2 (V2) to VENT and valve 3 (V3) to FILL

- opening valve 4 (V4) to allow the measurement tube to gravity-fill with brine and

stopped the flow as the brine reached the top of the measurement tube.

c) I then saturated the core plug with brine in the Fancher holder..

d) After that, I linked the regulated air supply to the instrument and set the supply regulator

to 25.56psig.

e) Next, I placed a brine bowl under the tubing from the core holder outlet.

f) After that, I turned valve 2 (V2) to the FLOW position and enabled the UPSTREAM

PRESSURE display to stabilize.

g) Next, I turned valve 3 (V3) to the FLOW position and initiated my timer when the

brine level reached the upper calibration mark indicating the upper meniscus of the

measurement tube and turned valve 3 (V3) to the FILL position to prevent flow when

the brine level reached the lower calibration mark indicating the lower meniscus of the

measurement tube and stopped the timer.

h) After that, I took note of the time needed for10 cm3 of brine to pass through the sample

and also recorded the UPSTREAM PRESSURE during flow.

i) Then, I calculated the permeability to liquid for the core sample.

j) Finally, I unloaded the test sample.

 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

Considering the parameters given,

Sample Diameter = 2.6 cm
Core Plug length = 2.5 cm
Liquid Viscosity = 0.86 cp
Flow volume = 10 cm3
Time taken to flow 10cm3 of the fluid (T = 4Mins or 240 secs)

1. To evaluate differential pressure → ∆P

∆P = Initial Pressure – Final Pressure

Initial Pressure = 25.11psig

Final Pressure = 23.86 psig

∆P = (25.11) - (23.86) = 1.25 psig

2. Calculating Cross-sectional Area of Flow, A

𝜋𝐷²
A=
4
𝜋∗2.6²
A= = 5.309 cm²
4

3. To calculate the liquid permeability, K

Using Effluent Volume = 7.4 cm3

𝑉𝜇𝐿
k = 14,500
𝐴𝑇∆𝑃
7.4∗0.86 ∗2.5
k = (14,500) ( ) =144.85 mD
5.309∗240∗1.25