T, ~.

J, 2027

Calculation of Relative Permeability from

Displacement Experiments
E. F. JOHNSON
D. P. BOSSLER
JERSEY PRODUCTION RESEARCH CO.
JUNIOR MEMBER AIME
TULSA, OKLA.
V. O. NAUMANN
MEMBER AIME

ABSTRACT DERIVATION
A method is presented for calculating individual gas Previously the theory of Buckley and Leverett as
and oil or water and oil relative permeabilities from extended by Welge2 has been used to calculate the ratio
data obtained during a gas drive or a waterflood experi- of relative permeabilities. In the derivation which fol-
ment performed on a linear porout'> body. The method lows, this theory is further extended to permit calcula-
has been tested and found both rapid and reliable for tion of the individual relative permeabilities.
normal-sized core samples. The theory assumes two conditions which must be
achieved before the method is applicable. They are that
INTRODUCTION the flow velocity be high enough to achieve what has
been termed stabilized displacement; and that the flow
Individual oil and gas or oil and water relRtive per- velocity is constant at all cross sections of the linear
meabilities are required for a number of reservoir engi- porous body. In stabilized displacement the flowing
neering applications. Chief among these is the evalua- pressure gradient is high compared with the capillary
tion of oil displacement under conditions where gravi- pressure difference between the flowing phases. The
tational effects are significant, such as a water drive or high pressure drop insures that the portion of the core
crestal gas injection in a steeply dipping oil reservoir. in which capillary effects predominate will be com-
Numerous proposed methods of obtaining relative pressed to a negligibly small fraction of the total pore
permeability data on reservoir core samples have been space. The assumption of constant flow velocity at all
too tedious and time consuming for practical use, or
have yielded questionable and sometimes inconsistent 100
results. \
\ /j. • INDEPENDENTLY DETERMINED
A method has been developed by which the indi- \
o• FROM FLOOD AT 1"0 = I
\
vidual relative permeability curves can be calculated 80
\ I"w
from data collected during a displacement test. The ~ \ c • FROM FLOOD AT : : = 5
\
method is based on sound theoretical considerations. ,...
~ \ V, FROM FLOOD AT : : = 37
Using this method, with a properly designed experi-
mental procedure, relative permeability curves can be
::i
CD
« 60
w
~
obtained using core samples of ·normal size (i.e., 2 to ::E
a:
w
3 in. in length and 1 to 2 in. in diameter) within a !l.

few days after receipt of the core. W

> 40
In a recent pUblication D. A. Efros ' describes an ;::
«
approach to the calculation of individual relative per- ..J
w
a:
meabilities that is based on the same theoretical con-
siderations. We believe the approach described in the
20
present paper is more adaptable to practical application
than the method implied by Efros. In addition, compari-
sons with independently determined relative permeabili-
ties are furnished to substantiate the reliability of the °0L---~~~------L-----~~~~~809-~--~100
new method.
WATER SATURATION-% PORE VOLUME

FIG. l-WATER-OIL RELATIVE PERMEABILITIES FROM WATER-

Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers
office Dec. 20, 1957. Revised manuscript received Dec. 10, 1958. FLOOD SUSCEPTIBILITY TEST DATA. DRI-FILMED GLASS SPHERES,
lReferences given at end of paper. LINEAR CELL PERMEABILITY = ll.S DARCIES.

SPE 1023-0
370 PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AI ME
cross sections requires that the phases behave as immis- A more usable form for Eq. 8 obtained by making
cible incompressible fluids. When one of the phases is use of the fact that 1'% is equal to the reciprocal of the
gas, essentially incompressible behavior can be ob- cumulative volume injection, is
tained by maintaining a pressure level high enough
that the expansion of the gas accompanying the pres- d(_l)
WJr 10
sure drop across the system can be neglected. (Sa)
Some of the relations presented previously by Welge d (~) = k ro '
are needed for the calculation of individual relative
permeabilities. These are given as follows. The cited relationships provide the means for cal~
culating individual relative permeabilities. Specifically,
1 1 for any instant in the displacement, i.e., for any value
W, = f= dl/dS' (1)
of cumulative injection Wi' the derivative in Eq. 8a can
I f k,w/k, be evaluated from data collected during the experiment.
(2) For a given value of W, the fraction of oil in the
1 - 1= 10 = k,o/kw
dS av effluent, 10) can be evaluated separately by Eq. 3. The
(I,), = dW (3) k,., which is then obtained by dividing 10 by the deriva-
i
tive from the left-hand side of Eq. 8a, is the relative
Say = S, + Wi(fo)' (4) permeability to oil at the outlet face saturation, S,. The
IoU = _ Kkr, '8p . S, for the W, under consideration is obtained by rear-
(5)
,/ko '8x ranging Eq. 4:
box = vbot I' (6) S, = Say - W,(lo), . (4a)
Consider now a particular instant during a displace- The expression for the relative permeability of the
ment experiment. The pressure drop across the system displacing phase at S, is obtained by solving Eq. 2
of length L may be expressed as the integral for k r ",.

D.p = - n:
L

o
dx . (7)
(9)

Substituting for '8p/'8x from Eq. 5, EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION

u
A
p
- U/ko
- -
K
f
L

-I, d x
k" .
(7a)
OF THE METHOD
In one application of the new method water and oil
relative permeabilities were calculated from flooding
o
At a given instant in the displacement, according data obtained on a glass-bead packing. Three floods
to Eq. 6, the various saturations have moved distances were run on the glass-bead system at oil-water vis-
along the length of the core given by cosity ratios of 1: 1, 5: 1 and 37: 1. Because flooding
behavior is dependent on viscosity ratio the calculated
xl' relative permeability curves cover a different range in
LI'2 = . (6a)
saturation for each of the floods. The results of these
Substitution of Eq. 6a into Eq. 7a gives calculations are presented in Fig. 1. It can be seen that
1', the three segments of the relative permeability curves
f~
k ro
dl' = bopKI'2 = 1'2 u,/bop,
u,/koL u/bop
= I', .
lr
(7b) are in close agreement. This indicates that the new cal-
o .. MEASURED IN RELATIVE PERMEABILITY TEST
• CALCULATED FROM WATERFLOOD DATA (LONG CORE)
The symbol lr is taken from Rapoport'. He describes • CALCULATED FROM WATERFLOOD DATA (SHORT CORE)
l,. in terms of the intake capacity, u/D.p, as follows. MEASURED BEFORE OR AFTER WATERFLOOD

100
"The symboll" designated as relative injectivity, is a
dimensionless function of cumulative injection, describ-
ing the manner in which the intake capacity varies with
cumulative injection. From a physical viewpoint, the
relative injectivity may be defined as the ratio of the
80 \
intake capacity at any given flood stage to the intake
capacity of the system at the very initiation of the
flood (at which moment practically only oil is flowing
through the system). This latter definition permits the
~ 60
::::;
a;
\
determination of the relative injectivity function for a
given type of reservoir rock from the measurements of
flow rate and pressure drop taken at successive stages
<I
W
::!!
a:
w
Q. 40
I\{
\
w
of a waterflood susceptibility test." >
;::
<I
Practical applications of the derivation just outlined ...J
W
a:
can now be obtained by treating the relationship Eq. 20

~.
7b as an equation in terms of the variable, 1'2' Differ-
entiating Eq. 7b with respect to /", and noting that
ordinary rather than partial differentiation can be used krw]
since f is the only independent variable at the moment 00 20 40 60 80 100
considered, yields WATER SATURATION - % OF PORE VOLUME

d(j',/lr) FIG. 2-WATER-OIL RELATIVE PERMEABILITY DATA. WEILER

(8) SANDSTONE CORE, PERMEABILITY = 165 MD; CONNATE WATER
dl', k,·o . = 28.8 PER CENT OF PORE VOLUME.

VOL. 216. 1959 371

 ... MEASURED IN RELATIVE PERMEAS,LlTY TEST
culation procedure is valid and can be relied upon to • CALCULATED FROM; GASFLOOO DATA (LONG CORE)
give dependable oil and water relative permeability • CALCULATED FROM GASFLOOD DATA (SHORT CORE)
• MEASURED BEFORE OR AFTER GAS FLOOD
curves if accurate test data are available.
Evidence attesting more directly to the reliability of the 100,------,-------,-------r------,-------t
new method has been obtained by comparing relative
permeabilities calculated from data taken during displace-
ment tests with relative permeabilities measured directly
during steady-state tests. For the steady-state tests long 80
cores, about 12 in., were used to improve the accuracy
~
of the saturation determination and to minimize end ef-
fects. Displacement tests were carried out on these long >-
1-
cores as welI as on short, 2 to 3 in., core samples. Both ::i 60
iii
gas-oil and oil-water relative permeability curves for «
w
:;
several different types of porous material were obtained n:
w
by the two different methods. In alI cases there is ex- "-
w 40
celIent agreement. In practice, the new calculative 2:
1-
method has proven faster and simpler than other «
...J
methods for obtaining relative permeability data. Fur- w
0:
thermore, relative permeability values can be calcu- 20
lated from displacement data obtained on short cores
such as are usualIy employed in routine core analysis
tests.
A sample of the data obtained during this investi-
gation is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Calculated and meas- TOTAL LIQUID SATURATION-% OF PORE VOLUME
ured relative permeabilities for one of the porous mate- FIG. 3-GAS-OIL RELATIVE PERMEABILITY DATA. WEILER SAND-
rials used, Weiler sandstone, are shown. The agreement STONE CORE, PERMEABILITY = 165 MD; CONNATE WATER =
is apparent. 28.8 PER CENT OF PORE VOLUME.

CONCLUSIONS
The present work may be summarized by the fol-
lowing conclusions.
1. A theoreticalIy sound method has been developed
for calculating gas-oil or water-oil relative permeabiIi-
ties from gas flood or waterflood data.
2. A comprehensive test of the method has been
made, and it has been found to yield reliable results
which are in agreement with direct measurements of
relative permeabilities obtained in steady-state flow tests.
3. The method is far less time consuming than other
reliable methods for obtaining relative permeability
data.
4. Reliable relative permeability values can be cal-
culated from data obtained in displacement tests on
short core samples such as are usualIy available for
routine analysis.
5. Because of conclusions just cited, the method
developed in this article offers a fast, yet reliable, means
for obtaining individual relative permeabilities from
displacement data obtained on normal-sized reservoir
core samples.
NOM E N C L A T U R E*
/ = fraction of displacing phase in flowing stream
/0 = fraction of displaced phase in flowing stream
f' = dfidS
Ir = ul/::,.p -+- (ul/::,.p at start of injection)
K = total permeability (permeability to oil at
initial conditions)
kr = relative permeability, fraction of K
"See AIME Symbols in Trans. AIME (1956) 207, 363,
other symbol definitions.
W, = cumulative injection in pore volumes
u = average velocity of approach toward enter-
ing sand face = qlA
v = average velocity inside pores = u -+- (frac-
tional porosity)
x = position
SUBSCRIPTS
av = average
w = pertaining to water (or other displacing
phase)
o = pertaining to oil (displaced phase)
s = start of displacement
2 = pertaining to outlet face of porous body
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The assistance of H. J. Welge, L. A. Rapoport and
J. R. Kyte in the preparation of this paper is gratefulIy
acknowledged. C. W. Carpenter was kind enough to
furnish the experimental data from which the relative
permeabilities in Fig. 1 were calculated. The authors
wish to thank the Jersey Production Research Co. for
permission to publish this paper.
REFERENCES
1. Efros, D. A.: "Determination of Relative Permeability and
Distribution Factors in the Displacement of Petroleum by
Water", Doklady Akad. Nauk (Nov. II, 1956) no, No.5,
746.
2. Welge, H. J.: "Simplified Method for Computing Oil Re-
covery by Gas or Water Drive", Trans. AIME (1952) 195,
91.
3. Rapoport, 1. A. and Leas, W. J.: "Properties of Linear
Waterfloods", Trans. AI ME (1953) 198, 139.
for
4. Rapoport, 1. A.: private communication.
***

372 PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS, AIM1i: