Reserves Estimation

Day 4 – Material Balance

 Material Balance Estimation
• Material balance analysis is an interpretation method used to
determine original fluids-in-place (OFIP) based on production
and static pressure data.
• The general material balance equation relates the original oil,
gas, and water in the reservoir to production volumes and
current pressure conditions / fluid properties.
• The material balance equations considered assume tank-type
behavior at any given datum depth — the reservoir is
considered to have the same pressure and fluid properties at
any location in the reservoir. This assumption is quite
reasonable provided that quality production and static
pressure measurements are obtained.
• Consider the case of the depletion of the reservoir shown
below. At a given time after the production of fluids from the
reservoir has commenced, the pressure drops from its initial
reservoir pressure p i , to some average reservoir pressure, p.
• Using the law of mass balance, during the pressure drop (Dp),
the expansion of the fluids left over in the reservoir must be
equal to the volume of fluids produced from the reservoir.
General Material Balance Relations
• The general form of the equation can be described as;

• where,
• N = initial oil in place (STB)
• m =ratio of volume of gas cap to volume of oil zone
• Np = cumulative oil production (STB)
• Rp = cumulative produced gas oil ratio
• Rs = solution gas oil ratio
• We= cumulative water influx from the aquifer into the reservoir (STB)
• Wp = cumulative amount of aquifer water produced (stb)
• Bo = oil formation volume factor rb/stb
• Bw = water formation volume factor rb/stb
• Cw = connate water isothermal compressibility in 1/psi
• dp represents change in pressure ( in psi)
Gas Material Balance Relations
• When plotted on a graph of p/Z versus cumulative production, the equation
can be analyzed as a linear relationship.

• Several measurements of static pressure and the corresponding cumulative

productions can be used to determine the x-intercept of the plot - the
original gas-in-place (OGIP), shown as G in the equation

• King (1993) introduced p/Z* to replace p/Z. By modifying Z, parameters to

incorporate the effects of adsorbed gas were incorporated, so the total gas-
in-place is interpreted, rather than just the free gas-in-place; and a straight
line analysis technique is still used. This concept has been extended to
additional reservoir types with Fekete's p/Z** method (Moghadam et al.
2009).
• The reservoir types considered in the advanced material balance equation
are: overpressured reservoirs, water-drive reservoirs, and connected
reservoirs. The total Z** equation is shown below with the modified material
balance equation
Oil Material Balance Relations

• Black Oil Material Balance (p>pb)

• "Solution Gas Drive" (Oil) Material Balance: (all p )

PRMS Framework
Classification
• Petroleum discovery differentiates between Contingent Resources and Prospective Resources. A discovery is one petroleum accumulation, or several petroleum
accumulations collectively, for which one or several exploratory wells have established through testing, sampling, and/or log ging the existence of a significant
quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons.

• Discovered (or known) accumulations are classified as Contingent Resources or Reserves, while yet-to-be-discovered accumulations are classified as Prospective
Resources.

• Commerciality differentiates between Contingent Resources and Reserves. Quantities of known accumulations can be evaluated as Reserves, only if they are
commercial on both technical and economical point of view at a given date. The term “Commercial” indicates recoverable by application of development projects
to known accumulations from a given date forward under defined conditions.

• Resources are classified based on range of uncertainty for available information at a given date and project maturity according to increasing chance of
commerciality

• All reserve estimates involve uncertainty, depending on the amount of reliable geologic and engineering data available and the i nterpretation of those data. The
relative degree of uncertainty can be expressed by dividing reserves into two principal classifications -"Proven" (or "proved") and "Unproven" (or "unproved").

• Unproven reserves can further be divided into two subcategories-"Probable" and "Possible“ to indicate the relative degree of uncertainty about their existence.
Figure : Petroleum Resource Classification Scheme (SPE/WPC/AAPG, 2000)