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 Permeability
Definition:

Permeability is a property of the porous medium that measures the

capacity and ability of the formation to transmit fluids.

Darcy’s Law

Darcy developed a fluid flow equation that has since become one
of the standard mathematical tools of the petroleum engineer.

Assumptions:
 Horizontal flow
 linear flow
 incompressible fluid 3
 k dp
v …………….……………………………….. (1)
m dL

where;

ν = apparent fluid flowing velocity, cm/sec

k = proportionality constant, or permeability, Darcys

m = viscosity of the flowing fluid, cp

dp/dL = pressure drop per unit length, atm/cm

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The velocity, n, in the above equation is not the actual velocity of
the flowing fluid but is the apparent velocity determined by dividing
the flow rate by the cross-sectional area across which fluid is
flowing. Substituting the relationship, q/A, in place of n and solving
for q results in
kA dp …...………………………………………. (2)
q
m dL
where
q = flow rate through the porous medium, cm3/sec
A = cross-sectional area across which flow occurs, cm2
1 Darcy = 1000 md
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 Classification of Permeability
1. Absolute Permeability (k):

Permeability of a rock to a fluid when the rock is 100% saturated

with that fluid.

2. Effective Permeability (ke):

It is defined as the apparent permeability to a particular phase (oil,

gas or water) or saturation with more than one phase.

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• The amount that flow is impeded depends upon the saturation of
the fluids in the sand. The lower the saturation of a particular fluid
in the sand, the less readily that fluid flows; or, stated in another
way, the lower the saturation of particular fluid in sand, the lower is
the effective permeability to that fluid.
3. Relative Permeability (kr):
Relative permeability is another term used in reservoir calculation.
Relative permeability is the ratio of the effective permeability to a
particular phase to the normal (absolute) permeability of the sand.
• The unit of effective permeability is the Darcy while the relative
permeability is being a ratio, has no unit. 7
 Applications
 In this section, the use of Darcy’s law to establish a flow equation
is presented for various common flow systems. The main objective
is to derive an equation that enables us to compute the flow rate
through a porous medium from data on the fluid’s properties, the
medium’s properties and geometry, and the pressure drop across
the medium. We shall begin with simple flow systems and then
move on to more complex ones.

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1. Linear flow
a) Horizontal, steady-state flow of an incompressible fluid.
Assume that an incompressible fluid – a fluid whose density does not
vary with pressure is flowing through a rectangular porous medium,
which is perfectly horizontal.

We shall adopt a Cartesian coordinate system

for this problem where the x-direction is along
the length of the medium. Since the entire cross-
sectional area of the medium is open for flow,
the flow is linear and only in the x-direction.
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The flow potential gradient becomes

Φ Φ dΦ .............................………………… (3)
 
S X dX

Note that the partial derivative was replaced by the total derivative
since the flow potential varies only in the x-direction. Expanding
the derivative gives.

dΦ

d
P  ρ g d   dP  ρ g dd ……………………….……. (4)
dX dX dX dX

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As both ρ and g are constant with x, they are taken out of the
differential in Eq. 4. Since the medium is horizontal, depth does not
change with x, and the second term in Eq. 4 reduces to zero. The flow
potential gradient then becomes equal to the pressure gradient of the
fluid:
dΦ dP
 ………………………………….. (5)
dX dX
and Darcy’s law becomes
kA dp ....………………………………. (6)
q
m dX
Separating the variables in Eq. 6 and rearranging
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 qμ
dX   dP …..….....……………………………………. (7)
kA

Setting the integration limits at the two boundary conditions: P = P1

at x = 0 and P = P2 at x = L gives

L P2
qμ
0 kAdX   P dP ……………...…………………………….. (8)
1

All the variables in the LHS integral are constant with x; therefore,
they can be removed outside the integral. Upon integration, Eq. 8
becomes 12
 L   P2  P1 
qμ
………………………………...………... (9)
kA

and after rearrangement

kA P1  P2 
q ….……………………………………. (10)
μ L
where
q = flow rate through the porous medium, cm3/sec
A = cross-sectional area across which flow occurs, cm2
k = proportionality constant, or permeability, Darcys
m = viscosity of the flowing fluid, cp
(P1 – P2) = pressure drop, atm
L = length, cm
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In field units, the conversion factor of 1.127 is multiplied by the
right-hand side of the equation.
kA P1  P2  ...………...........…………….. (11)
q  1.127 
μ L
where

q = flow rate through the porous medium, bbl/day

A = cross-sectional area across which flow occurs, ft2

k = proportionality constant, or permeability, Darcys

m = viscosity of the flowing fluid, cp

(P1 – P2) = pressure drop, psi

L = length, ft 14
Example 2

Compute the steady-state flow of water in a core sample 4” long, 1”

in diameter with permeability of 150 md if the inlet pressure is 50
psia and the outlet pressure is atmospheric. The viscosity of water at
the conditions of the test is 0.95 cp.

The cross-sectional area of the sample is

πD 2 π 12
A   0.785in 2  5.45 10 3 ft 2
4 4

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Substituting in Eq. 11 with other variables

kA P1  P2 
q  1.127 
μ L
(150/1000)  5.45 10 3 50  14.7 
 1.127   0.103 bbl/d
0.95 (4/12)

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 Horizontal, steady-state flow of a slightly compressible fluid

This case is identical to the one presented in part (a) above except
that the fluid’s density, and consequently its viscosity, are weak
functions of pressure. The conditions of the problem will lead us
again to Eq. 8.

L P2
qμ
0 kAdX   P dP ……………………….………………… (12)
1

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Since pressure decreases from inlet to outlet, the fluid undergoes
continuous expansion as it flows through the porous medium. This
makes q vary with x and, hence, cannot be taken outside the integral.
We can go around this obstacle by replacing the volumetric flow rate
with the mass flow rate according to

  ρ q ……………...…………...………………………. (13)
m

Therefore,
L P
m 2
ρ ……………………………..……………. (14)
0 kA dX   P μ dP
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All the variables in the LHS integral are now constant with x and,
therefore, can be removed outside the integral. Since both density
and viscosity vary slightly with pressure, we can approximate them
by their mean values, and , which are computed at the mean
pressure of the system: P = (P1 + P2)/2. Performing the integration in
Eq. 14 yield

kA P1  P2 …………..…………………………… (15)
 
m ρ
μ L

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Equation 15 can be used to compute q at any location in the medium
by the following steps:

1. Compute the pressure at the desired location. This is obtained

from the linear pressure gradient.

2. Compute the fluid density at the computed pressure.

3. Compute the flow rate from q = ṁ/ ρ

We should note that while and all other parameters in Eq. 15 are
constant, q varies with location. For such systems, the flow rate is
commonly reported in two ways: ṁ

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1. The mean flow rate:
kA P1  P2
q …………………......................…………….. (16)
m L
kA P1  P2
q  1.127 
m L

which is the flow rate based on the mean density.

2. The base flow rate:
kA ρ P1  P2
qo  ...………………….…………………… (17)
μ ρo L

kA ρ P1  P2
q o  1.127 
μ ρo L

where the subscript (º) refers to some base pressure, Po, adopted for
the system. 21
Example 3

Rework the example 2, but for a fluid whose density varies with
pressure according to:

ρ = 0.86 e P / 2500

where P is in psia and ρ is in g/cm3. Compute the mean flow rate and
the base flow rate (at Po= 14.7 psia). Assume a mean viscosity of 0.6
cp.

The mean pressure is:

P  (50  14.7)/2  32.35 psia

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The mean density is then

  0.86 e 32.35/ 2500  0.871 g/cm 3

and the base density is

o  0.86 e14.7 / 2500  0.865 g/cm 3

Equation 16 yields

q  1.127 
kA P1  P2
 1.127 
150/1000  5.45 103 50  14.7
 0.163 bbl/d
μ L 0.6 4/12 

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Equation 17 yields

kA ρ P1  P2
q o  1.127 
μ ρo L

 1.127 
150/1000  5.45 103 0.871 50  14.7
   0.164bbl/d
0.6 0.865 4/12 

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c) Horizontal, steady-state flow of an ideal gas

This case is identical to the one presented in part (b) above except that
gases are compressible, and their properties, especially density, vary
appreciably with pressure. The conditions of the problem will lead us
straight to Eq. 14 L P
m 2
ρ
0 kA dX   P μ dP
1

For ideal gases, the ideal gas law provides a precise relationship
between density and pressure:
PM
ρ
RT
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where M is the molecular mass of the gas, R is the universal gas
constant and T is the absolute temperature of the gas. Substituting for
ρ in the RHS integral of Eq.14 yields
L P
m 2
M
0 kA dX   P RTμ PdP .......................………………………….. (18)
1

Assuming a mean viscosity and performing the integration in Eq. 18

yields

 L
m


M P12  P22  …..................……………..……………. (19)
kA RTμ 2

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Substituting (P1 + P2)(P1 – P2) for (P12 – P22) in Eq. 19 yields

 L
m M P1  P2 P1  P2 
 .................………………………. (20)
kA RTμ 2

PM
Substituting P for (P1 + P2)/2 and noting that ρ  ; Eq. 20
RT
becomes

 L 
 P1  P2  …….....………………...………………. (21)
m
kA μ

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Substituting q for ṁ/ ρ and rearranging, we obtain the desired flow
equation

kA P1  P2 
q .......…………………………………………. (22)
μ L

kA P1  P2 
q  1.127 
μ L

which is exactly the same as Eq. 16 for the slightly compressible

fluid. We can also use Eq. 17 for the base flow rate case.

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Example 4

Rework Example 2 but for an ideal gas whose molecular mass is 18.
The system is at 150 ºF and the average gas viscosity is 0.015 cp.
Compute the mean flow rate and the base flow rate at base conditions
of Po= 15 psia and To= 60 ºF.

Equation 22 yields

kA P1  P2  50/1000  5.45 103 50  14.7

q  1.127   1.127   6.50bbl/d
μ L 0.015 4/12 

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At a mean pressure of P = 32.35 psia, the mean density is
PM 32.35 18
ρ   0.0890 lb/ft 3
RT 10.73150  460

Note that in the field system of units R = 10.73 (psia. ft3)/(lbmole oR).
Similarly, the base density is

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 Po M 15 18
o    0.0484 lb/ft 3
RTo 10.7360  460

The base flow rate is then computed:

kA ρ P1  P2
q o  1.127 
μ ρo L

q o  1.127 
150/1000  5.45 103 0.0890 50  14.7
 11.96 bbl/d
0.015 0.0484 4/12 

Note that by multiplying each flow rate by its corresponding density

the same mass flow rate of 3.25 lb/d would be obtained.

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Note:

Gas flow rate is not usually reported in bbl/day, rather the unit of
ft3/d is used. And since rate depends on the flow conditions, gas flow
rate is normally expressed at the standard conditions of 14.7 psia and
60 ºF. Thus, the unit SCF means one cubic foot of gas measured at
the standard conditions, and SCF/D means one SCF per day. The
prefix M indicates thousands and MM indicates millions.

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