CHAPTER 6

CAPILLARY PRESSURE
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Capillary Pressure Measurements
• Restored state cell (porous plate)
• Centrifugal
• Mercury injection
• Vapor Desorption
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Capillary Pressure Measurements
TYPICALLY RUN ON PLUG SAMPLES
• Complete curve - most often performed
• Multi-point data
• Drainage and imbibition curves can be measured
• Three phase tests to simulate gas cap expansion
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Restored State Cell Capillary
Pressure
SYSTEMS AVAILABLE
• Air-brine (Gas-Water)
• Air-oil (Gas-Oil)
• Oil-brine (Oil-Water)
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Restored State Cell Capillary
Pressure
CONSIDERATIONS
• Time constraint due to each pressure point requiring
several days for equilibrium; typically, 6-8 points are
taken per sample.
• Test sample must cover rock, permeability, and
porosity types.
• Electrical properties can be run in conjunction.
• Typically, the threshold pressure used is 35 psi; high
pressure plates allow pressures to reach 200 psi.
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TYPES OF POROUS PLATE
• SLEEVED POROUS PLATE
• UNSLEEVED POROUS PLATE
N2
Figure 6-11
POROUS
CERAMIC
PLATE
WATER
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 Porous Plate Method
Figure 6-12
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Porous Plate Method
Advantages Disadvantages
• Best Representative water • Slow, needs more time for
saturation in core samples tight samples
• Grain loss if un-sleeved
• Suitable for unconsolidated
cores
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Centrifugal Capillary Pressure
SYSTEMS AVAILABLE
• Air-brine
• Air-oil
• Oil-brine
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Centrifugal Capillary Pressure
CONSIDERATIONS
• Typically 6-8 data points are taken.
• The centrifuge must remain in motion with the RPM held
constant until no more fluid is expelled.
• Fluid out is read with a stroboscope or camera system.
• Multiple cores with similar permeability can be run
simultaneously.
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Centrifugal Capillary Pressure
• Low speed or high speed centrifuges are
available depending on the pressures that must
be represented.
• Test is not valid for heterogeneous core (i.e.,
vuggy carbonates).
• Unconsolidated sleeved (plug) core samples are
best tested with this technique. Pressures that
induce sleeve failure must be avoided.
• Saturation determination is volumetrically based.
1
0
Centrifuge Method
OIL DRIVE
Figure 6-13 1
BRINE DRIVE 1
Calculation of capillary
pressure curve
Figure 6-14
OIL OR GAS-DRIVE
1
2
Centrifuge Data Reduction
Differential and Combined Differential-Integral Methods
• Hassler-Brunner
• Revised Hoffman
• Bentsen-Anli
• Power Law
• Forbes
• Ruth and Wong
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3
CAPILLARY PRESSURE BY
CENTRIFUGE
HASSLER-BRUNNER ASSUMPTION:
BOUNDRY EFFECT:
The production Face Of The Core Remains100% Saturated
With The Wetting Phase At All The Centrifugal Speeds Of The
Test
PC at the production face is equal to zero during the test
1
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CAPILLARY PRESSURE BY
CENTRIFUGE
OIL DRIVE + Ve Pc : Pc = 1/2 (ρw - ρo) ω2 (r22-r12)
WATER DRIVE -Ve PC: Pc = 1/2 (ρw - ρo) ω2 (r12-r22)
WATER SATURATION
Sw , rs = S + dS
2
dPc , r 2
Centrifuge Method
Advantages
• Fast and accurate
• Can be run with reservoir oil
and water
• USBM Wettability can be
determined
Disadvantages
• Could be destructive for
fragile rock
• Uneven distribution of
force along the sample
• Uneven distribution of
fluids along the sample
1
6
 Centrifuge Capillary Pressure Data
Figure 6-15
Mercury Injection Capillary
Pressure
CONSIDERATIONS
• Traditional equipment-maximum pressure 2000 psi.
Current equipment allows reliable data to 60,000 psi.
• Irregularly shaped samples may be tested.
• Technique is rapid.
• Multipoint curve (up to 200 points).
• Test yields erroneously low water saturations in shaly
sands.
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Mercury Injection Capillary
Pressure
• Vuggy samples require special precautions.
• Core samples cannot be used for further testing.
• Not a true wetting/non-wetting condition.
• Air-mercury data conversion to other systems may
vary with lithology.
(Air-Hg) Pc /5.1 = Air-Brine Pc (Theoretical)
Limestone factor reported = 6.4
Sandstone factor reported = 7.2
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9
Mercury Injection Capillary
Pressure
Figure 6-16
Mercury Injection Method
Advantages Disadvantages
• Fast • Not true wetting phase
• Irregular and very small • Destructive test
samples can be used
2
1
 Relationship of Pore Throat-Pore
Size Distribution and Capillary
Pressure
2 s cos q Pore Space Controlled by
r= Small Pore Throat Radii
Pc
Mercury Enters the
Largest Pores First Surface Vugs
2
2
Conversion of Air-Mercury (A-Hg)
Capillary Pressure Data
Pc A-Hg = (s cos Q) A-Hg
Pc A-B (s cos Q) A-B
Pc A-B = PcA-Hg(s cos Q)A-B
(s cos Q)A-Hg
PcA-B = PcA-Hg 72
367
PcA-B = PcA-Hg
5.1
2
3
Vapor Desorption Method
CONSIDERATIONS
• Low quality reservoirs
• Ultra low water saturation
• Abnormally high capillary pressures (1,000-10,000 psi)
• Supplement to conventional methods
• Gravimetric saturation measurement
• Long equilibration times.
• Multipoint curve
2
4
Vapor Desorption Method
Pc = ln(pv1/pv2)(RT/Vm)
ln(RH/100)RT
Pc =
Vm
Where:
Pc = capillary pressure, psi
Pv1 = partial vapor pressure for brine within the pores
pv2 = partial vapor pressure for equilibrating salt solution
R = Universal gas constant, J/Mol K
T = absolute temperature, degrees Kelvin
Vm = molar volume of water
RH = relative humidity of the water vapor
2
5
Vapor Desorption Method
• Neesham et al. SPE 84596 2
6
Vapor Desorption Method
Advantages Disadvantages
• Simple
• Periodic weighing to
• Suitable for low quality determine saturations
reservoirs
• Long Equilibration times
2
7
 Interfacial Tension and
Contact Angle Constants
Contact Cosine Interfacial
System Angle Q Contact Q Tension s s Cosine Q
Laboratory
Air-water 0 1.0 72 72
Oil-water 30 0.866 48 42
Air-mercury 140 0.765 480 367
Air-oil 0 1.0 24 24
Reservoir
Water-oil 30 0.866 30 26
Water-gas 0 1.0 50* 50
* Pressure and temperature dependent. Reasonable value to depth
of 5000 feet. 2
8
 Conversion of Capillary
Pressure to Equivalent Height
Where:
P CL s Cos q
= L
……….. 7 h = height in Feet Above Free Water –
PC R s Cos q R Corresponding to Zero Capillary
Pressure
s Cos q PCR = Capillary pressure at Initial Reservoir
PC R = PC L R ……….. 8 conditions
s Cos q L PCL = Capillary Pressure in Laboratory
(sCos q)R = Interfacial Tension x Cosine of
Contact Angle (IRC)
s Cos q
PC L R
(sCos q)L = Interfacial Tension x Cosine of
P CR s Cos q ……….. 9 Contact Angle (Lab)
h= = L
rw rh rw rh rw = Water Gradient psi/ft
rh = Hydrocarbon Gradient psi/ft
s = Interfacial Tension, dynes/cm
2
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Factors Necessary to Convert
Pc to Height
• Differences in laboratory and reservoir interfacial
tension and contact angle must be taken into
consideration.
• Data from different testing procedures (i.e., restored
state, centrifugal, Hg) must be normalized.
• Laboratory capillary pressure must be converted to
reservoir capillary pressure.
• Water and hydrocarbon gradients must correspond to
reservoir values at initial reservoir temperature and
pressure.
3
0
 Capillary Pressure to Define Initial
Reservoir Fluid Distribution
Factors Controlling Saturation Magnitude – Pc
• Pore geometry
• Rock wettability
• Interfacial tension
• Saturation history
• Difference in fluid densities
A relationship exists between water saturation, height, and
capillary pressure which allows laboratory derived data to be
used to express reservoir water saturation as a function of
height above the free water level. 3
1
Rock Properties Which Affect
Fluid Saturations
• Composition
• Grain size
• Grain shape
• Packing
• Sorting
• Cementation
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2
 Capillary Pressure Curves
Miocene Sand
Capillary Pressure Height Above
Air - Water 3650 mD 105 mD Free Water Level
28.4% 26.7% 1.5 mD
22.8%
Figure 6-17 Wetting Phase Saturation
3
3
 Capillary Pressure Curves
San Andres Dolomite
20%
Capillary Pressure 6% Height Above
(Air - Mercury) 8% Free Water Level
4%
Wetting Phase Saturation
Pennsylvanian Dolomite
20% 4%
Capillary Pressure Height Above
(Air - Mercury) 8% Free Water Level
6%
Figure 6-18 3
4
Wetting Phase Saturation
Pore Throat Size Distribution
Equations
Pore Entry Radii Calculation
Ri = 2 s · cos Q · C ……….. 10
Pc
Where:
Ri = Pore Radii, Microns
Pc = Capillary Pressure in Laboratory, PSI
s = Interfacial Tension, Dynes/Cm
Q = Contact Angle, Degrees
C = Conversion Constant Equal to 145
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