University of Zakho

College of Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Department
Third stage

Fundamentals of reservoir fluid flow

 Table of content
 Overview of the reservoir fluid flow

 Type of fluid

 Flow regimes

 Reservoir geometry
 Fundamentals of reservoir fluid flow
• Flow in porous media is a very complex phenomenon and as such
cannot be described as explicitly as flow through pipes or conduits.
It is rather easy to measure the length and diameter of a pipe and
compute its flow capacity as a function of pressure; in porous
media, however, flow is different in that there are no clear-cut flow
paths that lend themselves to measurement.
• e main objective of this part is to present the mathematical
relationships that are designed to describe the flow behavior of the
reservoir fluids. The mathematical forms of these relationships will
vary depending upon the characteristics of the reservoir. The
primary reservoir characteristics that must be considered include
• • Types of fluids in the reservoir.
• • Flow regimes.
• • Reservoir geometry.
• • Number of flowing fluids in the reservoir
Type of fluid
 Type of fluid

• Incompressible fluid :When the density of the

fluid doesn’t change with the application of
external force, it is known as an incompressible
fluid.

• Compressible fluid : When the density of the

fluid changes with the application of external
force, it is known as compressible fluid.
 Type of fluid

• Newtonian fluid :When the fluid obeys

Newton’s law of viscosity, it is known as a
Newtonian fluid.

• Non-Newtonian fluid :When the fluid doesn’t

obey Newton’s law of viscosity, it is known as
Non-Newtonian fluid
 Flow regimes
steady state flow , unsteady state flow and pseudo steady
state flow :
• Steady state flow, unsteady state flow, and pseudo steady state
flow are three different types of fluid flow that are important in
many fields of engineering, including chemical engineering,
petroleum engineering, and civil engineering.
• They are used to describe the behavior of fluids in different
engineering systems. Each type of flow has its own
characteristics and applications, and understanding these types
of flow is essential for designing and optimizing fluid systems.
 Steady state flow :
• Steady state flow is a type of fluid flow in which the
fluid properties, such as velocity, pressure, and
density, remain constant with time and position in
the system. In other words, the flow is continuous
and unchanging. This makes steady state flow useful
in many applications, as it allows engineers to predict
and control the behavior of fluids in a system over
time.
 Unsteady –state flow

• The unsteady-state flow is defined as the fluid flowing condition at

which the rate of change of pressure with respect to time at any
position in the reservoir is not zero or constant.
𝟃𝑝
• ( )=f(i,t)
𝟃𝑡
 Pseudosteady-state flow

• When the pressure at different locations in the reservoir is declining linearly as a

function of time, i.e., at a constant declining rate, the flowing condition is
characterized as the pseudosteady-state flow.

𝟃𝑝
• ( )=constant
𝟃𝑡
Flow regime diagram
 Reservoir geometry

• Linear flow
• Radial flow
• Spherical flow
• Hemi spherical flow
 Reservoir geometry

• Linear flow occurs when flow paths are parallel and the
fluid flows in a single direction
 Reservoir geometry

• Radial flow is flow into or away from a wellbore will

follow radial flow. They are not in one direction and not
parallel to each other.
Spherical flow is a simplified model that
assumes radial and symmetrical fluid flow in a
homogeneous reservoir with a spherical shape.

1. Early stages of production

2. Small reservoirs
3. Low-permeability reservoirs
Hemispherical flow occurs when the fluid
reaches a critical velocity that is sufficient to
cause the fluid to leave the reservoir in a
hemispherical shape.
 References
• Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties (2nd Edition)
(Dandekar, Abhijit Y.) (z-lib.org).pdf
• Reservoir Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition (Tarek
Ahmed PhD PE) (z-lib.org).pdf
• Petrophysics theory and practice of measuring reservoir
rock and fluid transport properties (Elsevier.Donaldson, Erle
C.Tiab, Djebbar) (z-lib.org).pdf