POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY
JCPTb5 -0 / - 07
Correlating and Averaging
Connate Water Saturation Data
By R. S. BUCKLES"
To be presented at the -
(16th Annual TechHical 3Ieeting. P.&N.G. DilJision, C.l.AI.. Calgary. !lIay, 19(5)
ABSTRACT
The use of simple hyperbolic relationships in correlat-
jng connate water saturation data is shown to ha\-e wide
3()plication in a ,'ariet:,.. of resen'oirs. This can be of con-
siderable practical significance to the reser"oir engineer
because "olumetrically weighted a\-crage saturations for
any combination of core samples, resen'oir strata or lease
areas can be obtained directly from such correlations with
a knowledge of a\-erage Ilorosit:r alone. Also, in systems
represented b:r a simille equilateral hYI)erbola the po-
rosity-saturation product is constant and hydroC'arbon
volumes are conveniently derind from the difference be-
tween the pore ,"'olume and a constant fraction of the
bulk volume. Potential applications and limitations of the
technique ha ...'e been explored for a number of sand and
carbonate resen'oirs, and se ....eral examples are describcd_
INTRODUCTION
o F fundamental importance in all oil and gas re-
serve estimates is the concept of connate water
saturation. In fact, as it is one of the most basic para-
meters, like pa,}' thickness or porosity, connate water
must be mea:;ured or estimated in an~r and all types
of reservoir analyses. Because water saturations may
range from as little as 1 or 2 per cent up to 100 pel'
cent of the pore space within the same resen'oir, it
is common practice to condense the data into a ~in­
gle "average" yalue related to some other average
resen'oir characteristic such as porosity or perme-
ability. Although such an average may be applicable
to the reservoir as a whole. it can, in some cases,
lead to appreciable errors if applied to individual
wells 01' areas within the pool. Even when the entire
pool is considered. there may be considerable diffi-
culty in obtaining the correct average.
The use of permeability as a correlating parameter
has long been popular (I, 2, 3), and in some reser-
voirs it may be the only reasonable choice. Difficul-
ties, however, can be encountered in applying such re-
lation~hips to obtain true average saturations. Porosi-
ty-::;aturation correlations have been given ::iomewhat
less attention in the literature, although they have
been widely used in 'Western Canada and in some
areas of the United States. There are inherently
fev.ler problems in ef>tablishing representative ~wer­
age \'alues from porosity relationships, as the dif-
ferences between arithmetic and geometric means,
medians and modes, and the effects of sample orien-
tation, need not be considered.
Difficulties in applying saturation correlations may
be compounded (frequently with little or no justifi-
cation) by using a combination of correlating para-
'+[mp6'rial Oil Limited, Edmonton, Alta..
42
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metel"~. Both porosity and permeability. for example,
may be jointly related to saturation in a ~ingle COL'-
relation. However, this may only reflect a mutual
relation::;hip between porosity, permeability and some
other more basic rock property, while contributing
nothing to the accuracy of derived .-;aturations.
Undoubtedly, the irreducible connate water satura-
tion in a rock is mo!:.:t directly related to propertieH
other than the porosities and permeaLilities normal-
ly measured in routine core anal,}'ses. Intuitivel,}', it
would be expected that the number and type of grain
contacts or the exposed area of the mineral 1:iurface.
aH determined by the size and distribution of the
pores, would hm'e a controlling influence. However.
until methods for determining ::iuch factors (5) can
be routinely applied, correlations of a more indirect
tJ'pe must be used. How they can best be developed
and ho\y they should be used are matters of funda-
mental importance in establishing true average snlu-
rations.
TRUE AVERAGE CONNATE \VATER SATURATION
As saturations have primarily a volumetric signifi-
cance, the only useful average is one obtained by
volumetrically weighting the data 10 obtain a l'epre-
gentative arithmetic mean value. Other saturation
averages, ~Hlch as medians and modes, have no volu-
metric significance and cannot be used for reservoil'
engineering purposes. The recommended (4) calculn-
tion of a geometric mean permeabilit.y for ll!ie with a
l( versus S con-elatiun is, of course, just an inter-
mediate step in estimating the weighted aL'ithmetk
mean saturation.
The three most common sources of water satura-
tion data are analyses of cores cut in oil or oil-baRe
mud, restored state or other types of capillary pres-
sure test~, and quantitative well log illterpretatiol1R.
Certainly there are broad limits on the aCCLlmc)' of
basic information from these sources. There ma~' be
almost any degree of reliability. depending on proce-
dures used and the range of saturations represented.
"'here inter~titial water saturations are high, the
flushing of core samples by oil-base drilling fluid may
have a significant effect. Improper coring and han-
dling techniques can provide another source of error.
In one instance, POOl" techniques resulted in elTOneOll!;
data on three out of four oil cores taken by different
companies in the same field. Contributing faetol"~
were thought to include surface and sub-surface con-
tamination of the coring fluid, penetration of the PElY
zone prior to the change-over from water to oil-base
mud, and improper core storage.
The Journal of Canadian Petroleum
 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY
,, .

• 18 Cardium Conglomera Ie • 544 Sand, Sholey Sand and Sondy Shole

IrCURVE B"
I--l-j-JI Sw· 250 d l -8
28 ~/CURVE A
~ Jomes A. LeWIS Correlalion From "Engineering Anoly~is 01 Methods FOr Increased
Oil Reserves, Cardium ReserVOIr", Prepared For Corll~dion Seoboord Oil Compony
I _-,h~/_·k-":M;::':::":h~I:::9::S8;:,,,:8::':;":':,,:0:;":,,,,::19::;6:,,:5::,::;m:::,':.:,:,'.:.F:.:"::jm:..:8::....:;0::il-..:8:.:;';:":.C::'~":..::A"~':::'Y:.:
2."11- ~
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..

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. •,1* "'
,.
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~,t"
;To~'
.. ,"." :
. .
16 "
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.. .".~ ~ :{ ..
0
0: ."
0 2 "
...
• .;"~r--.. ::;~h.. '" : "'~.''''' ! '.

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." • • 01"- _ L... ....... ...... " :-.-
~ • I ~ ;-;-a I--~ I -;" 0
S

4
.. . •

0
so
0
" 2'
CONNATE WATER SATURATION
" - Percent
55 60 70 7S

Figure l.-Po1"osity 'U.s. Connate Water Relati01'lShips for the Pembina. Cfu·di1l-m Pool - 562 points from
analyses ot 19 oil-base co-res.

"
Even the best oil-core data may be unreliable where tionship exists j often this relationship does exist, or
porosities are low. Although water content may be is approximated for all practical purposes) even though
measured with normal precision, this volume is ex- we may fail to recognize it. If it does not exist, the:
pressed as a percentage of a pore volume having about value obtained from the saturation correlation at the ,.
the same magnitude as the probable experimental er- average porosity will not be equivalent to a volumetric
ror. Therefore, the water· saturations reported for average. The unique relationship mentioned here is
cores having porosities of only 1 or 2 per cent can discussed in more detail under the heading UAverage
be considered, at best, as rough approximations. Pos- Saturations from Hyperbolic Correlations." ,
"
sible errors of similar or greater magnitude must be Two examples are given below to illusti"ate the dif~ ,: -
recognized in the other methods of saturation deter~ ference between the average saturation and the satu-
mination. Indirect laboratory measurements maJor suf- ration corresponding to the average porosity. The
fer from wettability and interfacial tension uncer- first example uses data from the Pembina Cardium
tainties) and induction log calculations, for instance, pool. In this case·, eighteen wells were selected so as
may tend toward increasing errors ,vhere saturations to COver a wide range of average porositfes. An avail-
are low or where invasion is significant. In any case, able plot of porosity versus connate water saturation
if We are to avoid compounding errors) it is desirable (Figu7'e; 1, Curve A) was accepted per se, and satura- r.'-?('
to use a true volumetric mean value for whatever we
believe to be the most I'eliable data available. This is
tions were assigned to each core sample from the
eighteen wells on the basis of individual porosity val-
" -
the only number which, when multiplied by total pore ues, By totalling the thiclrness-porosity-saturation :.
volume, gives the correct total water content of the product for all plugs in each weIi, an appropriate av-
reservoir, erage saturation was obtained in each case. At the
The process of volumetrically weighting saturation same time, each well's average porosity was deter-
data can be exceptionally tedious. In a pool with 100 mined and corresponding saturations from the cor-
core samples for each of 100 wells) we would find, for relations were noted. From the ratio of the satura-
'.0:-,
example, that 10,000 calculations of </> x h x S would tions obtained by the two methods, Figure 2 was con-
bave to be made after picking 10,000 values from an structed and used in estimating volumetrically E.'~ :..
appropriate correlation and assigning them to 10,000 weighted saturations for about a hundred wells in a
individual core samples. It is not surprising, there- particular segment of the field, In this instance, the
fore, that short-cuts, although not necessarily valid, maximum difference betw"een Utrue" (volumetrically
are frequently used as a "first estimate" in prefer- weighted) average saturations and "apparent" aver-
ence to the mOre rigorous approach. ages, as shown by FigU1"e 2. amounts to 15 per cent.
Where saturations correlate with porosity, one of In terms of hydrocarbon volume this is not particu-
the most common estimating practices is to com- larly significant, as average oil saturations will be
pute the average pool porosity and then interpret the close to 90 per cent in any case_
corresponding connate water saturation from the es- Altbough tbe above example has limited quantita-
tablished correlation. There is nothing fundamentally tive significance, it does illustrate one approach to-
wrong with this procedure if a unique geometric rela- ward estimating true volumetrically weighted aver-

Technology, January-Morch, .~.9651 Montreal 43

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

I of error in interpreting saturation data. Also, the

I I I
I I I I lower the saturation, the larger the errOl' that can be
I
I I I
,
I tolerated, because, as in the Pembina example, hydro-
I I carbon volume calc.ulations are relatively insensitive
I I I to saturation data when the connate water is low.
I Regardless of the magnitude of enOl·, however, thet-e
I I-+- is a principle involved, which, as enlarged upon in
I
I
I
I
'-:-
I Ii ~
the following discussion, can have appreciable signifi-
cance in simplifying volumetric calculations and data
;Ff -=r -::EE
_'-_
processing techniques as well as in improving accll-
rac)'.
II - I- ---i-I- - I HYPERBOLIC RELATIONSHIPS
/ I
Connate water cannot be related to porosity in nn
ideal pore configuration of uniform structure, In
" . " " . .. such a system, the irreducible saturation can be varied
b}' changing the particle size and ~urface area, but
Figu.re 2_-Con-ectiu'tL Factor for Conna,te Water the porosity is fixed according to whatever gruin
Sat'llraUon (18 Pembina Ca1"diwm 'u.:ells). structure exists. In rhombohedrally packed uniform

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spherical aggregates, for example, a wide range of
age saturations. The need for obtaining such an aver- in·educible saturations can be readily obtained uy
age, either rigorously or by any similar estimating selecting different uniform grain ~izes, but only one
procedure, may be better illustrated by the following porosity (25.96 per cent l i$ possible.
example. In naturally occurring porous systems, greater par-
A Fort Sa~katchewan Viking well's average pOl'osit)r ticle angularity tend:) to increase porosity (4), and
was found to be 21 per cent, which apparently cor- porosities lower than thmie of idealized sy~tems can
responds to -15 per cent connate water from an avail- result from the increasingly non-uniform pore struc-
able correlation of 5atu ration and porosity data. 'With ture brought about by compaction. cementation, the
the data volumetricall,)r weighted, the average was dis$olution of a dense matrix or simply by the grada-
found to be 37 per cent. In this example, the gas-in- tion of particle sizes. In this sense, connate water can
place calculated from the volumetric average satura- be a function of porosity only in.::iofar a~ the porosity
tion would vary by more than 10 per cent from the depencls upon the variation of grain geometry and
value calculated by taking the saturation directb' from pore structure.
the correlation at -;" = 2l. By considering a simple unconsolidated system, with
In general, the errol' which arises from using a poro~it,lf controlled by the variety of grain sizes, we
saturation corresponding to average porosity instead can, by analogy, deri,'e what should be a lil{elJ,' re-
of the volumetricall:ir weighted average saturation is lationship between connate water saturation and
dependent firstly on how the porosity-saturation porosit}'. Figw·e 8-.-1. is a plot of surface area ver~us
curve is drawn and secondly on the magnitude of the particle diameter for a geometrically homogeneous
average connate water saturation.~:- Unfortunately, the system (rhombohedrally packed spheres). 'Ve can pos-
usual free-hand approach to curve fitting rna)' often tulate that a similar relationship will exi~t between
be subjective enough to outweigh most other sources ~all·face area and porosity for samples of actual reser-
voir rock - Figm'e 3-B, This, in fact, mllst be the
"'This of course assumes that any transition zone is of ca.::ie if the relationship between porosity and mean
negligible extent, The same applies in the case of per- particle diameter (or pure size) is approximately li-
meability versus saturation correlations, where the pos- near in a natural system, Artificial systems, with
sible error is, in addition. dependent on how the average
permeability is obtained. general characteristics related in principle to at least

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~

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DIAMETER OF PARTICLES, Inc;hu POROSITY POROSITY

Figure 3-A. Figure 3-B Figu1'/; S-C

Figure 3.-Ph-ysical P1·opedies of P01"OUS j\Iedia - idealize.d and 8chematic relationships.

The Journal of Canadian Petroleum

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY
" In processing empirical data, the foregoing deriva-
V may be some basis for expecting hyperbolic correla-
.V
V c ./
. / V-
I 1/
I/'
I
Y 1/
. .."' ", . I ,. .." I
.,.
Figure 4._-Porosity and PaTticle Size Relationships
for UnconsolidrLted SrLnd,
Line A - 80% coarse, 20% fines
Line B - 600/.; coarse, 40% fines
Line C - 409'0 coarse, 60% fines
(coarse -24+28 mesh; fines -32+35 mesh, -42+48 mesh,
-60+65 mesh, -80+100 mesh).
some natural systems, do provide evidence of such
linearity. Data ohtained by Tickell et rLl. (6) can be
cross-plotted, as in FigU7-e 4. to show linear trends
between porosity and average grain size for -24+28-
., mesh sand contaminated with various quantities of
fines ranging in size down to -80+100-mesh (avg.
0.00634 inch).
Due to the angularity of the grains, actual surface
areas for many sandstones would probably plot above
the idealized and schematic curves of Figures S-A
r:-,
and S-B. On the other hand, calcareously cemented
sands and vugular carbonates would likely fall be-
low (7)_ Nevertheless, it may be reasonable to expect
a similar trend for actual and idealized systems_
Extending the analogy further, we can see that if
irreducible water saturations in actual reservoir sam-
ples should be directly related to pore surface area,
the relationship between saturation and porosity
shown in FigUTC' 8-C must result.
The equation of the first curve (FiguTe 8-A) is
easily derived from the assumed geometry of the
idealized system composed of spherical particles. It is
simply A = 53_3/d, for "d" in inches and "A" in
acres of surface area per acre foot (7)_ Similarly, if
particle diameter "d" can be replaced by the linear
function a.p± b' (considering the previous discussion
of Figure 1,.), then the equation for the curve in Fig-
w-e 8-B will be of the form A = c' / (rjJ ± b), where
c' and b are constants. The third curve, being pro-
portional to the second curve under the conditions pos-
tulated, must then be expressed by S = Cf(</> ± b),
where C is a different constant- When b = 0, the
constant C is equal to the product cpS, which is sim-
ply the irreducible water saturation expressed as a
fraction of bulk .volume instead of pore volume.
The relationship S = C/ cp can be described as an
equilateral hyperbola.* Alternate forms, such as
S = Cf(</> ± b), as derived above, or (S ± a) = CN,
will of course represent the same function, but with
the ~ and S axis shifted by fib" units or "au units,
respectively"
*The equation (y - ar- (x - b)'
= 1 is the form com-
k' h'
monly ~een for a hy}:erbola with transver~e axis parallel to the y
axis. When k = h, this reduces to the rectangular or "equilateral'"
form: (y - a)2 - (x - b)::! = h2 _ By rotating the axis through 45
degrees and establishinE',; the center at (a. b) = (0,0), this is trans-
lated too y ~ (h'f2) ('fx), or xy ~ constant.
Technology, January-MClrch, 1965, MontreClI
( -'
V / tion, through simplified analogies, suggests that there "
/ / tions between connate water saturations and porosi-
0
ties. The forms which might he expected are:
• / I Type I - For origin at (a, b) (0.0)
S - Cf<l> or<l>5 ~ C
• Type II - For origin at (a. 0)
(S±a)=C/<I> or<l>S ~ C±<I>a
J Type III - For origin at (0, b)
5 = Cf(<I> ± b) or <IS ~ C ± Sb
Type IV - For origin at (a, b) .-
, '
(5 ± a) ~ Cf(<I> ± b) or <IS ~ C' '± q,a ± Sb
(~~~' FReli TI<~[~L H~l'l
,..
"n
The linearity of these inverse relationships further
suggests that reciprocally ruled graph paper can be
used to advantage in correlating saturation data. The
possibility of a constant or nearly constant f/lS prod-
..
L -'
uct (Type I - II). however, has implications of far
greater significance and, therefore, practical reser-
voir engineering applications of the concept are ex.-
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plored here.
PRACTICAL ApPLICATIONS
Early Empi?·ical Investigations
In 1953, an oil core ,,'as obtained at Imperial Le-
duc No. 509 (4-32-50-26W4). This was an Upper
Devonian, Nisku (D-2) development well in Leduc-
vVoodbend, ",..hich provided as \,,'ide a range of per- ,
meabilities, porosities and facies types as any well in "
the field. More than 190 plugs were analysed, and
later these data wel'e supplemented by the analyses
of two additional oil cores from the extreme south-
ern edge of the field, 6 miles away_ These were ob-
tained at Imperial Leduc No. 595 (10-32-49-26W4)
and Imperial Leduc No. 632 (15-29-49-Z6W4). Al-
though the latter two cores were from an entirely dif-
ferent part of the field, their analyses gave points
following the same correlation trend (Figw"e 5) al-
;_.
readl' established for the No. 509 welL The accuracY ~ ,; .,', ,:'
~
..;~,i'~~~
of the oil core distillation results was verified by
selecting thirty preserved samples at random and
processing these at a different laboratory. _,'-;: ,
--- .
~ -,
In the course of studying these data, it was dis- ,.
::! '-.; -
covered that a minor adjustment in the curve previ- ,'.
r·' .
ously drawn through the connate water - porosity
data \\'ould lead to a very convenient simplification
applicable to all subsequent volumetric calculations.
The adjusted curve, as shown in FiguTe 5, can be
seen to provide an excellent fit with the available
data. It is, in fact, an equilateral hyperbola with an
equation of the form xy = constant, or, more specifi-
cally, cPS = 85. The bulk volume water saturation in
Leduc (cPS), \vhich was reported as early as 1953 as
being "nearly constant," can be treated, therefore, as
being precisely constant for all practical purposes. Ac-
cordingly, the hydrocarbon porosity (or oil satura-
tion as a fraction of bulk volume), which is given by
(.p) (l-S), can be reduced simply to (</>-0.0085), where
both cP and S have been expressed as fractions rather
than percentages_
By establishing that cPS can be considered constant
for Leduc D-2, the variable connate water factor is
eliminated, and all volumetric calculations can be
made solely on the basis of area, thickness and po-
rosity data. In engineering studies of this reservoir,
conversion from total effective porosit}r to hydro-
..
carbon porosity was made by providing, in the core
to' -
analysis computer program, an arrangement where-
r ~.:- :: '
',- '
by 0.85 per cent could be automatically subtracted
45 ,.
 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

from all measured porosities as reported in the 210
available core analyses. It \',ras unnecessary to as~ign
individual pore volume saturations to each core sam-
ple, because, by \lirtue of the correlation's geometric
form, a saturation corl'e~ponding to anJ.c average ef-
fective porosity in Figure 5 is :t true weighted aVC1"-
age :mturation regardless of the number or tJrpe of
. samples contributing to the avenlge porosity. This
was determined to be a general property of Type I
and Type II hyperbolas, and is mathematically veri-
fied under the heading "Average SatLlration~ from
H)"perbolic. Correlations."
'Vem:el', in other investigatiuns, has made a paral-
lel ubservation regarding the occurrence of constant
cpS relationE>hipti. For Archie's rock classification,
Type I BCD, he noted (8) that it is only the size and
frequency of the connected secondary "',lugs (and
hence the porosity) that contrubi saturations as. long
a::-; the dense matrix retains essentially the same char-
conclusive indications in other cases complicated by
greater reservoir heterogeneity, possible transition
zones and generally less-reliable data.
In 1957, the Texaco Exploration Company filed all
I\:IPR submission (9) with the Albel'ta Oil and Gas
Conservation Board which induded oil-base core data
hom a well in the 'Vizard Lal{e D-.3 reef pool. A pre-
"ioL1s submission for the neighbouring Bonnie Glen
D-3 pool (10) provided oil-base core data showing a
similal' porosity-saturation trend. Texaco proposed a
logarithmic equation of the form Sw = aeplo to repre-
sent each set of data. The optimum l"ocfficients ob-
tained by the method of least square,g (presumaLJly
gh'ing equal weight to each data point) were reported
to be as follows:
~nnnie Glen D-3 53 (i5 -O.9R4
\\. izard Lake D-3. 78.5 -1.1

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acter. A combination of mercury injection capillal'y
pressure data and oil-base core data for a "typical Al-
berta reef reservoir" in northwestern Alberta was
presented aE> an illuslratioIl_ In two other examples,
using only mer~ur:r injection data and log calculations
to estimate saturations in heterogeneous i\!Iississip-
pian reservoirs. he found no simple inverse relation-
ship beb...· een poro~it,Y and estimated saturation:::;, al-
though, in one case, the data could be distinctly
grouped on porosity-saturation plots constructed for
separate rock types. Thus, W'eaver's material, al-
though .supporting the concept oi CGnstant bulk vol-
ume water E>aturations in "homogeneous" vugular car-
bonates with a dense matrix, provides negative or in-
It is interesting to note that by averaging the
above factors to two significant figures we get:
Sw =66(l.Olcp), which is the equation of an equila-
teral hyperbola. This equation is plotted together with
all of the combined data for Bonnie Glen and 'Vizard
Lake in Figure 6_
It may be noted that the relationship pl'e.!-iented
in Figure 6 is essentially similar to the curve de-
ri\-ed by Texaco for the 'Vizard Lalce paul. The duta
in this particular ca~e can be well represented by
either logarithmic or hyperbolic curvel'L From a res-
ervoir engineering .:-:tandpoint. however, the point of
significance extends beyo'ld the fact that .l l'elation-

1m.. L!duc N~ 509 (0,1 CD'!) Imp Led~c Nc. 6~c. (0,1 Ce,el
, I I I J
1m.. L!duc No 595 (0,1 Ce,!) Check S~mp[e. 1011 C~,"l

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I 1 I I I I 1 1 I

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TEll Wll.o.no LAKE CRO .... N 0-1

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I I I . TEll DONNIE ~LEN CR~~ tH.
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l±~B'~'j'.'jll~1'1'~t~'~i~i'i±t~ji=-I
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o ie' CU'V! For EQuilot~rol Hyperbole Wllh Elluellon "3 = 85
, I' I III i I I' T'
0. Frocllen"J Hydr~corbon Pc,o",l~ • 0 -0 C:005 I II I I ,
" f--h--v---r---'-----,---..---,----+----1 ,: I I 1 I I j--I--------L~·T.----L ~J
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•

~ " !·II·UI'lS~6E L I 1, ~ __ .
H,-7,+I?'!-n--,--, - 1 'T - T---.l -_. - - ,
..
•• " I:: I~' I1+'+ 1::-1 ~i ~:~ J=+=-;
•"
"•
.. ! 1 I 1 ,- -
II I I :"::1- -
I I I
I
I,'
}---1-~-! ~
1 _~ l-t~J
'I.t~---I
<0
.. ; : " f------]-- - L,--r-,- ~Y-;--I
Ii: t~~~~';t;~
,. r::q=i=~~= - ~_ 8:L :; l ;lLI - ..
i f : . ~l~;lrF~I
1 1· -, I
~ 1 1 L§-r:~;~
d:-':
,_p::r::L:~CC:LJ_'--f'""
i 11.. _ i [I:___.-; :,
'-":' 1 1 ~.. I
djr'+Ht~,:,,;·,.,!~:-L," - -!.
~H+F+tFFi-l =:;i1~_
J~1ttl I, I I I I ,
,'I_IT: -'-I'
C l.O 2'
POROSITY P.r ......

I~ 16 ZO Figllre G.-Oil-Base Core Data f}'{)jJ1 'l'1f'()

" Neighbow'ing D-3 Rccf::".
FOROSITY Percenl

Fi.CJure 5.-SrLtllrat1"on-Porosity Relationship of the (Adapted from Texaco Explol'ation CUIl1(lnny

Ledac-JVoodb6Ud D-2 "A." Pool. .sUblllis,:,:;ions) .

46 The Journal of Canadian Petroleum

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

._---_._-.---------......._.- ~-'" --' .'- _.~~.' .~--"--_ -

. . ...
, .
,

(T
J ••,
ship of some sOrG exists. As illustrated in the Leduc
D-2 example, and others to followl it is the consistency
and convenience afforded by thfl hyperbolic relation-
D-3 pool, for example, shows a slightly different po-
rosity-saturation trend for different rock classifica-
tions (Fig,,,"e 7). Data for samples described as skele-
;-1 ship in processing and averaging data that is of prin- tal and cemented skeletal have heen correlated using
,.' cipal value to the reservoir engineer_ I a hyperbolic function identical to that described ear-
.J
Tra.nsitional Sutu.l-ations and Va;riable Lithology
lier for Bonnie Glen and Wizard Lake (opS = 66).
However, Figu1'e 7 shows that for conglomerate as 7

One observation which must be made is that a sin- well as algal and reef framework material, a better
gle equilateral hyperbola can hardly be expected to correlation is given by the hyperbola opS = 80.
fit data from reservoirs having thick transition zones.
In several such cases, cpS has been found to show a Statistical Methods
changing trend with depth. Accordingly, any applica- The saturation data generally available may some-
tion of the principle under these conditions requires, times have a frequenc:~! distribution of porosity rang-
.f~~~' ':::'/'~ "~.-
'.
! ..
in effect, a famil~r of saturation versus porosity es which is not typical of the entire reservoir. In
curves. If each curve is drawn to represent a certain curve fitting, therefore, statistical analyses of porosity
depth interval and if the relationships are hyper- distribution for the reservoir or for its component
bolic, the method will still simplifl' volumetric cal- rock types can be most usefuL Mathematical curve-
culations to almost as great a degree as when the en- fitting techniques, such as the method of least

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tire oil zone can be treated as a unit. squares, are high!}" sensitive to val'}"ing concentra-
Between the two extremes represented by reser- tions of data points_ For that reason, free-hand meth-
voirs with either very long or essentially negligible ods. although more subjective, may be preferred when
transition zones*" are cases where a single correlation there has been no effort to obtain a statistically rep-
will apply to all but the lowermost portion of the resentative group of samples from every porosity
pool. For example, data published by Aufricht and range or, alternatively, a quantitative analysis to sup-
Koepf (11) for a Pennsylvanian dolomite can be plot- port the giving of additional or less weight to par-
. ted to illustrate that, for most of this particular res- ticular data points.
en'oir, an equilateral hyperbola (S = 220/op) provides
a very reasonable correlation. All data for elevations Complex Hype1'bolic FunctiollS
5 feet above the point of zero water production (14
feet above the bottom of the transition zone) are "on A further general observation stems from the de-
trend" using this function; points for lmver elevations rivation, presented earlier, which showed the effect
fall consistently above the curve and must therefore of having the origin displaced in either the· ¢ or S
be considered separately. direction. Hyperbolic relationships of the form (S ±
a) = Clop - (Type II) or S = C/ (op ± b) ~ (Type
Similarly, in reservoirs with variable lithology, III), and the combined form (Type IV), were shown
selective classification of the data might yield either as alternatives to the simple S = C/ ¢ expression.
a family of curves or a single major trend modified
by a minorit~r of points corresponding to a signifi- The exact nature of the applicable relationship can -'.- ~ ,

cantly different rock type. The Golden Spike South be readily checked by sketching the straight-line func-
tion on reciprocal graph paper. The constant "a", for
*The significance of a transition zone depends more on example, in S = (IN) ± a can be obtained directly
its size relative to the total oil zone than its absolute from the intercept on the saturation axis at "infinite"
thickness (see Case I under "Further Examples.'l porosity, and (C ± a) is read where the straight line ; ~

intercepts the saturation axis at 1.0 per cent porosity_

1 1 1 1 1 , An example where the form S = Clop + b) seems
1\ SKELETAL AND
to apply is shown in Figu1·e 8. The data points and
" CEMENTED SKELETAL i- the curve plotted on cartesian co-ordinates are repro-
" S. 66 duced directly from a British American Oil Company
" 0 0
0 I I submission (12) for the Stettler Main D-3 pool. An
" 0 01--
0
I insert has been added to show the same data points
", I I plotted against (op + 1.5) on a reciprocal scale. The
0 indicated Type III relationship (s _ 125)
"
,
z
o ,0
I'\: CONGLOMERATE
1
i-
<I> + 1.5
is virtually identical to the curve presented by B.A.
S l>- 0 0 " S : BO
,• " ~ bl'
The form (8-2) = 84/op, however, would be equally
~ " 0
0 I valid if less weight were given to points below 2 per
~
, " 0
0 0

0
cent porosity. This last expression (Type II) has the
0

~ 0 advantage of providing weighted aVeJ."age saturations

w for any average porosity directly from the correla-
~
z
z I REEFALGAL AND
tion, whereas the other, being a Type III hyperbola,
S " L\
FRAMEWORK
" s· BO
f-
does not.
" 0

" 0]'\
'" 0 Average Satu1·ations frorn Hyperbolic C01'relations
0
f',
Analytically, the equivalence of volumetric average
" 0 j-..o 0 0
0 saturations and saturations read from a ·Type I or
", 0
Type II hyperbolic correlation at average porosity can
I be demonstrated as follows:
•
'"
POReSITY - "
·Poreon!
" " " let Sv be the volumetrically weighted average connate water
saturation;
Figure 7.-Connate liVater Saturation as Related to let Sc be the correlation's indicated saturation corresponding
Porosity and Rock T'ype (Golden Spike South D-8). to the average porosity. ".
Technology, JDnuary~March, 1965. Montreal 47
 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

''----'1----'--1--'-----1'----'--'---111---' ~, : +I1f'~::
o
o I 1 I-j----j--jf-+I_I _ ""- : 'I 11_. _
"
f-+I--:I~i-I---:---I---+----:lc-+-II l -"l..-'·-.'*<llli:-
r-=--I. 1,> 1 I I II ~_-= "
.
,

~
o

,I\
I I I I!
I .1..-" .!L,' -
----¥'-- ', 1
r--"I-
I 'j~" '"'" ,s- i;;, II
1 I'
:
~_'
'
2

I
I
L !"::-LUl.L+-,
r l'h II ...Li
I I ' .i I "
r--i -.J J I ~ -r
±
~ 1 1\\ I 1 1 U ~--!--r l ! ~ .", L'\-.
~ 0 I ~ ! 1 ! LI .,----,----,-',.'_',-----,---,-"
~ o-~---~ U __ I_LL l~ LLL ! _
~ I I ' I I I I .;. som~'e~L

~
~ -r' --e,f 'I-:-rj -[I I T c- -
r i
r
,----,-- I
r-
~,
i : L
t-:-I',.I~.- i
I

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00- 'om",
1
1

1 I I -i~- T 1-;- I
0o~..L---j,r---"c-.!...----i,--'--------+.--'--,';;m--'-,,",_L-,,:,.-----;,:.,---;",-'---,:"
POJ'iOSITl' - Percen. Of Rock Volum.

F1"!Jllre S.-Porosity US. Re.'iidual ~VateJ' Saturation Plot - Stettler Main

D-3 pool, C.P.R. JllcCallll'tn NO.4. oil-base core.
(Ft"om British Amel'ican Oil Company submh;sioll,
April, 196:2).

Now, if the inten'al represented by a given sample is Sandy Clean

h and saturation \"aries with porosity according to: Shale Sand

S = C(l/¢) +-
a. where "a" mayor may not be zero,
then:

5-.. ~b~S ~ h f\J (C/r,f> + a) 1\

~$-h- ....' ~ h '0

~hC + ~h~la
:'.:cjlh
C ~ h +a
~o?h
..' t\:J h \
C(1/;j;j +a ~ Sc (q.e.d.)
'0
\
\
Note that lIsing an average porosity to obtain an
"average" saturation from non-hyperbolic correlations
and hyperbolas of Type III and Type IV does not give '0
1\
\
E\', the true weighted avemge saturation. In certain z
~
in~tances the difference will be small, such as in the ~
~
\Vizard Lake - Bonnie Glen example, where both
S = 78.5¢-1.L and S = 53.65¢_n.9'~ are roughly
~
~
!:i 30
\
~irni]ar to the hyperbolic form, S = GG¢-I.O. Another ~

~
point to be noted is that the "gross" average porosity w
~
common!.}' used in some pools for volumetric calcu- ~

lations must not be used to obtain an average satura-

;<
w '"
\
tion if it is significantly different from the "net" ~
~

average poroRity (see "Further Ex~mples" - Case z

z
Ill. o

\
u

In practice, where extra terms must be carried in

the hyperbolic equation (Types II, III and IV), the
advantage of a strictly constant ¢S product is lost. sw = 250 (-6) -8 ~
The additional advantage of being able to derive con-
si.<;tent a,"erage saturations directly from correla-
tions, however, is lost only ' ...· hen the extra term "b" o
1\
appears with the major weighting factor - porosity "
(Types III and IV). Therefore, unless examination
shows there is a ·'b" factor too large to be ignored.
,
saturation data should. ' ...· herever possible, be fitted -'0 , 6 7 a 9 10 ~

with a Type J or II hyperbolic curve. It is only from '0

POROSITY - Percenl
such correlations that saturations corresponding to
an average of any two or more porosities will be con- Figure 9.-PoTosity - Connate H'aleJ' Relafiunship
~ititent with volumetrically weighted average satura- in the Pembina Ca'rdiul1l Puol.
tions. (Corrc5ponding to Cm"'e "B", Figure 1)

48 The Journal of Conadian Petroleum

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

:-,"
I "S~66 n •• lobh.~.d Iram: ~_ ~I---I---Hi\--I--1---1---1-+-+-++++++-+-+-+-+-+-f-H
I :----;. Wl10,d La~. (14~ .a",p',~ -FiC.6) ~.S'Zl~

, Donol. GI.n (26 •• "'pl.. - FiC.6)

Pari.' G 5~1". [26 ,ompl.. - F1~_7) ••1-I-++-\I-+--H-Hr+-+-+++--H-Hr+-+-++-1

,I
J,ddl';"nol Palnla PlolI.d I•• ,
.o.ch".n 1~-34
Lod.c 60<: (32 lampl.. - •
Rlmhf I-Z3(2D •• mplll -01
tlD,ampl.. _.c.)
J
I I ,
~

" I , I ; ool---l-----I----I-J-----I->.'I-+-HI---l---HI---l---HI---l---HI---l---HI---l---I "".'

"
o I0 T I I ,
~
I
I I
I ,-I
" . I I I
0
I I
0
I
I
I . I
I
I
'o~L.--!,..l-!-----l---!-----L-+---L+.---L-!"",--L_,\,,,___l___!:----L_+.---L___!_---L+.J

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"
.
I

I
I
.. I
I
I I
""R~.IT,T - """'.'

Figu1'e 11.-0il-Co1·e Data h·o1n the Red'water D.-S

, "
.. :T
, I "
. I I I
I ~
I I
I IT
T ,T
, I
00 , porosity, respectively, is found, using Curve B, to be
'0
POROSITY -
P.rco.1
Figw"e lO.-Con"elation of D-3 Oil-Base C01"e Data
1>'0'" the Led"c Reef Chain of Cent.-a! Albe,'ta.
BJf way of illustration, reference is again made to
the Pembina Cardium data shown in Figu're 1. If,
in Figure 1. the slightly adjusted curve (Curve B) is
used to represent the data instead of Curve A, COlTec-
tion factors such as illustrated in Figure 2 become
unnecessary because consistent results are obtained
whether saturations are picked from the curve (at
average porosity) or are volumetrically weighted.
Plotted reciprocally, Curve B is presented again in
FigU1'e 9. It is interesting to note that extrapolation
of the high-porosity trend indicates an intercept at
-8 per cent water saturation (S = 250(1/.p) -8).
Also, a subordinate linear trend is apparent at low
porosities (less than 10 per cent). A porositJ.' cut-off
to distinguish between reservoir and non-reservoir
material is commonly applied to Pembina core analyses_
Although there is no universal agreement among op-
erators as to the most suitable cut-off level, figures
from 9 to 11 per cent have been found to yield pay
thicknesses in good agreement with well-log data. A
break in the saturation" curve at 10 per cent porosity
could therefore be rationalized as a lithology change
- from sand or shaly sand to material which is pre-
dominantly shale. Operators generally do agree that
a permeability cut-off of 0.1 md or greater is ap-
plicable in Pembina, and this in turn correlates with
porosities at or above the 10 per cent leveL Accord-
ingly, the low-porosity portion of the curve can, for
all practical purposes) be disregarded and the data
can be said to show a single hyperbolic trend for the
effective portion of the reservoir.
Once again, the principle to be emphasized is not
that a hyperbolic function such as Curve B in Figu1-e
1 necessarily fits the scattered data points any better
than some other relationship such as Curve A; the
hJrperbola is simply a more consistent and convenient
curve to use if accepted as providing an equally valid
representation of the data, The average saturation of
I I I Reef (Ameli", 84, 8-7-58-21 W 4MJ-
:l I I
; I ,
i I I , I,
I I I
I I IT two I-foot la~yers of sand with 24 and 10 per cent
"
" " i.
6.8 per cent, whether volumetrically weighted or
picked from the correlation at -;p = 17. On the other "
hand, using Curve A, the indicated saturations would
be inconsistent. Volumetrically, an average of 9.8 per
cent would be obtained, as compared to 7.2 per cent
from the cOlTelation at ~ = 17.
Some of the principles discussed above are further ~ .-
illustrated by the following examples:
FURTHER EXAMPLES
I.-Rimbey-Leduc-Acheson D-8 Reef Chain
The correlation developed for Vilizard Lake, Bonnie
Glen and Golden Spike data (.pS = 66, Figures 6 and
7) has been re-plotted on Figu1'e 10 and compared
','
with data fl"Om various wells along the central Al-
berta D-3 reef chain from Homeglen Rimbey north
through Leduc and Acheson. The curve itself is based 1, ''-~'"~~"
on three times as much data as the additional points
shown in the Figure. The extra points are reason-
ably consistent with the established trend.
In using a correlation such as that shown in Figu1·e
10, consideration must be given to the estimated size
of the transition zone relative to total oil zone thick-
ness. In the D-3 reef pools, transition zones are
generally thin, but, in some instances, the oil leg is
also relatively thin. Thus, although the average satu-
ration determined from the oil core at Imperial Leduc
N 0_ 602 is 7.6 per cent and the saturation corres-
ponding to the average pool porosity is 66/8 = 8.3
per cent, the true average saturation for the Main Le-
duc pool's 38-foot oil leg, after accounting for higher
saturations near the oil-water contact, is about 15 per
cent. In Big Lake, another pool on the Central Al-
berta D-3 reef chain where a similar transition zone
thickness likeh' exists, the indicated 66/11 = 6 per
cent pool-average water saturation, as taken from the
generalized Figure 10 correlation, can be applied
directly, because any transitional saturations would
cover only a negligible fraction of the total 234-foot
reef closure.

Technofogy, Januarv-March, 1965, Montreal 49

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

H.-Redwater D-3 IV.-Fenn - Big Valley D-2

The Redwater D-3 pool is .separate from the Rim-
bey-Leduc-Acheson reef famil}' (Figul'e 10), and, a~
might be expected, it has a di1:itinctly differem; po-
rosity-saturation relationship. Oil-c.ore data for the
Amelia 84 well, as plotted on Fi[Jl(1°e 11, show a fair-
ly good correlation using a Type I hyperbola, 1'8 =
225. Restored-state connate water saturation data,
howeYer, indicate that at least two hyperbolic correla-
tions, representing different rock types, may provide
more realistic results. It should be noted that a net
rather than a gros~ average porosity must be llsed if
a correct average connate water saturation is to be
obtained directly from the Redwater correlation, or.
for that matter, from any Type I or II c.orrelation.
Gross average valuel:i, when used with a correspond-
ing gross thickness (dense sections induded), are
satisfactor~r for pore volume calculations but not for
determining average water saturations. This is be~
In a submis~ion presented before the Alberta Oil
and Gas Conservation Board in 1956 (13), the British
American Oil Compan}r reported saturation data rep-
resenting sevent.r samples from about 85 feet of nil-
ua5e cure outain~d at three locatiuns in the Fellll -
Big Valley D-2 pool. Excellent agreement between
these data and irreducible saturation.:' determinecl U)'
the mercury injection and conventional restored-state
methods was also reported. [<'igllJ'e 12 Rhow~ the COL'-
relation presented in the submission u,y B.A., togetlllH'
with a hyperbolic curve (cpS = 1201 which i...; ~imilar
and perhaps equally valid.
V.-Buc:k Cn'('k Belly Ripe}'

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cause non-effective portions of the reservoir (porosi-
tie!-i less than 2.25 pel' cent in F igul"c 11) are com-
pletely water saturated. regardless of porosity, and
consequently are not properly represented by any
smouth-curve correlation.
IlL-Joffre D-2
The .Joffre D-2 pool is more than 60 miles from the
Leduc D-2 pool. Available oil-core data nevertheless
indicate that a hyperbolic correlation virtually iden-
tical to that shown for Leduc D-2 (~S = 85. Fiyure .5 J
could be used. The relationship actually applied in re-
cent studies of the re~ervo!r is 1JS = 80.
0 limiting hyperbolas - ",8 = 1000 and ",8 = 1.500,
I I I I I I
Two oil cores were ob~ained in the small Pembina
Buck Creek Belly R!vel' "I" pool to provide a cros,:;-
check on the exceptionally high apparent water satu-
ration 160 to 70 pel' cent P.V.). Re.. .;ulting analyses
were in clo:ie agreement, as shown on the l'eciprm;al
porosity plot of Figure 1.'1.
The Belly River (Upper Cretaceous) zone in this
pool is of highly variable Quality, but is generally
described as a medium-grained, poarl)" ~orted chert
and quartz sand, containing about 25 per cent silt
and clay-size material. Laminations of limey infilled
sand, siltstone, carbonaceoll~ shale and coal are com-
mon. Low-permeability (below 1.0 md) core samples
having less than 12 per cent porosity and showing
positive S.P. deflections on the electric log cannot be
considered as part of the reservoir and were excluded
from the correlation in Figure 19. A~ virtually all of
the data abo.. . e 12 per cent porosity fall between the
as shown by the dashed lines on Figure 13 - it can

"
I I ~ B.A. CORRELATION be said that 10 to 15 per cent of the reservoir's bulle
"olume is water, 80 to 85 per cent is rock solids and
I I the remainder, less than 10 pel' cent, is hydrocarbons.
los ~ 120:-..\ The large surface area of the sand evidently holds
"
I I mOlit of the water in an immobile state, as a third of
,. I the welh, in the pool consistently produce clean oil.
I \
I I I I
" I I
\\ I
"

·
·
~,
,
" .....
I
I
"'- -p
I I

."
" ..'" '~11.
"~I·-
,,~, _ .:--~
l
'" . >1
I f'1([ :1· or
."1-
'"
.-'-;:'l~~T-
, 6·Z9· . . ·~ '*l [

· "'-
-
~ ,,- f [l~i :_~'" .
I.'" J ""."
. _
~~ "iJ-
! :: i
,

. . . .
:,. U ['!
I i "'"..

':~=+j fl ~l - ~T:
0
,.
0
" "
CONNATE. WATEA - P.'.8nl
"

Figure 12.-Connate 'Water Satw'ations Ba.sed on

Oil-Base Core Data j'roln the Fen'lL - Big Valley "" " ,. " " " .. "'0
D-2 Pool.
Figure 1-1.-0il-Corc Data {l'um the Peml,illa Bllck
(From Bl'itish American Oil Company submission,
September, 1956). Creek - Belly River I Pool.

50 The Journal of Canadian Petroleum

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY

V!--p,.ovost Viking Sand VII.-Ingol~sby ]l,Iission GanY~1t.

.,
': Another example using data from a sandstone reser- In this example, the oil core data have been chissi-
voir is presented as Figure 14. The plotted points rep- fied according to whether the samples were from
resent oil-base c01:e anal)rsis results for four wells in elevations above or below the oil-water contact_ As ex-
the Provost Viking gas field of east-central Alberta_ pected, the values plotted for samples from the water
The hyperbola is of the form referred to as Type IV zone fall above the curve presented in F'iguTe 15, al-
under "Hype!~bolic Relationships," with both porosity though it is probable that much, of the free water
and saturation axes displaced from the origin (8 = was flushed from these samples during coring opera-
265/(</> ':-14) + 14)_ As such, it doegnot offer the tions.
advantage of a constant cpS product, nor does it pro-
vide any added convenience in a,'eraging saturation >,'.
; ,.
data. The fact that the correlation is hJrperbolic is, in
this illstance, primarily of academic interest. A cur- 0

sorlT review of saturation data for two or three other

Viking sand pools in Alberta indicates similar com-
. CABIN CREEK - MAOISON
;,
~'
'.
;
(From Hol~ S. 8elhell
plexity. Permeability, in these instances, majT be an
essential correlating parameter. · ~0S ~I "lSO
;

?,~ .
~.,

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· =
E.. " .
..-
a ImperiClI Provosl
a Imperial Provosl
11-:3'1-36-3
10-16-36-4
... ImplHlol
" ImperiClI Provosl
Provo~1 6-32-36-:5
6-2-37-3
\ I ;:: -, ;'"
,....."".. """.........- .. " .
'\
"
" '< ".,
ro ,
1\ •
, 1'\ 0
I · , ,
~

"
\ 0

,
0 z
o
~, "
. "\ • Imp. S leelmon 9-B-4-5W2
• Imp, Sleeiman 13-26-"l-5 W2

. .
0
0
\
0
•
0

., I
I ••
"
f\ ~ , I
\
0 0

: 1\ , I :
1
. .
0

,, , "
. . '~K
0

• 0

"
.... . I
,
~ -...
>

.
0

, I I
, " ----.1 ,
•...... +l'l
0 ~s. l:~'l
...... I- . ---:-- >
"

,
"
\ I I .
, "
.
,..
,.
" " " "
PClRDSITT -
,.
Poreanl
" " ~
" " . " "
POROSITY - "
Percenl " " "
Figu1'e 14.-Connate TYater 'VS, Porosity Provost Fig'lt1'e l6.-Connate Water Saturation '118. Porosity.
sand, P"ouost Viking gas field. (Steelman A1'ea - Charles Reservoi1")

I
I--+-+--+-+--+-+-+-+---+-+__jf-+-f-+: :~~:: ~~~E!ONE_I ~ __

"I----'H--+-+-+-+-+-+-+-I-I--+-I-+-+-l--_-+11--+-+--l
I-+-+-++-+-+--+-If-~'- -- -II-I--!-
"f-+-+-.-h-j:\-+-+-+-+-+--+-+--+-+-I--+-+--+-+---1-!---1

~ I~f-+,,,,,,,,I-" -,-,,"Cl-,,""",~~X·_+-+-_+-+-_+~+--+-+--l-+__j-+__jf__l_-f__i
"5 ~ ~20

, .

.
~o l;o
WliTER S.l.TURATION - P.".~I

Figure l5.-P01"Osit·y and lVater Saturation Data - ltnlJerial Ingoldsby 7-7]1,[-,41-31.

Technology. January·March~ 1965, Mantreal 51

 POOR IMAGE DUE TO ORIGINAL DOCUMENT QUALITY
Different rock types are present in Ingoldsby, but
all of the clean oil zone is contained in a vuggy mate-
rial similar to that encountered at the oil-core loca-
tion. Using the field average porosity of 10.7 per
cent, an average water saturation of 30 per cent is in-
dicated hom the relationship. As the curve of Figu,1"6
15 was purposely drawn as an equilateral hyperbola
(by trial and error, plotting four or five representa-
tive points on reciprocal paper) and a suitable fit was
obtained, any saturation read from the curve is im-
mediately known to be equivalent to the volumetric
average which would be obtained by more cOIlvention-
al methods.
It Is interesting - to note that there is an almost
complete lack of correlation between connate water
saturation and permeability in this Mississippian res-
en'oir. The saturation values themselves are well con-
firmed by calculations using logs from this and sev-
eral similar pools along the Mission Canyon sub-crop
tl-end of south-central Saskatchewan.
VIII_-Steelman Charles
The produdng horizon in the Steelman field of
Saskatchewan is a thin limestone bed near the base of
the Mississippian Charles formation. Oil-base core
data for this fragmental to microgranular carbonate
are plotted in Figure- 16. The equation for the hyper-
bolic CUl"\'e shown is cpS = 480.
By ,striking coincidence, data reported by Hois and
Bethel (14) for another Mississippian field in the
\Villiston basin (Cabin Creek, Montana) show an al-
most identical trend, based all mercury injection ca-
pillary pressure data. <See insert, Fi{//tJ"e 16).
CONCLUSIONS
1 .. _ . . . ,
The choice between lIsing permeability or porosity
a,:-; a c.orrelating parameter for connate water satura-
tion measurements may, in any particular case, be dic-
tated by the degree of variance and range of data
which is apparent. Numerous examples, however, in~
dicate th:.lt the use of porosity has particular merit
in a variet.y of carbonate reservoirs and in some he-
terogeneuus sands. The more convenient derivation
of representative average saturations favours the po-
rosity correhltion 'Yhenever the choice is arbitrary_
2 .. , .. _ , ..
Even when the b(~st pos~ible data are obtained, the
plotted saturation points generally show a con1iider-
able spl'ead and a certain amount of dbcretion is nec-
es~ary in curve fitting_ \Vithin the limitE: of reason-
able judgment, saturation and porosity data can often
be well l'epre~ented by a simple (T~'pe 1) h~rperbolic
cun'e_ Thi.s results in a ~traight-line trend with a
zero saturation intercept on reciprocal graph paper.
and signifies a uuiform bulk volume di~tribution of
connate water.
52
3
Volumetrically weighted average saturations for
any combination of core samples, reservoir strata or
lease areas \·./ithin a pool are obtained with con-
venience and precision when simple (Types I and II)
hyperbolic relationships apply. With Type I correla-
tions, the term t/l(1-Sw), which is common to all
hydrocarbon volume calculations, can be replaced, sim-
ply, by (¢-constant)_ Tedious procedures for de-
termining volumetrically weighted average satura-
tions are unnecessary when using either Type I or
Type II correlations. More complex hyperbolic correla-
tions t types III and IV) do not offer the same ad-
vantages, but their occurrence, as indicated by this
investigation, may be less common.
REFERENCES
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( 0) T('raco E-qJlol'atioll Company, ::'.'1PR Suumission.
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::\Iarch 26, 1957).
( 10) Tc ...-acn E.l·plorufirm CUJJljJaJlY, iHPR Suull1issiotl,
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( 11) .-!/((richf, W. R., and [((J('})!", E. R" "The Intcl'prc-
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the Establishment of an MER f01" th'2 St('ttiH :\lnin
D-3 Poo]," April·1S, 1962 (pre~ented b('fol'e the Al-
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1%21.
n:ll Drili'1lt .rI.1I1l'1'icUIl Oil COIJl/JalIJ/, ·'A Sublllis:iion ftll'
the E~tab!i~·hmetlt of an :MER fOl' the Felln-Bi~
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The Journal of Canadian Petroleum