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RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION:
 This lecture is concerned with the nature of
hydrocarbon reservoirs, that is with the following
internal properties of a trap:
1. Porosity
2. Permeability
3. Relationship between porosity, permeability, and
texture
4. Capillary Pressure
5- Effects of diagenesis on reservoir quality
6- Reservoir Continuity
7- Reservoir Calculation
8- Reservoir Production
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 1. POROSITY
 Definition and classification
Definition:
Porosity: is the pore spaces or voids within the
rock (which are generally filled with connate
water, oil and gas).
Ø porosity (%)= volume of voids X100
total volume of rock
The pores are of three morphological types:
1. Catenary pore
2. Cul-de-sac pore or dead end
3. Closed pore 3
 Catenary pores are those that communicate with
others by more than one throat passage.
 Cul-de-sac pores have only one throat passage.
 Closed pores have no communication with other
pores.
The size and geometry of the pores and the
diameter and tortuosity of the connecting throat
passages all affect the productivity of the
reservoir 4
CLASSIFICATION OF POROSITY:
There are two types of pores that can be defined
according to their time of formation (Murray, 1960):
1. Primary pores are those formed when a sediment is
deposited.
2. Secondary pores are those developed in a rock
some time after deposition.

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1. PRIMARY PORES may be divided into two
subtypes

A- Interparticle (or B-Interaparticle (or

intergranular) pores: are intragranular) pores: are
initially present in all generally found within the
sediments. skeletal grains of
carbonate sands.

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 2. SECONDARY PORES ARE OFTEN CAUSED BY
SOLUTION
A- Secondary porosity formed B- Secondary porosity not
by solution is classified into formed by solution is
two types: classified into three types:
1. Moldic porosity 1. Fenestral porosity
2. Vuggy porosity 2. Intercrystalline porosity
3. Fracture porosity

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Different morphological
Shapes of porosity

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Determination of porosity using:
1. Well logs
2. Core samples
3. Thin sections (visual estimation)

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 2- PERMEABILITY
 Definition
Permeability: is the second essential requirement for a reservoir rock. Porosity
alone is not enough; the pores must be connected. So, Permeability is the
ability of fluids to pass through a porous material.
Q = K(P1 – P2)A
µL
where
Q = rate of flow
K = permeability
(P1 – P2)= pressure drop across the sample
A = cross-sectional area of the sample
L = length of the sample
µ = viscosity of the fluid
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The unit of permeability is the Darcy or millidarcy (md)
• PERMEABILITY MEASUREMENT

Permeability may be measured in two ways:

1. Geophysical well logs are used to identify permeable
zone in a qualitative way form SP and caliper logs.
2. Also, a permeameter is used to measure
permeability using the following equation:
Q = K(P1 – P2)A
µL

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DETERMINATION OF PERMEABLE ZONES IN WELL LOGS

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 3- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY,
PERMEABILITY, AND TEXTURE
 The texture of a sediment is closely correlated with its porosity
and permeability.
 The texture of a reservoir rock is related to the original
depositional fabric of the sediment which is modified by
diagenesis.
 The textural parameters of unconsolidated sediment that may
affect porosity and permeability are as follows:
1. Grain shape (roundness, sphericity)
2. Grain size
3. Sorting
4. Fabric (packing, grain orientation)
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 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY,
PERMEABILITY, AND GRAIN SHAPE
There are two aspects of grain shape to consider; these are
roundness and sphericity (Powers, 1953).
 Roundness is the degree of angularity of the particle.
 Sphericity describes the degree to which the particle
approaches a spherical shape.
Porosity decreases with sphericity, because spherical grains may
be more tightly packed than subspherical ones (Fraser, 1935)

Porosity Decreasing

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 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY,
PERMEABILITY, AND GRAIN SIZE
Theoretically, porosity is independent of grain size for
uniformly packed and graded sand.
Coarser sands sometimes have higher porosities than do
finer sand.
Permeability declines with decreasing grain size…why?
Permeability

Porosity 17
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY,
PERMEABILITY, AND GRAIN SORTING
Porosity increases and decreases with sorting…why?
Permeability increases and decreases with sorting… why?

of porosity
Decreasing

and permeability
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 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POROSITY, PERMEABILITY, AND
GRAIN PACKING AND GRAIN ORIENTATION
There are two important characteristics of the fabric of a
sediment; these are how the grains are packed and
how they are oriented.
Grain packing and Decreasing
grain orientation of P &PM

effect porosity
and permeability
…How?

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 4. CAPILLARY PRESSURE
 The capillary pressure is the difference between the ambient pressure
and the pressure exerted by the column of liquid.
 Capillary pressure increases with decreasing tube diameter.

Colum pressure

Ambient pressure
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 Translated into geologic terms, the capillary pressure
of a reservoir increases with decreasing pore size or,
more specifically, pore throat diameter.
 Capillary tubes of various diameters showing that the
heights of the liquid columns are proportional to the
diameters of the tubes.

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 5- EFFECTS OF DIAGENESIS ON RESERVOIR
QUALITY
 Definition of diagenesis: The physical and chemical changes that alter
the characteristics of sediment after deposition are referred to as
diagenesis (Milliken 2003).
 These processes occur at relatively low temperatures, typically below
about 250°C, and at depths of up to about 5000m.
 Diagenesis has been divided into two broad stages:
1. Early diagenesis, for processes taking place from deposition and into
the shallow-burial realm.
2. Late diagenesis for those processes affecting the sediments at
deeper levels, and on uplift.
 The effects of diagenesis on sandstones reservoirs include the
destruction of porosity and permeability by:
1. Compaction and pressure dissolution
2. Cementation, and
3. The enhancement of porosity by solution
 Also, carbonate reservoirs are important as sandstones reservoirs
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 EFFECTS OF DIAGENESIS ON SANDSTONES
RESERVOIRS

Porosity loss by compaction and pressure dissolution

 Reduces the size of the pores and the pore throats.
Porosity loss by cementation
Controls the chemical composition of the pore system
 Influences the reaction between completion/ workover fluids
and the reservoir. Can result in significant formation damage
 Reduces the size of pores and pore throats
 Types of cementation:
A. Quartz cementation (silica overgrowth)
B. Carbonate cementation
C. Authigenic clays cementation. 23
 PRESSURE
C O M PAC T I O N DISSOLUTION

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 A. Quartz cement (silica overgrowth)
• Quartz overgrowth around some grains are found in optical continuity
with the detrital quartz grains and is occasionally separated by a thin
film of impurities, which may be clay coating or iron oxides.
• Origin: due to the solubility of silica increases with PH. So, silica
cement occurs when acid fluid have moved through the pores.
• Generally, quartz overgrowths affect the reservoir quality, as they
decrease the porosity and destruct the permeability by closing the
pores spaces.

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silica overgrowth
B. Carbonate cementation
 Calcite is one of the most common cements in
sandstones, but other carbonate cements of more local
importance are dolomite and siderite.
 Origin: the source of the CaCo3 in marine sandstones is
probably derived from dissolution of carbonate skeletal
grains and it is precipitated by the increase in PH and/
or temperature.
 Types of carbonate cementation:
1. Calcite cement
2. Dolomite cement

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 C- AUTHIGENIC CLAY CEMENTATION
 The precipitation of clay minerals in a sandstone is very
significant as it can has a great effect on its permeability and
porosity.
 The type of clay mineral present is important for the reservoir
potential of a sandstone.
 The pore filling kaolinite reduces
A&C Kaolin cement
the porosity of a sandstone,
but has little effect on
permeability, whereas
the pore-lining illite reduces B&D Ilite cement
the permeability considerably
by blocking pore throats,
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but it has little effect on porosity .
SEM of authigenic SEM of authigenic
kaolinite, consisting of illite in the form of
stacked pseudohexagonal radial fibers
platy crystal

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 POROSITY ENHANCEMENT BY SOLUTION
Cementation reduces the porosity and permeability of a sand. But,
in some cases solution of cement or grains can reverse this
trend.
It generally involves the leaching of carbonate cements and grains,
including calcite, dolomite, siderite, shell debris, and unstable
detrital minerals, especially feldspar.
Leached porosity in sands is generally associated with kaolin, which
both replaces feldspar and occurs as an authigenic cement.

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How can dissolution
increases porosity

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 EFFECTS OF DIAGENESIS ON CARBONATE
RESERVOIRS
The carbonate rocks include limestones, composed largely of
calcite and dolomite.
The effects of diagenesis are more marked in limestones than in
sandstones, beacause silica is chemically more stable than
calcite.
When first deposited, carbonate sediments are highly porous and
permeable.
Carbonate minerals are thus dissolved and reprecipitated to form
limestones whose porosity and permeability distribution are
largely secondary in origin and often unrelated to the primary
porosity.
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RESERVOIR QUALITY
AND
CONNECTIVITY

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 The most important components of reservoir
description are:
1. Accurate determination of reservoir quality
2. Correct definition of vertical and lateral reservoir
connectivity (continuity)
 The reservoir model must accurately describe the
reservoir in terms of quality and connectivity
 This information is vital for reservoir evaluation,
simulation, accurate reserve determination and
successful design of optimum reservoir
management procedures

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 CONTROLS ON RESERVOIR QUALITY
Fundamental properties
Porosity Permeability Saturation

Pore
Pore geometry Pore geometry
geometry
First order controls pore body size and pore throat
pore throat
number size and
structural
number
height

Composition Texture grain

lithology and size, sorting and
Second order controls mineralogy packing

Environment of
Diagenesis
Third order controls deposition

Tectono-
sedimentary 34
Fourth order controls
framework
As reservoir is generally not occurred as separate
homogenous mass it subde-

The differences between Gross pay and Net pay id due to

primary porosity and diageneses

A- Depositional Barriers B- Diagenetic Barriers

C- Structural Barres 35
CONTROLS ON RESERVOIR CONNECTIVITY
Stratigraphy
A. Depositional environments
B. Diagenesis
Tectonic (structure)
A. Faulting
B. Natural fracturing
C. Folding

The differences between Gross pay and Net pay id due to

primary porosity and diageneses
A- Depositional Barriers B- Diagenetic Barriers
C- Structural Barres 36
A- Depositional Barriers

Different shapes
of sand bodies

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Lateral Continuity index LCI and
Vertical Continuity index VCI

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LCI and VCL
for sediments of some depositional environments

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 B- Diagenetic Barriers

Diagenesis in limestone leads to barriers

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C- Structural Barres

The structural barriers are depend on the type

of structures and faulted or folded beds as well
as tectonic origin of such structures

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Normal faults of different throws

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Reservoir calculation is the step prior to drilling
and production as it give a preliminary image about
the expected reserve of hydrocarbon

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A- preliminary volumetric reserve calculation

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 B- Post-discovery volumetric reserve calculation

FVF is ranging from 1 for heavy oil to 2 to light oil and gas

Gas/Oil ratio
Is calculated from
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Hydrocarbon can produced by
A- Water drive
B- Gas Cap drive
D- Artificial left or pumping
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 A- Water Drive production
It depends on presence of rechargeable water aquifer

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Water drive production

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 B- Gas Cap Drive

Steps of gas cap drive

For oil production

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C- Dissolved Gas Drive

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D- Artificial lift or pumping

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