Izmir Katip Çelebi University

School of Engineering and Architechture

Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Course Title: Flow Through Porous Media Instructor: Dr. Ibrahim Kocabas
Course No.: PNGE 218 Assignment# 3 , Spring 2024
Date : 03/04/2024 Due Date : 03/05/2024

You are asked to solve the following problems and submit your work. Show the steps in your
solutions so that one can reproduce your results by means of simply following your steps.
(some of the questions are borrowed from Craft and Hawkins) Submit your work only as electronik
file(s)!!

1. A water well with a 12 inch well bore is drilled on 40 acre spacing. The
permeability of the pay is 100 md and is 10 ft thick. The flowing pressure at
the well bore is 200 psia and the shut in pressure is 500 psia. Calculate the
rate of flow of the water into the well bore if μ=1 cp and Sw = 100%. (1 acre
= 43,560 ft2).
2. For the flow of a liquid through a capillary tube the Darcy Law in field units
can be written as
k A ( p − p2 )
q = 0.001127 t t 1
BL
Where At is the cross sectional area of the tube(cylinder). In such a case the permeability
of the tube is given by

kt = 1.15 *1013 r 2 md
Where r, the radius of the tube, is in ft.

Similarly for a smooth fracture separated by plates and hence has constant aperture (width)
the Darcy’s Law is given by
k f A f ( p1 − p2 )
q = 0.001127
The permeability of the fracture is given by BL
 k f = 7.7 *1012 w2 md

Where w is the width of the fracture, in ft, and Af is the crossectional area of the fracture
in ft2.
Based on the above equations assume that a very low permeability carbonate rock
matrix of very low primary or matrix permeability, say 0.01 md, each matrix block of 1 sqft,
contains on the average a single fracture 4.17*10–4 ft wide 1 ft in lateral extent. ( This means
that a 1 ft wide matrix block contains a 4.17*10–4 ft fracture in it. Thus width of matrix
plus fracture is equal to 1 ft in total.) Assuming the fracture is in the direction in which
flow is desired, and hence, the law of parallel flow apply calculate the permeability of the
matrix and fracture system, you are asked to calculate the average permeability of the
matrix/fracture system. (Hint. You have to use a width weighted average instead of
thickness weighted average.)

3. Given the following groups of porous beds

The following fluid is water (μ = 1.0 cp) and ∆p across the core is 0.80 atm.
Assume that flow occurs across the beds in parallel.
a. Calculate ∆p across each layer.
b. Calculate ∆p across the entire system.
c. Calculate q through each layer.
d. Calculate the total flow rate through the system.
e. Calculate an average permeability that would allow a homogeneous
porous medium of the same overall dimensions to transmit the same
amount of fluids as this heterogeneous system.
4. Answer the following
a. Drive the expression for the average permeability for radial flow in
 beds in series.
b. A 6-inch well bore is drilled into a 500 md sand with re = 750 ft. The
drilling mud penetrated the formation for a distance of 1 foot and
reduced the permeability in this invaded zone to a value of 10% of the
original. Calculate the average permeability of the well system.