Dr.

Gamal Abdalla Et – Toam

Sebha University
THE FORMATION OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 Like coal, petroleum reservoir fluids (oils and gases) are
fossil fuels that formed millions of years ago and are found,
trapped in rocks in the earth, in both offshore and onshore
locations.
 According to the popular organic theory of formation of
petroleum, these petroleum reservoir fluids were formed
millions of years ago when animal and plant matter settled
into the seas together with sand, silt and rocks,
subsequently resulting in a build-up of several layers along
the coastline and on the sea bottom.
 Some of these layers were buried deep in the earth due to
geological shifts.
THE FORMATION OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 Variables, such as geological time scales, pressure (due to
burial and depth), and temperature (due to geothermal
gradient related to depth) resulted in the conversion of the
organic material into petroleum reservoir fluids and the
mud, sand and silt into rock. The rock containing the
organic material that converted into petroleum reservoir
fluids is referred to as a source rock.
 Although all petroleum reservoir fluids are constituted
primarily of carbon and hydrogen, a widely different
molecular constitution or chemical composition makes
every petroleum reservoir fluid unique in nature
 As a fluid, petroleum can migrate and the rocks from that
it is produced are usually not the same as the ones (source
rocks) from that it was formed.
THE FORMATION OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 These-petroleum reservoir fluids that formed deep within
the earth, began moving upwards (due to lower gravity)
through tiny, connected pore spaces in the rocks.
 In the absence of impermeable barriers, some of these
fluids seeped to the surface of the earth; however, most
petroleum hydrocarbons were trapped by nonporous
rocks or other barriers that did not allow any further
migration.
 It is these underground traps of oil and gas that are called
petroleum reservoirs. These reservoirs are made up of
porous and permeable rocks that can hold significant
amounts of oil and gas within the pore spaces of those
rocks; much like water is soaked up in a sponge.
THE FORMATION OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS

 Schematic of an idealized petroleum reservoir showing gas, oil, and water

distribution.
 Note that due to capillary forces, which resist complete gravity segregation,
water is also found (in small amounts) in all zones of the reservoir, including
the gas cap.
TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 Petroleum reservoirs are created through three sequential
steps: (1) deposition, (2) conversion/migration, and (3)
entrapment.
 A typical trap is an anticline, where rocks have been
buckled into the form of a dome. If the anticline has a seal
of impermeable rock, hydrocarbons remain in this trap
until they are drilled for and brought to the surface.
 However, petroleum reservoir fluids contained in the pore
space or interstices of the reservoir rock must negotiate
tortuous passageways through the rock to travel from the
reservoir into the well bore and on to the surface.
 These oil and gas reservoirs can be found at depths as
shallow as 40 ft (West Africa-Gabon) and as deep as 21,000
ft (North Sea-UKCS). In 1859, the first commercial oil well
drilled by Col. Edwin L. Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania
was merely to a depth of 69.5 ft.
TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 Most petroleum reservoirs contain at least two fluid
phases, either gas and water or oil and water; however,
some contain all three phases; gas, oil, and water. In
principle, if placed in an open container, gravity
segregation should separate all fluid phases into distinct
layers as per their densities with gas on top, followed by oil
and water.
 However, other parameters, such as rock/fluid properties
and solubility, restrict complete gravitational segregation
(see Figure 1.1).
 The reservoir rocks, that hold petroleum, are mostly
sandstone and limestone (also called carbonates including
dolomites).
TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIRS
 Less than 1% of the world's oil has been found in fractured
igneous or metamorphic rocks, that typically lack the pore
or void space needed to be successful reservoir rocks.
 Three different geothermal processes impart particular
characteristics or properties to petroleum reservoir fluids
present in these reservoirs. The processes that transform
the organic matter (known as kerogen) into hydrocarbons
are
 DIGENESIS (100 to 200°F) resulting in biochemical
methane;
 CATAGENESIS (200 to 300°F) resulting in oil or wet gas;
and
 METAGENESIS (300 to 400°F) resulting in dry gas.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 It is virtually impossible to obtain visual information of rock
structures that contain petroleum reservoir fluids due to, for
example, the overlying sea and other rock layers.
 Therefore, when searching for oil and gas, random holes cannot
be drilled to explore a formation, and hence a more precise
survey of the area is carried out.
 The quest for petroleum reservoir fluids normally begins with
geologists and geophysicists and a variety of scientists and
engineers who study sedimentary rocks and the hydrocarbon
fluids contained in them.
 A petroleum geologist studies the physical and chemical
characteristics of the rocks. A geophysicist in the petroleum
industry primarily carries out the processing and interpretation
of seismic data and generation of subsurface maps on the basis
of seismic data.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 These interpretations enhance the understanding of
subsurface geology from a hydrocarbon resource potential
perspective.
 Based on the evaluation of the geologist and the
geophysicist, a decision is made regarding an exploratory
well drilling program following that various methods and
tools are used to locate and evaluate the commercial
significance of the rocks, since the mere knowledge of the
presence of oil and gas is not sufficient.
 These various methods and tools are part of a process
called formation evaluation.
 Generally during this formation evaluation process,
reservoir rock and fluid samples are recovered and studied
from engineering and commercial evaluation standpoints.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 Detailed information regarding the type and physical
properties of the reservoir rocks, the petroleum reservoir
fluids present in them, and interaction of the former and
the latter is essential in understanding and evaluating the
potential performance or productivity of a given petroleum
reservoir.
 Reservoir rock samples recovered during the formation
evaluation process are the only actual physical samples
of the reservoir and therefore are a direct source of valuable
data such as the nature and physical characteristics of
reservoir rocks that enable them to store fluids and to allow
fluids to flow through them.
 Therefore, core analysis is an essential, basic tool for
obtaining direct and valuable data concerning drilled rock
formations.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 Similar to reservoir rock samples, petroleum reservoir fluid
samples that are recovered during the formation evaluation
process are used for studying their nature and physical and
chemical characteristics.
 This is especially important because these petroleum
reservoir fluids are mixtures of diverse organic chemical
species, that exhibit a multiphase behavior over wide
ranges of pressure and temperature.
 Moreover, it is also important to identify the state in which
these hydrocarbon accumulations exist, that is, gaseous
state, liquid state, solid state, or in various combination of
gas, liquid and solid.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 The conditions under which these phases exist (due to chemical
composition, temperature, and pressure conditions) are a matter
of considerable practical importance.
 Therefore, the ability to measure and predict the
thermodynamic behavior of petroleum reservoir fluids is vital to
the development of new oil and gas fields, the design and
selection of transmission and processing facilities, and the
evaluation of production techniques.
 In addition to the independent study of reservoir rock and fluid
samples, equally important are the properties that are based on
rock-fluid interactions. The prominent examples of these
include wettability (affinity of a rock to a particular type of fluid;
in the presence of another fluid), which depends on properties of
both the reservoir rock and the various fluid(s) with which it is
saturated.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 Hence, knowledge of the reservoir rock wettability is essential in
determining the location where gas, oil, and water would exist in
the reservoir rock pore space.
 As mentioned earlier, petroleum reservoir fluids (and the
accompanying water in most cases) reside in the tiny pore spaces
of the reservoir rocks.
 If all three phases, of gas, oil, and water were to be present in an
open container, they would readily separate or segregate in to
three distinct layers due to their density difference.
 However, that would not be the case in a petroleum reservoir
containing all three phases, that is, the phases will not be
completely segregated as per their densities because of the
presence of an additional force called capillarity or capillary
pressure that will simply resist complete gravity segregation.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 This so-called capillary pressure is basically a result of the tiny
pore spaces that store the petroleum reservoir fluids.
 Due to this very significant rock-fluid property (capillarity) or a
balance of gravity and capillarity, the location of contacts
between various fluid phases, such as gas-oil contact or oil-water
contact, and the respective transition zones in a petroleum
reservoir will vary; this is again a matter of considerable practical
importance from exploration and production standpoints.
 Based on the foregoing, the significance of reservoir rock and
fluid properties in the exploration and production of petroleum
reservoirs is clearly evident. Therefore, detailed knowledge of
reservoir rock and fluid properties is the backbone of almost all
exploration and production-related activities such as reservoir
engineering, reservoir simulation, well testing, production
engineering, production methods, and so on.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM
RESERVOIR ROCK AND FLUID PROPERTIES
 In other words, petroleum reservoirs can be effectively
described and efficiently managed only when suitable data
are available at all levels such as field, well, core, and pore
levels.
 The level and quality of the data also dictate the degree to
which reserves can be correctly estimated.
 The success of defining an optimum field development
plan and reservoir management strategy for any field is
crucially dependent on our knowledge and
understanding of the reservoir rock and fluid
properties.
Reservoir Rock core samples
 If geologists find something particularly interesting about a
formation, they will normally ask for a reservoir rock core
sample from that particular formation for a more thorough
study with regard to potential commercial productiveness
of the formation.
 The amount of reservoir rock core taken is usually
dependent on the basis of a technical argument between
data collection, technical difficulty and economic
considerations.
 However, it should also be realized that the opportunity to
recover reservoir rock core samples arises only once in the
lifetime of a well.
CORING PHILOSOPHY

Get as many cores as the

budget will permit. Why ?

Because Core data are

required for reservoir
studies and meaningful
performance predictions.

18
SOURCES OF ROCK PROPERTTIES
Property Symbol Log Core Test Correlation
Porosity ø
Permeability K
Compressibility Cf
Saturation So, Sw
Wettability
Relative Krw , Kro

SCAL
Permeability

Capillary Pressure Pc

19
Radius of Investigation Comparison

Approximate radius of
Method investigation , feet

Pressure tests 100 -- 10000

RFT 10 -- 100

Logs 0.1 -- 5
Cores 0.08 -- 0.30

20
Reservoir Rock core samples
 Geologists and reservoir engineers require reservoir rock samples
for reservoir description and definition, reservoir characterization,
and to enhance the geological and petrophysical models.
 More specifically, the recovery of a physical sample of reservoir
rock core is essential to evaluate the two most significant
characteristics: the capacity and ability of the reservoir rock to
store and conduct petroleum reservoir fluids through the matrix.
 In addition to these characteristics, data on the formation's
lithology and production potential (primary, secondary, and
tertiary) are just a few of the valuable types of information
obtained through a successful coring program.
 While some estimates of reservoir rock properties can be made
from indirect methods such as electrical and radioactive log
surveys, accurate determination of various important properties
can only be obtained from physical rock samples.
Reservoir Rock core samples
 In fact the data obtained from core analysis are actually
used for calibration of the indirect methods such as well
logs.
 Reservoir rock samples are obtained by a process called
coring; that is the removal of continuous formation
samples from a well bore.
 To the extent possible, core samples are recovered
undamaged, preserving the physical and mechanical
integrity of the rock.
 Formation material may be solid rock, friable rock,
conglomerates, unconsolidated sands, shales, or clays.
 The reservoir rock core sample is generally obtained by
drilling into the formation with a hollow-section drill pipe
and drill bit.
Reservoir Rock core samples
 A facility is also available to retain the drilled rock as a
cylindrical sample with the dimension of the internal
cross-sectional area of the cutting bit and the length of the
hollow section.
 In some cases, reservoir rock material is also recovered in
the form of cuttings (chips of rock) on which some basic
properties are measured.
 With conventional equipment, core samples up to 10 m in
length and up to 15 cm in diameter can be obtained.
 The recovery of a reservoir rock sample according to this
procedure is somewhat analogous to using a giant apple
corer.
CORING METHODS
 Essentially three different types of coring methods are used
to recover formation samples from petroleum reservoirs.
Out of these three methods, two are conventional types,
such as the rotary method and sidewall coring. The third
method called high pressure
 coring is a much more advanced technique of recovering
formation samples.

Full Cores Side - Wall Cores

 Full Cores
Advantages Limitations
 Provide continuous record up to 90 • Slow and expensive.
feet per core. • Difficult to get a
 Can preserve the pressure within continuous core in
the core (pressure coring) . fractures.
 Can preserve the formation fluid • Require careful
(sponge coring). planning and
 Can preserve unconsolidated handling.
formations (rubber sleeve,
aluminum and PVC tube coring.
 May be oriented to permit
calculating dip angles.

25
ROTARY METHOD
 In this method, cores are obtained by a coring bit (which
has a hole in the center) in combination with a core barrel
and a core catcher.
 The provision of a hole in the center of the coring bit allows
the drilling around a central rock cylinder.
 The rock cylinder is collected in the core barrel through the
coring bit.
 The retrieved core is stored in the core barrel.
 The bottom of the core is tightly held by the core catcher.
 As soon as tension is applied to the drill string the core
breaks away from the undrilled formation underneath.
 The retrieved core is eventually lifted to the surface.
 The core retrieved using the rotary method is called as the
whole core.
SIDEWALL CORING
 Taking a full core from a formation by the rotary method is
an expensive operation; hence, the other inexpensive
coring method called as sidewall coring is used.
 This type of coring method obtains smaller samples,
ranging from 0.75 in. in diameter and 2 in. long to about 1
in. in diameter and up to 6 in. long.
 The method employs hollow cylindrical core barrels (also
called as bullets), which can be shot in sequence; from the
gun into the formation.
 The coring gun containing the bullets is lowered to the
bottom of the well and the bullets are fired individually as
the gun is pulled up the hole.
 The coring tools used in sidewall coring typically holds
upto 30 bullets.
SIDEWALL CORING

 Advantages of this technique include low cost and

the recovery of core samples from the formation
after it has been drilled.
 Disadvantages are possible non recovery because
of lost or misfired bullets and a slight uncertainty
about the sample depth.
 The samples of formation obtained by this method
are called as sidewall cores.
 Side - Wall Cores
Advantages
 Faster and less expensive than
full cores.
 Can be run at any time before
the well is case (preferred after
OH logs).
 Can often identify core azimuth
with formation microscanner
tool.
Limitations
• Record is discontinuous.
• Loss of reservoir fluids
through flushing.
• Small sample size.
• Plugs represent only the
flushed zone.
• In soft formations, side
wall cores permeability is
unreliable.
29
HIGH-PRESSURE CORING
 The two conventional methods discussed earlier suffer
from some inherent problems: Formation samples
recovered are subject to loss of fluids due to pressure
reduction as these are brought to the surface.
 However, the high-pressure coring method attempts to
circumvent this problem.
 The pressure barrel collects the reservoir fluids in their
natural container, that is, the reservoir rock, by
maintaining the core specimen at bottom hole or reservoir
conditions, until the core fluids can be immobilized by
freezing.
 Additionally, pressure coring offers a method for obtaining
in situ reservoir fluid (gas, oil, and water) saturations.
HIGH-PRESSURE CORING
 The technology used in cutting a pressure core is essentially
the same as cutting a conventional core.
 The use of a pressure-retaining core barrel is certainly not
new.
 Coring rates and core recovery are comparable to
conventional coring since the pressure core barrel retains the
basic structure of conventional equipment.
 An additional requirement in high-pressure coring is the
necessity of freezing the core in order to immobilize the
hydrocarbon fluids within the core.
 Once these fluids are immobilized, the core can be removed
from the barrel after depressurization and subsequently
transported (in a frozen state) for laboratory analysis, without
the loss of valuable in situ fluid saturation information, as
discussed in Chapter 6 on fluid saturations.
IMPORTANT ISSUES RELATED TO CORING
METHODS
 Despite the fact that core samples recovered are representative of
the physical properties of the given formation, the petroleum
reservoir fluid contents of that particular core sample are not
those of the native rock.
 Basically, two different factors play an important role in effecting
the changes that take place in the recovered reservoir rock
sample.
 First, the core sample on its trip to the surface experiences a
reduction in pressure as well as temperature, thereby allowing
the fluids contained within the formation to expand and be
expelled from the core.
 Secondly, drilling fluids used in recovering the core samples
also interact with the fluids contained within the pore spaces
of the core sample (and also the formation), which may cause
the displacement of native core fluids by the drilling fluid.
IMPORTANT ISSUES RELATED TO CORING
METHODS
 Therefore, as a net effect, the recovered core sample may
not contain the representative petroleum reservoir fluids.
 The problem of loss of native reservoir fluids due to
pressure and temperature changes is, however, greatly
alleviated in the pressure coring system where formation
fluids are kept intact within the core sample.
 The invasion of drilling fluid/mud filtrate to some extent
can be mitigated by selecting appropriate drilling muds or
by using special techniques to encapsulate the core.
TYPES OF CORES
 Generally, petroleum reservoir rock properties can be measured
either on whole core samples or small core plugs that are drilled
from the whole core samples. A brief discussion regarding whole
core and core plug samples is provided in the following two
sections.
WHOLE CORE
 A whole core sample is basically a complete section of a
conventionally drilled core from a given formation. The
importance of whole core analysis lies in the fact that small-scale
heterogeneity (e.g., for variations in rock properties as a function
of position) may not be appropriately represented in
measurements on small core plug samples.
 The advantage of whole core analysis is that it measures
properties on a larger scale, somewhat closer to that of the
reservoir.
WHOLE CORE
 Currently, many commercial laboratories are equipped to
conduct various rock property measurements on whole core
samples.
 The determination of rock properties using whole core samples
is, however, a much more demanding task considering the
sample dimensions, larger size equipment, and additional time
are necessary and hence the control of experimental conditions,
such as stabilizations, flow-rates, pressure, temperature, and so
on, can be rather tricky. Moreover, cleaning of whole cores can
also be difficult and time consuming, and laboratory analysis is
generally significantly more expensive than conventional core
plug analysis.
 In summary, whole cores or full diameter cores are tested only
when there is a reason to believe that smaller samples (core
plugs) do not reflect average properties.
CORE PLUG
 A core plug sample refers to a much smaller portion of the whole core
sample. A core plug sample is obtained by cutting cylindrical plugs of
typically 1 or 1.5 in. in diameter and of lengths up to 3 in., from a whole
core.
 All necessary rock properties are typically measured on a number of
such core plug samples.
 Generally, core plugs are cut from whole core samples in two different
orientations: perpendicular or parallel to the axis of the whole core.
 These core plugs, when drilled from a whole core from a vertical well
bore, are called horizontal and vertical plugs, respectively.
 The determination of rock properties using core plugs has some
distinct advantages such as relatively short amount of test duration and
ease of maintaining experimental conditions.
 A diagrammatic representation of core plugs cut from a whole core
sample is shown in Figure 2.1. The measurement of rock properties on
core plugs is probably the most common practice in the petroleum
industry.
CORE PLUG

 FIGURE 2.1 Core plugs drilled from a whole core sample.

ALLOCATION OF CORE DATA FOR
MEASUREMENT OF RESERVOIR ROCK
PROPERTIES
 Core sample measurements are intended to achieve
several goals and are distinguished by their order of
urgency and whether it is a question of an exploratory
well or a development well.
 The data derived from core analysis are typically
utilized by geologists, petrophysicists, completion
engineers, and reservoir engineers.
 This particular data allocation is best described by
Figure 2.2.
ALLOCATION OF CORE DATA FOR
MEASUREMENT OF RESERVOIR ROCK
PROPERTIES

 FIGURE 2.2 Allocation of core or core data.

HANDLING OF RESERVOIR ROCK CORE
SAMPLES
 A preliminary discussion regarding core handling is given
here. However, other specific implications of core handling
are discussed in the individual chapters where various rock
properties are presented.
 The reservoir rock core sample is only as good as the
various rock properties from which it can be measured.
 There is no guarantee that good quality core samples
always yield reliable rock properties representative of the
formation.
 However, if core samples are properly handled in the
laboratory, the probability of obtaining accurate and
reliable rock properties that are representative of the
formation is much greater.
 Therefore, proper handling of the core is as critical as its
acquisition and, core quality and its handling are key
because they directly impact the measured properties.
HANDLING OF RESERVOIR ROCK CORE
SAMPLES
 As far as handling core samples from well site to laboratory
is concerned (and also in the actual laboratory analysis), it
is desirable to preserve the "native" state of the core
samples in order to maintain important properties of the
core sample such as "wettability".
 If original wettability of the system is not maintained; it
may significantly impact measured rock properties.
 Therefore, it is a common practice to store the core plug
samples immersed in formation fluids (normally crude
oil).
TYPES OF CORE TESTS
 Since core samples represent the ground truth in the
evaluation of petroleum reservoirs, a thorough laboratory
analysis specifically termed core analysis is normally carried
out.
 Through such laboratory analysis, a variety of tests are carried
out on either the whole core samples or core plug samples.
 The information obtained from core analysis aids in
formation evaluation, reservoir development, and reservoir
engineering.
 The type of data measured as part of this analysis is porosity,
permeability, fluid saturations, capillary pressure, relative
permeability, and so on.
 Core analysis is generally categorized into two groups: routine
or conventional core analysis and special core analysis or
SCAL.
 CORE

Unpreserved Restored ( preserved )

Routine Special
Analysis Analysis

Core Gamma Capillary Pressure

Porosity Relative Permeability
Permeability Electrical Properties
Density Compressibility
Residual Saturation Wettability
Flood Tests
43
ROUTINE OR CONVENTIONAL CORE ANALYSIS
 Routine core analysis generally refers to the measurement
of porosity, grain density, horizontal permeability
(absolute), fluid saturations, and a lithologic description of
the core.
 These measurements are carried out either on the whole
core sample or core plug samples at ambient temperature
(also sometimes at reservoir temperature) and at either
atmospheric confining pressure, formation confining
pressure (preferred), or both.
 Routine core analyses also often include a core gamma log
and measurements of vertical permeability (absolute).

SPECIAL CORE ANALYSIS
 Any laboratory measurements, either on whole cores or
core plugs, that are not part of routine core analysis
generally fall under the category of special core analysis
(SCAL).
 Probably the most prominent SCAL tests are two-phase or
three-phase fluid flow or displacement experiments in the
formation rock sample, from which reservoir engineering
properties such as relative permeability, wettability, and
capillary pressure are determined.
 In addition to reservoir engineering properties, SCAL tests
also include the measurement of electrical and mechanical
properties and petrographic studies.
SPECIAL CORE ANALYSIS
 Electrical properties include the formation factor and
resistivity index; mechanical properties include the
evaluation of various rock mechanics parameters.
 Petrographic and mineralogical studies basically include
imaging of the formation rock samples through scanning
electron microscopy, thin-section analysis, x-ray
diffraction, and computerized tomography (CT scanning).
 Sometimes, a preliminary fluid characterization such as
density and viscosity measurement of formation
hydrocarbon samples and water samples, surface and
interfacial tension measurements, and the chemical
analysis of water samples are also considered as part of
SCAL.