Reservoir Properties

• Petroleum reservoirs contain gas and water, or oil and water, with the
petroleum usually in the central parts of the pores and the water in
pendular rings around the grain contacts. This water is apparently
immobile, and the irreducible water saturation is commonly 20-40% of the
pore volume.
• Pressures in the petroleum are higher than normal hydrostatic water
pressures because of its smaller weight density.
• Porosity is an important rock property because it is a measure of the
potential storage volume for hydrocarbons. Porosity in carbonate
reservoirs ranges from 1 to 35% and, in the United States, averages 10% in
dolomite reservoirs and 12% in limestone reservoirs.
Typical fault traps. As in stratigraphic traps, multiple seals are needed to
trap hydrocarbons.
Biddle and Weilchowsky (1994).
Rift Basin
• Drainage Area
• This is the areal extent of the reservoir. It is most often determined
from geological information about the formation/region, but can also
be estimated from performance studies such as material balance,
interference analysis, and simulation studies.
• Expected Ultimate Recovery (EUR)
• The expected ultimate recovery (EUR) is the amount of oil or gas that
can be economically recovered from a reservoir under current
operating and economic conditions.
• Permeability is the property of rocks that is an indication of the ability for fluids
(gas or liquid) to flow through rocks.
• High permeability will allow fluids to move rapidly through rocks.
• Permeability is affected by the pressure in a rock. The unit of measure is called the
darcy.
• Sandstones may vary in permeability from less than one to over 50,000 millidarcys
(md).
• Permeabilities are more commonly in the range of tens to hundreds of millidarcies.
• A rock with 25% porosity and a permeability of 1 md will not yield a significant
flow of water. Such “tight” rocks are usually artificially stimulated (fractured or
acidized) to create permeability and yield a flow.
Rift Basin
 Basin Types
1. Passive Margins and Rift Basin
2. Transform Basin
3. Foreland Basin
4. Forearc Basin
5. Intra-continental Basin