Wettability
Rock wettability
Types of wettability
Measurement methods
Effect of wettability on the
distribution saturation of fluids
It is expected that students will be able to:
define wettability, water wet rock, oil wet
rock and mixed wettability
describe wettability measurement using
Amott Test and contact angle
measurement.
calculate wettability index from Amott Test
data
describe the effect of wettability on
saturation
 Wettability
Types of wettability

What is wettability and its types?

• Methods of measurement
Methods to determine wettability of a reservoir rock
sample.

• Effect of wettability on distribution and saturation of fluid in porous

media.

How wettabilty influence the distribution and saturation of fluid in a

porous media.
 Wettability
Types of wettability

When more than one phases of fluid present in a porous medium, there will
be interaction between the phases of the fluid and also between solid and
the fluid.
All molecules are attracted one
to the other in proportion to the GAS
product of their masses and
inversely proportional to the
squares of the distance
between them..

Interaction between different LIQUID

types of molecules will cause (dense phase)
an unbalanced force which
results in interfacial tension at
the interface. SOLID
 Wettability
Types of wettability
Interfacial tension, IFT, is the energy per unit area (force per unit length) at
the interface of two immiscible phases.

Commonly expressed as
milliNewtons/meter (or,
dynes/cm) Unbalanced force at
the interface
GAS
A system at equilibrium
minimizes its free
 energy to form smallest
LIQUID size (smallest surface
area per unit volume)

Cohesive force
SOLID
Cohesive force
versus adhesive
Adhesion force force
 Wettability
Types of wettability
Interaction between two immiscible fluid an a solid surface will cause one of
the fluid to be much easier to adhere to the surface of the solid compared to
the other fluid.

The tendency of one fluid to spread on or

adhere to a solid surface in the prensence of
other immiscible fluid is called wettability. OIL


Adhesion tension is the different between WATER
two interfacial tensions of solid-fluid system.

AT   so   sw   ow cos  SOLID
Cohesive force
Adhesion force
 Wettability
AT = adhesion tension, milli-
Newtons/m (or dynes/cm)
Oil  = contact angle between interfaces
of oil/water/solid measured through
ow the denser phase, degrees

Oil  Water Oil

so = interfacial tension between the
solid and lighter fluid phase (oil), milli-
so  Newtons/m or dynes/cm
sw
sw = interfacial tension between the
Solid solid and denser phase (water), milli-
Newtons/m or dynes/cm

AT   so   sw   ow cos  ow = interfacial tension between fluids

(oil/water) , milli-Newtons/m or
A positive adhesion tension => the denser phase dynes/cm
(water) preferentially wets the solid
surface.
Adhesion tension of zero => both phases have an equal affinity for the surface.

Wettability classification
- Strongly oil- or water-
wetting
- neutral wettability
- fractional wettability
- Mixed wettability
Wettability
• Strongly oil- or water-wetting
• Neutral wettability – no preferential wettability
to either water or oil in the pores
• Fractional wettability – reservoir that has local
areas that are strongly oil-wet, whereas most
of the reservoir is strongly water-wet
- Occurs where reservoir rock have variable
mineral composition and surface chemistry
• Mixed wettability – smaller pores area water-wet
are filled with water, whereas larger pores are
oil-wet and filled with oil
- Residual oil saturation is low
- Occurs where oil with polar organic compounds
invades a water-wet rock saturated with brine
 Wettability
Types of wettability

Strongly water-wetting

• Reservoir rock is water - wet if water

preferentially wets the rock surfaces.
• The rock is water- wet under the following
conditions
• os >ws
AT > 0 the adhesion tension is
positive
0 <  < 90

If  is close to 0, the rock is considered

to be “strongly water-wet”
 Wettability
Types of wettability

Strongly oil-wetting

• Reservoir rock is oil-wet if oil

preferentially wets the rock surfaces.
• The rock is oil-wet under the following
conditions::
sw > so
AT < 0 the adhesion tension is
negative
90 <  < 180

If  is close to 180, the rock is

considered to be “strongly oil-wet”
 Wettability
Types of wettability
- (Strongly oil- or water-wetting)

WATER

SILICA SURFACE
ORGANIC
LIQUIDS

WATER

CALCITE SURFACE
 Wettability
WATER-WET OIL-WET
Air
OIL Oil OIL



 WATER  WATER
 < 90
WATER WATER  > 90
SOLID (ROCK) SOLID (ROCK)
FREE WATER

OIL
GRAIN GRAIN

OIL
RIM
BOUND WATER FREE WATER
Ayers, 2001
 Wettability
Types of wettability

- Strongly oil- or water-wetting

Generally

• Silicate minerals have acidic surfaces • Carbonate minerals have basic

• Repel acidic fluids such as major surfaces
polar organic compounds present • Attract acidic compounds of crude
in some crude oils oils
• Attract basic compounds • Neutral to oil-wet surfaces
• Neutral to water-wet surfaces

Caution: these are very general statements.

 Wettability
Types of wettability

- Neutral wettability – no preferential wettability to either water or

oil in the pores

- Fractional wettability – reservoir that has local areas that are strongly oil-
wet, whereas most of the reservoir is strongly water-wet
- Occurs where reservoir rock have variable mineral composition and surface
chemistry

- Mixed wettability – smaller pores area water-wet are filled with water,
whereas larger pores are oil-wet and filled with oil
- Residual oil saturation is low
- Occurs where oil with polar organic compounds
invades a water-wet rock saturated with brine
 Wettability
Types of wettability

Imbibition and Drainage

Imbibition is a fluid flow process in which the saturation of the wetting phase
increases and the nonwetting phase saturation decreases. (e.g., waterflood of
an oil reservoir that is water-wet).

Drainage - Fluid flow process in which the saturation of the nonwetting

phase increases

•(e.g. waterflood of an oil reservoir that is oil-wet)

 Wettability
Types of wettability
WATER-WET RESERVOIR, OIL-WET RESERVOIR,
IMBIBITION IMBIBITION
• Water will occupy the smallest pores • Oil will occupy the smallest pores

• Water will wet the surfaces of most • Oil will wet the surfaces of most larger
larger pores pores

• In pores having high oil saturation, • In pores having high water

oil rests on a water film
• Imbibition - If a water-wet rock
saturated with oil is placed in water,
it will imbibe water into the smallest
pores, displacing oil
saturation, water rests on a
oil film
• Imbibition - If an oil-wet rock
saturated with water is placed in oil,
it will imbibe oil into the smallest
pores, displacing water
 Wettability
Imbibition Wettability
and Drainage

”Water Wet”

Water
Oil
Rock
”Oil Wet”
 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY

Most common measurement techniques

Contact angle measurement method

Amott method (Imbibition-Dynamic Displacement)

United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) Method(Imbibition

Displacement)
 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY

Contact angle measurement method

 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY
 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY

Saturate with oil 1. Immersed in 2. Centrifuge the core

oil. Imbibition of under oil (4 hrs),
Flushed with oil displaces additional brine
brine to residual the brine in the displaced is measured.
oil saturation core (20 hrs).
Measured the
oil volume
displaced

4. Centrifuge the core

under brine (4hrs),
3. Immerse additional oil displaced is
core in brine measured.
(20 hrs).
Measured the
displaced oil.
 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY

(Volume of oil displaced by brine imbibition)

WIw =
(Volume of oil displaced by brine imbibition)+( forced displacement)

(Volume of brine displaced by oil imbibition)

WIo =
(Volume of brine displaced by oil imbibition)+( forced displacement)

Amott Indices Type1

water wet : WIo = 0 and WIw > 0
WIw closer to 1, increase degree of water wet
oil wet : WIw = 0 and WIo > 0
WIo closer to 1, increase degree of oil wet

Neutral wettability: WIw and WIo will be 0 or near to 0.

 Wettability
LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY

Amott Indices Type 2

(WIw - WIo ) ranges from -1 to +1

Strongly oil wet rock (WIw - WIo ) = -1

Strongly water wet rock (WIw - WIo ) = +1

Wettability

oil-wet
 Wettability
WATER-WET OIL-WET
Air
OIL Oil OIL


Effect of  WATER  WATER
wettability on  < 90
SOLID (ROCK)
WATER WATER  > 90
SOLID (ROCK)
distribution and
saturation of fluid
in porous media
FREE WATER

OIL
GRAIN GRAIN

OIL
RIM
BOUND WATER FREE WATER
Ayers, 2001
Wettability
Wettability
Wettability
Wettability
• LABORATORY MEASUREMENT OF WETTABILITY
 Wettability

Amott Method

Wettability calculation:

If (3)/(4) approaching 1.0 and (1)/(2) pproaching 0.0, core is

strongly water-wet.

If (1)/(2) approaching 1.0, and (3)/(4) approaching 0.0, core is

strongly oil-wet.

If (1)/(2) and (3)/(4) appoaching 1.0, core is having intermediate

wettability
 Wettability
Amott Method

Wettability calculation:

Sample (1) (2) (3) (4) (1)/(2) (3)/(4)

# Water Water Oil Oil
(cc) (cc) (cc) (cc)

1 0.05 0.80 0.13 0.15 0.0625 0.867

2 0.04 0.70 .08 0.10 0.057 0.80

3 0.02 0.75 0.08 0.12 0.027 0.667

Rock is strongly water-wet

 Wettability

Imbibition Displacement Method

(for core saturated with oil)

1. Placed core in imbibition cell full with

brine (water).

2. Record oil volume displaced

(may take up to 2 weeks).
 Wettability

3. Take out core from cell and

displaced oil with brine until Soir.

4. Place core in imbibition cell full with

oil and close.

5. Record brine volume displaced.

 Wettability

6. Take out core, clean and measure porosity, permeability and

grain density.
7. Calculate (%PV) of imbibe fluid = ((volume of fluid)/ (PV)) * 100

Wettability:
If % water more than % oil, core is water-wet.
If % oil more than % water, core is oil-wet.
Wettability