Petrophysics AND Reservoir Properties Laboratory

PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
LABORATORY WORKBOOK
Department of Petroleum Engineering

Curtin University
Semester 2, 2013
0 INTRODUCTION
Knowledge of petrophysical and hydrodynamic properties of reservoir
rocks and basic reservoir fluid properties are of fundamental importance
to a petroleum engineer. Lab analysis conducted on rock and fluid
samples and well logging are the two major sources of information when
it comes to reservoir rock and fluid properties. While lab analysis is a
direct way to measure such properties, well logging is generally
considered as an indirect technique to gather information on the reservoir
rock and fluid properties. Presented in this unit (Petroleum Engineering
Lab) are some details on a number of simple but effective methods used
to analysis rock and fluid properties and review the nature and quality of
the information that can be obtained from them.
0.1 Rock Samples (Cores)

Cores are obtained during the drilling of a well by replacing the drill bit
with a diamond core bit and a core barrel. The core barrel is basically a
hollow pipe receiving the continuous rock cylinder, and the rock is inside
the core barrel when brought to surface.
Continuous mechanical coring is a costly procedure due to:
The drill string must be pulled out of the hole to replace the
normal bit by core bit and core barrel.
The coring operation itself is slow.
The recovery of rocks drilled is not complete.
A single core is usually not more than 9 m long, so extra trips

out of hole are required.
Coring should therefore be detailed programmed, especially in

production wells. In an exploration well the coring cannot always be
accurately planned due to lack of accurate knowledge about the
geological setting. Apart from normal coring operation during drilling,
small core-plugs may be taken after drilling the well through sidewall
coring. In sidewall coring a wireline-conveyed core gun is used, where a
hollow cylindrical bullet is fired in to the wall of the hole. These plugs
are small and may be fractured and therefore usually are not very
valuable for reservoir engineers.
During drilling, the core becomes contaminated with drilling mud
filtrate and the reduction of pressure and temperature while bringing the
core to surface results in gas dissolution and further expansion of fluids.

The fluid content of the core observed on the surface cannot be used as a
quantitative measure of saturation of oil, gas and water in the reservoir.
However, if water based mud is used the presence of oil in the core
indicates that the formation is oil bearing.
0.2 Fluid Samples

Reservoir fluid samples may be taken either on the surface or
underground within the production interval. The surface fluid sampling
can be performed on the wellhead if the wellhead conditions allow single
phase flow within the flow-line. One other more frequently used surface
sampling technique is sample collection from the separator. At the
separator gas and liquid samples are taken independently and then they
are recombined with appropriate ratios under in-situ reservoir conditions
to obtained representative fluid samples.
Underground or bottom-hole samples are taken using specially
designed cells which are lowered inside the production interval of the well
and then representative fluid samples can be taken.
0.3 Laboratory Analysis

When the so called whole-core arrives in the laboratory core-plugs are
usually drilled from it every 20-30 cm throughout the reservoir interval.
All these plugs are analysed with respect to porosity, permeability,
saturation and lithology. This analysis is usually called routine core
analysis. The results from routine core analysis are used in interpretation
and evaluation of the reservoir. Presented in Table 0 -1 is a list of data
normally measured during routine core analysis and example applications
of these data.
Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Petroleum Engineering Department, Curtin University
Table 0-1 Routine core analysis and applications
Special core analysis (SCAL) includes several measurements with the

main objective of obtaining detailed information on the multiphase flow
behaviour and reservoir rock-fluid interactions. SCAL provides information
on the distribution of oil, gas, and water in the reservoir (capillary
pressure data), residual oil saturation and multiphase flow characteristics
(relative
permeabilities).
Measurements
of
electrical
and
acoustic
properties are occasionally included in SCAL. Wettability analysis and lab

based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) investigations are also often part of
SCAL. This information is mainly used during the interpretation of well
logs and also in computer based reservoir simulation models. The special
core analysis is normally performed at reservoir in-situ conditions of
pressure and temperature.
Table 0 -2 presents a list of various SCAL analyses which are normally
performed on reservoir rock and fluid properties.
Table 0-2 SCAL core analysis and applications

0.4 References
Torster, O. and Abtahi, M., 2003. Experimental reservoir engineering

laboratory work book, Department of Petroleum engineering and
Applied Geophysics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C., 2004. Petrophysics. Gulf Professional

Publishing, Elsevier, Burlington, Massachusetts.

1 POROSITY
1.1 Definitions
From the viewpoint of petroleum engineers, the two most important
properties of a reservoir rock are porosity and permeability. Porosity is a
measure of storage capacity of a reservoir. It is defined as the ratio of the
pore volume to bulk volume, and is may be expressed as either
percentage or a fraction. In equation form:
Pore Volume
Total Bulk Volume Volume Occupied by Solids
Total Bulk Volume

Total Bulk Volume
1-
( fraction)
Two types of porosity may be measured: total or absolute porosity and

effective porosity. Total porosity is the ratio of all the pore spaces in a rock
to the bulk volume of the rock (Equation 1 -1).
Effective porosity e is the ratio of interconnected void spaces to the
bulk volume (Equation 1 -2). Thus, only the effective porosity contains
fluids that can be produced from wells. For granular materials such as
sandstone, the effective porosity may approach the total porosity,
however, for shales and for highly cemented or vugular rocks such as
some limestones, large variations may exist between effective and total
porosity.
e
Interconnected Pore Volume

Total Bulk Volume
( fraction )
12
Porosity may be classified according to its origin as either primary or

secondary. Primary or original porosity is developed during deposition of
the sediment. Secondary porosity is caused by some geologic process
subsequent to formation of the deposit. These changes in the original
pore spaces may be created by ground stresses, water movement, or
various types of geological activities after the original sediments were
deposited.
Fracturing or formation of solution cavities often will increase the
original porosity of the rock.

Figure 1-1 Cubic packing (a), rhombohedral (b), cubic packing with
two grain sizes
For a uniform rock grain size, porosity is independent of the size of the
grains. A maximum theoretical porosity of 48% is achieved with cubic
packing of spherical grains, as shown in Figure
1 -1a. Rhombohedral
packing, which is more representative of reservoir conditions, is shown in

Figure 1 -1b; the porosity for this packing is 26%. If a second, smaller size
of spherical grains is introduced into cubic packing (Fig. 1c), the porosity
decreases from 48% to 14%. Thus, porosity is dependent on the grain size
distribution and the arrangement of the grains, as well as the amount of
cementing materials. Not all grains are spherical, and grain shape also
influences porosity. A typical reservoir sand is illustrated in Figure 1 -1d.
1.2 Effect of Compaction on Porosity

Compaction is the process of volume reduction due to an externally
applied pressure. For extreme compaction pressures, all materials show
some irreversible change in porosity. This is due to distortion and crushing
of the grain or matrix elements of the materials, and in some cases,
recrystallization. The variation of porosity with change in pressure can be
represented by:
2 1 e
C f ( P2 P1 )
13
Where 2 and 1 are porosities at pressure P2 and P1 respectively, and

Cf is formation compressibility. Formation compressibility is defined as
summation of both grain and pore compressibility. For most petroleum
reservoirs, grain compressibility is considered to be negligible. Formation
compressibility can be expressed as:

Cf
1 dV
V dP
14
Where dP is change in reservoir pressure. For porous rocks, the

compressibility depends explicitly on porosity.
1.3 Porosity Measurements on Core-Plugs

From the definition of porosity, it is evident that the porosity of a
sample of porous material can be determined by measuring any two of
the three quantities: Bulk volume, pore volume or grain volume. The
porosity of reservoir rock may be determined by:
-
Core analysis
Well logging technique
Well testing
The question of which source of porosity data is most reliable cannot

be answered without reference to a specific interpretation problem. These
techniques can all give correct porosity values under favourable
conditions. The core analysis porosity determination has the advantage
that no assumption needs to be made as to mineral composition,
borehole effects, etc. However, since the volume of the core is less than
the rock volume which is investigated by a logging device, porosity values
derived from logs are frequently more accurate in heterogeneous
reservoirs.
In the following sections we will discuss how to estimate pore-, grain-,
and bulk-volumes from core plugs.
1.4 Bulk Volume Measurement

Although the bulk volume may be computed from measurements of the
dimensions of a uniformly shaped sample, the usual procedure utilises
the observation of the volume of fluid displaced by the sample. The fluid
displaced by a sample can be observed either volumetrically or
gravimetrically. In either procedure it is necessary to prevent the fluid
penetration into the pore space of the rock. This can be accomplished (1)
by coating the sample with paraffin or a similar substance, (2) by
saturating the core with the fluid into which it is to be immersed, or (3) by
using mercury.
Gravimetric determinations of bulk volume can be accomplished by

observing the loss in weight of the sample when immersed in a fluid or by
change in weight of a pycnometer with and without the core sample.
1.5 Pore Volume Measurement

All the methods measuring pore volume yield effective porosity. The
methods are based on either the extraction of a fluid from the rock or the
introduction of a fluid into the pore spaces of the rock.
The Boyles law method of measuring porosity is a gas transfer
technique that involves the compression of gas into the pores or the
expansion of gas from the pores of a clean, dry sample. It is an accurate
technique when performed properly; it is fairly rapid for the majority of
samples encountered, and it yields cores that can be used for further
testing. It is essential that the samples be clean and dry, otherwise you
will obtain erroneously low porosity values.
For pore volume measurement using Boyles law the sample must be
placed in a holder that has no void space around the periphery of the core
and on the ends. An apparatus suitable for this measurement is referred
to as a Hassler holder or a hydrostatic load cell.
Helium can be injected into the core through valve 2 as illustrated in
Figure 2 -2, and using the following equations the sample's pore space
could be measured:
PRVR=Pe(VR+Vp)
Where:
PR: Reference cell pressure,
Pe: Equilibrium pressure,
VR: Reference cell volume,
Vp: Pore volume

15
Figure 1-2: Schematic diagram of helium porosimeter used for

measuring pore volume.
The reason for using helium during the experiment over other gases is
that helium has tiny molecules and combined with its high diffusivity can
penetrate even the smallest pores of the sample easily and quickly.
Helium is also non-toxic and non-reactive with the sample, so it is
considered non-damaging to the sample during the measurements.
The second method to measure the samples pore volume is using a
saturation technique. The weight of a dry sample is measured first and
then it is immersed in brine solution with a known salinity value in a
container which could be effectively vacuumed. The salinity of the brine
needs to be known as it is required to calculate its density. After every 24
hours the sample needs to be removed from the vacuum container and
weighed. The weight of the sample would keep increasing until it
becomes constant and does not change anymore by keeping it immersed
in brine. The difference between the weight of the dry and the fully brinesaturated sample is equal to the weight of the water which has gone into
the sample occupying the interconnected pores. Knowing the density of
the brine the volume of the brine present inside the sample can be
calculated which would be equal to the sample pore volume. The porosity
measurement
using
the
saturation
technique
is
extremely
time-
consuming compared to the helium technique using which could take as

short as 5 minutes to measure a samples porosity.

When a rock has a small fraction of void space, it is difficult to measure

porosity by the mentioned methods. In this case, mercury injection is
used. The method consists of forcing mercury under relatively high
pressure in the rock pores. A pressure gauge is attached to the cylinder
for reading pressure under which measuring fluid is forced into the pores.
The volume of mercury entering the core sample is obtained from the
device with accuracy up to 0.01 cm3.
1.6 Grain Volume Measurement

The grain volume of pore samples is sometimes calculated from
sample weight and knowledge of average density. Formations of varying
lithology and, hence, grain density limit the applicability of this method.
Boyles law is often employed with helium as the gas to determine grain
volume. The technique is fairly rapid, and is valid on clean and dry
sample.
Precautions are necessary to secure valid data when utilizing this
technique. In rocks containing free carbon and clays, air molecules can be
adsorbed on the mineral surfaces, and can produce an erroneous
measurement of grain volume and porosity. This limitation is overcome by
using helium gas in the laboratory apparatus. It is inert and will not be
adsorbed on the rock surfaces as air can be.
Another advantage of this laboratory approach is that grain volume
determined during this measurement can be subsequently combined with
measured weights on the sample to yield reliable grain density values.
Incomplete cleaning and insufficient drying will yield erroneously low
grain densities and erroneously high grain volumes. The measurement of
the grain volume of a core sample may also be based on the loss in
weight of a saturated sample plunged in a liquid.
Grain volume may be measured by crushing a dry and clean core
sample. The volume of crushed sample is then determined by (either
pycnometer or) immersing in a suitable liquid.

1.7 Experiments
1.7.1
Effective Porosity Determination by Helium
Porosimeter Method
I.
Description
The helium porosimeter uses the principle of gas expansion, as
described by Boyles law. A known volume (reference cell volume) of
helium gas, at a predetermined pressure, is isothermally expanded into a
sample chamber. After expansion, the resulted equilibrium pressure is
measured. This pressure depends on the volume of the sample chamber
minus the rock grain volume, and then the porosity can be calculated.
II.
Procedure
The core plug should have already been dried out in the oven.
Measure the dimensions of the sample. To do this, measure the

diameter of the sample at five spots along the length of the sample
and take an average of all five measurements. Do the same for
sample length.
Using the instruments air gun clean the outside of the sample.
Verify that the Helium Porosimeter core-holder is not under pressure.

The Confining Pressure gauge should show a negative value. To
make sure there is no pressure applied to the core, perform the
load/unload command once.
Then, first slightly unscrew and lift the top end plug of the core-holder
by pulling back the locking feature and then while being careful not to
drop the sample which may be already inside core-holder, unscrew
and open the bottom end plug and remove the sample.
Put the new sample inside the core holder and finger tight the bottom
part. Then pull back the locking feature and lower the top part and
again finger tight.
Add your core sample data into the apparatus software. This is done
by clicking on the small yellow button on top-left of the main window.
Then
close
the
sample
data
window
and
click
on
Porosity-
Permeability button on the bottom of the main window click start.

This button is greyed out if there is no sample data added to the
software.
Choose your sample from the list which appears and enter the number
of confining pressure tests you want to have. Start with 500 psi then
1000 psi and two measurements under the final pressure (i.e. 2000
psi). In this window you have the option of measuring the permeability
as well but for this experiment remove the ticks next to permeability
and choose the porosity only.
When the end of measurements is indicated by the software, release

and unload the sample. Follow the procedure explained in steps and .
Repeat these steps for the next samples.
At the start and very 2-3 measurements one test should be run using a
1.5 standard steel sample to verify that the apparatus is calibrated. If
you find the instrument inaccurate please talk to one of your lab
instructors.
III.
Calculations and report

-
For each sample, tabulate the porosity data under different

confining pressures and discuss the effect of different confining
pressures on the porosity. Do you see any trend apparent among
the data for each sample?
Calculate the formation compressibility for each individual

sample and for each pressure interval.
1.7.2
Porosity Determination by Liquid Saturating
Method
I.
Description:
The determination of the effective liquid porosity of a porous plug is the
initial part of the measurement of capillary pressure using porous plate
method in core laboratories. Before the capillary pressure is determined

the volume of the saturating liquid (brine or oil) in the core must be
known. Thus, the effective liquid porosity of the core can be calculated in
the beginning of capillary pressure measurement.
II.
Procedure
Weigh a dry core plug, Wdry, measure its diameter D, and length L
using a calliper.
Prepare 0.5 litres of 20,000 ppm by weight brine using NaCl.
Put the core in the beaker filled with brine and then transfer the
beaker into a desiccator connected to a vacuum pump and run
vacuum pump for about 30 minutes.
Weigh the saturated core, Wsat1.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the 2nd time, Wsat2.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the 3rd time but this time leave the sample
under vacuum for 24 hours, Wsat-final.
Remove the sample from the beaker and leave it inside the oven to
dry out.
III.
Calculations and Report

-
For each weight measurement step calculate the saturated brine

weight, Wbrine = Wsat Wdry. Any trend apparent among the data? Why?
Calculate the portion of the pore volume saturated with brine for each
weight measurement step, V= Wsat / brine.
Calculate effective porosity, e = Vp/Vb.

1.8 References
Torster,
O.
and
Abtahi,
M.,
2003.
Experimental
reservoir
engineering laboratory work book, Department of Petroleum

engineering and Applied Geophysics, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology


2 CLEANING AND SATURATION

DETERMINATION
2.1 Definitions
Before measuring porosity and permeability, the core samples must be
cleaned of residual fluids and thoroughly dried. The cleaning process may
also be part of fluid saturation determination. Fluid saturation is defined
as the ratio of the volume of fluid in a given core sample to the pore
volume of the sample.
26
27
where Vw, Vo, Vg and Vp are water, oil, gas and pore volumes respectively
and Sw, So and Sg are water, oil and gas saturations.
Note that fluid saturation may be reported either as a fraction of total
porosity or as a fraction of effective porosity. Since fluid in pore spaces
that are not interconnected cannot be produced from a well, the
saturations are more meaningful if expressed on the basis of effective
porosity. After cleaning a sample, the weight of any water extracted from
the sample is calculated using volume of water by the relationship
28
where w is water density in g/cm3.
Similarly, the weight of oil removed from the core may be computed as
the weight of removed liquid less weight of water.
29
where WL is the total weight of liquids removed from the core sample in
grams.
Oil volume may then be calculated as Wo/o. Pore volume Vp is
determined by a porosity measurement, and oil and water saturation may
be calculated by Equation 2 -6. Gas saturation can be determined using

Equation 2 -7.
2.2 Measurement Methods

2.2.1
Direct Injection of Solvent
The solvent is injected into the sample in a continuous process. The

sample is held in a rubber sleeve thus forcing the flow to be uniaxial.
2.2.2
Centrifuge Flushing
A centrifuge which has been fitted with a special head sprays warm
solvent onto the sample. The centrifugal force then moves the solvent
through the sample. The used solvent can be collected and recycled.
2.2.3
Gas Driven Solvent Extraction
The sample is placed in a pressurized atmosphere of solvent containing

dissolved gas. The solvent fills the pores of sample. When the pressure is
decreased, the gas comes out of solution, expands, and drives fluids out
of the rock pore space. This process can be repeated as many times as
necessary.
2.2.4
Soxhlet Extraction
A Soxhlet extraction apparatus is the most common method for

cleaning sample, and is routinely used by most laboratories. As shown in
Figure 2 -2a, toluene is brought to a slow boil in a lab flask; its vapours
move upwards and the core becomes engulfed in the toluene vapors (at
approximately 110 C). Eventually the water within the core sample in the
thimble will be vaporized. The toluene and water vapours enter the inner
chamber of the condenser; the cold water circulating about the inner
chamber condenses both vapours to immiscible liquids. Recondensed
toluene together with liquid water falls from the base of the condenser
onto the core sample in the thimble; the toluene soaks the core sample
and dissolves any oil with which it come into contact. When the liquid
level within the Soxhlet tube reaches the top of the siphon tube
arrangement, the liquids within the Soxhlet tube are automatically

emptied by a siphon effect and flow into the boiling flask. The toluene is
then ready to start another cycle.
A complete extraction may take several days to several weeks in the
case of low API gravity crude or presence of heavy residual hydrocarbon
deposit within the core. Low permeability rock may also require a long
extraction time.
Trap
Core
Figure 2-2 Schematic diagram of Soxhlet (a) and Dean- Stark (b)
apparatus
2.2.5
Vacuum Distillation
The oil and water content of cores may be determined by this method.
As shown in Figure 2 -3, a sample is placed within a leak-proof vacuum
system and heated to a maximum temperature of 230 C. Liquids within
the sample are vaporized and passed through a condensing column that
is cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Figure 2-3 Vacuum distillation Apparatus
2.3 Comparison of Various techniques

The direct-injection method is effective, but slow. The method of
flushing by using centrifuge is limited to plug-sized samples. The samples
also must have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the stress
imposed by centrifuging. However, the procedure is fast. The gas drivenextraction method is slow. The disadvantage here is that it is not suitable
for poorly consolidated samples or chalky limestones. The distillation in a
Soxhlet apparatus is slow, but is gentle on the samples. The procedure is
simple and very accurate water content determination can be made.
Vacuum distillation is often used for full diameter cores because the
process is relatively rapid. Vacuum distillation is also frequently used for
poorly consolidated cores since the process does not damage the sample.
The oil and water values are measured directly and dependently of each
other.
In each of these methods, the number of cycles or amount of solvent
which must be used depends on the nature of the hydrocarbons being
removed and the solvent used. Often, more than one solvent must be
used to clean a sample. The solvents selected must not react with the
minerals in the core. The commonly used solvents are:
-
Acetone

Benzene
Benzen-methol Alcohol
Carbon-tetrachloride
Chloroform
Methylene Dichloride
Mexane
Naphtha
Tetra Chloroethylene
Toluene
Trichloro Ethylene
Xylene
Toluene and benzene are most frequently used to remove oil and
methanol and water is used to remove salt from interstitial or filtrate

water. The cleaning procedures used are specifically important in special
core analysis tests, as the cleaning itself may change wettabilities.
The core sample is dried for the purpose of removing connate water
from the pores, or to remove solvents used in cleaning the cores. When
hydratable minerals are present, the drying procedure is critical since
interstitial water must be removed without mineral alteration. Drying is
commonly
performed
in
regular
oven
or
vacuum
oven
at
temperatures between 50 C to 105 C. If problems with clay are

expected, drying the samples at 60 C and 40 % relative humidity will
prevent any damage to the samples.
2.4 Experiments
2.4.1
Saturation
Determination,
Dean-Stark
Distillation Method
I.
Description:
The objective of the experiment is to determine the oil, water and gas
saturation of a core sample.

II.
Procedure:
Fill 2/3 of the extraction flask with toluene. Also put a small volume of
water at bottom of the trap to increase the water level just reaching the
graduated part of the trap so the volume of any additional fluid entering
the trap later can be read.
Take about 30 cm of Teflon tape. Remove the sample from the beaker and
quickly weigh it and tie the Teflon tape around the sample.
Put the wrapped sample inside the flasks long neck using the long hook
provided. Tighten the ground joint fittings, but do not apply any lubricant
for creating tighter joints. Start circulating cold water in the condenser.
Turn on the heating jacket and adjust the rate of boiling so that the reflux
from the condenser is a few drops of solvent per second.
Continue the extraction for 10-15 hours.
Read the volume of collected water in the graduated tube. Turn off the
heater and cooling water and remove the sample from the apparatus and
transfer it into the oven (100 C) and set time to 12 hours.
Once the sample is dry and cooled down obtain the weight of the core.
Calculate the loss in weight WL, of the core sample due to the removal of
oil and water.
Measure the density of a separate sample of the oil.
Calculate the oil, water and gas saturations after the pore volume V p of
the sample is determined.
III.
Data and calculations

Sample No.:
Porosity:
Where:
Worg: Initial weight of saturated sample

Wdry: Weight of clean and dry sample
IV.
Equations
where D and L are diameter and length of the core sample,

respectively.

2.5 References
Torster,
O.
and
Abtahi,
M.,
2003.
Experimental
reservoir
engineering laboratory work book, Department of Petroleum

engineering and Applied Geophysics, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology


3 LIQUID DENSITY
3.1 Definitions
Density () is defined as the mass of the fluid per unit volume. In
general, it varies with pressure and temperature. The dimension of
density is kg/m3 in SI or lb/ft3 in the Filed units system.
Specific gravity () of a liquid is defined as the ratio of the density of a liquid
to the density of water both measured at standard conditions. The
specific gravity of liquid in the oil industry is often measured by some
form of hydrometer that has its special scale. The American Petroleum
Institute (API) has adopted a hydrometer for oil lighter than water for
which the scale, referred to as the API scale, is:
310
Note: When reporting the density, the units of mass and volume used
at the measured temperature must be explicitly stated, e.g. grams per
millilitre
(cm3)
at
T(C).
The
standard
reference
temperature
for
international trade in petroleum and its products is 15 C (60 F), but

other reference temperatures may be used for other special purposes.
3.2 Measurement of Density

The most commonly used methods for determining density or specific
gravity of a liquid are:
-
Westphal balance
Specific gravity balance (chain-o-matic)
API hydrometer
Pycnometer
Bicapillary pycnometer.
The first two methods are based on the principle of Archimedes: A body
immersed in a liquid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the

liquid it displaces. A known volume of the liquid to be tested is weighted
by these methods.

The API hydrometer is usually used for determining oil gravity in the oil
field. When a hydrometer is placed in oil, it will float with its axis vertical
after it has displaced a mass of oil equal to the mass of hydrometer
(Figure 3 -4a). The hydrometer can be used at atmospheric pressure or at
any other pressure in a pressure cylinder.
The pycnometer (Figure 3 -4b) is an accurately made flask, which can
be filled with a known volume of liquid. The specific gravity of liquid is
defined as the ratio of the weight of a volume of the liquid to the weight
of an equal volume of water at the same temperature.
Figure 3-4 Schematic diagram of hydrometer (a), pycnometer (b),

and bicapillary pycnometer (c)
3.3 Experiments
3.3.1
I.
Fluid density using the Pycnometer method
Description:
This method covers the determination of the density or relative density
(specific gravity) of crude petroleum and of petroleum products handled

as liquids with vapour pressure 1.8 bar or less, e.g. stabilized crude oil,
stabilized gasoline, naphthane, kerosines, gas oils, lubricating oils, and
non-waxy fuel oils.

II.
Procedure
Thoroughly clean the pycnometer and stopper with a cleaning agent,
rinse well with distilled water. Finally rinse with acetone and dry.
Weigh the clean, dry pycnometer with stopper at room temperature.

Fill the pycnometer with the liquid (e.g. oil, brine) at the same room
temperature.
Put on the stopper and be sure there is no gas bubble inside and then dry
the exterior surface of the pycnometer by wiping with a lint-free cloth or
paper.
Weigh the filled pycnometer.
Repeat the above steps for all the provided liquids
For each liquid perform the measurements twice and then take and
average of the two.
III.
Calculation and report
Calculate the liquid density and the average density based on

your data.
Fluid
Calculate the standard deviation (STD) for your measurements.
Calculate the specific gravity.
Error source analysis of the pycnometer method.

Pycnome
ter
Mass (gr)
Pycnometer+li
quid
(gr)
Pycnome
ter Vol.
(cm3)
Densit
y
(g/cm3
)

Specifi
c
Gravit
y
Standar
d
Deviati
on
IV.
Equations
3.4 References



4 VISCOSITY
4.1 Definitions
Viscosity is defined as the internal resistance of fluid to flow. The basic
equation of deformation is given by
411
where
is shear stress, is the shear rate defined as V / y and
is the viscosity. The term
can be defined as F/A where F is force
required to keep the upper plate moving at constant velocity v in the xdirection and A is area of the plate in contact with the fluid (Figure 4 -5).
By fluid viscosity, the force is transmitted through the fluid to the lower
plate in such a way that the x-component of the fluid velocity linearly
depends on the distance from the lower plate.
Figure 4-5 Steady-state velocity profile of a fluid entrained between

two flat surfaces
It is assumed that the fluid does not slip at the plate surface.
Newtonian fluids, such as water and gases, have shear-independent
viscosity and the shear stress is proportional to the shear rate (Figure 4
-6).
In the oil industry viscosity generally is expressed in centipoise, cp (1
cp =10-3 Pa.s).

Figure 4-6 Shear stress vs. shear rate for a Newtonian fluid
4.2 Effect of Pressure and Temperature on Viscosity

Viscosity of fluids varies with pressure and temperature. For most fluids
the viscosity is rather sensitive to changes in temperature, but relatively
insensitive to pressure until relatively high pressures have been attained.
The
viscosity
of
liquids
usually
rises
with
pressure
at
constant
temperature. Water is an exception to this rule; its viscosity decreases

with increasing pressure at constant temperature. For most cases of
practical interest, however, the effect of pressure on the viscosity of
liquids can be ignored.
Temperature has different effects on viscosity of liquids and gases. A
decrease in temperature causes the viscosity of a liquid to rise. It is worth
noting that the liquid viscosity increases with increasing molecular
weight.
4.3 Methods for Measuring Viscosity

4.3.1
Capillary Type Viscometer
Viscosity of liquids is determined by instruments called viscosimeter or

viscometer. One type of viscometer for liquids is the Ostwald viscometer
(Figure
4 -7). In this viscometer, the viscosity is calculated from the
comparison of the times required for a given volume of the tested liquids
and of a reference liquid to flow through a given capillary tube under
specified
initial
head
conditions.
During
the
measurement

the
temperature of the liquid should be kept constant by immersing the

instrument in a temperature-controlled water bath.
Figure 4-7 Two types of Ostwald viscometers
In this method the Poiseuilles law for a capillary tube with a laminar flow regime
is used.
412
where t is time required for a given volume of liquid V with density of
and viscosity of to flow through the capillary tube of length l and radius
r by means of pressure gradient P.
The driving force P at this instrument is gl. Then:
413
or:
414
The capillary constant is determined from a liquid with known viscosity.
4.3.2
Falling Ball Viscometer
Another instrument commonly used for determining viscosity of a

liquid is the falling (or rolling) ball viscometer (Figure

4 -8), which is
based on Stokes law for a sphere falling in a fluid under effect of gravity.
A polished steel ball is dropped into a glass tube of a somewhat larger
diameter containing the liquid, and the time required for the ball to fall at constant
velocity through a specified distance between reference marks is recorded.
The following equation is used
415
where:
= absolute viscosity, cp
t = falling time, sec
b = density of the ball, g/cm3
f = density of fluid at measuring temperature, g/cm3
K = ball constant.
Figure 4-8 Schematic diagram of the falling ball viscometer
The rolling ball viscometer will give good results as long as the fluid
flow in the tube remains in the laminar range. In some instruments of this
type both pressure and temperature may be controlled.
4.3.3
Rotational Viscometer
Other frequently used viscometers especially for non-Newtonian fluids

are the rotational type consisting of two concentric cylinders, with the
annulus containing the liquid whose viscosity is to be measured (Figure 4
-9). Either the outer cylinder or the inner one is rotated at a constant
speed, and the rotational deflection of the cylinder becomes a measure of
the liquids viscosity.
Inner
cylinder
Figure 4-9 Schematic diagram of the rotational viscometer
When the distance between the cylinders d, is small, we can define the
viscosity gradient for laminar flow regime as:
416
where R is radius of the inner cylinder and
is angular velocity of the
outer cylinder (rotor) defined by 2 n . When the rotor is rotating at a

constant angular velocity
and the inner cylinder is held motionless, the
torque from the torsion spring on the inner cylinder must be equal but
opposite in direction to the torque on the rotor applied from the motor.
The effective area of the applied torque is 2.R.h where h is length of the
cylinder. The viscous drag on the inner cylinder is k..R, where k is the torsion
constant of the spring and is angular displacement of the instrument in
degrees. Then:
417
which gives:
418
where K is the instruments constant which is determined by calibration.

4.4 Experiments
4.4.1
Liquid Viscosity Measurement using Capillary
Type Viscometer
I.
Description
The main objective of the measurement is to determine the kinematic
viscosity of Newtonian liquid petroleum products.

For capillary viscometers the time is measured in seconds for a fixed
volume of liquid to flow under gravity through the capillary at a closely
controlled temperature. The kinematic viscosity is the product of the
measured flow time and the calibration constant of the viscometer. The
dynamic viscosity can be obtained by multiplying the measured kinematic
viscosity by the density of the liquid.
II.
Definitions
Dynamic viscosity () is the ratio between the applied shear stress and the
rate of shear and is called coefficient of dynamic viscosity . This

coefficient is thus a measure of the resistance to flow of the liquid; it is
commonly called the viscosity of the liquid.
Kinematic viscosity ( ) is the ratio / where is fluid density.
III.
Units and dimensions
Where:
cSt = centistokes, cp = centipoise
1cp = 10-3 Pa.s, 1cSt = 10-6 [m2/s]

IV.
Procedure
IMPORTANT: make sure you use the right viscometer for the right
fluid as directed by your lab instructor. If not sure about anything
ask the lab instructors for advice.
Select a clean, dry calibrated viscometer (Figure 4 -10) having a range
covering the estimated viscosity (i.e. a wide capillary for a very viscous
liquid and a narrower capillary for a less viscous liquid).
Charge the viscometer: To fill, turn viscometer upside down. Dip tube (2)
into the liquid to be measured while applying suction to tube (1) until
liquid reaches mark (8). After inverting to normal measuring position,
close tube (2) with the rubber stopper before liquid reach mark (3).
Allow the charged viscometer to remain long enough to reach the room
temperature. Read the calibration constants-directly from the viscometer
or its documentations.
Measuring operation: Open tube (1) and measure the time it takes the
liquid to rise from mark (3) to mark (5). Measuring the time for rising from
mark (5) to mark (7) allows viscosity measurement to be repeated to
check the first measurement.
If two measurements agree within required error (generally 0.2-0.35%),
use the average for calculating the reported kinematic viscosity.

Figure 4-10 Capillary viscometer apparatus

4.5 References



5 Resistivity
5.1 Definitions
Porous rocks are comprised of solid grains and void space. The solids,
with the exception of certain clay minerals, are non-conductors.
Therefore, the electrical properties of a rock sample depend on the
geometry of the voids and the fluid with which those voids are filled. The
fluids of interest in petroleum reservoirs are oil, gas, and water. Oil and
gas do not conduct electricity. However, water is a conductor when it
contains dissolved salts, such as NaCl, MgCl 2, KCl which are normally
found in formation reservoir water. Current is conducted in water by the
movement of ions and can therefore be termed electrolytic conduction.
The resistivity of a porous material is defined by:
519
where
r = resistance,
A = cross-sectional area, m2
L = length, m
and resistivity is expressed in Ohm-meter (.m). However, for a

complex material like rock containing water and oil, the resistivity of the
rock depends on the following factors:
- salinity of water
- temperature
- porosity
- pore geometry
- formation stress
- composition of rock.
As mentioned earlier the conductivity of a porous rock is primarily due
to the movement of dissolved ions in the brine that fills the pore of the
rock. The conductivity varies with temperature due to the increased
activity of the ions in solution as temperature increases.

Due to the conductivity properties of reservoir formation water, the

electrical well-log technique is an important tool in the determination of
water saturation versus depth and thereby a reliable resource for in situ
hydrocarbon evaluation.
The theory of the electrical resistivity log technique generally applied
in petroleum engineering was developed by Archie in 1942, the so called
Archies equation. This empirical equation was derived for clean waterwet sandstones over a reasonable range of water saturation and
porosities. In practice, Archies equation should be modified according to
the rock properties- such as clay contents, wettability, pore distribution,
etc. The following is a brief presentation of the main electrical properties
of reservoir rocks and related parameters.
Formation Factor: The most fundamental concept considering electrical
properties of rocks is the formation factor F, as defined by Archie:
520
where
Ro = the resistivity of the rock when saturated 100% with water,
.m
Rw = the water resistivity, .m.
The formation factor defines a relationship between the resistivity of
the water saturated rock and the resistivity of the bulk water. Obviously,
formation factor depends on the pore structure of the rock.
Resistivity
Index:
The
second
fundamental
notion
of
electrical
properties of porous rocks containing both water and hydrocarbons is the

resistivity index I.
521
where
Rt= the resistivity of the rock when saturated partially with water,
.m

Ro = the resistivity of the same rock when saturated with 100%

water, .m.
Tortuosity: Wyllie (3) developed a relationship between the formation
factor and other properties of rocks- such as porosity, , and tortuosity,
. Tortuosity can be defined as (La/L)2, where L is the length of the core and
La represents the effective path length through the pores. Based on simple
pore models the following relationship can be derived:
522
where
F = formation factor
= tortuosity of the rock
= porosity of the rock.

Cementation factor: Archie suggested a slightly different relationship
between
the
formation
factor
and
porosity
by
introducing
the
cementation factor:
523
where
= porosity of the rock
m = Archies cementation factor.
Archie reported that the cementation factor probably ranged from 1.8
to 2.0 for consolidated sandstones and for clean unconsolidated sands
was about 1.3.
Saturation Exponent: The well-known Archies equation establishes a
relationship between resistivity index and water saturation of rocks as
follows:
524
where
Sw = water saturation
n = saturation exponent, ranging from 1.4 to 2.2 (n = 2.0 if no data

is given).
In this equation, Rt and Ro can be obtained from well logging data,
saturation exponent n is experimentally determined in the lab. Therefore,
the in situ water saturation can be calculated using Archies equation.
Based on the material balance equation for the formation, i.e. Sw + So + Sg =
1.0, the in-situ hydrocarbon saturations may be calculated.
5.2 Effect of Conductive Solids

The clay minerals present in a natural rock act as a separate conductor
and are sometimes referred to as conductive solids. In reality, the water
in the clay and the ions in the water act as the conducting materials.
Figure 5 -11 shows variation of formation factor versus water resistivity
for clean and clayey sands. The effect of the clay on the resistivity of the
rock is dependent upon the amount, type and the distribution of the clay
in the rock.
Figure 5-11 Apparent formation factor versus water resistivity for

clayey and clean sands
The formation factor for clay-free sand is constant. The formation

factor for clayey sand, however, increases with decreasing water
resistivity and approaches a constant value at a water resistivity of about
0.1 .m. The apparent formation factor, Fa, is calculated from the
definition of the formation factor and observed values of Roa and Rw (Fa =

Roa/Rw). Wyllie (3) proposed that the observed effect of clay minerals was
similar to having two electrical circuits in parallel, the conducting clay
minerals and the water-filled pores. Thus:
525
where Roa is the resistivity of a shaly sand when 100% saturated with
water of resistivity Rw. Rc is the resistivity due to the clay minerals. FRw is
the resistivity due to the saturating water, and F is the true formation
factor of the rock (the constant value when the rock contains lowresistivity water).
Figure 5-12 Water-saturated rock conductivity as a function of water

conductivity

Figure 5-13 Formation factor as a function of porosity.
The data presented in Figure
5 -12 represent graphically the
confirmation of the relationship expressed in Equation 5 -25. The plots

are linear and are of the general form:
526
where C is the slope of the line and b is the intercept. Comparing
Equation 5 -25 with Equation 5 -26, it may be noted that C = 1/F and b =
1/Rc. The line for which b = 0 indicates a clean sand, then:
527
Equation 5 -25 can be rearranged to express the apparent formation
factor in terms of Rc and FRw:
5-2
8

As
Rw 0, lim Fa
Rw 0
Rc
F
. Therefore Fa approaches F as a limit, as Rw
Rc
F
becomes small. This was observed in Figure 5 -11.
5.3 Effect of Overburden Pressure

Confining or overburden pressure may cause a significant increase in
resistivity. This usually occurs in rocks which are not well cemented and in
lower porosity rocks. Archie, as mentioned earlier, reported results of
correlating laboratory measurements of formation factor with porosity in
the form of:
5-2
9
Wyllie (3) investigated the influence of particle size and cementation
factor on the formation factor of a variety of materials. He concluded that
the cemented aggregates exhibit a greater change in formation factor
with a change in porosity than the unconsolidated aggregates. Therefore,
the general form of the relation between formation factor and porosity
should be:
5-3
0
where m is a constant depending on cementation and a is another
constant controlled by the porosity of the unconsolidated matrix prior to
cementation. A comparison of a number of suggested relationships
between porosity and formation factor is presented in Figure 5 -13.
5.4 Resistivity of Partially Water-Saturated Rocks

When oil and gas are present within a porous rock together with a
certain amount of formation water, its resistivity is larger than Ro. That is
because there the volume of conductive water available for the flow of
electric current to pass through is less. This volume is a function of the
water saturation Sw. Equation 5 -24 indicates that the resistivity index is a
function of water saturation and the pore channels. From the theoretical
development, the following generalization can be drawn:
5-3

where I = Rt/Ro is the resistivity index, C is parameter which is a function

of tortuosity and n is the saturation exponent. In Archies equation n is 2.0
and in Williams relationship 2.7 (Figure 5 -14). All the equations fitted to
the experimental data have assumed that both C and n in Equation 5 -31
were constants and furthermore C = 1.
Figure 5-14 Resistivity index versus water saturation
The generally accepted formulation which relates water saturations

and true resistivity Rt is that of Archie, which may be rewritten in the
following form:
5-3
2
where a is merely a property of the rock and n is the saturation exponent,
which in most cases is assumed to be 2.0.

5.5 Experiments
5.5.1
Resistivity Measurements of Fluid-Saturated
Rocks
I.
Description
The objective of this experiment is to measure as many as possible of
the main electrical properties of porous rock like water resistivity,
formation factor, tortuosity, cementation factor, resistivity index and
saturation exponent.
II.
Procedure
Resistance measurements are performed using a LCR meter. The
resistivity of the sample can then be developed when the size of the
sample is known.
III.

A) Calculate water resistivity, Rw:
Using the salinity of the brine provided (30,000 ppm NaCl) calculate
the brine resistivity from the Schlumberger chart booklet. Ask your lab
instructor for the booklet.
B) Calculate formation factor, F and cementation factor, m:
Core
Core D,
Core L,
rx,
Ro,
Cementation
Formation
ID
fraction
factor, m
factor, F
C) Calculate resistivity index, I, saturation exponent, n:

Core
Core D,
Core L,
rx,
R t,
Ro,
Swfract
Resistivity
Saturation
ID
ion
Index, I
exponent, n

5.6 References


Wyllie M.R.J. and Spangler M.B.: Application of Electrical Resistivity

Measurements to Problem of Fluid Flow in Porous Media, Bull. AAPG,
Feb. 1952, p. 359.

6 PERMEABILITY
6.1 Definition
Permeability is a property of the porous medium and it is a measure of
capacity of the medium to transmit fluids. Permeability is a tensor that in
general is a function of pressure. Usually, the pressure dependence is
neglected in reservoir calculations, but the variation with position can be
pronounced. Very often the permeability varies by several magnitudes,
and such heterogeneity will of course influence oil recovery.
6.1.1
Darcys Law
Darcy (1856) performed a series of experiments on the relationship

affecting the downward flow of water through sands. The generalised
equation called Darcys law may be written in the form:
6-3
3
where u is superficial velocity, k is permeability tensor, is fluid
viscosity, P is pressure gradient, is fluid density and g is gravitational
vector. Writing flow velocity as the ratio of volumetric rate to crosssectional area perpendicular to flow q/A in distance L, Darcys law can be
expressed:
6-3
4
The dimensions of permeability can be established by substituting the
units of the other parameters in the equation. The unit Darcy results from
the choice of cgs system units:
The permeability in SI system has dimension of m 2.

6.1.2
The Kozeny Equation
Kozeny (1927) made an attempt to systematically quantify the

relationship between porosity and permeability. He made a simplifying
assumption that a porous rock could be considered to consist of a bundle
of capillary tubes of equal length. One such tube is shown in Figure 6 -15.
For this situation the Hagen-Poiseuilles law describes laminar flow,
which, for a single tube, is:
q
6-3
r 4 p
8 L
where
= tube radius
= pressure drop across tube
= viscosity of the fluid
= length of tube
= flow rate
p
r
Figure 6-15 Flow through a Capillary
Comparing Equation
6 -35 with Darcys law it can be seen that the
effective permeability of a (horizontal) tube is:

k r2 8
6-3
6
The porosity ( of a bundle of (n) capillaries whose ends occupy a

surface area of (A) is given by:
nr 2 A
so that:

6-3
7
6-3
n A r 2
From Equation 6 -35 the flow rate for n capillaries is:

qn
6-3
r 4 p
8 L
which, if compared with Darcys law, gives:

k
6-4
r2
8
implying that the permeability of a reservoir rock will depend on

porosity and the square of the pore throat size. This shows quite simply
that permeability has the dimensions of [L]2.
This approach can be modified to allow for tortuosity,
, of the real
pore network, such that the actual length of each capillary is L , to give:
k
r2
8
6-4
1
In order to progress further it is useful to introduce the concept of

specific surface. The specific surface, , is defined as the interstitial
surface area of the pores per unit of bulk volume.
The internal surface area, S, of n capillary tubes is simply:
S n 2rL
6-4
2
and the bulk volume, Vb, is:

Vb AL
6-4
3
so that:
n 2r A
6-4
4
Substituting for n from Equation 6 -38 gives:

2 r
and finally substituting for r from this equation into Equation

gives:

6-4
5
6 -41
6-4
3
2 2
This is referred to as the Kozeny equation.

In a more general form this equation becomes:
k ck
6-4
3
2
where ck is the Kozeny constant, which will depend on the geometrical

form of the situation.
For a simple, cubic arrangement of hard spheres, as depicted for
touching spheres in Figure 6 -16, it can be shown that:
k sc c sc
6-4
r 2 3
where r is the hard sphere radius and csc is the Kozeny constant for the
simple cubic structure.
Figure 6-16 Simple Cubic Structure
Attempts have been made to use the Kozeny equation for more
complex geometries, for example fractured systems. Permeability in
fractured
reservoirs
is
dominated
by
the
small
amount
of
high
conductivity pore space provided by the fracture. These complex

structures need to be simplified dramatically in order to make some
progress in describing them systematically. The idealised system is shown
in Figure
6 -17, where a is the block dimension and w is the fracture
width.
In this model the bulk volume will be of the order of a3 and the surface
area exposed to flow will be of the order of a2, hence the specific surface

will scale as a-1. If it is assumed that the matrix is impermeable then the
fracture porosity of the model will be (a2w/a3 =) w/a.
Substituting these values into the Kozeny equation gives:
kf cf
w

a
1

a
cf
6-4
w3
a
a
Figure 6-17 Simplified Fracture Model
Obviously this is a gross simplification and assumes not only that the
simple approach of Kozeny applies but also that a representative average
of a and w can be determined.
6.1.3
Klinkenberg Effect
Klinkenberg has reported variations in permeability determined by

using gases as the flowing fluid compared to those obtained when using
non-reactive liquids. These variations were considered to be due to
slippage, a phenomenon well known with respect to gas flow in capillary
tubes. The phenomenon of gas slippage occurs when the diameter of the
capillary openings approach the mean free path of the gas. The mean
free path of a gas is a function of molecular size and the kinetic energy of
the gas. Therefore, permeability of gas depends on factors, which
influence the mean free path, such as temperature, pressure and the
molecular size of the gas.
Figure
6 -18 is a plot of the permeability of a porous medium as
determined at various mean pressures using three different gases. Note

that for each gas a straight line is obtained for the observed permeability
as a function of the reciprocal of the mean pressure of the test.

All the lines when extrapolated to infinite mean pressure (1/P m=0)
intercept the permeability axis at a common point. This point is
designated KL, or the equivalent liquid permeability.
Figure 6-18 Variation in gas permeability with mean pressure and

type of gas
Klinkenberg has related apparent permeability k a measured for gas for

an average pressure Pm to the true permeability KL by:
6-5
0
Where b is a constant depending upon the average free movement of
the molecule at Pm:
6-5
1
Where r is channel radius and C 1.
6.2 Measurement of Permeability

Permeability is measured by passing a fluid of known viscosity through
a core sample of measured dimensions and then measuring flow rate and
pressure
drop.
Various
techniques
are
used
for
permeability
measurements of cores, depending on sample dimensions and shape,

degree of consolidation, type of fluid used, ranges of confining and fluid
pressure applied, and range of permeability of the core. Two types of
instruments are usually used in the laboratory:
Unsteady-state permeameter
Steady-state permeameter
Permeability tests are performed on samples, which have been cleaned

and dried, and a gas (usually air) is used for flowing fluid in the test. This
is because:
a. When required, steady state is obtained rapidly,
b. Dry air will not alter the minerals in the rock, and
c. 100% fluid saturation is easily obtained.
Measurement accuracy declines at two extremes of high and low
permeability values and is within 0.5% of true value otherwise.
6.2.1
Steady-state Permeameter
This equipment is designed for plug or whole core permeability

measurements. This experiment may be used for single or multiphase,
compressible fluid or liquid measurements and can also be used under
reservoir pressure and temperature.
Figure 6 -19 shows a diagram of a steady-state head permeameter. Air
is usually used as gas flow. Upstream and downstream pressures are
measured by manometers on both sides of the core and air flow is
measured by means of a calibrated outlet. Air permeability can then be
calculated using Equation
6 -52 which is another version of Darcys
equation applicable to gas flow. In this equation the gas flow is measured
at atmospheric conditions, thus Patm = 1 atm.
6-5
2
Hassler core holder may be used with this instrument. The Hassler
system is an improvement of the rubber plug system whose tightness is
limited at certain pressures.
The core is placed in a flexible rubber tube (Fig. 3). The Hassler cell has
these advantages:
a. Excellent tightness.

b. Can be used for samples of different sizes.

c. Much higher pressure or _P can be used.
d. Can be used for measuring relative permeability.
Darcys equation may be used for determining permeability of liquids.
Figure 6-19 Schematic diagram of permeameter
Figure 6-20 Hassler type core holder
6.2.2
Unsteady-state Permeameter
Pulse decay technique, or transient pulse method, is an unsteady-state

permeability measurement method which can give accurate results in
very short period of time. In this technique, a small pore pressure pulse
(normally using a gas e.g. helium, nitrogen) is applied to one end of a
confined sample, and the pressure vs. time behaviour is observed as the
pore fluid moves through the sample from the samples upstream
reservoir to a 2nd reservoir located downstream of the sample. When a
pressure pulse P0 is applied, the differential pressure P(t) decays
exponentially as a function of time, t:
P = f(V1, V2, t, P0, , L, A,)

where
6-5
3
V1, V2 = the upstream and downstream reservoir volumes

P0= Initial pressure pulse applied
t = time
L = length of the sample
A = cross-sectional area of the sample
= dynamic viscosity of pore fluid at test temperature
= porosity of the sample

Plotting the decay curve in terms of ln[P(t)] vs. time t yields a straight
line having a slope m, and the permeability k can be determined by using
this slope value.
6.3 Experiment
6.3.1
Absolute Permeability Measurement through
Pulse Decay Technique Using Helium/Nitrogen Gas
I.
Description
The same equipment used to measure porosity utilising Boyles law is
used here to measure permeability through the pulse decay method. As
part of your prelab report you are required to do some research on
permeability measurement using pulse decay method and reflect your
findings in your report.
II.
Procedure
Before you start make sure that the core plug is clean and dry.

Measure the dimensions of the sample.

Using the instruments air gun clean the outside of the sample.
Verify that the Helium Poro/permeameter core-holder is not under
pressure (confining pressure should show a value within the -5 psi to -10
psi range). To release any existing pressure choose the Load/Unload
option from the softwares main window and click set. Then wait for the
go ahead prompt by the software.
First lift the top end plug of the core-holder by pulling back the locking
feature. Then while being careful not to drop the sample which may be
already inside core-holder, unscrew the bottom end plug and remove the
sample.
Put the rock sample inside the core holder and finger tight the bottom
part. Then lower the top part and after engaging the locking feature again
finger tight.
Click on the yellow button on top left hand side of the software main
window and add your core sample data into the apparatuss sample
database and then click close. Please note that all sample dimensions
have to be in centimetres.
Click on Porosity-Permeability Measurement Button located on bottom
left hand side of the softwares main window to start the test.
Choose your sample from the list that appears and choose 3 as the
number of confining pressure tests you want to do the measurements for.
Then, input three pressures of 500 psi, 1000 psi and 2000 psi. In this
window you have the option of measuring the permeability as well as
porosity. In this experiment our aim is to measure the permeability of the
sample but, as can be seen in Equation 6 -53, the instrument requires a
measure of samples porosity values in order to calculate the permeability
using the pules decay technique. Therefore for each pressure tick both
porosity and permeability to be measured as part of the test.
When the end of measurements is indicated by the software, release and
unload the sample.
Repeat these steps for the next samples

At the start and very 4-5 measurements one test should be run using
1.5 standard samples to verify that the apparatus is calibrated.
III.
Report the results of the permeability measurements for all the

samples tested.
Make a plot of the pressure pulse decay vs. time. And discuss
the apparent trend in the data.
Describe the change in permeability vs. confining pressure.

6.4 References



7 CAPILLARY PRESSURE
7.1 Definitions
Capillary pressure is the force that causes a fluid to rise up a fine tube
when one end of the tube is immersed in a wetting fluid. Evaluating the
capillary pressure of reservoir rocks is important because capillarity
controls the static distribution of fluids in the reservoir prior to production
and the distribution of the remaining hydrocarbons after primary
production.
2r
Air
h
Water
Figure 7-21 Capillary Pressure
Consider a capillary tube immersed in a water-gas system, as shown in

Figure 7 -21. The capillary force is shown acting along the surface of the
water, which forms the contact angle, , with the wall of the tube. The
force is proportional to the energy required to maintain the interface
between the water and oil. This is called interfacial tension, , for a
liquid-liquid interface, or surface tension for a liquid-gas interface, and
has the units of force per unit length. is also sometimes referred to as
the specific free energy of the interface.
The length over which this force is applied in a capillary tube is the
circumference of a circle of radius r. Thus the total capillary force is 2r
and the vertical component of the force is 2rcos. When this is
expressed as a pressure, by dividing the total force by the cross-sectional
area, r, the following expression for the capillary pressure, Pc, is

obtained.
Pc
7-5
2 cos
r
This expression for the pressure difference across the surface of

contact of two immiscible fluids in a spherical capillary is a special form of
Laplacess equation, Equation
7 -55, which considers a more general
geometry.
1
1
rc1 rc 2
Pc
7-5
5
In this equation rc1 and rc2 refer to the principal radii of curvature of the
interface and is sometimes referred to as the specific free energy of the
interface, more commonly the surface tension.
For the case of a capillary tube, rc1 and rc2 are equal, and by simple
geometrical considerations they are related to the radius of the capillary
as follows:
rc1 rc 2
r
cos( )
7-5
6
Substituting this relationship into Equation 7 -55 leads to Equation 7

-54.
Equation 7 -54 states that for a given wetting and non-wetting phase
the capillary pressure will depend inversely on the capillary radius. This is
shown in Figure 7 -22 where the narrower the tube the higher the rise of
the wetting phase.
As may be supposed from Figure 7 -22, capillary pressure can also be
calculated from the height, h, the fluid rises above the free water level.
The hydrostatic pressure equivalent of the unbalanced column of fluid is
equal to the capillary pressure. Based on the knowledge that the pressure
gradient for a column of pure water (density 62.43 lbs/ft3) is 0.434 psi/ft
and that the pressure gradient for a column of fluid of specific gravity, ,
is 0.434, it follows that:
Pc 0.434 h

7-5
where is the difference in specific gravities between the wetting and

non-wetting phases. The situation is as depicted in Figure 7 -23 where
the wetting phase is taken to be water and the non-wetting phase to be
oil.
Non-wetting Phase
Free Surface
Free Surface
Wetting Phase
Figure 7-22 Capillary Rise in a Series of Tubes
Non-wetting Phase
Pressure
Depth
Pnw nw gz
Pnw
Pc
Pc Pnw Pw
Pw
Free
Surface
height
Pc 0
Free
Surface
Pw w gz
Wetting Phase
Figure 7-23 Capillary Pressure and Sub-surface Fluid Pressure

Gradients

The term in Equation 7 -57 is the difference in the specific gravities

of the two fluids (water and air for the situation depicted in Figure 7 -21;
water and oil for an oil reservoir). If Equation 7 -54 is equated to Equation
7 -57 then:
h
4.6 cos
r
7-5
8
Hence, the height of the capillary rise is proportional to the interfacial

tension and the cosine of the wetting angle, and inversely proportional to
the radius of the capillary and the difference in the specific gravities of
the wetting and non-wetting phase.
7.2 Drainage and Imbibition

During an immiscible displacement procedure, depending on the
wettability of the reservoir rock and wether the wetting phase is
displacing or being displaced the displacement may be classified as either
imbibition or drainage. By definition, imbibition is the dynamic process by
which the wetting phase is increasing e.g. displacement of oil by water in
a water-wet reservoir. Conversely drainage is the process by which the
wetting phase saturation is decreasing e.g. displacement of oil by water
in an oil-wet reservoir.
It has been determined experimentally that the contact angle is larger
when the wetting phase is advancing over the rock face than when
retreating, and this difference is described as the hysteresis of the
contact angle. This concept is important when measuring capillary
pressure and relative permeability. A hydrocarbon reservoir is initially
formed under the drainage process and the imbibition process takes over
during production.
7.3 Converting Laboratory Data to Field Data

From Equation 7 -54 it follows that the capillary pressure measured in
any given porous system using a particular pair of fluids is related to that
obtained with another pair of fluids by the ratio cos . The same
principle applies when relating the capillary pressure data measured
under a set of pressure and temperature (P-T) to that measured under a

different set of conditions. This can be shown quite simply by applying

Equation 7 -54 to both systems.
Pc1
2 1 cos1
r
Pc 2
2 2 cos 2
r
where subscript 1 and 2 refer to fluid pair number 1 and 2 or P-T

conditions number 1 and 2. Rearranging the above two equations in
terms of r and then setting the equal gives:
Pc1 Pc 2
1 cos 1
2 cos 2
7-5
9
The values of interfacial tension, , and contact angle, , are known for
a range of pairs of fluids under different conditions, and typical values are
given in Table 7 -3.
Wetting
Phase
Non-
Conditions
wetting
Phase
Contact
Interfacial
Angle
Tension
(Degrees)
(dynes/cm)
Brine
Oil
Reservoir
30
30
Brine
Oil
Laborator
30
48
y
Brine
Gas
Reservoir
(50)
Brine
Gas
Laborator
72
y
Oil
Gas
Reservoir
Gas
Mercury
Laborator
140
480
Table 7-3 Typical values for contacty angle and IFT for different fluid pairs
under different conditions
The relevance of being able to convert from one pair of fluids to

another or from one set of P-T conditions to another is that controlled
experiments in the laboratory can be performed using a simpler fluid or PT conditions arrangement than actually exists in the reservoir. It is then a
very straightforward matter to convert the laboratory results to reservoir
conditions.

7.4 Capillary Pressure Measurement

7.4.1
Centrifugal Method
In the centrifugal method a sample that has been saturated with the
wetting fluid is placed in a container of the non-wetting fluid. The
container is then rotated and the centrifugal force produces a pressure
gradient throughout the sample, directed outward from the axis of
rotation. It is normally the case that the wetting fluid is denser than the
non-wetting fluid so that a higher pressure is developed in the fluid within
the sample. The excess pressure in the wetting fluid is the capillary
pressure, and it is this pressure that causes the wetting fluid to be
expelled out of the end of the sample furthest from the axis of rotation. At
the same time non-wetting fluid enters at the nearest end.
At a constant rate of rotation an equilibrium saturation distribution will
develop
according
to
the
relationship
between
capillary
pressure and saturation, and it is this relationship that needs to be

determined. The established equilibrium saturation can be calculated by
measuring the amount of wetting fluid that flows out of the sample. The
prevailing capillary pressure can be determined from the geometry of the
centrifuge, the density difference between the fluids and the angular
velocity.
By making such measurements at a series of angular velocities the
nature of the capillary pressure / saturation relationship can be
determined.
7.4.2
Displacement Method
The displacement method of determining capillary pressure attempts

to model a non-wetting phase displacing a wetting phase, as would be the
case when oil first migrated into the reservoir. Mercury and air are
frequently used as the pseudo-reservoir fluids and the displacement is
proceeds by increasing mercury pressure, in a series of discrete steps, in
a dried and cleaned core plug already saturated with air. The increase in
pressure forces the strongly non-wetting mercury into the core increasing
the mercury saturation and this increase may be determined by
measuring the volume of the injected mercury.
Figure 7 -24 presents a highly stylised picture of the various steps in

the process when a dry, air-filled core sample is immersed in a bath of
mercury and the system is gradually pressurised. In this situation mercury
is the non-wetting fluid and so it will be the largest rock capillary that will
be flooded first. (Although it may seem strange, air is the wetting phase
in this situation and what is depicted in Figure 7 -24 is, in fact, a drainage
process.)
Figure 7 -24 shows an ideal curve for a system with three distinct pore
throat sizes. Other idealised situations are of course possible and some
of these are shown in Figure 7 -25.
The bimodal case is just another example of that already presented in
Figure 7 -24. A well-sorted porous core sample is one in which there is
essentially only one pore throat radius to consider. Once this has been
breached the entire sample, apart from the small volume taken up by any
compressed air trapped in the pores, will become filled with mercury. At
the other extreme, when the core comprises a continuous range of pore
throat sizes to be overcome, the core will only fill gradually as the
pressure is increased.
Obviously a range of outcomes is possible between the extremes of a
well-sorted and unsorted core sample, and one such case, described
as poorly sorted, has been indicated.

One obvious conclusion from the above discussion would be that it is

possible to relate the gradual flooding of the sample to the pore throat
radius and a typical relationship is shown in Figure 7 -26. Therefore, the
generated capillary pressure curve for a given porous medium can be
used to extract the pore network and pore size distribution of the porous
medium.
P1
P2
P3
Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure
P4
P3
P2
P1
100%
50%
0%
Mercury (Non-wetting Phase Saturation)

(% of Pore Volume)
P4
Figure 7-24 Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure Experiment

Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure
yS
ed
ort
Effective Pore Throat Radius
orl
Po
Un
so
rte
d
Bimodal
Well Sorted
100%
0%
Mercury (Non-wetting Phase Saturation)

(% of Pore Volume)
Figure 7-25 Idealised Mercury Injection Curve Shapes
A
100
Figure 7-26 Calculation of Pore Size Distribution from Mercury

Injection
In the left picture presented in Figure 7 -26 as can be seen, despite a

noticeable increase in the mercury injection pressure there is not much
increase in the mercury saturation in the porous medium up point A on
the curve. The pressure at this point is referred to as the displacement
pressure, threshold capillary pressure or capillary entry pressure which in
essence is the minimum pressure required so that mercury would enter

the largest available pore-throat in the pore network of the porous
medium under investigation.
It should be noted that mercury is considered a more dangerous
material to work with than perhaps it was in the past, and for this reason
many laboratories now use the centrifuge method for capillary pressure
measurement.
7.4.3
Porous Plate Method (restored state)
Water saturated samples for air-water or oil-water tests and oil

saturated cores for air-oil tests are placed on a semi-permeable
diaphragm, and a portion of the contained liquid is displaced with the
appropriate fluid of air or oil. A schematic diagram of an apparatus for
performing such tests is seen in Figure
7 -27. It consists of a cell for
imposing pressure, a semi-permeable diaphragm, C, manometer for

recording pressure, M, and a measuring burette for measuring produced
volumes.
Figure 7-27 The porous plate method assembly
During measurement, the pressure is increased in steps and final

equilibrium produced volumes of the wetting phase are recorded for each
step.
The porous plate method is slow and one full curve may take up to 40
days or more to obtain. However, equipment needed for this method is
simple and inexpensive and the work needed is limited to some volume
reading or sample weighing during the process. Several samples may be

run in one chamber. Then the samples have to be removed in order to

weigh them separately between each pressure increase. Preferably, one
sample should be run in an assembly of one-sample cells. Then it is not
necessary to decrease pressure between each reading.
This method is regarded as the standard method against which all
other methods are compared. Routinely only the drainage curve is
measured, but with appropriate modifications the imbibition curve may
be determined in the same manner. The weakness, as with all the other
methods, is the transformation of data to reservoir conditions.
7.5 Hysteresis
A set of consecutive drainage and imbibition capillary pressure curves
are schematically shown in Figure 7 -28, from which it can be seen that
different results are obtained depending on which fluid is displacing
Capillary Pressure
which. This phenomenon is referred to as capillary hysteresis.
Pc
Drainage
Imbibition
0%
S wr
1 S or 100%
% of Pore Volume
Figure 7-28 Capillary Hysteresis
Saturation history dependence of multiphase flow or the hysteresis

effect i.e. irreversibility or path dependence, is evident whenever the
porous medium undergoes a cyclic flooding process. In other words, the
multiphase flow through porous medium depends on the saturation
history and saturation path. Therefore multiphase flow characteristics of a
fluid-rock system e.g. capillary pressure, relative permeability, etc, during
an imbibition process are different from those of a consecutive drainage
process and vice versa. From a pore-scale processes point of view
hysteresis has at least two main sources:
Contact angle hysteresis: the advancing contact angle which

is measured at the immiscible interface when the wetting phase
displaces the non-wetting phase i.e. imbibition, is larger than the
receding contact angle which is measured at immiscible
interface when the non-wetting phase displaces the wetting
phase i.e. drainage. These two angles are different due to
chemical
heterogeneities
and/or
surface
roughness
and
tortuosity of the pores and pore throats.
Trapping of the non-wetting phase: during an imbibition

process due to various trapping mechanisms part of the nonwetting phase becomes disconnected in the form of blobs and
ganglia. The disconnected non-wetting phase becomes immobile
and trapped within the pores. Due to the presence of this
immobile phase, a subsequent drainage process results in
different multiphase flow behaviour in comparison to the
equivalent imbibition process.
7.6 Experiments
7.6.1
Capillary Pressure Measurement using Porous
Plate Method
I.
Description:
The porous plate method is the most accurate measurement of
capillary pressure in homogeneous and heterogeneous cores. Several
plugs can be measured at a time. The limitation is that the capillary
discontinuity may distort the results.
II.
Procedure:
1
Weigh the brine saturated core and take note of the core ID.
Remove the cells lid by loosening its bolts. Then put the saturated
core on top of the porous plate in the cell.
Close the cells lid and tighten the bolts to make sure there will be no
leaks. Then adjust the pressure regulator to an output pressure of 3
psi.
After 1 week, isolate the air supply to the cell and after releasing the
pressure inside the cell take out the core from the cell.
Weigh the core and calculate the water saturation corresponding to

the capillary pressure step.
Repeat steps 2-4 every week for pressures of 10, 25, 50 and 80.
III.
Calculations and report:
Calculate and fill the data table below.
Plot capillary pressure curve (Sw-Pc) and pore size distribution
Core No.:
Pa
Date
, D:
cm, L:
cm, Wsat:
gr, Porosity:
Step
Pc(i),
Wwet(i),
Sw(i),
r(i),
W(i)/Ww
No.
psi
gr
fraction
ater
0
1
2
3
4
5
where
Pc(i) = capillary pressure of the ith step, psi
Wwet(i) = core weight of ith step, gr
Sw(i) = (Wwet(i)-Wdry)/Wwater, ith water saturation of Pc(i)
Wwater = Wsat-Wdry, gr
r(i) = 2g-w /Pc(i), radius corresponding to Pc(i)(in Pascals), microns(m)
g-w = 72.0 dynes/cm, interfacial tension of gas-water
Pc(i) = pressure reading, dynes/cm 2
W(i)/Wwater = (Wwet(i-1)-Wwet(i))/Wwater, fraction of the capillaries of r(i) in total pore
volume


7.7 References



Grain Density:
8.1 Introduction
Grain volume is usually used for measuring pore volume or porosity of
the rock samples in reservoir evaluation. Besides that knowing grain
volume can be helpful in identifying grain density of the rock sample.
However grain volume data itself is not in the interest of reservoir
engineers or geologists in determining reservoir characteristics.
Grain density is calculated by dividing the sample dry weight (in
grams) by the grain volume. It can be utilized in determination of the rock
type. Major rock types such as sandstone, limestone, and dolomite fall
into specific grain density range (Table 1).
Table 1: Grain density of the different lithologies.

Lithology
Grain Density(cc/gr)
Sandstone
2.65
Limestone
2.71
Dolomite
2.85-2.87
Anhydrite
2.96
Coal
1.5
Gypsum
2.35
Sometimes grain density can be utilized to determine if unexpected

minerals or other components exist in the rock fabric. As well as
measured grain density could be used for log interpretation. For example
for determining the porosity using the density log it is required to know
about the matrix density or grain density. It is worth mentioning that even
small error (0.01 gr/cc) in matrix density measurement can be translated
into an error of 0.5% in the calculated porosity from density log. Therefore
accurate determination of grain density is very important for the
followings petrophysical evaluation in the reservoir.
8.2 Grain Density Measurement

For calculating grain density it is required to know about grain volume.
Boyles law is often employed with helium gas to determine the grain
volume. This technique has been explained completely in experiment

number 1 (Porosity) therefore it is not explained here. For measuring the

grain volume of core plug samples helium porosimeter with ususal core
holder could be used but for measuring the grain volume of the crushed
samples or irregularly shaped rock samples gas pycnometer (Figure 1)
can be used. Similarly it uses the Boyles law technique to measure the
grain volume of the crushed samples by observing the change in pressure
of helium as it expands into the sample cell.
Figure 1: Gas pycnometer for grain density measurement of

crushed samples (From Micromeritics)
8.3 Description of Manual Helium Porosimeter

The manual helium porosimeter (TPI-219) (Figure 2) uses the Boyles
law for measuring the grain volume of the rock sample. Similar to other
instruments which work with this technique it has two cells: reference cell
and sample cell (which is called grain cell). Grain cell is used for
measuring grain volume of core samples of 1.5 inch in diameter. It has 5
different calibrated billets which are used for reducing the dead volume of
the grain cell when the sample is loaded into the grain cell. Grain volume
measurements can be made with TPI-219 at pressures up to 95 psi.

Figure 2: Manual helium porosimeter accompanied with grain cell

and calibration billets.
8.4 Experiment procedure

I. Measuring System Reference Volume
The reference volume of the porosimeter is a critical value. Accuracy is
essential for the reference volume measurement. Before each use of
manual Helium porosimeter, the system reference volume should be
measured. For measuring the reference volume fill the grain cell with all
calibration billets and do the following steps:
1
Read the digital pressure recorder on the front panel when there is
not any gas in the system as the zero pressure in table 2. You should
use this value to correct the later recorded values for the pressures
(Pcorrected=Precorded-Zero pressure).
Open the SUPPLY GAS valve and pressurize the reference section of
the porosimeter. Close the SUPPLY GAS valve and monitor the
pressure for 10 seconds. The pressure should equilibrate to a point
that the last digit fluctuates very slowly. Record the digital pressure
data under Preference in table 2.
Open the TO CORE valve. Allow the pressure to equilibrate in the

grain cell. When the pressure comes to equilibrium record the digital
pressure data under Pgrain.
Open the VENT valve and allow the pressure to deplete.

Now remove billet A from the system and repeat the steps 2 to 4 and
record the appropriate data under after removing billet section in the
table 2. Repeat this procedure for other billets as well and record the
pressure data.
Now by having all the required data it is possible to calculate the
reference volume based on the recorded values in table 2 using the
following formula:
Where:
VREF: System Reference Volume, cm3
VBillets Removed: Volume of the removed billets, cm 3
PRef. Full: Reference cell pressure when all billets is in grain cell, psi
PGC Full: Grain cell pressure with all billets is in grain cell, psi
PRef.Rem.: Reference pressure for measurement with a billet removed, psi
PGC Rem: Grain cell pressure when the billet (or billets) removed, psi
You should re-calculate the reference volume each time that you
remove one billet from the grain cell and finally take an arithmetic
average to report the reference volume of the system and use this value
for grain volume measurement.
II. Measuring Grain Volume

5
Weigh the provided dried core sample,
Set the sample on the table top. Create a stack of billets next to the
sample that is equal in height or slightly taller than the sample
height. You should mix and match the billets such that you create a
stack as close as possible to the height of the sample. Excess height
creates excess dead volume in the chamber, which can increase the
uncertainty of the measurement.
After creating a stack equal to or slightly taller than the sample, place
the others (remaining) billets inside the grain cell.
Carefully place your sample on top of the billets in the cup and
prepare to measure the sample grain volume.
Open the SUPPLY GAS valve and pressurize the reference section of
the porosimeter. Record the digital pressure data under P ref.
Sample
in
table 3.
10 Open the TO CORE valve. Allow the pressure to equilibrate in the
grain cell. When the pressure comes to equilibrium record the digital
pressure data under PGC Sample.
Now by having required parameters from tables 2 and 3, it is possible
to calculate grain volume of the sample using the following formula:
Where:
VGrain: Grain Volume, cm3
VBillets Removed: Volume of removed billets, cm3
PRef. Full: Reference Pressure when grain cell is full of billets, psi
PGC Full: Grain cell pressure when grain cell is full of billets, psi
VRef.: Reference volume of system, cm3
PRef. Sample: Reference cell pressure when sample is inside grain cell, psi
PGC Sample: Grain cell pressure when sample is inside grain cell, psi
III.
Report
You should report the following parameters in your report:
Reference volume of the system
Grain volume for the provided samples
Grain density for the provided samples
Determining the rock type of the rock sample

8.5 References
Coretest Systems. 2010. TPI-219 Teaching Helium Porosimeter

Manual.
Micromertics website: www.micromeritics.com


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PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

Department of Petroleum Engineering

0.1 Rock Samples (Cores)

The coring operation itself is slow.

The recovery of rocks drilled is not complete.

A single core is usually not more than 9 m long, so extra trips

Coring should therefore be detailed programmed, especially in

core to surface results in gas dissolution and further expansion of fluids.

0.2 Fluid Samples

0.3 Laboratory Analysis

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Table 0-1 Routine core analysis and applications

Special core analysis (SCAL) includes several measurements with the

properties are occasionally included in SCAL. Wettability analysis and lab

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Torster, O. and Abtahi, M., 2003. Experimental reservoir engineering

Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C., 2004. Petrophysics. Gulf Professional

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Total Bulk Volume

Two types of porosity may be measured: total or absolute porosity and

Interconnected Pore Volume

Porosity may be classified according to its origin as either primary or

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

packing, which is more representative of reservoir conditions, is shown in

1.2 Effect of Compaction on Porosity

Where 2 and 1 are porosities at pressure P2 and P1 respectively, and

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Where dP is change in reservoir pressure. For porous rocks, the

1.3 Porosity Measurements on Core-Plugs

Well logging technique

The question of which source of porosity data is most reliable cannot

1.4 Bulk Volume Measurement

Gravimetric determinations of bulk volume can be accomplished by

1.5 Pore Volume Measurement

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Figure 1-2: Schematic diagram of helium porosimeter used for

consuming compared to the helium technique using which could take as

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

When a rock has a small fraction of void space, it is difficult to measure

1.6 Grain Volume Measurement

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Effective Porosity Determination by Helium

Measure the dimensions of the sample. To do this, measure the

Verify that the Helium Porosimeter core-holder is not under pressure.

Permeability button on the bottom of the main window click start.

When the end of measurements is indicated by the software, release

Repeat these steps for the next samples.

Calculations and report

For each sample, tabulate the porosity data under different

Calculate the formation compressibility for each individual

Porosity Determination by Liquid Saturating

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

Prepare 0.5 litres of 20,000 ppm by weight brine using NaCl.

Weigh the saturated core, Wsat1.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the 2nd time, Wsat2.

Calculations and Report

For each weight measurement step calculate the saturated brine

Calculate effective porosity, e = Vp/Vb.

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

engineering laboratory work book, Department of Petroleum

Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C., 2004. Petrophysics. Gulf Professional

Petroleum Engineering laboratory

2 CLEANING AND SATURATION

be calculated by Equation 2 -6. Gas saturation can be determined using