Lecture 3

Properties of reservoir rock

Porosity
Rocks are comprised of grains(matrix)
with void spaces in between.
Porosity = , in fraction


Effective porosity:




Original porosity vs. induced porosity
Void ratio:

bulk
void
V
V
bulk
cted interconne
V
V
eff
=

= =
1
ratio void
solid
void
V
V
Direction of fluid flow
Non-interconnected
Pore spaces
Dead-end
pores
Porosity Structure and packing

affected by quantity and distribution of fine
grains, degree of cementation and also
packing of grains

Packing



Packing of uniform size,
spherical grains









Volume of rock matrix within the cube:

V
s
= 8 * 1/8 * 4/3 r
3


Therefore,
= 1 V
s
/V
bulk
= 1 /6 = 47.6%


r
Cube of
volume
8r
3

Each grain contributes
1/8
th
of its volume to
the solid mass within
the cube
Porosity Packing geometry





Porosity - Packing

Analytical values for unconsolidated grain
packs
Poor sorting results in reduction in porosity
Compacting due to overburden reduces
0 ft 6000ft 52% - 41% - sandstone
0 ft 6000 ft 60% - 6% - shales
Sandstone formed by cementetation at grain
contacts reduction in

Material Porosity (%)
Clay 45 - 55
Silt 40 -50
Medium- Coarse mixed sand 35 - 40
Fine-medium mixed sand 30 - 35
Gravel 30 - 40
Sandstone 10 - 20
Shale 1 - 10
Limestone 1 - 10

Compacted/
cemented

Unconsolidated
Effect of sorting on porosity





Well sorted : = 32%


Poorly sorted : = 17%


Grains of two sizes : = 12.5%
Porosity measurement

Several methods:
- measurement of V
bulk
and V
grain

destructive testing
- measurement of V
bulk
and V
void

intrusion experiments
- indirect measurement of property of
fluid filling the pore space
resistivity/radioactivity logs

High pressure mercury porosimetry

Holder of known
calibrated volume
Sample placed and
handle cranked till Hg
reaches particular mark
V
bulk

Sample pressurized by
cranking handle until
pressure rises abruptly
V
void



Formation resistivity

Indirect measurement of porosity




Flow of current
R
fw
< R
oil
< R
gas







Box filled with brine of resistivity R
w

w
R L
V
A
R
V
I
1
= =
Box filled with clean sand and brine
saturating the pore spaces
w o
FR L
V
A
R L
V
A
R
V
I
1 1
'
= = =
Fluid in void space
less resistant
Rock grains more
resistant
V
I
L
A

Formation resistivity factor

F formation resistivity factor, R
o

resistivity of the porous medium 100%
saturated with brine:
w o
R F R =
Since sand grains are poor conductors of
electricity R
o
> R
w
F > 1.0

F is defined as the ratio of the resistivity of
rock 100% saturated with brine to the
resistivity of brine of the same concn.

Knowing R
o
and R
w
, F can be calculated

So what is the big deal?
F is related to the fraction of void spaces in
the rock i.e. the porosity and is also
affected by nature of interconnection
between pore spaces i.e. the cementation
and sorting of grains type of rock
Formation resistivity

F related to porosity and rock type
m
F

= Archies formula
where m cementation factor different
for different rocks

m generally taken as 2 in Archies
formula
Figure indicates dependence between
and m
15 . 2
62 . 0

= F Humbles formula
Increasing
cementation
Formation resistivity factor

All previous resistivity measurements assume
rock 100% saturated with brine. What happens
if rock is partially saturated with brine?
Expectation is that resistivity should increase as
the rock has less and less water. Why?

Distribution of water in rock dependent on
wettability (capillarity) and nature of porosity.
Curve 3 is for oil-wet rock.
n
t
o
w
R
R
S = n saturation exponent,
R
t
- Resistivity of formation with
water saturation, S
w

n
t
w
w
R
R F
S

= , n in range[2,2.7]

Resistivity Index = R
t
/R
o

Resistivity Measurement in Reservoirs












R
t
Resistivity of virgin formation saturated
with water of resistivity R
w

R
xo
Resistivity of near well-bore region
saturated with mud filtrate of resistivity R
mf


Near well-bore resistivity R
xo
measured using
micro-resistivity tool

Virgin formation resistivity R
t
measured using
Deep Induction tool or a laterolog
Well
Uninvaded zone,
R
t

Transition
zone
Mudcake
R
xo

R
m

R
xo

R
t

R
m

R
mc

Transition
zone

Rock Compressibility

Sedimentary rocks buried under thick column
of overlying rocks
Two types of stresses




Fluids saturating the rock resist overburden
stress
hydrostatic pressure p

Coefficient of bulk compressibility:
.
'
1
const p
bulk
bulk
b
V
V
=

However, it makes more sense to express bulk
compressibility coefficient at constant :
.
1
const
bulk
bulk
bulk
p
V
V
=

Coefficient of pore compressibility :
.
1
const
pore
pore
bulk
p
V
V
=

where,
void pore
V V =
Overburden stress
Hydrostatic
pressure p

Compressibility Coefficients

Coefficient of grain compressibility :
.
1
const
solid
solid
solid
p
V
V
=

Combining:
pore solid bulk
+ = ) 1 (

If
solid
) 1 ( is negligible, then :

pore bulk



pore
is typically 10
-5
10
-6
/psi (note units)

Empirical relationships for
pore


( )
43 . 1
6
87 . 55 1
) 10 ( 32 . 97

pore
, for sandstones

] 23 . 0 , 02 . 0 [


( )
93 . 0
6
) 10 ( 48 . 2 1
854 . 0

+
=
pore
, for limestones