Chapter 1: Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties

What is relative permeability & Uses

Factors that affect relative permeability
How does relative permability impact reservoir
performance
Proper design and interpretation of relative permeability
tests
Optimizing reservoir performance by understanding
relative permeability issues
Summary and conclusions
 Absolute permeability: is the permeability of a porous medium
saturated with a single fluid (e.g. Sw=1)

Absolute permeability can be calculated from the steady-state flow

equation (1D, Linear Flow; Darcy Units):

k A p
q
L
 Evaluate residual saturations and displacement efficiency
for waterflood, gasflood and various eor processes
Evaluate flow characteristics in multiphase reservoir
situation
Prediction of reservoir performance and recoverable
reserves
Reservoir optimization for primary, secondary and
tertiary depletion operations
 Relative Permeability: The resistance to fluid flow existing
in a porous media at presence of other mobile or immobile,
immiscible fluids.
 Is a concept used to convey the reduction in flow capability due to the presence
of multiple mobile fluids

Dependent upon pore geometry, wettability, fluid distribution, and fluid

saturation history.

Measurements are conducted on core samples in a laboratory and are both time-
consuming and expensive to produce.

Consequently, relative permeability measurements are most often requested for

projects where secondary and/or tertiary recovery is being considered.
Single Phase System Multi Phase Flow
 Typical phases seen in a reservoir are oil, water, and gas; and the effective
permeability of each is designated as ko, kw, and kg, respectively.

The absolute permeability is the Klinkenberg or theoretical air

permeability, which is measured by cleaning and completely drying a core
sample and then measuring the effective permeability of flow to air.

Units of relative permeability are dimensionless

 It should be pointed out that when three phases are
present the sum of the relative permeabilities (kro + krg +
krw) is both variable and always less than or equal to
unity.
Calculate relative perm of oil, water and gas.
Absolute permeability=100mD
Perm to oil= 85 mD
Perm to water= 21mD
Perm to gas= 14 mD
Commonly, reservoirs contain 2 or 3 fluids
Water-oil systems

Oil-gas systems

Water-gas systems

Three phase systems (water, oil, and gas)

To evaluate multiphase systems, must consider the

effective and relative permeability
 Definition: is a measure of the conductance of a porous
medium for one fluid phase when the medium is saturated
with more than one fluid.

The porous medium can have a distinct and measurable

conductance to each phase present in the medium

Effective permeabilities: (ko, kg, kw)

 Steady state, 1D, linear flow
equation (Darcy units):
Oil ko A o
qo
o L qn = volumetric flow rate for a
specific phase, n

k w A w
Water qw A = flow area
w L n = flow potential drop for phase,
n (including pressure, gravity and
capillary pressure terms)
k g A g
Gas
qg n = fluid viscosity for phase n
g L
L = flow length
 Normalised Relative Absolute Relative
Permeability Permability Basis
 Either method is accurate as long as correct value of
reference initial permeability is used
Normalised basis is useful in many cases where absolute
permeability is unknown (e.g: preserved state core
material)
 Definition: is a measurement of the ability of a fluid to coat the rock
surface

Have a significant impact on the shape of the relative permeability

curves

Wetting fluid relative permeability curve is concave upwards

whereas the non-wetting fluid has an s shape.

In the case where there is no interfacial tension between the fluid

phases, the relative permeability curves simplify to straight lines
between the endpoints
 The distribution of the two phases according to their
wetting characteristics results in characteristic wetting
and nonwetting phase relative permeabilities

Wetting phase occupies the smaller pore openings at small

saturations, and these pore openings do not contribute
materially to flow, it follows that the presence of a small
wetting phase saturation will affect the nonwetting phase
permeability only to a limited extent
 Nonwetting phase occupies the central or larger pore
openings that contribute materially to fluid flow through the
reservoir, however, a small nonwetting phase saturation will
drastically reduce the wetting phase permeability.
Water-Wet Relative
Permeability
Curves (Oil and
Water)
Swc is the connate or
irreducible water saturation.
This is the water saturation
below which water is not
mobile because of capillary
forces. The relative
permeability of water at
water saturations below Swc is
zero.
Sorw is the residual oil
saturation or critical oil
saturation. This is the oil
saturation below which the
oil is immobile, that is, its
relative permeability is zero.
 A water layer wets the rock surface and acts like a
lubricant for the oil located in the central parts of the
pores.
Oil-Wet Relative
Permeability
Curves (Oil and
Water)
 Oil wets the pore surfaces and water occupies the central
regions of the pores
The irreducible water saturation in oil-wet reservoir rock
is lower than that in water-wet rock.
Gas-Oil Relative
Permeability
Curves
Sgc is the critical gas
saturation. This is the
minimum saturation
for gas to become
mobile.
Sorg is the residual oil
saturation to gas. This
is the immobile oil
when gas is the
displacing fluid
krogc is the relative
permeability of oil at
the critical gas
saturation.
krgc is the relative
permeability of the
gas at the residual
oil saturation.
 The wetting phase, the oil phase, impedes the flow of gas.
The water saturation in the reservoir rock is taken to not
exceed its irreducible value. This means that the water is
not mobile, but exists in the pore space and simply reduces
the available pore space that the gas and oil can occupy.
SATURATION CONCEPTS
Critical (Swcrit) Saturation refers
To theThewater saturation
Irreducible at
or Trapped water saturation
Which the water
(Swirr) phase first
represents the water saturation
Is able
The tomaximum
move
Present note
after in many
the saturation
saturation (Swmax)has beenis theincreased
Reservoirs
Maximum than
Beyond
Initial Swi saturation
water is NOT
the
Saturation (Swi)the
critical value and
present then
under
Same as
Floodout Swcrit
Subsequently (dehydrated
conditions
Represents the reduced
(a residual
initial water itoilisor
often (almost
trapped
Or undersaturated
Saturation Always)
Gas saturation greater
would
reservoir)
present in the than Scrit
comprise the
Remainder
Reservoir of the
before any manpore system)
induced
External influences
 Several methods have been developed for calculating relative
permeability relationships.

Various parameters have been used to calculate the relative

permeability relationships, including:
- Residual and initial saturations
- Capillary pressure data
 The effective phase saturation is defined by the following set
of relationships:
1. Wyllie and Gardner Correlation

-in some rocks, the relationship between the reciprocal capillary pressure
squared (1/Pc^2) and the effective water saturation S* w is linear over a
wide range of saturation.
1. Wyllie and Gardner Correlation

-two expressions that can be used when one relative permeability is

available:

a) Oil water system

b) Gas oil system

2. Torcaso and Wyllie Correlation

simple expression to determine the relative permeability of the oil phase

in a gas-oil system
3. Pirsons Correlation

derived generalized relationships for determining the wetting and

nonwetting phase relative permeability for both imbibition and drainage
processes

Generalized expressions are applied for water-wet rocks

a) For wetting phase

3. Pirsons Correlation

a) For the nonwetting phase

i) Imbibition

i) Drainage
4. Coreys Method

simple mathematical expression for generating the relative permeability

data of the gas-oil system

Corey (1954) proposed that the water-oil relative permeability can be

represented as follows:
4. Coreys Method

simple mathematical expression for generating the relative permeability

data of the gas-oil system

Corey (1954) proposed that the water-oil relative permeability can be

represented as follows:
 plot of kro
0 25 and k .
rw
0 25 versus Sw
 Taking the logarithm of both sides of the previous two expressions gives:
5. Relative Permeability from Capillary Pressure Data

-Rose and Bruce (1949) showed that capillary pressure pc is a measure of

the fundamental characteristics of the formation and could also be used to
predict the relative permeabilities

Based on the concepts of tortuosity, Wyllie and Gardner (1958) developed

the following mathematical expression for determining the drainage water-
oil relative permeability from capillary pressure data:
5. Relative Permeability from Capillary Pressure Data

two expressions for generating the oil and gas relative permeabilities in the
presence of the connate water saturation. The authors considered the connate
water as part of the rock matrix to give:

Corey observed that the plot of 1/pc^2 versus effective water saturation S*w
may produce or yield a straight line over a considerable range of saturations.
5. Relative Permeability from Capillary Pressure Data

further simplifications, Corey reduced to:

6. Relative Permeability from Analytical Equations

Most frequently used functional forms for expressing the relative-

permeability and capillary pressure data are given below:
a) Oil water system
6. Relative Permeability from Analytical Equations

Most frequently used functional forms for expressing the relative-

permeability and capillary pressure data are given below:
a) Gas oil system
6. Relative Permeability from Analytical Equations
 Definition: expresses the ability of a reservoir to permit flow of one fluid
as related to its ability to permit flow of another fluid under the same
circumstances.
Two most useful permeability ratios are krg/kro the relative permeability
to gas with respect to that to oil and krw/kro the relative permeability to
water with respect to that to oil, it being understood that both quantities
in the ratio are determined simultaneously on a given system.
 Express the central straight-line portion
of the relationship in the following
analytical form:

select the following two points:

 Express the central straight-line portion
of the relationship in the following
analytical form:

select the following two points:

 Impose above points into equation:

Solving simultaneously:

Final relationship:
 Fluid Saturations
Rock Properties
Wettability
Saturation History
 Overburden Pressure
In-Situ Stresses and Hydration
Temperature
IFT
Viscosity
Initial Fluid Saturations
Immobile Phases
Displacement Rates
Core handling and Preservation
Water Saturation Gas Saturation Liquid Saturation
 Strongly dependant function of saturation
Rel perm is always expressed as a saturation function
 Relative permeability is strongly impacted by the specific
geometry/tortuosity of the pore system under
consideration
Grain size
Pore size
Aspect ratio
Presence of vugs/natural fractures
Wormholes
Horizontal laminations