SPE

Society or Petroleum Engineer'S

SPE 21044

Rock Properties of Berea Sandstone, Baker Dolomite, and

Indiana Limestone
P.L. Churcher, * P.R. French, J.e. Shaw, * * and L.L. Schramm, Petroleum Recovery Inst.
'SPE Member now with Petrel Robinson Ltd .
•• SPE Member

Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE International Symposium on Olifield Chemistry held in Anaheim, California, February 20-22,1991.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
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of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy IS restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper IS presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

A complete understanding of the various rock Several quarried sandstone and carbonate rocks are
properties is essential in determining the rock- used by the petroleum industry as standard porous
fluid interactions that take place during core flood media for laboratory experiments. The data obtained
experiments. Although Berea sandstone, Baker from these tests are usually compared to similar
dolomite and Indiana limestone have been used by the data derived from experiments conducted using
petroleum industry as reference materials, very few reservoir cores. These rocks are chosen because they
data have been reported in the literature regarding are relatively inexpensive, readily available, and
their basic rock properties. This paper contains relatively homogeneous. They are also outcrops of
petrographic and petrophysical data for these rock producing subsurface formations.
types. Twelve representative samples were selected
to study the variability and the relationship of The most commonly used "rock standards" include
several rock properties, including mineral content, Berea sandstone, Baker dolomite, and Indiana
grain and pore size, porosity, permeability, limestone. Although these rock types have been used
specific surface area, mercury capillary pressure, by the industry for many years, very little
and electrokinetic properties. petrographic or petrophysical information has been
published, hence very little is known about the
The results indicate: 1) the Upper Berea sandstone range of variability in these rocks.
samples studied exhibit correlations between
porosity, permeability, specific surface area, and Berea sandstone, also known as Berea Grit, is a
various parameters obtained from the mercury Mississippian terrestrial sandstone. 1 Outcrops of
capillary pressure analyses that may be used to Berea sandstone in Ohio are found infilling
predict certain rock properties, 2) Baker dolomite previously cut channels in the underlying red
and Indiana limestone contain a small amount of Bedford and Chagrin shales. 1 These channel-fill
clays and organic matter, 3) These carbonates show a deposits consist of two distinct units. The lower
bimodal pore throat size distribution based on unit, referred to as the Orange Berea in this study,
mercury capillary pressure analyses, and 4) The rests unconformably on the surface of the shale and
surface charges of these rocks are very dependent on is characterized by its reddish-orange colour and
the brine composition and pH. high angle cross-bedding. This rock is coarser-
grained and more poorly-sorted than the Upper Berea
The specific surface area and surface charge data sandstone unit. The Upper Berea sandstone unit is
can be used to determine the amount of chemical the rock most frequently used in coreflood
retention during corefloods using these or similar experiments. It is a finer-grained, well-sorted
reservoir rocks. This information is necessary to sandstone with closely spaced planar bedding. Both
optimize chemical processes used in the oilfield. of these Berea sandstones are quarried in Amherst,
Ohio by Cleveland Quarries Company (P.O. Box 261,
References and figures at end of paper. Amherst, Ohio, USA 44001). Berea sandstone is an
important oil and gas producing formation in the
Michigan Basin. 2 ,3

431
2 ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOMITE AND INDIANA LIMESTONE
Baker dolomite, also known as the Guelph dolomite,
is a dolomitized carbonate sand that was formed in a
shoal area located in a shallow inland sea during
Middle Silurian time. 4 Similar occurrences of this
type of dolomitized carbonate sand have been
documented in subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs in
the Michigan Basin by Churcher. 5 Two distinct types
of Baker dolomite are available, referred to in this
paper as the coarse, dark buff-coloured dolomite and
the fine, light buff-coloured dolomite. Baker
dolomite was quarried by J.E Baker Company at the
Millersville Quarry in Millersville, Ohio. This
quarry was subsequently purchased by Steetley
Resources Ltd., Ohio Lime Company (P.O. Box 128,
Woodville, Ohio, USA, 43469) and the section of the
quarry containing this rock unit was abandoned,
however, blocks may still be obtained by contacting
the quarry manager.
Indiana limestone, also known as the Salem
limestone, was formed in a shallow inland sea during
Mississippian time. The rock is a calcite cemented
grainstone formed from fossil fragments (mainly
bryozoans, echinoderms, foraminifers, brachiopods
and molluscs) and concentrically lamellar calcium
carbonate particles named 001ites. 6 The rocks found
in the quarry can be divided into two groups
consisting of a lower grey-coloured limestone and an
upper buff-coloured limestone. The lower grey-
coloured limestone lies in the reducing zone below
the present day water table. It has a substantially
lower permeability than the buff-coloured limestone.
The upper buff-coloured limestone is located in the
oxidizing zone above the present day water table and
exhibits moderate to good porosity and permeability. 6
Both rock types are quarried by the Indiana
Institute of America, Inc. (Stone City National Bank
Building, Suite 400, Bedford, Indiana, USA 47421) at
their Bedford-Bloomington quarry. Oil is produced in
the Illinois Basin from the Salem Limestone found in
the Keenville Field, Wayne County, Illinois.?
The objectives of this paper are:
1. To provide basic petrographic and
petrophysical data for Berea sandstone, Baker
dolomite, and Indiana limestone for comparison
with reservoir cores. This information may
assist in the selection of representative rock
standards for laboratory experiments.
2. To increase the understanding of the nature of
these rocks by studying trends which may exist
in these data. This information can then be
used to predict how a rock will behave under
specific coreflood conditions.
3. To recommend preparation procedures and
precautions that should be exercised when
using these rocks for coreflood experiments.
Since these rocks exhibit macroscopic
heterogeneities associated with changes in
depositional environment and diagenesis, it is
beyond the scope of this study to determine the
range of variability in these rocks. However,
representative samples have been chosen from each of
the three lithologies to study the variations.
432
SPE 21044
METHOD OF STUDY
Sample Selection
Eight Berea sandstone samples were selected
including five Upper Berea sandstone samples, two
Orange Berea sandstone samples and one Fired Berea
sandstone sample (Berea-4 fired at 10000C for 5
hours). Fired Berea is frequently used in coreflood
experiments because the firing process stabilizes
the indigenous fines and produces strongly water-wet
conditions. 8,9
Two Baker dolomite samples were chosen for the
study. These represent both the coarse-grained, dark
buff-coloured dolomite (Baker-I) and the fine-
grained light buff-coloured dolomite (Baker-2).
Three Indiana limestone samples were chosen which
represent the low permeability grey limestone unit
(Indiana-I), the moderate permeability buff
limestone unit (Indiana-2), and the relatively high
permeability Ledge "J" buff limestone (Indiana-3). A
complete list of samples used in this study and
their basic petrophysical properties can be found in
Table 1.
Petrographic and Petrophysical Methods
Combined scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thin
section microscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD)
analyses were done on all rock samples to determine
their mineral content, and distribution, and pore
structure.
Specific surface area, although not routinely
measured in the oil industry, is an important rock
property. It is usually reported as the surface area
per unit mass of sample (mz/g) and is used along with
other rock properties to determine the amount of
chemicals (surfactants, alkaline agents, polymers,
etc. ) which may be adsorbed by a rock during
coreflood experiments. Specific surface area
measurements were performed on an Micromeritic
Accusorb 2l00E Surface Area Analyzer using nitrogen
as the adsorbate. Sample dead volume was measured
using helium and the specific surface area is
calculated using the BET equation. 10
Mercury capillary pressure analysis is used by the
petroleum industry to determine the pore geometry of
a rock sample and to predict the behaviour of other
immiscible fluid pairs, such as oil and water, in a
rock. n to Zl Figure 1 represents an example of a set
of mercury capillary pressure curves. Parameters
shown on this figure will be referred to throughout
this paper.
The pressure-saturation data which define the
injection curve can be used to produce a pore throat
size distribution based on the following equation:
Pc = 20 cosO/r
where: Pc Capillary Pressure (kPa)
o Surface Tension, Hg-air (480 mN/m)
o Contact Angle, Hg-air (140°)
r Pore throat radius (~m)
The pore thro~t diameter at a mercury saturation of
50 percent of the pore volume has been used as an
estimate of the average pore throat diameter. 15 This
SPE 21044 PETER L. CHURCHER, P. ROSEMARY FRENCH, JERRY C. SHAW AND LAURIER L. SCHRAMM
value is used in this study in conjunction with an
average pore body size, determined from thin section
analysis, to estimate the pore-throat (aspect) ratio
for the sandstones. The use of this measurement as
an average pore body size is, however, limited to
rocks having a unimodal, well-sorted pore throat
size distribution. For bimodal pore throat size
distributions, such as those found in the Baker
dolomite and Indiana limestones samples, two ranges
of pore throat diameters may be used. For rocks
having poorly-sorted pore throat size distributions,
a range of pore throat sizes should be quoted.
The mercury recovery factor (RF) , or recovery
efficiency, is a measure of the amount of mercury
withdrawn from the sample when the pressure is
reduced. This parameter, previously defined by
Wardlaw and McKellar (1981)11 as the withdrawal
efficiency (We), is described in the following
equation:
Where: Smax ~ Maximum Hg Saturation
Sr ~ Residual Hg Saturation
A relationship is thought to exist between the
mercury recovery factor and the waterflood oil
recovery efficiency in strongly water-wet
reservoirs. 11,16,18 These authors noted that under
strongly water-wet conditions, at low flow rates and
with low oil viscosity, capillary forces dominate
over viscous forces in the reservoir. The recovery
efficiency obtained under these conditions should be
independent of the fluid pair used.
The foregoing has been a discussion of the
information which is generally obtained from the
primary injection and withdrawal curves. Additional
information pertaining to the pore geometry of the
rock can be obtained by examining the curves
produced from a series of secondary inj ection and
withdrawal loops (Figure 1). The relative position
of the lower crossover points of each of these
secondary hysteresis loops could be used to estimate
the degree of pore-throat size correlation. 19
Wardlaw et ~ (1987)19 concluded that poorly-
correlated pore- throat size distributions are
represented by a curved dashed line like that shown
in Figure 1 and that well-correlated pore-throat
size distributions are represented by a flat dashed
line. They also concluded that rocks with correlated
pore-throat systems exhibit better mercury and oil
recovery factors than those with uncorrelated
systems.
Electrophoretic properties of rock particles were
measured on rock particles of < 5.0 ~m diameter. The
rocks were first crushed with a mechanical mill and
then dispersed in distilled water by using a
blender. The fine solids were fractionated to the
desired size range using sedimentation and then
centrifugation. For the Berea sandstone, a content and a decrease in the feldspar content from
separation of quartz and clay fractions was made by
using ultrasound to unseat the clay particles
imbedded in the larger quartz grains.
Unless otherwise stated, all aqueous solutions
contain an equivalent ionic strength of 0.406 molejl
of NaCl, CaC1 2 or synthetic brine. The synthetic
brine composition was 1.725% NaCl, 3.25% CaC1 2 , 0.44%
MgC1 2 , 0.092% Na2 S0 4 . All particle suspensions
433
3
contain 50 mgjl of solid and were equilibrated for
at least 24 hr to allow for slow solubility
equilibrium reactions.
The electrophoretic mobilities of rock particles
were measured using a Rank Brothers'
Microelectrophoresis Apparatus Mark II (Rank
Brothers, Cambridge, England). Additional details of
the particle separations, equilibrations and
electrokinetic measurements are available
elsewhere. 22
The electrolyte concentrations at which mobility
readings were recorded in these experiments, are
several orders of magnitude greater than those
reported in the literature to date. Such high salt
concentrations make the experimental measurements
very difficult due to the solution conductivity, but
are necessary in order to simulate the conditions in
an oil reservoir. All results are reported here as
electrophoretic mobilities. The relationship between
these and zeta potentials (r) is quite complex, but
simplifies for the extremely high ionic strength of
0.406 M used here. At ambient temperature ~ ~ 2.095
nm- 1 , thus ~a "" 4190 » 100 and the Smoluchowski
equation may be used:
where ~E is the electrophoretic mobility, € is the
relative permittivity of the solution, and ~ is the
solution viscosity.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Petrographic Data
The following section contains petrographic
descriptions of each of the rock types used in the
study. The bulk XRD data are summarized in Tables 2
and 3. The XRD traces for the fines fraction
separated from the Upper Berea sandstone, Baker
dolomite and Indiana limestone can. be found in
Figures 2, 3 and 4. Representative SEM photo-
micrographs can be found in Figures 5-10.
Berea Sandstone, Orange Berea, and Fired Berea
All the Berea sandstone samples (Berea-l to Berea-5)
from the upper unit of the quarry have similar
petrographic properties. Observations made using
SEM, XRD, and thin section analyses, indicate that
these rocks are made up of well-sorted and well-
rounded sand grains, ranging in size from 70 to 400
~m (Figures 5 to 8). These grains consist of
predominantly quartz (85 to 90 %) and feldspar (3 to
6 %). The sand grains are cemented by quartz,
dolomite (1 to 2 %), clays (6 to 8 %), and trace
amounts of iron sulphides. The XRD data found in
Table 2 indicate that there is an increase in quartz
Berea-1 to Berea- 5. The amount of dolomite cement
varies from one sample to the next and does not
appear to be related to permeability or porosity. In
addition, these data indicate that the kaolinite
content decreases in the higher permeability
sandstones (Berea-4 and 5).
4 ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOMITE AND INDIANA LIMESTONE
Quartz is the dominant cementing material, with
quartz overgrowths being equally well developed in
each of the samples. Based on XRD analysis, the clay
mineral assemblage consists of kaolinite (5 to 6 %),
illi te (1 %), and a trace of chlorite (Table 2,
Figure 2) . These clays pose potential fines
migration problems in these rocks. 23 Accordingly,
flow rates should be kept low and fresh water
shocking of these cores should be avoided in order
to minimize the potential for permeability
impairment.
In contrast, the Orange Berea sandstone samples are
made up of poorly-sorted sand grains which range in
size from 75 to 750 ~m (Figure 8). X-ray Diffraction
data for this sample indicate that this rock is also
mineralogically different from the Upper Berea
sandstone (Table 2). The Orange Berea is composed of
98 % quartz with only a trace amount of feldspar.
Quartz overgrowths appear to be the dominant cement.
The indigenous fines within this sample consist of
kaolinite (2 %) and a trace amount of illite and
mixed-layer illite-smectite. Angular quartz fines,
measuring 2 to 10 ~m, were also found to be present
in many of the pores of the rock. These particles
are thought to have been introduced during the
coring of the plug used in the mercury capillary
pressure experiment and may have penetrated deeply
into this high permeability sample. These
potentially mobile quartz particles and clay
minerals are present in such minute quantities that
they are unlikely to produce a significant loss of
permeability in this particular rock.
Thin section analyses of the Orange Berea samples
also revealed the presence of abundant pore-lining
and pore-bridging limonite and pyrite probably
derived from the underlying red shales. Limonite was
not identified by the XRD analysis because it has no
crystalline structure. Pyrite was not detected using
XRD because it is present only in trace amounts. No
hematite or any other crystalline iron oxides were
detected in the reddish-colour fines fraction
separated from this sample.
The petrographic changes that took place when Berea-
4 was fired at 1000°C for 5 hours were discussed in
detail by Shaw et ~ (1989).9 They found that the
firing process resulted in a volume reduction in the
clays and carbonate cements. The shrinkage and
fusing together of the clays and the oxidation of
the carbonate cements increased the porosity and
permeability of the rock. These authors also noted
that the sand grains themselves were not affected by
the firing process. Shaw et ~ (1989)9 concluded
that the firing process transformed the carbonate
minerals into alkaline metal oxides which readily
reacted with introduced water or brine to produce
effluent pH values of up to 12.2. They found that
this alkaline material reacted with the high acid
number crude oil to produce surfactants which,
combined with a more favourable pore geometry,
resul ted in a higher waterflood recovery in the
Fired Berea.
Baker Dolomite
The combined petrographic study of the two Baker
dolomite samples indicates that this rock is made up
predominantly of the mineral dolomite (Figures 9 and
10, Table 3). The chemical analysis for this rock is
434
SPE 21044
shown in Table 4. No calcite was noted in the
stained thin sections. A qualitative XRD analysis of
fines separated from this dolomite using buffered
acetic acid (pH 4.5) indicates that trace amounts of
illite, quartz, and chlorite are also present
(Figure 3). The presence of organics was indicated
by the brown colour of the insoluble residue. This
was confirmed by treating the sample with sodium
hypochlorite. These minerals are unlikely to cause
any significant fines migration problems during
coreflood experiments because they are present in
such small amounts and they are likely held in place
by dolomite cements.
The two types of Baker dolomite (the coarse-grained
dark buff-coloured Baker-l, and the fine-grained
light buff-coloured Baker-2) are differentiated by
dolomite rhomb size and by the amount of clay-size
(1 to 2 ~m) dolomite crystals precipitated onto the
dolomite rhombs. The dolomite rhombs in the Baker-l
sample are bigger than those measured in the Baker-2
sample (180 vs 75 ~m). There is a greater abundance
of clay-size dolomite crystals in Baker-2. These
very fine dolomite crystals would not likely migrate
in corefloods performed at low flow rates because
they are well cemented to the larger dolomite
rhombs.
Indiana Limestone
The combined petrographic analyses of the three
Indiana limestone samples indicate that this rock
type is made up predominantly of the mineral calcite
(99%) with a small amount of quartz (1%) (Figures 11
and 12, Table 3). A qualitative XRD analysis of
fines « 2 ~m) separated from the Indiana-3 sample
using a buffered acetic acid solution (pH 4.5), also
revealed the presence of trace amounts of illite and
kaolinite (Figure 4). These fines were also noted in
a < 2 ~m fraction obtained using an ultrasonic and
centrifuge separation technique. This may indicate
that some of these fines are situated in the pore
space and may be mobilized during a coreflood.
However, these fines are present in such minute
amounts that they would not likely cause significant
plugging problems during a core flood experiment. No
dolomite was detected in the stained thin sections,
however, a chemical analysis of both the grey and
buff-coloured Indiana limestones does indicate the
presence of a trace amount of magnesia (Table 5).
Indiana limestone is a calcite cemented grainstone
made up of fossil fragments and oolites. These
fragments are often larger than 1 rom in diameter and
appear dark brown in thin sections due to the
presence of organics and possible iron minerals. 6
Small calcite crystals (2 to 5 ~m) were found lining
the pore spaces in all the Indiana limestone
samples. Like the dolomite crystals found in the
Baker-2 sample, these calcite crystals are well
cemented to the larger fossil grains and would not
likely migrate during core flood experiments
performed at low flow rates.
The main petrographic differences between the grey
(Indiana-I) and buff-coloured (Indiana-2 and 3)
limestones are the amount of calcite cement and the
degree of oxidation. The grey-coloured limestone is
found in the quarry in a level below the present day
water table under reducing conditions. The buff-
coloured limestone is found above the water table.
SPE 21044 PETER L. CHURCHER, P. ROSEMARY FRENCH, JERRY C. SHAW AND LAURIER L. SCHRAMM
The buff colour is thought to be due to the
oxidation of the organics and iron minerals in this
horizon. 6 The implications of the position of the
rock within the quarry to the measured permeability
and porosity will be discussed later.
Petrophysical Data
The following section contains the results of the
porosity, permeability, specific surface area,
mercury capillary pressure, and electrophoretic
mobility data for each of the rock types studied.
These data are summarized in Tables 6 and 7, and are
plotted in Figures 13 to 23.
Berea Sandstone, Orange Berea, and Fired Berea
Porosity and permeability in the Upper Berea
sandstone samples studied range from 19.04 to 26.10
% and from 114 to 1168 md respectively. The porosity
appears to increase with increasing permeability
(Figure 13). This increase appears to coincide with
a similar increase in grain and pore body size
(Table 7). Although the petrographic properties
controlling the permeability and porosity in these
rocks are not precisely known, the trend towards an
increase in the quartz content, pore body size, pore
throat size, and a decrease in the feldspar and
kaolinite content, may account for the observed
trends in the permeability and porosity data. These
petrographic properties also appear to be related to
the observed trends in the specific surface area
data.
Specific surface area values for the Upper Berea
sandstone samples range from 0.82 to 1.23 m2/g.
Donaldson et ~ (1975)24 reported specific surface
area values for Berea sandstone ranging from 0.79 to
1.07 m2/g. The values obtained for the samples used
in this study appear to decrease with increasing
porosity and permeability (Table 6 and Figure 14).
Al though these relationships are not well defined
due to a limited number of analyses, a trend may
exist that warrants further investigation.
The mercury capillary pressure curves for Berea-I to
5 can be found in Figure 15. These curves indicate
that the Upper Berea sandstone samples all have a
similar pore geometry. The relatively flat plateau
region on the primary inj ection curves indicates
that these rocks have moderately well- sorted pore
throat size distribution. A plot of the breakthrough
pressure obtained from the primary injection curve
versus permeability, indicates there is an inverse
relationship between these two ·parameters (Figure
16). The breakthrough pressure has been used to
estimate absolute permeability in rocks .13,25
All the Upper Berea sandstone samples have a similar
degree of pore-throat size correlation. 19 These rocks
have been interpreted by these authors to have a
poor pore-throat size correlation. This shows that
Berea is not entirely homogeneous and that
microscopic heterogeneity exists at the pore level
which might reduce oil recovery efficiency during
coreflood experiments. Mercury recovery efficiency
may also be affected by this microscopic
heterogeneity.
435
5
Plots of the mercury recovery efficiency (RF) versus
the maximum initial mercury saturation (Sn) for each
of the Upper Berea sandstone samples studied can be
found in Figure 17. In general, these data indicate
that the mercury recovery efficiency increases with
increasing porosity up to mercury saturations of
approximately 70% which correspond to an injection
pressure of approximately 10 3 kPa. After this point,
the mercury recovery efficiency decreases. This
decrease is most noticeable between the second last
and last hysteresis loops and appears to be related
to the permeability of the sample (Figure 17).
Churcher et ~ (1989)17 concluded that the main
cause of this decline in the mercury recovery
efficiency at pressures of greater than 10 3 kPa was
due to the alteration of the wettability of the
mercury by surface contamination resulting from
fines migration.
Estimates of the pore to throat size (aspect)
ratios, obtained using the average pore throat
diameter (D 50 ) from capillary pressure analysis and
an average pore body size from thin section
analysis, for each of the Upper Berea sandstone
samples can be found in Table 7. These data indicate
that the aspect ratio appears to decrease with
increasing porosity and permeability. This should
result in an increase in the mercury and oil
recovery efficiencies because there should be less
trapping due to snap-off .16 The mercury recovery
efficiency versus initial mercury saturation plots
indicate that there is an increase in the recovery
factors with porosity up to mercury saturations of
approximately 70%.
The Orange Berea sandstone samples studied are more
permeable (1272 and 2520 md) than the Upper Berea
sandstones and have relatively higher porosities
(25.05 and 26.11 %). There are insufficient dat~ to
determine, however, if a similar relationship exists
between porosity and permeability in this unit.
Specific surface area values for these two samples
were found to be higher (ranging from 1.10 to 1.96
m2/g) than those obtained for the Upper Berea
sandstone samples (Table 6). These values are likely
higher than the ones obtained for the Upper Berea
sandstone samples because of the presence of very
fine-grained iron oxides and sulphides.
The mercury capillary pressure curves for Orange
Berea-I can be found in Figure 18. These data
indicate that the Orange Berea-1 sample is not as
well sorted in pore throat size as are the Upper
Berea sandstone samples. This may be a result of the
poor sorting of the sand grains. 16 The degree of
pore-throat size correlation, indicated by the
relative position of the lower crossover points for
each of the injection and withdrawal curves, appears
to be slightly better than that observed in the
other Berea samples. Therefore, even though these
rocks are macroscopically heterogeneous (exhibiting
high angle cross-bedding and poor grain size
sorting), they may be slightly more uniform at the
pore level.
The recovery factor versus initial saturation plot
(Figure 19) indicates that although the initial
recovery efficiency of the Orange Berea is
relatively high, there is an early and rapid decline
at much lower pressures and saturations than in the
Upper Berea sandstone.
6 ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOMITE AND INDIANA LIMESTONE
Firing of Berea-4 sandstone was found to increase
the permeability and porosity by 15 to 20 %.9 These
authors concluded that the increased porosity and
permeability resulted from the shrinkage of the
carbonate and clay cements upon firing. The
shrinkage and fusion of the clays also resulted in
an almost three-fold decrease in the specific
surface area (0.91 to 0.33 m2/g).
The capillary pressure and recovery efficiency
curves for the Fired Berea sandstone sample can be
found in Figures 18 and 19. A similar plot for the
unfired Berea-4 sample is also presented in Figure
19 for comparison. The inj ection curves for the
Berea-4 and the Fired Berea samples are almost
identical. There are, however, significant
differences in the shape of the withdrawal curves.
The relative position of the lower crossover points
for each of the hysteresis loops indicates that the
firing process tends to create a more uniform pore-
throat size distribution. Shaw et ~ (1989)9
attributed this to the shrinkage of the clays and to
the oxidation of the carbonate cements. The recovery
factor versus saturation curves for this sample
indicate that the stabilization of the clays after
firing results in an overall increase in the mercury
recovery efficiency.18
Baker Dolomite
The porosity and gas permeability values obtained
for the two Baker dolomites studied, range from
19.11 to 24.74 % and from 173 to 201 md respec-
tively. Meister (1978)4 reported similar values
ranging from 20 to 25 % and from 60 to 180 md. He
also noted that this rock appeared to be water-wet
with an Ammott-Harvey Relative Displacement Index of
between 0.414 and 0.689.
The specific surface area of the two Baker dolomite
samples were found to be much lower than those
obtained for the Berea sandstone (Table 6). Values
ranged from 0.22 to 0.29 m2/g. The difference in the
specific surface area might be attributed to the
lack of high surface area clay minerals in the
dolomite. Although the Baker-2 dolomite has a
considerable amount of fine-grained dolomite
crystals covering the surface of the larger dolomite
rhombs, these do not appear to significantly
contribute to the specific surface area of this
sample (Figures 9 and 10).
The mercury capillary pressure curves for these two
samples can be found in Figure 20. These data indi-
cate that this rock type has a well defined bimodal
pore throat size distribution. This bimodal
distribution is indicated by the presence of a
second breakthrough pressure at about 10 3 kPa in the
Baker-1 sample and at about 6 x 10 2 kPa in the Baker-
2 sample. A similar pattern in the withdrawal curves
indicates that the pore body sizes are also
bimodally distributed. A bimodal distribution was
not observed in the sample analyzed by Meister
(1978).4 However, a bimodal distribution has been
observed in other carbonates including the Rainbow-
Keg River dolomite and the Austin chalk. 13.14
Examining these samples under the SEM revealed that
this dual porosity system may be related to the pre-
sence of isolated zones of tightly intergrown dolo-
mite crystals surrounded by large polygonal pores
created by large dolomite rhombs (Figures 9 and 10).
436
SPE 21044
The mercury recovery efficiency versus maximum sat-
uration plots for these samples are located in
Figure 21. As reported previously by Wardlaw (1976)22
for other rocks, the mercury recovery efficiency
appears to increase with increasing porosity. The
mercury recovery efficiency values obtained for the
primary withdrawal curves (ranging from 34.6 to 48.8
%) are higher than those obtained for Berea sand-
stone with similar permeability. The relative
position of the lower crossover points for the Baker
dolomite samples indicates that, like the Berea
sandstones, the Baker dolomites have relatively
uncorrelated pore-throat size distributions. Baker-l
does, however, appear to have a better pore-throat
size correlation than does the Baker-2 sample.
Indiana Limestone
The porosity and permeability values obtained for
the three Indiana limestone samples studied, range
from 12.10 to 21.10 % and from 4 to 57 md
respectively, although samples with permeabilities
which are too small to measure and greater than 57
md have been used (Table 6). In general, the grey-
coloured limestone (Indiana-1) has a lower
permeability and porosity than the buff-coloured
limestones (Indiana- 2 and 3) of this rock unit. 6
Thin section and SEM observations indicate that the
porosity and permeability in these rocks are likely
controlled by the distribution of the coarse, pore-
filling calcite cement (Figures 11 and 12). The
buff-coloured limestones may have higher
permeability and porosity values than the grey-
coloured limestones mainly because they are situated
above the water table and may have experienced more
chemical weathering.
The specific surface area values of these rocks are
considerably higher than those obtained for the
Baker dolomite (0.49 to 0.71 versus 0.22 to 0.29
m2/g) , but not as high as those obtained for the
Berea sandstones. The reasons for this higher
specific surface area are not well understood, but
might be related to the amount of microporosity
within the fossil and oolite grains, and/or to the
presence of clay fines in the sample. The mercury
capillary pressure data indicate that between 21 and
35 % of the pore space of these rocks is not
accessed at 10 MPa mercury capillary pressure
(equivalent of 0.148 ~m pore throat diameter).
The mercury capillary pressure curves for the
Indiana limestone samples can be found in Figure 22.
These data indicate that the bimodal pore throat
size distribution noted in the Baker dolomite
samples is also poorly developed in the Indiana-l
and 3, but is not evident in Indiana- 2. In this
sample the shape of the primary injection curve more
closely resembles a low permeability Berea
sandstone. The bimodal pore throat size
distributions in the Indiana-1 and 3 samples may
result from the distribution of the fine calcite
crystals which line the pores. These fine crystals
create microporosity. It may also arise from the
intra-particle porosity noted in some of the fossil
fragments and oolites. A bimodal pore body size
distribution is not clearly indicated by the shape
of the withdrawal curves as it was in the Baker
dolomite. Indiana limestone has been reported to
have a good pore-throat size corre1ation. 19 This is
reflected by the higher final mercury recovery
SPE 21044 PETER L. GHURGHER, P. ROSEMARY FRENGH, JERRY G. SHAW AND LAURIER L. SGHRAMM 7

efficiency obtained for the Indiana-2 sample (53.6
%). The reason for the lower final recovery
efficiency obtained for the Indiana-3 sample (29.3%)
is unknown.
The mercury recovery efficiency versus initial
saturation plots for these samples can be found in
Figure 23. In general, the data for the Indiana-l
and 2 samples indicate that there is an increase in
the mercury recovery efficiency with increasing
porosity and mercury saturation. The Indiana-3
sample, however, appears to depart from this trend.
The reasons for this departure are not known, but
may be related to the possible migration of fines.
Electrokinetic Properties of Rock Particles
Berea Sandstone
this technique are available elsewhere. 22
Both the limestone and dolomite particle charges
depend very strongly upon solution composition.
Divalent cations can produce positively charged
particles across the pH range of 6 to 9. This is in
agreement with many literature reports indicating
that the addition of polyvalent cations into
solution tends to reduce the negative charge of
these minerals and eventually make them
positive. 26,27,28 No IEP was observed in any of the
solutions. It is apparent that the net charges on
calcite or dolomite are so sensitive to the presence
of divalent cations that without knowing the
electrolyte solution concentration, composition, and
pH it would be impossible to predict whether the
rock in a limestone or dolomite formation would
carry a negative or positive surface charge, let
alone the magnitude of the charge.

The Berea sandstone particles consisting of quartz
and clays exhibited similar charge behaviour to the
quartz particle fraction in all of the electrolyte
solutions. This is reasonable since Berea sandstone
consists predominantly of quartz with only up to
about 10% clays.
For all of the rock particles, whether sandstone or
carbonate, the effect of pH on particle surface
charge is substantial. In the presence of high
levels of hardness (the 0.135 M GaG1 2 solutions) the
mobility of all particle types becomes positive at
solution pH > 8.

Table 8 shows the electrokinetic properties for all

particle samples in three different composition Solvent Extraction Observations
brines each having the same total ionic strength.
For each the variation with solution pH is shown for A solvent extraction using a chloroform/methanol
the range 6 to 9 normally encountered in practise. mixture performed on the Baker dolomite revealed the
The isoelectric point (IEP) range for these presence of a significant amount of soluble
particles is also shown. 22 The IEP is the pH hydrocarbons which might affect the results of some
corresponding to zero electrokinetic charge (also core flood experiments. No extractable hydrocarbons
zero Zeta potential). At neutral pH the sandstone were removed from the Berea-I, Orange Berea-I, or
whole rock particles carry a net negative charge in Indiana-2 samples.
the NaGI and synthetic brine solutions but reverse
to positive charge in the GaG1 2 solution. In Even though these rocks are obtained from quarries
synthetic brine solution the particles become it must still be recognized that these are
positive above pH 9 so that in fact both solutions hydrocarbon bearing strata in the subsurface and may
containing divalent cations can produce positively contain small amounts of oil residues at surface. In
charged sandstone particles. The charge reversal is addition, groundwaters which have been circulating
due to adsorption of ions of opposite charge to the through these rocks for many years may have also
mineral surface. This possibility for sandstones at deposited thin layers of organic acids (fulvic and
neutral pH is not normally appreciated because it humic acids) on the surface of these rocks
does not occur for quartz particles. therefore, they should be extracted prior to usag~
to ensure uniform wettability.29
The IEP for the isolated quartz particles is in the
range < 2 to 3.5 which agrees well with the
literature and is somewhat lower than that for the CONCLUSIONS
sandstone particles. At neutral pH the particles
carry either a net negative or near-zero charge. The 1. A relationship exists between porosity,
isolated clay particles almost exclusively exhibit permeability, mercury breakthrough pressure
negative charge. This behaviour is consistent with and specific surface area of the Upper Berea
the IEP literature for kaolinite and illite clays. sandstone that is related to underlying
In the presence of divalent cation containing petrographic properties (cementation,
solutions the clay particles reverse their charge mineralogy, and grain size).
and become positive between pH 8 and 9.5.
2. Aspect Ratios, estimated from the measurement
of pore body size from thin sections and from
Indiana Limestone and Baker Dolomite the average pore throat diameter obtained from
mercury capillary pressure analysis, appear to
It should be noted that the small quantities of decrease with increasing permeability and
limestone and dolomite particles added to make up porosity in the Upper Berea sandstones
these suspensions dissolved in all of the solutions studied.
at pH < 6 for GaGI 2 , and pH < 8.5 for the NaGI and
synthetic brine. In order to extend the results to 3. The pore throat and pore body sizes in both
the pH 6 to 7 range, measurements were made in Baker dolomite types are bimodally
solutions that had been equilibrated against either distributed.
limestone or dolomite, as appropriate, for several
days to satisfy solubility requirements. Details of 4. The pore throat sizes in the Indiana

437
8 ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOMITE AND INDIANA LIMESTONE SPE 21044

may help find Berea strat traps." Oil and Gas Limestone-I and 3 samples are poorly sorted
Journal, March 14, p. 73-76 (1988). and show a weak bimodal distribution.

Meister, J.J., "A porous permeable carbonate 5. The permeability and porosity in the Indiana
for use in oil recovery experiments." JPT, limestone samples appear to be controlled by
November, p. 1632-1634 (1978). the distribution of the coarse calcite cement.
Permeability values in the buff-coloured
5. Churcher, P. L. , "Clay Distribution In limestone (Indiana-2 and 3) may be higher than
Carbonate Reservoirs, Examples From The those found in the grey- coloured limestone
Silurian of Southwestern Ontario." M. Sc. (Indiana-I) due to weathering of these cements
thesis, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, in the quarry.
Ontario., 305 pp (1987).
6. The surface charges on sandstone, limestone
6. Indiana Limestone Institute of America., and dolomite rock particles are very dependent
"Indiana Limestone Handbook, " v.4, 108 pp on brine composition and pH. When there is no
(1975). hardness (divalent cations) present all the
rock types are negatively charged in the
7. Stevenson, D.L., "Salem Limestone oil and gas neutral pH range of interest for most EOR
production in the Keenville Field, Wayne applications. In general as the level of
County, Illinois." Indiana State Geological hardness increases all the rock particles
Survey Series - Illinois Petroleum #114. 16 pp adopt a less negative, or more positive,
(1978). electrokinetic charge. For the sandstone
little difference between whole rock and
8. Syndansk, R. D., "Discussion of the effect of quartz fraction particles could be discerned,
temperature and confining pressure on single- but the clay fraction particles were
phase flow in consolidated rocks." JPT, significantly more negative and less sensitive
August, p. 1329-1330 (1980). to the presence of added electrolyte.

9. Shaw, J.C., Churcher, P.L. and Hawkins, B.F., 7. Berea sandstone, Orange Berea sandstone, Baker
"The effects of firing on Berea sandstone." dolomite, and Indiana limestone should be
Published in Proceedings from the SPE solvent extracted using a chloroform and
International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry, methanol azeotropic solution (87/13 % by
Houston, Texas. SPE Paper No. 18463, p. 63-74 volume) prior to use to remove any trace
(1989). amounts of hydrocarbons or organic acids.

10. Brunnauer, S., Emmett, P.H. and Teller, E., 8. Care should be taken in preparing the
"Adsorption of gases in multimolecular injection face of a core plug. Fines produced
layers." J. Am. Chem. Soc., v. 60, no. 2, p. during the coring or trimming procedures may
309-319 (1938). be effectively removed by low pressure sand
blasting of the surface. This is particularly
11. Wardlaw, N. C. and McKellar, M., "Mercury important in the lower permeability Berea
porosimetry and the interpretation of pore sandstones.
geometry in sedimentary rocks and artificial
models." Powder Technology, v.29, p. 127-143
(1981). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

12. Jennings, J.B., "Capillary pressure The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance
techniques: applications to exploration and of Neil DeBree for providing the XRD data, Michelle
development geology." AAPG Bulletin, v. 71, Preedin for performing many specific surface area
no.lO, p. 1196-1209 (1987). measurements for this project, and Shelley Leggitt
for assistance in obtaining some of the SEM
13. Thompson, A.H., Katz, A.J. and Raschke, R.A., photomicrographs.
"Estimation of absolute permeability from
capillary pressure measurements." Presented at
the 62nd Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibi tion of the SPE, Dallas, Texas. SPE
Paper No. 16794, p. 475-481 (1987).

14. Wardlaw, N.C., McKellar, M. and Li, Y., "Pore

and throat size distributions determined by REFERENCES
mercury porosimetry and by direct visual
observation." Carbonates and Evaporites, v.3, 1. Pepper, J.F. , Dewitt, W. (Jr.) and Demarest,
no.l, p. 1-15 (1988). D.F., "Geology of the Bedford Shale and Berea
Sandstone In the Appalachian Basin." USGS
15. Wardlaw, N.C. and Cassan, J.P., "Oil recovery Prof. Paper #259 (1954).
efficiency and rock-pore properties of some
sandstone reservoirs." Bull. Can. Pet. Geol., 2. Gunn, G.R., "Michigan fields 1:
v.27, no. 2, p. 117-138 (1979). stratigraphy, reservoir characteristics of
Berea sandstone in Michigan fields. Oil and
16. Pickell, J.J., Swanson, B.F. and Hickman, Gas Journal," March 7, p. 57-60 (1988).
W. B., "Application of air-mercury, and oil-air
capillary pressure data in the study of pore 3. Gunn, G. R., "Michigan fields - 2: isopaching

438
SPE 21044 PETER L. CHURCHER, P. ROSEMARY FRENCH, JERRY C. SHAW AND LAURIER L. SCHRAMM 9

structure." SPEJ, v.6, no. 1, p. 55-61 (1966).

17. Churcher, P.L., Shaw, J.C. and French, P.R.,

"The Significance of Fines Migration In
Mercury Capillary Pressure Measurements. "
Presented at CIM/SPE Conference, Calgary,
Alberta. Paper no. CIM/SPE 90-69, p. 69-1-15
(1990).

18. Kimbler, O. K. and ClaudIe, B. H. , "New

technique for study of fluid flow." Oil and
Gas Journal, v.55, p. 85-88 (1957).

19. Wardlaw, N.C., Li, Y. and Forbes, D., "Pore-

throat size correlation from capillary
pressure curves." Transport in Porous Media,
v.2, p. 597-614 (1987).

20. Wardlaw, N.C. and Taylor, R.P., "Mercury

capillary pressure curves and the
interpretation of pore structure and capillary
behaviour in reservoir rocks." Bull. Can. Pet.
Geol., v.24, p. 225-262 (1976).

21. Wardlaw, N. C., "Pore geometry of carbonate

rocks as revealed by pore casts and capillary
pressure." AAPG Bulletin, v.60, p. 245-257
(1976).

22. Schramm, 1..1.., Mannhardt, K., and Novosad,

J.J., "Electrokinetic properties of reservoir
rock particles," Colloids and Surfaces, in
press.

23. Khilar, K.C., "Water sensitivity of

sandstones." SPE Journal, v.23, no.l, p. 55-64
(1983).

24. Donaldson, E.C., Kendall, R.F., Baker, B.A.

and Manning, F.S., "Surface-area measurement
of geologic materials." SPE Journal, April, p.
111-116 (1975).

25. Swanson, B.F., "A simple correlation between

permeabilities and mercury capillary
pressures." JPT, December, p. 2498 2504
(1981).

26. Mishra, S.K., "The electrokinetics of apatite

and calcite in inorganic electrolyte
environment," Int. J. Mineral Processing v.5,
p.69-83 (1978).

27. Thompson, D.W., and Pownall, P.G., "Surface

electrical properties of calcite," J. Colloid
Interface Sci., v.13l, p.74 (1989).

28. Predali, J -J. and Cases, J -M., "Zeta potential

of magnesian carbonates in inorganic
electrolytes," J. Colloid Interface Chern.,
v.45 (3) p.449-458 (1973).

29. Hunt, J .M., "Petroleum Geochemistry and

Geology. W.H. Freeman and Co. (Publisher),"
617 pp (1978).

439
 Table 1 List of Samples

Sample ID Source Kgas Porosity Common

(md) (%) Name

Berea-l Cleveland Quarries, 114 19.04 Berea

Amherst, Ohio

Berea-2 432 21. 30

Berea-3 22.84

Berea-4 827 23.24

Berea-5 1168 26.10

Orange 2520 25.05 Orange

Berea -1 Berea

Orange 1272 26.11

Berea-2

Fired sample of Berea-3 @ 734 25.13 Fired

Berea-I} 1000°C for 5 hours Berea

Baker-l Ohio Lime Quarry, 173 19.11 Coarse, Buff

Millersville. Ohio Dolomite

Baker-2 201 24.74 Fine ,Buff

Dolomite

Indiana-l Bedford-Bloomington, 4 12.10 Gray

Indiana Quarry Limestone

Indiana-2 26 21.10 Buff

Limestone

Indiana-3 57 15.2 Ledge ITJU

Limestone

Table 2 Bulk X-ray Diffraction Data - Berea Sandstone

Mineral Name Berea-I Berea-2 Berea-3 Berea-4 Berea-5 Orange

Berea-I

Quartz 85 87 87 88 90 98
Feldspar 6 5 4 4 3 tr
'Dolomite 1 1 2 2 1 tr

Kaolinite 6 5
Illite 1 1
Chlorite tr tr tr tr tr
Illite- tr
Smectite

Note: No analyses available for Fired Berea-3 due to difficulty in estimating

the amount of amorphous material.

Table 3 Bulk X-ray Diffraction Data - Baker Dolomite and Indiana Limestone

Mineral Name Baker-I Indiana-2

Quartz tr 1
Calcite 99
Dolomite 98

Kaolinite tr tr
Illite tr tr

Table 4 Chemical Analysis of Baker Dolomite*

Element Weight %

Ca 22.6
Mg 12.7
Fe 0.1 - 0.01
Mn 0.03 - 0.003
Si 0.01 - 0.001
Cr 0.01 - 0.001

* Data taken from Meister (1978).4 The method of analysis is unknown.

440
 Table 5 Chemical Analysis of Indiana Limestone· Table 7 Grain Size and Aspect Ratio Estimations· - Berea Sandstone

Chemical Name Indiana-I (Gray) Indiana-2 (Buff) Sample ID Grain Size Av. Grain Pore Body Av. Pore Pore Shape Aspect
Range (urn) Size (um) Size Range Body Size Ratio
Carbonate of Lime 97. 07 97.39 (urn) (um)
Carbonate of Magnesia 1. 20 1. 20
Silica 0.80 0.69 Berea-l 70-170 99 50-125 79 round 11
Alumina 0.68 0.44 Berea-2 100-280 172 50-160 96 round- 8
Iron Oxide 0.12 0.18 oval
Water and Loss 0.13 0.10 Berea-3 140-225 182 55-185 108 oval
--- Berea-5 100-310 214 35-180 114 oval
Orange 75-650 322 135-300 192 oval
Total Weight % 100. 00 100. 00 Berea-l

These data were obtained from the Indiana Limestone Handbook (Indiana Limestone
* Institute of America, 1975).6 The method of analysis is unknown.
Note: * Grain size and pore body sizes estimated from averaging 10 sets of measurements
taken from thin sections. Aspect (pore/throat) ratio estimated using average pore body
measurements from thin section data and the average pore throat size (D so ) obtained
from the mercury capillary pressure analysis.

Table 6 Petrophysical Data

Sample ID Kgas Porosity Hg Capillary Pressure Surface

(rnd) (%) RF Pcbr D50 Maximum Sat; Area TABLE 8. Electrokinetic Properties of Dispersed Rock Particles
(%) (kPa) (m) (% PV) mZ/g)

Berea-l 114 19.04 28.6 100 7.4 84.4 1. 23

Rock Fraction Isoelectric pH Electrophoretic Mobility
Berea-2 432 21.30 31. 2 55 12.2 84.7 0.98 (10-4 cmZs-1V- 1)
...
~ Berea-3 642 22.84 42.0 45 18.4 87.6 0.84
Poir,t

Ionic Strength / Composition

0.406 M 0.406 M 0.406 M
Berea-4 827 23.24 38.1 45 19.6 86. a 0.91 NaC1 Brine CaCl z

Berea-5 1168 26.10 19.3 30 22.2 83.5 0.82 Berea

Sandstone wllole Rock 4 - 5 6. a -0.79 -0 .10 O. 05
7.0 -1. 30 -0.62 0.21
8. a -0.65 -0 .10 0.38
Orange 2520 25.77 27.2 13 36.7 76.3 1.10 9.0 -0.65 -0.10 0.50
Berea-l
Quartz Fraction < 2 - 3 6.0 -0.71 -0.32 O. 05
Orange 1272 26.11 ---- -- ---- 1.96 7. a -1. 07 -0.55 -0.07
Berea-2 8.0 -0.86 -0.49 0.28
9.0 -0.84 -0.29 0.38

Fired Berea-3 734 25.13 55.3 30 15.4 86.0 0.33 Clay Fraction < 1 - 3 6.0 -1. 83 -1. 30 -0.11
7. a -1. 92 -1. 25 -0.27
8. a -1. 98 -1. 25 -0 .05
9.0 -2.13 -1. 26 0.10
Baker-l 173 19.11 34.6 30 85.4 0.29
* Indiana
Baker-2 201 24.74 48.8 60
* 92.1 0.22 Limestone w'hole Rock < 7 6. a -- -- 0.20
7. a -0 .49" 0.47" 0.39
8.5 -0.72 0.67 1.17
9. a -0.86 0.82 1. 03
Indiana-l 4 12.10 37.3 120 77 .4 0.49
* Baker
Indiana-2 26 21.10 53.6 375 0.82 79.3 --- Dolomite Who::'e Rock < 7 6.0 -- -- 0.17
7. a -0.94* -0 .13" 0.44
Indiana-3 57 15.20 29.3 18 65.0 0.54 -0.37 0.64 0.90
* 8.5
9.0 -0.42 0.79 1. 01

Note: * means that this rock is made up of a bimodal pore throat distribution.
No average pore throat diameter could be measured. ,\ Equilibrated, see text.
 4 S4 (Smax)
BEREA-4 SANDSTONE
10 .074 Mg++ SATURATED FINES MOUNT

Primary Injection
(Drainage) Curve
10
3
.74 E:t..
ILLITE
c Secondary ~

loA
a. Injection Curve CJ) KAOLINITE
-'" => /CHLORITE /
Secondary Ci /7A
KAOLINITE
W Withdrawal Curve « /"
0::
c:: QUARTZ
.........
Breakthrough
::J
~
~ 10
2 Pressure (Pcbr) 7.4 0
W S2 S1\ c::
0:: :r: MICROCLINE ILLITE
a. I- \ /
w
0::
o
a.
1 74
10

Pore-throat
Correlation Line
Fig. 2-Flnes fraction X·ray diffraction analysis-Upper Berea sandstone.

s 100 80 60 40 20 0
Hg % SATURATION
I- TOTAL PORE VOLUME -I
I---EFFECTIVE PORE VOLUME-.l
~ RESIDUAL ---l
SATURATION INDIANA-2 LIMESTONE
Fig, 1-Example of a mercury capillary pressure plot showing many parameters that are dIscussed in the text. Mg++ SATURATED FINES MOUNT

BAKER-1 DOLOM ITE

Mg++ SATURATED FINES MOUNT

/QUARTZ

KAOLINITE
/7A
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
30 25 20 15 10 5 2 30 25 20 15 10 5 2
DEGREES 29 DEGREES 29
Fig. 3-Flnes fraction X-ray diffraction analysis-Baker dolomIte. Fig. 4-Flnes fraction X·ray diffraction analysis-Indiana limestone.
 Porosity vs Permeability Porosity vs Permeability
Berea Sandstone Berea Sandstone
28 " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , 28

26 t R 2 = 0.92
Y = 18.37 x + 0.006
26
R 2 = 0.92
Y = 18.37 x + 0.006
o

~24 ~ ~24
~ o
en

Jf
o
e 22
o
22 a..

20 ~ 20

18
18 ,L- -'---- --'- --L ---'-- ----'- -l ----!
o 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 o 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400
Permeability (md) Permeability (md)
Fig. l3-Poroslty vs. permeability plot-Upper Berea sandstone. Fig. 14-Permeablllty vs. specific surface area plot-Upper Berea sandstone.

i: Berea Sandsione - 1
+s ,
Berea Sandstone-2.
+..
Berea Sandstone - 3 1
t=

]
10 21.3% 10' 22..64°4
19.04%
Kgo." 432md K90 ... 642 md
1<9a." 114md
RFo 28.6% Rf .. 31.20"/. RF·41.96%

3 3
~ 10 ~ 10
Mercury Breakthrough Pressure (kPa)
~ I
Vs. Gas Permeability (md)
10'
10'[
10'1 3,000
I
I
'0'1 ~~~l,lr 101~
_2,500

- t \
I I'
"C
100
I !
80
,
60
!
40
1

20
! ! I 1 I
0
100 80 60 40
Hg % SATURATlON
2.0
E
HQ "I. SATURATION
£' 2,000 -5 -4
Berea SuMstone-4 Berea Sand~tone-5 Y = 1/ [(1.58 x 10 x + 1.25 x 10 ) - 488.5]
10'
+.. 23.24% 10' ; ·26.10% :c
Kga • ·e26.9mci Kii<I.o 116B md
:g 1,500
..
RFo 38.1'"1. RF"19.3%
R-squared = 0.996
E
_ 103 ,
Q)
~ j a. 1,000
en
m
•
10'
C) 500

10'
o
! , I , I !, o 20 40 60 80 100 120
100 eo 60 40 2.0
100 80 60 40 20
Hg "10 SATURATION
HIJ % SATURATION Mercury Breakthrough Pressure (kPa)
Fig. 15-Mercury capillary pressure curves-Upper Berea sandstone. Fig. 16-Mercury breakthrough pressure (PCbr) vs. permeability plot-Upper Berea sandstone.
 Hg Recovery Efficiency vs Initial Saturation
70!----- 104~

~ "l~ ~ .'",.....-
Orange Berea Sandstone I Fired Berea Sandstone
+ ~ 25.13%
'0' ' " 25.05 %
.=
KiG 2520md KOG1 • 735.7 md
RF=27.2% RF- 55.3%

"0 60
I ~ 10 3
10' ~
~' ~ ~
~"r ft~
w
~
=>
f1l 2
[ 10
10'

i30~ ~
I·f \
'0'

100 aD 60 40 20
Hg % SATURAT;ON

10 ~ --'--- -'- --'- -.J

Fig. 18-Mercury capillary pressure curves-Orange Berea and tired Berea-4 sandstone.
o 20 40 60 80 100
Percent Initial Saturation
Berea-1 Berea-2 Berea-3 Berea-4 Berea-5
~ ---".- -~:-- ---- ~

Fig. 17-Mercury recovery efficiency VS. initial mercury saturation plots-Upper Berea sandstone.

~
Hg Recovery Efficiency vs Initial Saturation

1::l
~
) ~
:: 25.13 K:: 734 mJ
10'
Boker Dolomite-1
~ '19.11%
K~O$ : 173 md
10'
Baker Dolomite-2
.; = 24.75"10
Kgos" 201 md
Ql RF" 34.4% Rf ~ 48.8"10
~ 50 I
(J .1
3
Ql 10' 0' 10
II:
i- ~
0)40
~
-...
J:
s::
Ql 30
(J
41=23.13 K::::827md
I w
a:
:0
Ul
Ul
w
a:
10'
w
'":0
Ul
~ 10
a:
n-
2

. tf'rr
o-
Ql r; == 25.05 K '" 2520 md
a. I
20
10' 10'

10 ~ --,-- --L --,- --l I

100 80 60 40 20
100 80 60 40 20
o 20 40 60 80 100
Hg % SATURATION
0
Hg % SATURATION

Percent Initial Saturation

Fig. 20-Mercury capillary pressure curves-Baker dolomite.
Berea-4 Orange Berea Fired Berea
------A---

Fig. 19-Mercury recovery efficiency vs. initial mercury saturation plots-Orange Berea, Berea-4, and ftred Berea-4.
 Hg Recovery Efficiency vs Initial Saturation

~I ~
! Indiana Limestone-1 Indiana Limestone - 2 Indiana Limeslcne-3
~. 12.10% 10' tP :21.10% 10' ~ • 15.2 %
KQOS 3.82 md K QcS 26 md Kgos" 57md
I
" "
45 : RF= 37.3 "10 RF:53.6"10 RF= 29.0%
'0
~ I I
,·f
</> = 24.7 K = 201 md

~
CD
> 10'
8CD 40 ~ 10'1

~
I =-
a: ~
'"a:=>
~ I
~~
C)
J:
,
<n I '"a:::>
~ 10'1
<n 2
i: 35 ...... I '"
a: <n 10

/
CD <n
<J
Qj
a.
</> = 19.11 K = 173 md
Q.
'"
a:
Q. I

"'t .,,, !~IJ, I . "t ',,, II ,II "'1

30

"II
TIJJ \\1
25 LI- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' 100 80 60 40 20 o 100 80 6u qU zo
; ! I ! I I I J ! I I
o 20 40 60 80 100 100 eo 60 40 20 -
Hg % SATURATION Hg % SATURATION Hg % SATURATION
Percent Initial Saturation
Baker-1 Baker-2 Fig. 22-Mercury capillary pressure curves-Indiana limestone.

Fig. 21-Mercury recovery efficiency va. Initial mercury saturation plots-Baker dolomite.

£
Hg Recovery Efficiency vs Initial Saturation

60 I I
I r " •

'0
50 l• </>=21.1 K=26md
CD
Qj
>
g 40
CD
a:
~ "" ~ /' </>=12.1 K=3.82md

i: 30
CD
<J </> = 15.2 K = 57 md
Qj
a.
201 ~ j'

1J-----
o 20 40
Percent Initial Saturation
60 80 100

Indiana-1 Indiana-2 Indiana-3

Fig. 23-Mercury recovery efficiency vs. lnlltal mercury saturation plots-Indiana limestone.
 SPE
SPE 21044

Rock Properties of Berea Sandstone, Baker Dolomite, and

Indiana Limestone
P.L. ehurcher,· P.R. French, J.e. Shaw,·· and L.L. Schramm, Petroleum Recovery Inst.
*SPE Member now with Petrel Robinson Ltd.
*·SPE Member
ERRATA

Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry held in Anaheim, California, February 20-22, 1991.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are sUbject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.
 SPE
Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 21044
ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOt1ITE, AND INDIANA LIMESTONE
P.L. Churcher, P.R. French, J.C. Shaw and L.L. Schramm

Permeability vs Surface Area

Berea Sandstone
1.3

0
1.2

-------
0>
1:
co
1.1 -

....
Q)

«Q)
1
o
0
co o
't: 0.9
:J
(J)
o
o
0.8

0.7
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400
Permeability (md)
Fig. 14-Permeablllty vs. specific surface area plot-Upper Berea sandstone.
8 ROCK PROPERTIES OF BEREA SANDSTONE, BAKER DOLOMITE AND INDIANA LIMESTONE
Limestone-1 and 3 samples are poorly sorted
and show a weak bimodal distribution.
5. The permeability and porosity in the Indiana
limestone samples appear to be controlled by
the distribution of the coarse calcite cement.
Permeability values in the buff-coloured
limestone (Indiana-2 and 3) may be higher than
those found in the grey-coloured limestone
(Indiana-I) due to weathering of these cements
in the quarry.
6. The surface charges on sandstone, limestone
and dolomite rock particles are very dependent
on brine composition and pH. When there is no
hardness (divalent cations) present all the
rock types are negatively charged in the
neutral pH range of interest for most EOR
applications. In general as the level of
hardness increases all the rock particles
adopt a less negative, or more positive,
electrokinetic charge. For the sandstone
little difference between whole rock and
quartz fraction particles could be discerned,
but the clay fraction particles were
significantly more negative and less sensitive
to the presence of added electrolyte.
7. Berea sandstone, Orange Berea sandstone, Baker
dolomite, and Indiana limestone should be
solvent extracted using a chloroform and
methanol azeotropic solution (87/13 % by
volume) prior to use to remove any trace
amounts of hydrocarbons or organic acids.
8. Care should be taken in preparing the
injection face of a core plug. Fines produced
during the coring or trimming procedures may
be effectively removed by low pressure sand
blasting of the surface. This is particularly
important in the lower permeability Berea
sandstones.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance
of Neil DeBree for providing the XRD data, Michelle
Preedin for performing many specific surface area
measurements for this project, and Shelley Leggitt
for assistance in obtaining some of the SEM
photomicrographs.
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SPE 21044
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