Assoc. Prof.

Prof. Bassem S. Nabawy

National Research Centre

Part--I
Part

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٢
 Sampling & Coring Process

Surface Samples Sub-Surface

Samples

Ditch Samples Core Samples

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 The value of the given either formation or an ore-bearing
ore rock is
defined by its areal extent, thickness and its petrophysical properties.

The petrophysical properties include:

include
1) Solid phase properties (bulk and grain density);
2) Storage capacity properties (porosity, permeability, and irreducible
water saturation);
3) Electric properties (apparent electric resistivity ‘Ro’, formation
resistivity factor ‘F’, and true electric resistivity ‘Rt’);
4) Acoustic properties;
5) Magnetic Properties; and
6) Thermal properties.
٤
How to get Rock Properties ?

٥
 Coring Analysis
* Routine core analysis (rcal).
(
Porosity, permeability, saturation, lithology, grain density.

* Special core analysis (scal).

(
Relative permeability, water sensitivity, capillary pressure
acoustic velocity, electric resistivity, thermal conductivity.

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 Rock Phases

Fluid Pore
Migration Phase
Path
Grain
Phase

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 Grain, Pore and Fluid phases
Rock Porosity
Matrix
Volume of
Hydrocarbons

Volume of VHC= (1-SW)* ∅T

Rock Matrix

VRM=1-∅T Volume
of Water
VH2O= SW* ∅T

Total Volume = VRM+ ∅T =1

٨
Hydrocarbons Cleaning &
Soxhlet Apparatus

٩
 Routine Core Analyses

Porosity & Density Permeability

“The percentage of pore spaces in “The ability of the porous
the total volume of the rock”
rocks to transmit fluids
“The weight of the unit volume under certain pressure
of the rock” gradient”

١٠
 Porosity
Classification of Porosity “According to the time of deposition”:

o 1.. Primary (Original) Porosity

n refers to the porosity that developed at the time of
deposition (sandstone porosity).
porosity)

o 2.. Secondary (Induced) Porosity

n refers to the porosity that formed after deposition.
n fracturing, jointing, dissolution, re-crystallization or a
combination.
n Dolomite may be formed by replacing the calcium
carbonate in limestone rock with magnesium (∅ = 14%).

١١
 Basic Porosity Types
o Fabric Selective:
n Interparticle: void space between particles
n Intraparticle: void space inside particles
n Intercrystal: void space between crystals
n Moldic: porosity due to selective removal of a former fossil/grain
n Fenestral: ‘bird’s-eye’
eye’ pores usually associated with algal mats
n Shelter: sheltering effect of large particles prevent infilling the pores by finer particles
n Growth-framework: due to the inplace growth of a carbonate rock framework
0
o Not Fabric Selective:
n Fracture: due to tectonic shocks and different pressures
n Channel: dissolution enlarged fracture, due to dissolution
n Vug: irregular-shaped
shaped pores, due to dissolution
n Cavern: irregular-shaped human-size
size caves, due to dissolution
o Fabric or Not Fabric Selective:
n Breccia: due to brecciation
n Boring: making or enlarging a hole as a cylindrical hole by boring or digging away
n Burrow: irregular vugs surrounding casts of burrows or roots
n Shrinkage: An irregular pore formed in muddy sediment by shrinkage.
١٢
 Effect of various factors enhancing or reducing the
effective porosity.

Reducing factors Enhancing factors

Swelling clay minerals Sphericity & Roundness

Dissolution and Leaching out

Metamorphism
Weathering & Fracturing
Packing and compaction
Dolomitization (?)
Cementation
Grain sorting & orientation

Silicification Volume changes

١٣
 Porosity Controls
Dissolution and leaching out

١٤
Porosity Controls
Fracturing

Diagenetic History

١٥
Porosity Controls
Cementation

١٦
Porosity Controls
Cementation

١٧
 Porosity Controls
Swelling Clay distribution

١٨
 Porosity Controls
Sorting and Packing

q Porosity depends on grain packing,

not grain size

q Rocks with different grain sizes can

have the same percentage porosity
but different permeability.

١٩
 Pore-Space
Space Classification
o Classification of Porosity:
o 1. Total Porosity
n is the ratio of the total pore volume to bulk volume regardless the
continuity of the pores.
o 2. Effective Porosity
n is the ratio of interconnected pore volume to the bulk volume.

٢٠
 Pore-Space
Space Classification

Total Pore Spaces

n Total porosity, ∅t (%) =
Bulk Volume

Interconnected Pore Spaces

n Effective porosity, ∅e =
Bulk Volume

Vb = Vp + Vg
٢١
 Porosity

Effective, isolated and total porosity

Total, effective, isolated, permeable and

dead end pore space

٢٢
 Total and Effective Porosity

n Very clean sandstones : ∅t

∅ = ∅e

n Poorly to moderately well -cemented intergranular

materials: ∅t ≈ ∅e

n Highly cemented materials and most carbonates: ∅e

< ∅t

٢٣
 Porosity
1. Bulk Volume
In all porosity methods a bulk core sample volume
has to be determined and this may be carried out by:
n Displacement of liquid (Archimedes mercury immersion
apparatus).
Vb = (Saturated Wt – Immersed Wt) / density of immersed fluid

Archimedes mercury immersion apparatus Volumetric mercury displacement pump ٢٤

 Porosity
2. Grain Volume (Boyle's law porosimeter)
porosimeter
n Involves the compression of a gas into the pore space or the
expansion of gas from the pores of a prepared Sample.
n The gas (usually Helium) is admitted into a pre-calibrated
reference cell of known volume “Vr” at a reference pressure “P1”.
n The reference cell gas is then vented into a connected chamber
with a volume “Vc” containing a core sample with grain volume
“Vg”.
n This venting results in a lower equilibrium pressure “P2”, from
which the grain volume is calculated:
calculated
Vr . P1 = (Vc-Vg) . P2 Vg = Vc – (Vr.P1 / P2)

٢٥
 Porosity
From gas source

Shut off valve

Reference
chamber
Vr Pressure
transducer

vent 3 way valve

sample
sample
chamber
Vg
Vc
Boyle's law porosimeter

Helium Pycnometer ٢٦
 Porosity
3. Pore Volume
n Simply, the pore volume is calculated by subtracting the Grain
Volume “Vg” from the Bulk Volume “Vb”.
n Vp = Vb – Vg
There are other ways to measure the pore volume which can be
summarized as follows:
o 3.1. Summation of fluids
n This method involves the independent determination of oil, gas
and pure water volumes of a fresh core sample.
n The oil (650°) and water(160°)) can be obtained by retort.
n The gas can be obtained by mercury injection (700 psi).
n The pore volume is determined by summing the three
independent volumes.

٢٧
 Porosity

Oven retort
Oven retort

٢٨
 Porosity
o 3.2. Liquid resaturation
n The pores of a prepared sample are filled with a liquid of a
known density.
n The increase in weight of the sample divided by the fluid
density is a measure of the pore volume.

٢٩
٣٠
 Permeability
1.. Single Phase System (absolute permeability)
“It is the ability of the porous media to transmit a single fluid through its
interconnected pores”.
2. Multi phase system
2.1 Effective permeability
“it is the conductivity of each phase at a specific saturation”; when a
second or third phase is present, the obtained permeability of each phase at
a specific saturation is called effective permeability, hence, depends upon
the fluid ratio and its distribution within the pore spaces. Fluid distribution
in turn depends upon the saturation history and wettability of the rock.
2.2 Relative permeability
“it is the ability of the rock to transmit a fluid when there are two or three
phases within the pore spaces”
effective Permeabili ty
Relative Permeability =
specific Permeabili ty ٣١
 Permeability
SINGLE PHASE SYSTEM (Absolute Permeability)
DEFINATION
“It is the ability of the porous media to transmit a single fluid through its
interconnected pores”.
- The rate of flow of a liquid through a formation depends on:
The pressure drop.
The viscosity of the fluid.
The permeability.
- The pressure drop is a reservoir property.
- The viscosity is a fluid property.
- The permeability is a measure of the ease at which a fluid can flow through a
formation.
- Relationships exist between permeability and porosity for given formations, although
they are not universal.
- A rock must have porosity to have a permeability.
permeability
- The unit of measurement is the Darcy.
www.projacstraining.com
- Reservoir permeability is usually quoted in٣٢millidarcies, (md = 0.9869 x 10-3 µm2)
Is there another method to measure the permeability?

Absolute permeability

1. CORES Effective permeability

Relative permeability

2. TESTING Effective permeability

3. LOGS Absolute permeability

٣٣
 Darcy’s Law
Darcy experimented and developed an empirical relationship for the flow
of fluid through a packed sand , known as Darcy’s low:

k = permeability, millidarcies Ak ( ∆ p )
q =
q = flow rate, cm3/sec
µL
µ = fluid viscosity, cp

L = system length, cm A

q q
A = system cross sectional area, cm2
µ
p2 p1
∆p = differential pressure (p1-p2), atm.
L
One darcy is defined as:
“the ability of the porous rock to transmit fluid of one centipoise viscosity (µ) at
a rate (q) of 1 cm3/s through a cross sectional area (A) of 1cm2 when the
pressure gradient (∆P / L) is 1 atm/cm” ٣٤
 Gas Permeameter

0.01 md : 17,000 md 0.01 md : 17,000 md

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٣٦
 Porosity-Permeability
Permeability Relationships
Permeability can be estimated from porosity, resistivity, Sw and hydrocarbon
density data. However, Sw must equal Swirr, the irreducible water
saturation.
There are two simple formulas for medium gravity oil and dry gas (i.e.
hydrocarbon density is taken into consideration).
consideration)

∅ 4.4
* Timur Equation (1968): K = 0.136 *
( Swirr ) 2

2
 ∅ 3

* For medium gravity oil: K =  250 ∗  Wyllie and Rose (1950)
 Swirr 

2
 ∅3 
* For Dry Gas: K =  79 ∗ 
Wyllie and Rose (1950)
 S wirr 
٣٧
 Porosity-Permeability
Permeability Relationships
* For medium gravity oil:

٣٨
 Porosity and Permeability Scales

* Porosity Scale
Negligible : 0 < ∅ ≤ 5 %,
Poor : 5 < ∅ ≤ 10 %,
Fair : 10 < ∅ ≤ 15 %,
Good : 15 < ∅ ≤ 20%; and
Very good : 20 < ∅ ≤ 25%. (Levorsen, 1967)
Excellent : 25 % < ∅ (New Rank, Nabawy et al., 2009)

* Permeability Scale
Fair :1 <K ≤ 10 md.;
Good : 10 < K ≤ 100 md.;
.; and
Very good : 100 < K ≤ 1000 md. (Levorsen, 1967)
Excellent : 1000 < K (New Rank, Nabawy et al., 2009)
٣٩
 Effect of various factors enhancing or reducing the
permeability.

Reduing factors Enhancing factors

Swelling clay minerals Porosity percent and type

Metamorphism Roundness & sphericity

Dissolution & Leaching out
Packing and compaction
Weathering & Fracturing
Cementation
Dolomitization (?)
Silicification
Grain sorting & orientation
Complexity of pore throats

Tortuosity of channels Volume changes

Irreducible Water Saturation Channel diameter

٤٠
 Clay Minerals in Sandstone Reservoirs
Authigenic Kaolinite
Secondary Electron Micrograph

Significant Permeability
Reduction

High Irreducible Water

Saturation

Migration of Fines
Problem

Carter Sandstone
North Blowhorn Creek Oil Unit
Black Warrior Basin, Alabama, USA (Photograph by R.L. Kugler) ٤١
٤٢
٤٣
٤٤
Porosity-permeability
permeability cross plot

٤٥
F Sab'atayn basin is one of the two main hydrocarbon fields in
Yemen.
F The present study is a trial to use the measured conventional
core analysis data to define the potential reservoir zones in Alif
and Seen members and to discriminate them into conductive and
superconductive zones, and into potential and impervious zones
using the concept of Reservoir Quality index ‘RQI’, the Flow zone
Index ‘FZI’ and the Reservoir Potentiality Index ‘RPI’.
F The studied Alif and Seen samples are composed mostly of
pebbly quartz arenite, sometimes of dolomitic and ferruginous
quartz arenite.
F Based on the petrophysical behaviour, the studied Alif member is
subdivided into three petrophysical facies in Alif 003 well and
into two facies in Alif 005 well. Seen member is also subdivided
into two petrophysical facies in Alif 005 well.
 Alif Oil Field

Location map of the study area and the oil promising sedimentary basins of Yemen
Lithostratigraphic correlation between the studied Alif and Seen members in wells
Alif 003 and Alif 005,, Sab’atayn Formation, Sab’atayn Formation, Yemen
F The reservoir quality index (RQI) is defined as “the square
root of the ratio between permeability and porosity”. This
term can be used to quantify the flow character of the
reservoir (Amaefule et al., 1993).
1993

F The calculation of the Reservoir Quality Index (RQI) in µm,

and the Normalized Porosity Index (NPI) in volume fraction,
are based on the following equations:

k 1-∅ RQI 0.0314 k / ∅

RQI = 0.0314 NPI = FZI = =
∅ ∅ NPI ∅ /(1 − ∅)

RQI + FZI
RPI =
2
٥٢
 RESERVOIR ZONATION
10 % < Porosity

1 md < Permeability

5 ft < Continuity

RESERVOIR QUALITY DESCRIMNATION

100 md < Permeability

5 ft < Continuity

4 ≤ (RPI)
Vertical matching of bulk density, porosity, permeability, ‘RQI’, ‘FZI’ and reservoir
potentiality ‘RPI’ versus depth for the Alif member, Sab'atayn Formation, Alif 003
well, Sab'atayn basin, Yemen. Ranks are shown in red colour
Vertical matching of storage capacity parameters, ‘RQI’, ‘FZI’ and reservoir
potentiality against ‘RPI’ depth for the Alif and Seen members, Sab'atayn Formation,
Alif 005 well, Sab'atayn basin, Yemen. Ranks are shown in red colour
٥٦