Exploration, Drilling, and Production Engineering

Vol.
EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
43
EXPLORATION, DRILLING,
AND PRODUCTION
ENGINEERING
1. Origin, Deposition Mechanisms, Exploration, and Occurrence
of Crude Oil and Natural Gas
1.1. Crude Oil. Crude oil is the name given to all organic compounds
which are liquid under reservoir conditions. They can partly solidify at the surface
after expansion and cooling. Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons in varying
proportions, which are accompanied by compounds of sulfur, oxygen, phosphorus,
and nitrogen. Minor constituents are porphyrins, ash-forming metal compounds
(usually sulfides of vanadium, nickel, copper, cobalt, molybdenum, lead,
chromium, and arsenic), as well as inorganic salts, hydrogen sulfide, and as a
typical constituent of crude oils water in varying amounts. The differing
mixing ratios preclude uniform chemical and physical properties. Elementary analyses show average carbon contents of ca. 79.5 88.5 wt %, hydrogen contents of
ca. 10 15.5 wt %, and impurity contents of up to a maximum of 5 wt %. Most
crude oils are optically active.
The essential ingredients of the petroleum mixture are alkanes, naphthenes,
and aromatics. The oxidation products naphthenic acids, terpenes, and phenols
are also present in some cases. According to the predominant constituents, a
distinction is made between paraffin-based crude oils and naphthene- or
asphalt-based crude oils. If both hydrocarbon types are contained in considerable
amounts in crude oil, it is termed mixed-based oil. The composition of crude oils on
a worldwide basis includes more than 30 % paraffins, at least 40 % naphthenes,
and ca. 25 % aromatics. Naphthene-based crude oils that contain resinous and
asphaltic substances are frequently found in the upper level of the Earths
crust, mixed-based oils in the middle, and paraffin-based oils in the deeper zones.
Near the surface, the crude oils lose part of their volatile constituents. During this, with chemical processes participating, more or less solid residues are
formed. Mainly ozokerite (earth wax) is formed from paraffinic crude oils and
natural asphalts from naphthenic crude oils.
For decades, petroleum has been mainly used as raw material for the production of engine fuels, lubricants, and fuel oil. Because of the complex compositions of crude oils, the chemical industry has developed many processes through
which petroleum has become the basis of numerous plastics. In 1990, more than
10 % of world petroleum production was used in petrochemistry.
Formation. Despite a centurys discussion with many contradictory opinions and intensive research, the formation of petroleum can still not be satisfactorily explained. The discussion on the inorganic formation of crude oils continues
to this day. Russian experts, in particular Porfirev (56) do not exclude the fact that
petroleum is formed from inorganic matter (metal carbides and superheated
steam) even though it is generally agreed that the crude oils are predominantly
of organic origin. The investigations of potential petroleum source rocks in the
past decades have contributed considerably to this opinion. All deposits in the sedimentary basins contain organic residues of terrestrial, limnic, fluvial, and marine
2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

10.1002/14356007.a23_117
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species, whose conversion under anaerobic conditions leads as can be demonstrated chemically to bitumen (soluble in organic solvents) or kerogen (insoluble). Such rocks are classified as source rocks according to the amount of organic
material. In clastic sediments, a petroleum source rock should contain at least
0.5 wt % and in carbonates at least 0.3 wt % of total organic carbon (TOC). A source
rock with a TOC value of more than 4.0 wt % is classified as excellent (57).
The organic substance originates from photosynthesis that started on a
major scale 2109 years ago. WELTE (58) has calculated that in the course of
the Earths history 6.41015 t organic carbon (Corg) has been produced. Only
18 % of the organic carbon, however, has contributed to the genesis of petroleum,
82 % is bound in the sediment as carbonate. The ratio of Corg bound to carbonate
to Corg bound to petroleum is 11 000 : 1. The organic origin of the petroleum can
also be deduced from the observation that crude oils are cracked at temperatures
above 200 8C to methane and graphite. The simultaneous occurrence of copper,
nickel, vanadium and molybdenum (that are also detected in the sapropel) in
crude oils is also in favor of its organic origin. Sporadic occurrences of small oil
reservoirs in volcanic or in magmatic-metamorphic rocks that have repeatedly
been quoted by the inorganic protagonists as counter-evidence are always in
connection with local elevations of the basement. It can be assumed that the
crude oil has migrated from deeper-lying source rocks in intercalated volcanic
strata in a higher position between sediments or by lateral migration where
there is juxtaposition with magmatic-metamorphic reservoir rocks.
Crude oils are formed principally from phytoplankton and bacteria; up to
the Silurian period from lower plants, eg, blue and green algae, and from the
Devonian period from higher forms that occur in increasing amounts. The fats
(lipids), proteins, pigments, and amino and nucleic acids formed from them are
the starting materials for bitumens.
A prerequisite for the formation of oil is that the organic material lying
at the bottom of the sea or lake must be sedimented in the absence of oxygen,
so that it cannot be decomposed and lead to the formation of kerogen. Such
conditions exist, eg, in eutrophic calm waters at great depth where the water
in the sediment no longer contains dissolved oxygen. A reducing hydrogen
sulfide medium prevails. Ideal prerequisites for such conditions are present
in sapropels in which the organic matter is decomposed, decayed by anaerobic
bacteria. The majority of the organic matter, however, is oxidized and recycled
as CO2.
In the course of the Earths history, source rocks have been formed in
various anoxic zones:
1) In nonmarine lakes, a uniform warm climate with little inflow of oxygencontaining water is the precondition for source rock formation. Lake
Tanganyika is an example.
2) In closed inland seas with a positive water balance (water inflow exceeding
rate of evaporation), anoxic conditions arise in warm climatic conditions, at
a great depth, and excess water. The Black Sea with its deep zones free
from currents and its bays free from breakers is an example.
With a negative water balance, an oxygen excess arises, preventing
source rock formation. The Red Sea and the Dead Sea are examples of this.
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3) The ascent of marine currents from greater depths to the surface leads to the
substantial consumption of the scarce oxygen present in these currents as a
result of the biological productivity near the surface. From the organic residues that sink in the deep water lacking in oxygen, source rocks have been
formed. Examples of this occur off the Southwest African coast (Benguela
current) and off the west American coast (Humboldt current off Peru).
4) Source rocks are formed in the open ocean as a result of global climatic warming in association with the large transgressions. The many thick source rocks
in the Jurassic and Middle Cretaceous periods are attributable to this.
An important factor in source rock formation related to the transgressions
of the oceans is the transport of the organic residues from the energy-rich zones
into regions of calm water lacking in oxygen. This is supported by the adsorption
of organic material onto fine clay particles, which sink to the sea floor in calm
regions and compress the organic material content of the sediment. Anaerobic
conditions can prevail only a few centimeters below the surface of argillaceous
deposits. Since ca. three quarters of all argillaceous and carbonatic sedimentary
rocks contain organic carbon, the applied exploration usually assumes that not
only typical sapropels but all sediments, with a fairly high content of organic
matter, are to be regarded as potential source rocks for hydrocarbons.
A high sedimentation rate with a large proportion of coarsely clastic material, on the other hand, dilutes the content of organic carbon and leads to source
rocks of low quality, if to any at all.
Actuo-geological observations on hydrocarbon groups from recent marine
deposits off the Californian coasts and comparative infrared spectroscopic
studies on oils in the Pliocene Los Angeles Basin indicate that at the time the
oil was formed in the Pliocene epoch, water and sedimentation conditions
must have prevailed that are similar to those in the offshore regions of the sea
nowadays (59).
Even in shallow depths down to 1000 m and temperatures up to 50 8C the
organic material embedded in the sediment is converted to kerogen. This
diagenetic process intensifies with further covering and sinking as well as
with temperature rise as a result of heating from the Earths interior. This process, known as catagenesis, proceeds at depths of 1000 5000 m and temperatures up to a maximum of ca. 175 8C (Fig. 1). During catagenesis the organic
material dehydrogenates, with the formation of methane and hydrogen as
well as C13 C30 liquid hydrocarbons with increasing temperature. Oxygen
and hydrogen escape more rapidly than the carbon and nitrogen from the
source rock and so the relative carbon content increases. The H : C ratio
decreases with increasing temperature (57).
The conversion of organic material by pressure and temperature occurs
over geological ages. The biochemical processes, which are still not known in
detail, involve the action of reducing bacteria and the catalytic action of the
rocks. The conversion can be described as a function of temperature, time, and
pressure by modeling (see (60)). The temperature is the most important factor.
According to these ideas, the conversion of the organic matter included in the
source rock starts even at low temperature with the intensive contribution of
microbes and leads to the formation of proto-bitumens. Methane is formed in
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Fig. 1. General schemes of hydrocarbon formation (LOM = level of organic metamorphism, according to Grunau, J. Petrol., July 1983) a) All kerogen types; b) Bacterial methane,
certainly kerogen Type III; c) Mainly kerogen types I + II.
minor amounts as a byproduct of the microbial conversion. Through further settling, as a result of increased sediment cover or through heating as a result of
subsurface magma intrusions, the temperature of the source rock rises and, by
liquefaction of a part of the primary bitumen, leads to true petroleum formation.
The simultaneous compaction of the argillaceous source rocks, and the
recrystallization of the clay minerals into more stable forms with lower water
content cause large amounts of pore and crystal water to be released. With
this squeezed-out dehydration water, the newly formed oil migrates according
to the geothermal gradient at depths ranging between ca. 1000 and 3000 m
(the so- called oil window) possibly in dissolved form or as small droplets or
bubbles, out of the source rock and into the overlying or adjacent reservoir
rock (see (61)).
This primary migration of oil droplets from the source rocks to the petroleum reservoir rocks can proceed laterally and, in particular, vertically. The
low-molecular, possibly gaseous hydrocarbons function as a propellant. While
lateral migration probably occurs by capillary paths, vertical migration through
impermeable strata is mainly based on fine fissures that close afterwards (59). If
the thermal stress on the oils in source or reservoir rocks proceeds further, the
degradation and break-up of the high-molecular hydrocarbons by chemial
maturation leads to ever smaller and more stable compounds. Thus, a natural
cracking of the petroleum occurs. Accordingly, paraffin-based oils are found
mainly in deeper regions of the Earths crust. The maturation process concludes
with the conversion to methane.
During this maturation of the oils already present, a further part of the
organic matter that has remained fixed is possibly converted into petroleum.
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According to (60), the temperatures necessary for the genesis and maturation of
the petroleum are closely related to the geological time available for them.
Thus, according to Russian ideas, ca. 40 50106 a are required for the start
of petroleum formation at an earth temperature of at least 60 8C. The Californian
deposits mentioned, though, have formed at temperatures above 100 8C in only
1 2106 a (62).
Formation of Deposits. Deposit formation is the concentration of infinite numbers of oil droplets which form in source rocks and are then squeezed
out of them to economically exploitable accumulations. Deposit formation is the
result of oil migration. The oil particles move during primary migration from
the argillaceous source rocks into the porous reservoir rocks, which usually
lie at a higher level. A considerable fractionation of the crude oils can occur
even during this movement as a result of selective filtration, adsorption, and
condensation (63,64).
Migration. In many cases, however, the true concentration of deposit
formation occurs only through migration in the bedding or horizontal secondary
migration, ie, through movement and accumulation within the permeable
reservoir horizons. With favorable facial conditions, lateral migration can be
very important for deposit formation. It can occur over distances of 10 km to a
maximum of 100 km. With changing facies, differential migration can occur, by
which the lighter hydrocarbons migrate to the higher reservoir beds. During the
course of this, the oils experience a certain buoyancy in relation to the formation
water present in the reservoir rocks because of their lower density. The oil is
therefore concentrated in the highest zones of the reservoir horizons, which
are sealed above by mudstones or salt beds. A gravity differentation of petroleum over edge water within the permeable reservoir rocks then occurs which
corresponds to the different densities of the individual components. Provided
gravitational separation is not prevented by capillary forces due to small pore
diameters, the edge water limits the oil column to the botom of the reservoir
(oil water contact). If the oils are supersaturated with gas, a gas cap forms
over the petroleum.
Possible reservoir rocks are permeable and porous sandstones and limestones. They have average porosities of ca. 10 % to a maximum of 40 %. The quality of reservoir rocks is determined, aside from their pore volume, by their
permeability, which is of decisive importance for the production capacity of wells.
Petroleum and gas deposits can occur in all geological formations, starting
from the Cambrian period, provided reservoir rocks are available that are accompanied or underlain by source rocks of appropriate maturity. Also the reservoir
rocks must possess trap structures from the overlaying of sealing horizons,
such as clay and salt beds. It is also important that the structural traps were
already present at the time of oil formation and survived during the subsequent
geological periods.
Reservoir Rocks. The quality of deposits is greatly affected by the type of
reservoir rock.
Wind-blown sands, for example, form the good gas reservoir beds
of the Rotliegendes. They spread from England to Poland over an area of
1000 3000 km2 with thicknesses of up to 200 m and maximum porosity
up to 20 %. Fluvial sands of meandering rivers can have net thicknesses of
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6 75 m. The Triassic sands of Prudhoe Bay with reserves of 2.8109 t oil belong
to this type. Both alluvial fans such as the Cretaceous sands of the Sirte Basin
in Libya and the beach and barrier sands parallel to the coastlines are good
reservoir beds. The latter include the Jurassic Piper field (United Kingdom).
The marine platform sands, which occur as transgressive or regressive
sequences, are equally good reservoir beds. Deep-water sands, occurring as
so- called deep-sea fans and turbidites, certainly spread over hundreds of kilometers, but are of variable quality. This reservoir type includes the Pliocene
Sands in the Los Angeles Basin with a thickness up to 700 m and the Paleocene
Sands of the Viking Graben in the North Sea.
Carbonate reservoir beds can be of very differing quality. Thus reefs or reef
limestone debris can have excellent reservoir properties as in West Texas or
Alberta/Canada, with net thicknesses of 170 200 m, but they are mostly of limited extent and variable quality. The chalk forms only average-quality reservoir
beds. Mainly composed of coccoliths, the chalk is thin-bedded. The production
engineering of the Austin Chalk in West Texas, the Ekofisk field in the Norwegian North Sea, or the reservoir of Reitbrook (Hamburg) is difficult. Owing to
their low permeability, these deposits can be extracted profitably only in conjunction with very fine fissuring.
Trap Structures. The type of trap structure encountered strongly
depends on the worldwide or regional tectonic processes in the Earths crust.
Movements at the plate edges lead to individual stress patterns with a variety
of structural phenomena as the result of forces of contraction and expansion.
The structures can, therefore, be of various sizes and shapes (65,66). The principle trap structures, as listed below, can also occur in combination.
The types of structure possible as traps for petroleum and natural gas can
be of very different origin (see Fig. 2). There are anticlines (a), tiltings, faults (d),
salt intrusions, and discordant overlappings, and sometimes synsedimentary
facies differentiations which arose during the deposition of the beds. Permeability barriers, arising as a result of secondary recrystallization and the formation
of new minerals in the pores, laterally seal the reservoir in such a way that a
special form of the facies reservoir is formed. This can often be observed in conjunction with faults. The most important tectonic traps are the saddle-shaped
anticlines and flat, oval mound structures as well as monoclines originating
from antithetic faults. Reservoirs in association with overthrusts are usually
arched in the frontal zone and sometimes enrolled. They are known as rollover
structures. The first reservoirs discovered were found in association with salt
domes (d), where various kinds of structural traps are possible on the flanks
and the top of the dome. In the case of discordance reservoirs (c), porous horizons
are sealed off after tilting and partial removal of horizontally deposited younger
sediments. Other typical facies reservoirs are the reefs (b), which are usually
composed of corals, as well as traps which have arisen, eg, through the argillation of a sandstone with reservoir characteristics. In addition, there is a variety
of special forms and combined reservoir types. In all of these cases, it is common
that porous reservoir horizons in their top zone are covered and transposed with
sealing by clay rocks and salt layers.
Oil Exploration. The potential for petroleum and natural gas present in a
sedimentary basin must be proved by exploratory wells. The total costs of the
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Fig. 2. Most important reservoir types and trap structures a) Under an updoming (anticline); b) In a coral reef; c) Under overlapping strata (discordance); d) On a salt plug tank;
e) In a conformable downthrown fault; f) In a reverse downthrown fault.
wellswhich rise exponentially as a result of ever increasing depths, extreme

environmental conditions, and continually increasing costs of equipment and
personnelrequire intensive and expensive scientific preliminary exploration.
Aside from the geologists, the geophysicist and, with growing importance,
the geochemist, have made themselves equally valuable as exploratory
experts. No drilling project is commenced unless these experts, after having
made their profitability calculations, have given their approval. After calculation of the risk capital for the exploration phase, an analysis must be made of
the receipts and expenditure over the whole operating life of the expected oil
field: in other words, the driving force for exploration is the return on investment. Despite all care, the risk of sinking dry wells remains high. The ratio of
discovery wells to dry wells, from 1 : 8 to 1 : 6, since the 1950s has not greatly
improved. The reason is that exploration advances into new basins (or parts of
basins) and to greater depths. The ratio is very much more favorable, for
instance, in the Norwegian North Sea, where of about 300 exploration wells,
of which about half were wildcats (ie, wells drilled in regions not known to
be productive), more than 100 were oilbearing. The success rate was 1 : 3.5.
It is therefore necessary to reconstruct the conditions of formation of
the hydrocarbons in the chronological and regional framework and to check
whether potential reservoir rocks are in trap position for oil or gas. The
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seismic reflection method is the central element of modern exploration and

crucial for almost every well. This method has been operated and continually
developed for more than three decades. It is supported by a series of geological,
geophysical, and geochemical methods that are used according to the degree
of knowledge or development of a region and according to the problems. In
an already well-known region aside from studies on geological facies and
thickness of the rock sequences investigations start with seismic reflection
measurements. In contrast, in areas which geologically are still little explored
or with very deep parts of a basin, these measurements usually conclude the
geophysical preparation.
Geological Investigations. In areas which are still little explored,
especially on land, geological surface investigations are used for the first
assessment and possible delimitation of prospects and nonprospects. The prerequisite is merely that the stratigraphic sequence outcrops at least partly
at the surface and is accessible. In the present state of exploration, the number
of less explored areas has greatly diminished. In the 1980s, the number of
sedimentary basin prospects is ca. 700. Of these, 350 are at least partly
explored. In the remaining sedimentary basins, preliminary geological investigations have generally been carried out which permit conclusions on the
nature and thickness of the sediments. From satellite images, precise maps
are available for all parts of the world in which geologists enter their findings.
Geodetic methods are becoming increasingly less important. In regions
with poor vegetation, the satellite image also permits conclusions on the
geology. Laterwhen checked and consolidated during the course of geological
field surveys by a smaller or greater number of transverse profilesthese
conclusions suffice to enable statements on the thickness, facies, and age of
the rocks. If the results of the field surveys show that criteria for an oil prospect are present, special examinations of rock samples are necessary in addition to stratigraphic investigations in order to identify source and reservoir
rocks and to provide evidence of clay as well as of evaporites being important
as the seal. The evidence of oil and gas as well as asphalt traces in the rock
samples alone is not sufficient to predict the presence of oil deposits. Asphalts
are residues of originally liquid bitumens that, as a result of the break-up of a
reservoir, have moved and oxidized near the surface. Asphalt traces can,
therefore, be an indication that oil has formed and migrated. Reservoirs,
however, can be left as fairly deep structures below thick, dense sediments,
even when younger reservoirs have been destroyed, eg, by uplift, tilting, and
erosion.
Geophysical Investigations. Potential Methods. The nonseismic
geophysical methods (potential methods) include electrical, magnetic, and gravimetric methods. They are used both individually and combined, for the first
exploration of sedimentary basins. Since gravimetric and magnetic measurements can be made from an aircraft, they are a rapid and inexpensive tool of
petroleum exploration.
Magnetic Measurements. These measurements are based on the
phenomenon that rocks differ in their magnetic susceptibility. It depends on
their content of magnetic minerals such as magnetite or ilmenite. The crystalline
basement would cause no marked anomally, owing to the uniform distribution of
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magnetic minerals within them. Sediments, on the other hand, differ in their
susceptibility according to the proportion of such minerals in the strata. The
changes of the Earths magnetic field are recorded with the aid of proton magnetometers and give, for example, indications of the shape and depth of the crystalline basement or of volcanic or magmatic intrusive bodies. Aeromagnetics was
developed in World War II to detect submerged submarines. The measuring
instruments are accommodated in the wingtips of the aircraft or towed behind
on cables. In their basic version, the measuring instruments are coils through
which current flows. The applied magnetic field is altered by the terrestrial magnetic field and the resulting anomaly is recorded.
Gravimetric Measurements. Gravimetric measurements are used to
measure the changes in the Earths gravitational field. Because of the different
densities of rocks, beds of relatively low density, such as salt rocks, with
negative anomalies can be demarcated from rocks of higher density, such as
intrusives or quartzites, with positive anomalies. As a result it is also possible
to detect blocks of identical rocks that are displaced tectonically by faults.
The typical measuring instrument is the spring balance, whose spiral spring
shows a different extension according to the density of the rocks. The
extension is recorded and interpreted (Fig. 3). Aerial gravimetry, combined
with aerial magnetics, is a rapid and cheap method of reconnaisance survey
for the petroleum exploration of extended areas.
Gravimetric methods are increasingly used again for the solution of special
problems. Computer model calculations can be carried out which lead to considerably improved conclusions. Thus gravimetric measurements are an important
means for detecting petroleum reservoirs at the flanks of salt domes; for the definition of the drilling and casing program and the allowed deviation for deep gas wells;
and also for the interpretation of seismic surveys near salt domes, where the reflections are disturbed by the salt, in order to clearly determine the salt flanks.
Geoelectric Measurements. Geoelectric measurements of the natural
Earth currents (tellurics) in the form of magnetotellurics have not fulfilled
the hopes placed in them. The numerous interference factors in the industrial
countries, such as electrical energy in cross- country transmission lines and
on railway lines are as disadvantageous as the large spread of the results.
Magnetotelluries are therefore only rarely used.
Seismic Methods. Since the 1970s seismic methods have become the most
accurate and most frequently used exploration methods. This is mainly due to
digital recording and the many processing and interpretation programs available. If in the past, seismics was a subsidiary science of geology, today it must
be ranked of equal importance alongside it. The seismic methods permit very
accurate conclusions on the stratigraphic sequence and depth of geological
beds. These methods measure the transit time of artificially generated elastic
waves. The waves have usually been generated by the detonation of explosive
charges placed in boreholes (Fig. 4). Apart from this, other energy sources also
are used nowadays. The vibroseis method, has become established whereby a
steel plate mounted below a truck is pressed by the weight of the truck onto
the ground. This transmits controlled vibrations of a given frequency that are
produced by a vibrator installed in the truck, to the subsoil. Four to six vibrator
trucks operate simultaneously. With this method, measurements can be
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Fig. 3. A) Principles of gravitational surveying; Points 1 9 represent observation stations where the gravity meter is installed. At these points the attraction of the gravitational force is measured. B) Negative gravity anomaly over a subsurface salt dome with
associated oil accumulation; a) Salt dome; b) Cap rock; C) Positive gravity anomaly over an
igneous uplift or buried bill with an oil accumulation in the overlying sediment.
performed on roads and tracks and therefore in populated areas. It is also more
rapid than explosion seismics, and cheaper.
The elastic waves spread in all directions and at bed boundaries, eg,
between claystone and sandstone or sandstone and carbonate. They are partly
refracted and partly reflected to the surface by the echo sounder principle.
The velocity of these seismic waves through the various geological strata is a
measure of the type of rock and depends on the rocks elasticity and density
53
Fig. 4.
Reflection seismic surveying technique with two reflecting horizons, A and B.
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(ca. 10002000 m/s in loose rocks and up to 6000 m/s in compact rocks). The more
accurately the actual velocity in each bed is known, the more accurately can the
depth of the reflection be calculated. Computer model calculations provide very
useful approximations. There are two different methods: the reflection seismic
method and the refraction seismic method, the latter was used almost exclusively
until the 1930s. The refraction seismic method is still used nowadays only for
wide-area surveying of deep-lying horizons, but is also called in for the determination of sonic velocities in the rocks and to solve special problems.
Seismic Refraction Method. In the seismic refraction method a part of
the energy waves is refracted at the refraction horizon, similar to light being
refracted at the interface between water and air. Some of the refracted waves
then continue to run along the bed boundaries and in the course of this generate
other waves that are refracted again to the surface. The measurement is of the
transit time from the detonation at the energy center until the refracted wave
impinges on the geophones set up on the surface at distances of up to ca.
25 km. The seismic refraction method requires large explosive charges with the
geophones at a relatively large distance and enables a relatively large depth of
penetration.
Seismic Reflection Method. The seismic reflection method uses, in contrast to the refracted wave, the waves directly thrown back by the reflecting horizons. Depending on the depth of the reflecting horizons, the waves return to
the Earths surface after increasing time intervals and are received by groups
of geophones systematically laid out on the ground. They are then converted to
electromagnetic impulses and recorded on magnetic tapes in complicated digital
recording equipment. Recording the seismic signals on magnetic disks having
already been pretreated in the recording truck by amplification, filtering, and
balancing of the vibrations enables corrections to the raw data and various
investigations of the signals with simultaneous suppression of the interference
energy (noise) to be carried out at the geophysical playback centers. From the
transit time found for the emitted and reflected waves, the depth of the reflecting
bed can be determined, provided the velocity of the rock beds passed through,
which often shows rapid regional variations, is known. The depth is then half
the product of velocity and transit time. Indications of the velocity of the seismic
waves come from detailed calculations of the refraction and reflection seismic
methods, from seismic well-logging, and directly from a geophone being lowered
on a wine line in the bore hole. The geophone is positioned at the boundaries of
rock units and receives the waves produced in the usual manner off the well
site.
Aside from the compression waves which have up until now been used
almost exclusively for scanning the structural conditions in the subsoil, shear
waves also are gaining increasing importance today. They enable conclusions
to be made on the petrographic nature of the rocks and their contents. The combination of compression and shear waves permits at least approximations to the
porosity of a reservoir rock and to the pore content.
Seismic Measurements in Offshore Regions. The reflection seismic measurements can also be used in offshore regions. The seismic method based on
explosives previously used, has been abandoned and replaced because of
the great environmental damage, especially where a large fish stock exists; at
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the same time the airgun method has established itself. In this method highly
compressed air is suddenly released. With the large number of available recording vessels, seismic companies not only carry out commissions to order but, in all
seas, carry out self-financed measurements which they then offer for sale to the
oil companies for reconnaisance purposes.
Three-Dimensional (3 D) Method. In exploration seismics, the line
method has hitherto been used almost exclusively. According to the exploratory
problem definition, individual profiles spaced at a distance of 500 2000 m from
each other are intersected by crosslines having the same spacing. The 3 D
method, which is almost routine in the development of proved deposits, is also
being used more and more in exploration. The groups of geophones are placed
at profiles with distances of 25 m and the waves are generated by explosives
fired from various sides. The digitally recorded results are processed and
corrected, as in the line seismic method, and subsequently transmitted to work
stations. Because of the small distances between profiles and the possibility of
assembling profile lines according to ones own ideas via shot points of neighboring lines (random line), the interpretation of the reflection horizons leads to
increased precision. Because of the high cost of equipment several thousand
geophones are required for the geophone installation and the large number of
staff used up to 350 members the method is very expensive. It pays, however,
especially during development of a productive area, since as a result of the close
surveying, false interpretations and consequently false structural descriptions
are restricted or even avoided. Characteristics of a 3 D measurement are given
below:
Area of survey
Surveying party size
Geophones
Optical-fiber cable
Bore holes
Drilling meterage
Scanning points
Cost
Cost per km2
300 km2
140 employees
32 vehicles
1000 tracks
14 400
71 500 m
15 076
157 183
480 000
ca. $ 7.5106
$ 25 000
Geochemical Investigations and Determination of Coalification on

Cutting Samples. Geochemical investigations and determinations of coalification have become increasingly important. They are used as indicators of maturity
and prospectiveness for potential source rocks and for settling questions about
migration paths and the origin of crude oils and natural gases. These determinations are carried out partly with rock samples from geological field surveys or
partly with rock sequences from boreholes. Coalification investigations serve to
determine the maturity of a source rock. If it is established that source rocks are
immature then any further exploration activity is often abandoned. Coalification
studies, preferably reflection photometric measurements, are applied to vitrinite,
which is present both in coal seams and in other sedimentary rocks. Depending
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on the coalification gradients, which show regional variations, the coalification

and the vitrinite reflection increase with growing depth while the volatiles content simultaneously falls. From the peat to the graphite stage, the mean reflection values range from ca. 0.2 % 10 %. According to the carbon ratio theory, the
formation and release of oil is restricted to the previously mentioned oil window
with a coalification range of ca. 0.45 1.25 % vitrinite reflection (subbituminous
coal to high volatile bituminous A coal stage). Below the oil window light oils and
condensates can still be formed and, at greater coalification, natural gases. By
chemical investigations on source rock samples, fairly reliable conclusions on
their degree of maturity are possible. Optical parameters are also used. Here
the change of color of the dispersed organic material in the sediment on heating
is determined. The optical studies have little significance and should be used only
together with chemical or pyrolysis data. Pyrolysis, performed on a large number
of rock samples, is very important for the analysis of kerogen. The Rock Eval
pyrolysis tester provides rapid determination of the type and degree of maturity
of the kerogen together with a direct determination of the hydrocarbon potential.
The results of the investigation can be used as geochemical logs directly at the
well for the determination of the hydrocarbon potential and the maturity. The
comparison of several boreholes enables excellent geological/geochemical correlations in a region.
Carbon-isotope analyses of natural gas components are routine in hydrocarbon exploration. These makes use of the close connection between the 13C : 12C
ratio in methane and the maturity of the organic matter from which the methane
has been formed. It is possible, by isotopic analysis of gases, eg, gases from cuttings from boreholes, to decide whether these gases have been formed indigenously in the horizons just drilled through or have risen from deeper strata.
With isotope investigations, for example, it was possible to demonstrate that
the natural gases accumulated in the large fields of Northwest Germany, the
Netherlands, and southern North Sea originate from the coal seams of the Pennsylvanian system (67). The carbon-isotope ratios of petroleum gas also enable
reliable estimates of the stratigraphic assignment of the corresponding source
rocks (68). So-called chemo-fossils enable conclusions both on the deposition medium and on the thermal history of the sediment. These geochemical fossils, also
known as biomarkers, are molecular structures of organisms in the form of lipids
(eg, fats, waxes) and porphyrins, etc., that have undergone only small changes
during their transformation to kerogen. The main features of their chemical
structure are still present.
Geochemistry has also been concerned intensively with the primary migration of crude oils, which for a long time was difficult to interpret. It is assumed
that pressure built up in the sediment due to the decomposition of kerogen which
led to the formation of microcracks, through which the hydrocarbons could
escape from the source rock. They are transported with low-molecular hydrocarbons as propellant in the direction of the pressure gradient to more permeable
rocks. An important instrument of exploration in future could be the geochemical
modeling of sedimentary basins. The amounts of petroleum which have formed
in a basin, migrated, and finally concentrated in a reservoir are calculated using
computer methods. This calculation is carried out in close collaboration with the
geological development and not only takes into account the sedimentation and
Vol. 1
Fig. 5.
57
Geotectonic classification of petroleum occurrences.
facies distribution, but also the settling and the related rise of temperature, as
well as the uplift phases with erosion of reservoirs already formed. A threedimensional kinetic model has attracted attention (69). It is based on a set of differential equations for energy and mass balances that describe the course of various geological processes. The physical parameters, such as porosity and
permeability, and the thermal sequences are selected from available lithological
data and, as knowledge increases, can be adjusted iteratively.
Occurrences, Production, and Reserves. The petroleum occurrences
are associated with the sedimentary basins of the Earth. Their distribution is
in no way statistical. Even their tectonic classification is very diverse and
shows that deposit formation is not associated with only certain types of basin
(Fig. 5). The largest petroleum occurrences lie in basins that have subsided considerably for instance as a result of the continental drift approximately from
the Jurassic to the Middle Tertiary period and, owing to a lack of contact
with oxygen-rich waters of polar origin and to a simultaneously warm climate
with high, oxygen-reducing water temperatures, have preserved large amounts
of organic material in the anoxic medium. The reserves in older geological formations are relatively small. The reason may be that there were fairly small
amounts of organic material in the shallow seas of the epicontinental region during the flooding by the worldwide transgressions. But the smaller reserves in
older formations than those of the Mesozoic era may also be the result of thermal
evolution (conversion of oil into gas), the destruction of the reservoirs or their
sealing horizon by tectonic events and erosion. The sedimentary basins with prospects are nowadays distributed both over the continents and over the regions of
the continental shelves covered by the seas (Fig. 6). The methods of exploration
and development are in both cases the same, for offshore wells the means of
transport and technical installations are adapted to the water medium. The difference lies in the greater costs for offshore wells and production installations.
Apart from the classical offshore fields in Lake Maracaibo (Venezuela) and
in Baku (Caspian Sea) that were already developed in the 1930s with modified
onshore installations, offshore exploration and production achieved increasing
importance only in the 1960s. Technical developments then became necessary
58
Fig. 6.
The sedimentary basins of the Earth with the most important production areas.
Vol. 1
59
that enabled deposits to be developed even at a depth of more than 1000 m water.
In 1983, on the west coast of France, a well was drilled to almost 2000 m at a
water depth of 1714 m. Such depths of water cause difficulties for production,
which then is only possible by means of an underwater completion. This
means that the production equipment is totally installed on the ocean floor
and must be maintained by divers. The deepest producing field is the Jolliet
field in the Gulf of Mexico. It produces from a depth of 535 m of water and is
equipped with a tension leg platform, ie, a floating platform that is fixed to the
ground by steel wire ropes. In 1992 the Snorre field in the Norwegian North Sea
also went into production by means of a tension leg platform at a depth of up to
350 m of water. Further production installations according to the tension leg system are being prepared up to ca. 1000 m (Auger and Marlin fields). Owing to high
investment costs, the systematic recovery of hydrocarbons at great depths of
water, in particular on the continental slope, depends on the development of
the market price of crude oil.
Production and Reserves. The prices of crude oil collapsed in the second
half of the 1980s. OPEC saw a possibility of stabilizing the prices only by fixing
production quotas. These efforts, however, had no particular success. The control
of production by OPEC as well as other economic measures in producing countries outside OPEC, influence production in such a way that the annual production data do not give a clear picture of the productivity of a producing country.
Rather, the cumulative production gives only an impression of the geological and
technical capacities (Table 1). For better comparison, the annual production
for 1989 for the region concerned is indicated. World oil production for the
year 1989 was 3.434109 t. In 20 years, it rose only by ca. 20 %. In view of worldwide industrial development this is only a moderate increase that is attributable
in part to energy saving efforts which started with the 1973/1974 energy crisis.
The ranking of the producing countries for 1989 shows that the Middle East
states Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates lead
the list of producing countries with a production of 922106 t, followed by the
Soviet Union with 668106 t, and the United States and Canada together with
525106 t. Following behind are South and Central America (380106 t), Asia/
Oceania (365106 t), Africa (350106 t), and Europe (223106 t). The production
from offshore fields was about 25 % of world oil production (70). The proved world
oil reserves rose to ca. 164.30109 t through development, in particular, of offshore fields. Compared with reserves published in the 1970s (92.40109 t) this
is an increase of > 80 %. If the probable reserves determined according to the
Gaussian distribution curve are added, then there are currently 240109 t petroleum to be expected. Compared with the production of ca. 3.4109 t in 1990, this
gives a ratio of 72 : 1. Thus the ratio of 30 : 1 existing for decades has more than
doubled. Even taking only the proved reserves into account, the ratio is about
50 : 1. There may be various reasons for this. One could be the rapid sequence
of discovery and development of large deposits above all offshore. These include
new discoveries in East Venezuela and in the Brazilian Campos Basin, as well as
in the Russian North Caspian Basin and in Saudi Arabia. Large reserves have
recently been developed in the Tarim Basin (West China) and in the Papua Basin
of New Guinea, in which up until now no economic oil discoveries have been
known. Another reason is certainly the nature of the recording or evaluation of
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Vol. 1
Table 1. The most important crude oil producing countries; their total production up to
December 31, 1989 and their resources (assembled from various international data)
Resources
Cumulative
production, 106 t
Proven and
probable, 106 t
Prospective,
106 t
Canada
United States
2 353
24 722
2 050
7 200
7 950
7 280
North America
Argentina
Brazil
Columbia
Ecuador
Mexico
Trinidad
Venezuela
Others
27 075
795
429
477
238
2 639
397
6 693
397
9 250
350
1 700
650
400
7 100
250
4 800
400
15 230
475
1 625
930
415
3 975
160
4 130
750
Latin America
12 065
15 565
12 460
Bahrein
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Neutral Zone
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab
Emirates
Others
127
5898
3 323
3 800
713
493
684
9 157
207
30
11 750
16 850
13 700
2 200
1 100
650
41 500
300
1 860
207
10 500
750
800
Middle East
24 469
99 330
18 120
Algeria
Angola
Egypt
Gabon
Libya
Nigeria
Others
1 510
238
747
223
2 607
2 067
29
1 450
450
900
225
4 908
2 800
650
250
250
300
200
950
1 120
1 830
Africa
7 421
11 375
4 900
Australia
Burma
China
India
Malaysia
Indonesia
Others
509
79
2 226
445
668
2 194
32
475
30
5 000
675
1 200
2 100
100
325
150
5 100
400
700
1 250
825
Far East
6 153
9 580
8 750
3 020
5 560
320
320
150
7 950
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61
Table 1. (Continued)
Resources
Cumulative
production, 106 t
Proven and
probable, 106 t
Prospective,
106 t
Norway
United Kingdom
Other Western
Europe
Eastern Europe
572
1 463
2 500
2 800
1065
1 175
699
1 097
400
300
300
270
Europe
3 831
6 000
2 900
16 630
13 250
14 625
9 764
164 300
135 000
134 630
76 985
Soviet Union
World 1989
1990
1991
the proved reserves. The new assessment is based on the newly proven or reevaluated reserves in the oil fields, larger extent of the deposits, or improved
oil recovery. At the World Petroleum Congress in 1990, a rise of the reserves
by 45109 t to more than 164109 t, was reported, ie, a rise of ca. 33 %. Of
this, ca. 32109 t are apportionable to the Middle East and only 3109 t to
North and South America. Other authors quote a larger or smaller rise than
this. The reason for this may be that, in addition to the newly developed reserves,
new evaluations of the fields have been made in which, apart from the proved
reserves, probable and possible reserves have been accounted for. The reserves
according to MASTERS et al. (71) listed in Table 1 represent, despite all uncertainties, a reliable order of magnitude. The size of the increase in reserves from new
discoveries also reflects the number of successful exploration wells. As stated
above, the saturation of the petroleum market since 1985 has led to a drastic
reduction of exploration activity. If in 1984 in the western countries, 1250
seismic crews and 6500 drilling rigs were in use, their numbers had fallen in
1989 to 447 and ca. 1924, respectively (1990: 2057, 1991: 1896). A speeding up
of exploration depends on the general improvement and stability of prices and
availability of reserves in the important consumer centers. The further prospects for success in petroleum exploration are limited to where the assumed
profitability for foreseeable future ends or when the natural deposit potential
of liquid hydrocarbons in the subsoil of the earth is exhausted. The two aspects
are closely interlinked, since the estimation of potential reserves and even the
definition of a deposit are determined by profitability factors. The ca. 77109 t
of conventional crude oil still to be expected according to the most recent estimates must be supplemented by the reserves from very heavy oil deposits and
oil (tar) sands (see Tar Sands), which can be assumed to be at least 100109 t.
An accurate demarcation from the conventional crude oils listed in Table 1
is not possible, since MASTERS et al. (71) also take into account the reserves
between 108 and 208 API, which other authors include in the low-quality heavy
oils. The heavy oil and bitumen deposits are found to the extent of 87 % in Canada
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Vol. 1
(Athabasca, Cold Lake, Peace River), the CIS (Volga Urals, East Siberia), and
Venezuela (Orinoco). They represent a future reserve that can only be used
when, because of the depletion of the conventional fields, so- called tertiary recovery
methods are standard, eg, hot water injection or steam injection, to extract the oil
from the deposits. The prices by then must have exceeded the limit of $ 50/bbl (the
oil price in 1992 was ca. $ 20/bbl).
Regional Distribution of the Reserves. Middle East Arabian (Persian)

Gulf. The largest reserves are in the countries of the Middle East and in the
Arabian Gulf. On 1st January, 1990, proved reserves of ca. 99109 t were established and probable ones of 19109 t calculated (see Table 1). The first economic
oil find in recent times in this region was made in 1908 with the discovery of the
Iranian Masjid-i-Sulaiman field. Many subsequent discoveries have been added.
At present, Saudi Arabia, with more than 41.5109 t of proved reserves, followed
by Iran with 11.75109 t, Kuwait with ca. 13.7109 t, and Iraq with ca.
16.85109 t are leading. The largest deposits in the Middle East include the fields
of Burgan in Kuwait, Ghawar, and Safaniya in Saudi Arabia, Kirkuk and
Rumaila in Iraq, and the deposits of Gach Saran and Agha Jari in Iran.
Geologically, the oilfields of the Arabian Gulf are situated on the shelf area
in front of the pre-Cambrian massif outcropping in the west, and south of the
Arabian peninsula in the form of intensively block-folded crystalline. Continental and shallow-water sediments are found deposited between the Cambrian and
the Cretaceous systems on the slowly sinking shelf. The shelf is divided by
numerous North South trends that are linked with basement highs. North
and east of the shelf, including the Taurus Zagros Oman mountains there follows a geosynclinal or plate-edge region. This region also received thick tertiary
sediments and during alpidic orogenesis was folded by tangential forces and
divided into structures with a northwest southeast direction. In accordance
with the asymmetric structure of this trough, the large deposits on the Arabian
side mainly lie in Jurassic and Cretaceous beds, and the offshore deposits mainly
in Cretaceous reservoir rocks. The Persian Iraqi fields produce in the more deeply settled parts of the trough from Cretaceous and Tertiary horizons. On the
Arabian peninsula, anticline-like updomings dominate structurally, whilst in
the Persian Gulf salt structures and bending folds, and in the foothills of the Iranian Zagros range anticlinal and overthrust structures can be found. The most
recent exploration activities in Saudi Arabia proved deposits with several hundred million tonnes of oil in sandstones of the Paleozoic era. The Permian
Khuff, itself a reservoir bed of natural gas deposits, serves here as capping of
stratigraphic and structural traps. The oil is of Silurian origin. The Paleozoic
era could provide further potential in Saudi Arabia.
Europe. The petroleum deposits of Europe, apart from the North Sea,
are fully developed and, with production falling, are already in the phase of secondary and tertiary recovery methods. If the reserves of all onshore producing
countries are combined, proved reserves of ca. 0.7109 t can be established
together with exploratory reserves of ca. 0.5109 t. The United Kingdom and
Norway possess proved reserves of ca. 5.325109 t from offshore fields, and a
further ca. 2.34109 t exploratory reserves are expected. The comparison with
the Middle East, however, shows the small importance of the European states
as oil-producing countries. Even so, in 1974 the Federal Republic of Germany
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63
produced more than 6106 t oil and was able to cover ca. 30 % of indigenous
requirements. Of the 823106 t oil reserves originally present, 61106 t proved
and probable oil reserves remained after a total production of 225106 t (December 31, 1991). The recovery factor of 35 % of the original reserves means that
537106 t remain unrecoverable. The reserves in Italy and the Netherlands,
with developed quantities of ca. 110106 t in each case and prospective reserves
of ca. 330106 t in Italy, are on a worldwide view of equally low importance as
those of Romania, with 190106 t and a prospective reserve of 235106 t. All
other countries on the European mainland are globally considered insignificant
as producing countries. The oil deposits of northern Germany are bound to
sediments of epicontinental floodings which occurred during the Jurassic and
Cretaceous periods. The narrow NNW SSE striking troughs filled with Jurassic
deposits are caused by halokinetic movements. The Rhine Valley Graben as a
minor oil region dates from the rifting (continental drift) related-to young
tectonic movements. The European deposits are distributed over the foredeeps
of the Pyrenees, the Alps, and the Carpathians, although the deposits in the
Aquitaine Basin, the Molasse Basin (Bavaria), the Carpathian Basin, and
the Po Basin are not very large. The oil occurrences in Sicily, Spain, and in
the Aquitaine Basin of France are linked with Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
carbonates. The intramontane Pannonian Basin and the Paris Basin should be
mentioned because of their historic importance for the exploitation of oil in
Europe. The Lower-Saxony Basin also is of historic importance, since the
lheim (1881) and Wietze (1859) were discovered here almost
deposits of O
simultaneously with Colonel Drakes success in the United States.
North Sea. The North Sea has been one of the most attractive exploration
regions for the international oil industry since the start of exploration in 1964.
All large oil companies, often together with recently founded local partners,
have introduced their worldwide know-how into development of this logistically
difficult region. Great depths of water, strong currents, and extremely harsh
weather conditions require the use of specially developed drilling and production
installations. Although the technology used can nowadays be regarded as
advanced, the damage to the platforms during construction and operation
shows the limits for the prospecting and production of hydrocarbons. The first
success in the North Sea was the discovery of the Ekofisk field on the Norwegian
Shelf in 1968. Two important successes in the British sector of the North Sea
were the discovery of Forties in 1970 and of Brent in 1971. About 17 oil fields
are in production in the Norwegian North Sea, and in the British North Sea
more than 100 oil and gas fields including numerous small ones. Norways largest fields are Ekofisk/Eldfisk, Gulfaks, and Statfjord, which have up to now provided ca. 80 % of the Norwegian oil production. In the United Kingdom the
Forties, Brent, Magnus, Ninian, Fulmar, and Statfjord (British part) fields provide more than 40 % of the British oil production. The five Danish and seven
Dutch offshore fields are negligible compared with those of Norway and the
United Kingdom. Geologically, the fields are linked with the large graben that
open up from the beginning of the Mesozoic era in conjunction with the rifting
of the Atlantic plate. The most important element is the Viking Graben which
collapsed between the East Shetland Platform and the Norwegian Vestland
Bogen. It runs for a length of ca. 455 km and has a width of ca. 50 km in the
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Vol. 1
south and 180 km in the north approximately on the midline between Norway
and the United Kingdom. In addition, there are special basins, some with
thick tertiary sediments, to which the oil is bound. The deposits are found in
sediments of the Triassic, the Jurassic, the Upper Cretaceous, and the Paleogene
periods. The traps are mostly the tilted fault blocks typical of rifting, that are
sealed by transgressively overlapping fine-grained Upper Cretaceous sediments.
The development of hydrocarbons is limited to the north by the 62nd degree of
latitude as a result of Norwegian legislation. Seismic measurements and specifically located wildcats have provided evidence that in the northern North Sea
(Troms, Haltenbanken) and in the Barents Sea, deposits both of oil and of natural gas can be expected. The time for specific development of these fields will
depend on the development of the reserves already developed and also on the
oil price. Even today, owing to expensive technology, a price in excess of $ 20/
bbl and tax relief by the producing countries is necessary for the continuation
of exploration in the North Sea. In 1991, the daily production of all North Sea
fields reached 192106 t.
Commenwealth of Independent States. Industrial oil recovery in the
territory of the CIS had already started at Baku in the middle of the last century
and reached its first peak around 1900, when North American production was
briefly surpassed. After a period of stagnation, a rapid upward development
started in the former Soviet Union after World War II with the development of
new oil reserves. The proved resources on January 1, 1990, were 13.2109 t, and
14.6109 t of exploratory reserves were expected. Accordingly, the total reserves
are more than 200 % higher than those of the United States. Until 1918, almost
the whole production came from the Caucasus mountains. In the 1950s the
Volga Urals region and the Timan Petschora Basin, adjacent to the north,
were developed. In addition, the discoveries in the North Caspian Basin
(Emba) and in the Mangyschlak trough of Turkmenia developed very rapidly,
but have passed their peak. In the 1960s and 1970s, the extended deposits
east of the Urals in the West Siberian Basin were discovered. Meanwhile 96 %
of the oil developed in West Siberia is produced in the Tjumen province. In the
southern provinces of Novosibirsk and Omsk, exploration has given disappointing results. In almost all oil provinces, as a result of technical deficiencies and
lack of oil field equipment, production is falling or remaining below expectations.
Proved reserves could be mobilized by the use of modern technology, such as the
horizontal drilling process in many reservoirs of low permeability. The opening of
the CIS to the West leads to the expectation of a strong involvement of international oil companies which, with their know-how and their modern technology
can bring oil exploration and exploitation to a reliable high standard. There
are also justified expectations of the development of important new reserves in
Turkmenia and East Siberia, where only a small production of oil has been
achieved so far. Large oil discoveries in the pre-Caspian Depression promise
interesting exploration possibilities. In the recently discovered Thenguise,
Astrakhanskoe, and Karatshaganakskoe fields, oil is produced from carbonates
and clastics of the Paleozoic era at depths of more than 4000 m below a Permian
salt cover. With an area of 500 000 km2 and a sedimentation thickness of almost
20 000 m, good possibilities also arise here which may increase the number of
reservoirs in the CIS substantially. Geologically, the deposits in the Caucasus
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65
mountains, the Caspian Sea, Galicia, the Fergana depression, and on Sachalin,
etc., are linked above all with Neogen horizons in prealpine depressions and
innermontane troughs. The deposits of the Volga Ural area lie in Paleozoic
depressions of the Eastern European Platform. The main reservoir rocks
here are Devonian and Permian reef limestones as well as sandstones of the Carboniferous period. In the large and oil-rich Timan Pechora Basin, the reservoir
systems belong to Upper Devonian sandstones and chalks of the Lower Carboniferous period. Mainly Permian and Mesozoic reservoir horizons are oil-bearing in
the deposits of the North Caspian Depression, in Kazakhstan, and Turkmenia.
In the deposits of the Western Siberian Platform, the hydrocarbons are assigned
to the central part of the Lower or Middle Cretaceous period. In the Molasse
Basin of the eastern Ural foreland, oil and gas deposits are linked with Upper
Jurassic sandstones and calcarenites.
Africa. In 1990, the proved and probable oil reserves of Africa were about
11.3109 t, and the exploratory ones ca. 5.0109 t. The resources are concentrated in Libya, Algeria, and Nigeria. There are further deposits of noteworthy
size in Egypt, Congo, Angola, Gabon, and Tunisia. The African continent was
long considered to have few prospects for hydrocarbons. The breakthrough
came in the 1950s with the almost simultaneous discoveries of the first large
deposits in Algeria and the Niger delta. The large discoveries in Libya followed
in the 1960s. Geologically, the oil deposits of Algeria and the smaller occurrences
in West Libya which are not yet producing, are linked to the Paleozoic basin
between the Precambrian Massifs of the mid-Sahara and the Atlas range. Fairly
large amounts of oil are found in the Neogene basins of the Syrte in Central
Libya and in the Niger delta. There are also older oil-producing strata, mostly
in the Cretaceous system. At the western edges of the African shield, between
several stable cratons, depression fields have been formed, on which marine
transgressions deposited thick sediments in the Mesozoic and Tertiary eras. In
some cases, between the Permo-Triassic system in Morocco and the Cretaceous
system in Gabon, salt deposits occurred that led, possibly in conjunction with the
continental drift, to diapirism. The basins not only cover parts of the current
mainland but reach far into the Atlantic. The coastal basins range as follows
from north to south: Spanish Sahara, Senegal Mauritania, Ivory Coast,
Dahomey, Nigeria, Gabon, Congo, and Angola. In Eastern Africa, of the graben
systems which are largely linked to the rifting, only the Red Sea graben with
Miocene salt deposits and hydrocarbons below is of importance, as in the Gulf
of Suez, which is the only area of East Africa with fairly large reserves.
Libya, with 4.9109 t proved and probable reserves and ca. 1109 t prospective, has the largest oil reserves of Africa. Cumulatively, ca. 2.6109 t oil has
been produced in Libya up to now. Geologically, Libya is divided into three large
basins: in the west the Murzuk basin, in the central part the Syrte basin, and in
the east the Kufra Basin. The oil originates for the greater part from reservoir
rocks of the Cretaceous (sandstones) and the Lower Tertiary (reef limestones)
systems, but also from the Cambrian and Ordovician systems of the Syrte
Basin. Libyas only producing offshore field Bour, with a daily production of ca.
13 000 t (1991), has little importance. The development of hydrocarbons in North
Africa began with the discovery of the Zelten (now Nasser) field in 1959. Nasser
produces from Lower Eocene limestones of the Syrte Basin. With original
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Vol. 1
reserves of about 400106 t, it belongs, like Amal and Sarir, with ca. 1.2109 t, to
the largest fields of Libya. Libyan oil is low in sulfur and in great demand as a
light crude in European refineries.
Nigeria is the second largest producing country in Africa. The proved and
probable reserves are indicated as 2.8109 t and the prospective reserves as
1.1109 t oil. The fields are in the Niger Delta Basin that is filled with ca.
12 000 m of clastic rocks of the Tertiary period. In Nigeria, 15 giant oilfields
(according to U.S. definition, fields with more than 500106 bbl, ca. 80106 t)
have been proved, of which almost half lie offshore.
Algeria, with proved and probable reserves of ca. 1.4109 t, occupies the
third position among the producing countries of Africa. The prospective reserves
(ca. 240106 t) are quite insignificant. The oilfields lie in the Polignac Basin, near
the Libyan border, and in the Ghadames Basin. The fields in Polignac produce
from reservoirs in the Carboniferous, Devonian, and Cambro Ordivician systems. In the Ghadames Basin likewise there are sandstones of the Cambro
Ordivician, that are discordantly overlaid with evaporites.
North America. Geologically, the North American oil deposits are linked
with the large sedimentation region that appeared repeatedly since the Paleozoic
era. This basin forms the foredeep to alpine-type mountains in the west (Rocky
Mountains) and flattens to the east towards the basement area of the Canadian
shield. In the south, this sedimentary basin expands and becomes the thick Tertiary Gulf basin. A lateral arm of the trough zone with Paleozoic rocks follows the
south-east edge of the Canadian shield to the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. In
accordance with this geological structure, the deposits in the more deeply sunken
western sections of the trough appear in Tertiary and Cretaceous horizons, and
in the higher-lying eastern marginal areas (mid-continent, eastern states with
Appalachians) in sandstones and limestones of the Paleozoic era. The deeply sunken Gulf coast has its main deposits in Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. In the
Californian fields, the oil comes from Tertiary and Cretaceous horizons. The
new discoveries in Alaska occur mainly in Permo-Triassic sandstones. Other
oil discoveries, scarcely developed until now, in the arctic expanse of Canada
indicate several very promising basins with possibilities of reservoirs from the
Paleozoic era to the Tertiary period.
United States. On January 1, 1990, the United States had available
proved reserves of ca. 7.2109 t and prospective reserves of ca. 7.3109 t. Following the producing countries of the Middle East and the CIS, the United States
are in the third position. The same ranking applies to the production in the
year 1990. The cumulative production of 24.7109 t crude oil was achieved
from 597 320 production wells. (The Middle East states produced ca. 26.4109 t
from only 7061 wells). The oil resources in the offshore region of Texas,
Louisiana, and California were about one quarter of the total reserves. Due to
results of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico an increase of the offshore reserves
can be anticipated from new discoveries in the deep water region, but this will
scarcely lead to compensation for the fall in reserves determined by production.
Before Texas, with the coastal strip on the Gulf of Mexico, advanced in 1930 to
become the leading petroleum province, the position of the leading producer was
occupied by Pennsylvania until the turn of the century, then by California, and
later by the mid- continent. On January 1, 1990, the order according to daily
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67
production was Texas (ca. 306 179 t), Alaska (281 948 t), Louisiana (171 145 t),
California (152 840 t), and Oklahoma (48 900 t).
Canada. Only after World War II did Canada rise to become an important producing country as a result of discoveries in Alberta. On January 1,
1990, the Canadian reserves amounted to ca. 2.1109 t, 7.9109 t of prospective
reserves were reported. The daily production of ca. 190 000 t is obtained from
39 159 production wells. The reserves are declining. However, numerous discoveries in arctic regions cannot be developed and therefore cannot be evaluated.
More than 80 % of the oil production occurs in Alberta. The hydrocarbons are present in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and in the Alberta Plain. The reservoirs for oil, as for natural gas, are present in highly stressed folds, mostly bound
to overthrusts, in limestones of the Upper Carboniferous period, more rarely in
beds of the Devonian or the Triassic periods. In the Alberta Plain, Paleozoic
reef limestones are the reservoir rocks for the oil. Occasionally Cretaceous sandstones are the reservoir rocks, overlaying the Paleozoic discordant.
Latin America. The most important deposits in Latin America are those
of Venezuela and Mexico; Trinidad, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and
Brazil follow some way behind. The main deposits are in the foretroughs of the
cordilleras and their branches, and are bound to sediments from the Cretaceous
to the Neogene periods. In addition, fairly small coastal basins in Brazil and Argentina are productive. The resource figures have increased due to new discoveries in
Venezuela and more recently in Columbia but most of all to the oil accumulations
developed in the jungle basins of Ecuador and Peru. Through the development of
the Marina Austral Basin between Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands,
the reserves of Argentina have increased considerably. The new reserves are not
yet in production because of their geographical position and high gas : oil ratio. The
high proportion of prospective reserves in Argentina of ca. 477106 t, as against
proved reserves of only ca. 350106 t still points to a good exploration potential.
As a result of the large oil deposits in the Bay of Maracaibo and on the Gulf
Coast of Mexico, the submarine reserves of Latin America reach 40 % of the
total resources. Further offshore deposits are off Trinidad and Brazil.
Far East. The most important producing regions of the Far East are
China, Indonesia, Brunei, and Australia. In addition, oil deposits are known,
for example, in Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand.
China. Only after World War II has China gained importance as a producing country. By the use of modern scientific techniques, the first small fields
were discovered in the 1950s. In three regions, groups of fields had been proved
by the end of the 1980s that originate from plate-tectonic movements. Up to
1980, 150 fields had been discovered. Of these, merely for reasons of size, only
ca. 20 fields are of importance. Even so, the proved reserves have grown to ca.
5.0109 t. The two largest groups of fields, Daqing in East China and Shengli
on the Yellow Sea, achieved annual productions of 55.6106 t and 33.5 106 t,
respectively in 1990; that is ca. 64 % of the Chinese production. In the Daqing
field, which was discovered in 1959, between 4000 and 5000 wells distributed
over an area of 1200 km2 are producing from Lower Cretaceous sandstones in
very shallow anticlinical deposits. Shengli produces in a group of more than 40
individual structures from Precambrian and Tertiary reservoir beds. Of the
numerous sedimentary basins of China, only a few are fully developed. The
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Tarim Basin (Sinkiang) is expected to be particularly rich in reserves. This extremely large inland basin, of 560 000 km2, has a sediment thickness of 18 000 m.
Since 1983, after intensive geophysical preparation and the sinking of
200 wells the deepest reaching 6000 m large quantities of hydrocarbons
have been proved in both the North Tarim High and in the center of the Takelmagan Desert. The reserves are estimated at 11109 m3 oil and almost
81018 m3 natural gas. The productive formations are sandstones of the Triassic
and Ordovician carbonates. Exploration off the coasts of China is operated as
joint ventures with international oil companies. Starting from onshore discoveries, in the Bohai Sea, east of Beijing (Peking), a series of fields has been
developed whose potential is estimated to be more than 150106 t crude oil. In
the occurrences discovered in the South China Sea, no important reserves are
yet known. The crude oil of the Bohai Basin originated from tertiary sediments
of various structural types, including stratigraphic traps.
Other Areas. Important new discoveries have been made in recent years,
especially in the submarine areas of Indonesia, Brunei, and South Australia
(Tasman Strait). Of the developed reserves of the Far East, offshore deposits
could account for almost one third. The most important reservoir horizons are
in the Tertiary system; Mesozoic and Paleozoic formations are secondary
possibilities. Wide shelf areas off the northwest Australian Coast as well as
on the Indonesian and Chinese Shelves are regarded as favorable for future
exploration.
1.2. Natural Gas. Natural gas has gained considerable importance
in the past decades. Enormous gas reservoirs in Siberia, the Middle East,
Algeria, and in Europe, connected by pipeline systems with the consumer
countries, contribute substantially to the energy supply. The deposits in
North America are, for environmental reasons, an important energy source
for households and industry because of the fuels cleanliness. Natural gas
deposits in tropical regions are at present still underprivileged, since this
gas can only be used in the industrial countries after liquefaction and transportation by ship. This is economically possible only if the price level offers
an appropriate margin for this treatment of natural gas. The composition of
natural gas is extraordinarily diverse (see also Natural Gas). Aside from
the so-called dry, i.e., pure methane gas, wet gases with varying proportions of higher hydrocarbons occur. Inert constituents, such as nitrogen
and carbon dioxide, reduce the calorific value. Sulfur and mercury are pollutants when the natural gas is used and must be removed from it (see Natural
Gas). In connection with this, the elementary sulfur removed from the gas
secures its own economically significant market value. The proportions of
helium in the nitrogen-rich natural gases are, in general, small and only in
a few cases do they allow extraction for economic utilization. The natural
gases arising in the limestones and dolomites of the Northwest German
Zechstein contain up to 20 vol % hydrogen sulfide. The natural gas in the
French Lacq field contains 15 vol % H2S; while 63 % and 88 % are known
from reservoirs in Wyoming in the United States and in Alberta, Canada.
Since the gases containing hydrogen sulfide usually occur in contact with
gypsum or anhydrite beds, formation of hydrogen sulfide is ascribed to bacterial reduction of calcium sulfate. Natural gas deposits with considerable
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69
percentages of heavy hydrocarbons are known as condensate deposits. While

wet natural gases and condensates mainly lie adjacent to oil deposits or are
associated with them, dry natural gases are usually found in separate gas provinces. This already follows from the fact that the majority of dry natural
gases can be derived from the kerogen III arising from terrestrial plants.
Other dry, natural gases are formed in parts of deep basins where pressure
and temperature have exceeded the threshold value at which crude oils
form. A distinction is made between associated gas, which is closely connected
with crude oil, and nonassociated or natural gas, which is separately generated, predominantly from kerogen III. The associated gas dissolved in the
crude oil is released during production by pressure reduction. If the crude
oil is supersaturated, then part of the gas migrates upwards and usually
forms a gas cap, which under certain conditions, can be exploited separately.
The nonassociated gas stands for deposits of dry natural gases that have
been formed from kerogen III. This is methane gas (CH4) being produced from
beds of the Upper Carboniferous, the Rotliegendes, and the Zechstein systems
in the British North sea, the Netherlands, Germany, and in Poland. It is beyond
doubt that this gas originates from the solid coal seams below the reservoirs or
from vegetable residues dispersed in sediments of the lower part of the Upper
Carboniferous system. The petroleum gas, as a byproduct of oil production,
plays only a subsidiary role in energy supply apart from exceptions such as
Ekofisk. Large amounts of this gas are used in the production plants or, usually
after compression, fed to regional gas supply systems. In low-pressure reservoirs,
the petroleum gas is returned to the reservoir to raise the pressure which consequently reduces the production costs by a longer-lasting eruptive phase. In the
large producing countries, for example on the Arabian Gulf and in North Africa,
enormous quantities of petroleum gas are flared, thus being both wasteful and
environmentally polluting.
Since ca. 1980, the theory of the abiogenic origin of the hydrocarbons in the
ground has gained interest again. GOLD postulates that the vast quantities of
bound (oxidized) carbon, eg, in carbonates, cannot originate from the atmosphere
but escape from the mantel of the Earth. The presence of helium, that originates
from the radioactive decay of certain minerals, is also quoted by GOLD as evidence,
as are methane inclusions in diamonds, in kimberlite, or the high methane content
in Lake Kivu, which lies over a rift fault. The theory is based on the finding of a
methane atmosphere for the outer planets and their moons. Evidence for methane
of abiological origin was to be provided in the mid-1980s by a deep borehole in
the so-called Siljan Ring in Sweden. From this enormous meteorite crater, oil
and gas traces were reported from water wells and flammable gas was detected
from lakes and pools. Gravimetric measurements showed an anomaly that was
interpreted as a zone of good porosity in the granite, created by finely divided hair
cracks and clefts due to impact by the meteorite. The borehole sunk to 6080 m from
July 1986 to January 1987 and did not establish proof of abiogenic gas. German
scientists intend to investigate the problem of the so-called mantle gas in collaboration with the natural gas industry and the federal ministry responsible.
As with abiogenic hydrocarbons from the Earths mantle, the question of
the origin of the nitrogen in natural gases, involving the theory of the inclusion
of air in the Earths crust, is still being discussed. More probable theories suggest
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Vol. 1
an enrichment process of nitrogen as a result of fractional differentiation during

gas migration, formation of nitrogen by the action of anaerobic bacteria
during oil generation in the source rock, and its release from vegetable materials
during coalification. For the origin of the Northwest German nitrogen enrichments, the possibilities under discussion include a relatively late split off
from the Upper Carboniferous coal seams and a concentration by fractional
differentiation on the migration paths.
Origin and Deposit Formation. Natural gases in the narrower sense, ie,
the combustible hydrocarbons, are often closely related to the crude oils, both
genetically and above all with regard to deposit formation. Petroleum and natural gas frequently occur in the same geological level of a region. On the other
hand, coal and petroleum occurrences in the same level of a region are almost
entirely mutually exclusive. Dry natural gas as a derivative of coalification
both in regions with thick coal seams as well as in those with dispersely distributed coaly material is also often found directly adjacent to petroleum regions,
eg, in the Emsland and the Wiehengebirgsvorland of Northwest Germany. The
majority of natural gas occurrences in the world is linked with oil provinces.
Associated natural gases, often in connection with an economically uninteresting
oil seam of low thickness (eg, the enormous gas deposits in the north of the West
Siberian Platform), predominate. As a result of fractional migration effects, accumulations of dry gas deposits can also occur.
Gas formation in petroleum source rocks proceeds in different ways. In the
diagenesis phase, occurring in immature source rocks, bacterial methane is generated from kerogen III. At > 60 8C, the splitting-off of wet gas from kerogen
I and II begins in addition to oil formation which continues to the lower
end of the oil window at 150 8C. At higher temperature dry thermal gas is
increasingly formed. The natural gas deposits of the Rotliegendes and of the
Zechstein in the natural gas belt between the south of the British North Sea
and Poland owe their formation, as already mentioned, to the solid coal deposits
in the underlying Upper Carboniferous system. The coal-bearing beds were probably subjected, already at the end of the Carboniferous period, to an early coalification which was so low that 30 % of the volatiles remained in the coal. As a
result of the further sinking of the coal seams by thick Cretaceous and Tertiary
overlying strata, the temperature required for natural gas formation rose again
and the coalification process continued with release of further methane. The
majority of the gas deposits arising between England and Poland, including
the Groningen deposit, owe their formation to such processes.
Theoretically, a further cause for the formation of natural gas is its genesis
from oil shales. As in the technical recovery of gas from oil shales, including the
Kukersit shales of Estonia (see Oil Shale), natural pyrolysis processes at temperatures far above 200 8C are possible, by which natural gas could have been
formed from oil shales.
Natural Gas Occurrences and Their Reserves. The importance of the
natural gas producing countries is reflected in their present reserves. The
amounts produced annually have increased as a result of the consolidation of
the international pipeline network. In addition, interest in natural gas has
increased because it is the cleanest of the fossil fuels; it is much less polluting
than coal or oil. Large reserves also justify the high investment for the treatment
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71
and pipeline transport of the natural gas (see Natural Gas). The production
quantities reported are not a measure of the natural gas potential available
in the producing countries, which follows from the growth of the reserves. This
is evident on comparing the United States and the CIS In 1989, production in
the United States was 500109 m3, and that of the CIS 739109 m3. On
January 1, 1990, the proved and probable reserves of the United States were
ca. 8.41012 m3 and those of the CIS ca. 451012 m3. To these there must be
added exploratory reserves ca. 111012 m3 for the United States and ca.
351012 m3 for the CIS The disproportion between production and reserves in
the CIS originates in missing pipeline connections, line losses, and also marketing
problems. Other large natural gas producers are Canada, the Netherlands, Iran,
Venezuela, the United Kingdom, Romania, Mexico, China, and Germany. The
large natural gas potentials in the countries of the Arabian Gulf, in Nigeria, and
in Indonesia suffer from the distance of the markets, since a basic requirement
for transportation from remote countries to the trade centers is the liquefaction
of the natural gas. Because of the relatively small capacity of the liquid gas tankers
and the large distances to be covered, the economic use of liquid gas is often at or
below the break-even point. The natural gas resources of the world proved and
probable on January 1, 1990, were ca. 127.01012 m3, and the prospective
another ca. 1211012 m3. The CIS has developed its leading position through the
enormous new discoveries, above all in Western Siberia, and is followed by the Middle East, which also has a very powerful growth to record. The raising of the proved
gas reserves in these two large districts originates not only in new discoveries but
partly in the extension or higher evaluation of deposits already known and the
strengthened inclusion of petroleum gases, particularly in the Middle East and
Venezuela. While Africa and North America show a declining trend for the proved
reserves, Western Europe has improved its position in the international gas sector
by further new discoveries in the North Sea.
Regional Distribution of the Reserves. A breakdown of natural gas production and resources according to region is given in Table 2.
Commonwealth of Independent States. The largest reserves in the
world, at 451012 m3, are those of the CIS The occurrences are widely spread
and in some cases combined with petroleum deposits.
Table 2. Natural gas production and resources up to December 31, 1989 (assembled
from various international data)
Resources
Cumulative
production, 109 m3
North America
Latin America
Middle East
Africa
Far East
Europe
CIS
World
23 436
1 734
1 629
924
2 306
4 970
10 150
45 149
Proven and
probable, 109 m3
11 000
7 000
42 000
7 400
9 800
5 800
44 000
127 000
Prospective,
109 m3
18 700
10 600
26 700
9 300
13 700
7 200
34 800
121 000
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Vol. 1
The first great gas boom was in the 1950s with the development of the fields
of Shebelinka in the Dnieper Donetz Trough and Gazli in Central Asia, each
with primary resources of 450 500109 m3. The discoveries in the second
half of the 1960s, some of which were enormous, established the present position
of the CIS in the natural gas sector. Important deposits mentioned are those of
Krasny Kholm (Orenburg) in the Volga Urals district, where ca. 750109 m3
of gas have been discovered, and the Vuktyl and Layavozh deposits in the Petchora
Basin, linked with beds of the same age and each with ca. 500109 m3 of gas. In
Turkmenia, the Malai field with ca. 340109 m3, is one of the giants. Probably
the largest natural gas province in the world is in the north of the Western Siberian
platform. The gas occurring here in sandstones of the Cretaceous system (predominantly Cenomanian), in part several hundred meters thick, consists of almost pure
(97 99 %) methane. The structural traps are extended anticlines and mound-like
highs. About 220 fields have been developed in this area up to now.
This producing province is the most important for the future export of gas
to Europe. Its most extensive deposits include the Urengoy field, the largest
deposit proved so far with ca. 61012 m3 of initial gas reserves, and also the
large deposits of Jubileyny (ca. 21012 m3), Taz (ca. 1.151012 m3), Medvezhye
(ca. 1.05 1012 m3), and Yamburg (ca. 850109 m3) among others. At least a
further ten fields of this region have each reported primarily more than
100109 m3 of recoverable gas reserves. Two new discoveries in the Arctic
Ocean deserve attention. In 1987 in the Barents Sea, not far from the
Norwegian border, the Shtowmanowskaja field with an estimated reserve of
3 41012 m3 was discovered, and in 1988 in the Kara Sea, the Russanowskaja
field with 61012 m3. Both fields together are credited with 15 % of the future
production provided that the production and transportation to Nowaja Semlja
is possible under arctic conditions.
Middle East. Even if not so dominant as in the case of crude oil, the
areas on the Arabian Gulf, with proved natural gas reserves of ca. 681012 m3
play an important role in the possibility of future exports. However, a considerable fraction of these quantities is trapped in gas caps or is dissolved petroleum
gas linked with the large oilfields of this area and is therefore dependent on their
production. The gas cap of the Pazanan oilfield in Iran alone contains recoverable
quantities of ca. 1.41012 m3 of gas. With the recent discovery of enormous gas
accumulations in the Permian Khuff formation, very large dry gas deposits have
also been proved for the Middle East. The Kangan field in Iran is said to contain
41012 m3 of resources. The deposits available in the Permian formation are
sealed above by triadic salt beds. There are further deposits of this type, not
hitherto exploited, in Qatar. Iran also is involved in the northern part of the
Northwest Dome (North Field) with 2.8 3.4 1012 m3 a super giant
which belongs to the Permian Khuff. Notable natural gas reserves are also
known in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
North America. Despite higher quantities produced, the known North
American gas reserves have risen again. The reserves of 91012 m3 in the mid
1970s have risen to ca. 111012 m3 proved and probable. Of these, 8.41012 m3
in the mid 1980s were assigned to the United States alone, the traditional
land of natural gas. Its large-scale industrial use started here even before the
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73
turn of the century. In addition to this, exploratory reserves of almost

201012 m3 can be anticipated in North America. The largest deposits in the United States are in Texas, Oklahoma (particularly in the deep Anadarco Basin),
Kansas, and New Mexico with the fields of Hogoton (initial reserves ca.
1.11012 m3) and Panhandle (primary resources ca. 870109 m3), which are
already in part greatly depleted. A large fraction of the resources are in the
Rocky Mountain Province with 1.251012 m3. The natural gas here is predominantly bound to Permian carbonate rocks, but is also found in sandstones,
arkoses, and weathered granite zones. Other deposits, such as the Blanco
Basin field in New Mexico and Rio Vista in California, occur in Cretaceous sandstones and Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks (Pucket field, Texas).
The gas accumulations of the American Gulf Coast are mainly associated
with oil deposits or are found in separate reservoirs over the oil in Tertiary sandstones. The recoverable gas contents of these latter isolated deposits are only
between 100 and 300109 m3.
The North American gas deposits, especially those on the Gulf Coast, are
frequently characterized by a relatively high nitrogen content.
Africa. The proximity of Algeria and Libya to the industrial countries of
Europe favors the export of natural gas to Europe. Altogether, supply contracts
for more than 80109 m3/a have been closed, of which 12109 m3 are conveyed by
pipeline to Italy and the remainder, after liquefaction, by tanker mainly to
Germany and a further part to the United States. In addition to the gas reserves
of the oil-producing countries Libya and Algeria, that mostly occur as dissolved
gas, there are dry gas deposits, particularly in Algeria. The largest African field,
Hassi RMel in the Algerian Sahara, discovered in 1956, has been in production
for years. The gas that contains 86 % methane occurs in triadic sandstones in the
area of an anticline. The original resources were assessed as ca. 11012 m3, but
are probably more than double that amount.
Western Europe. The Western European deposits were of only local significance until the discovery of the large Groningen gas field in 1959/1960 and the
subsequent discoveries in the North Sea. The small Western European gas production comes mainly from the French field, Lacq, in the Pyrenean foredeep,
with primary reserves of ca. 200 109 m3, as well as from deposits in Northwest
Germany and the Netherlands where they are mostly bound to Zechstein dolomites and from Tertiary reservoir rocks in the German Alpine approaches.
There are smaller production areas in the inner-alpine Vienna basin, in the Po
plain, and off the Adriatic coast of Italy. The Austrian and Italian reservoirs
occur mainly in Tertiary horizons. As a result of the development of the gas
deposit of Groningen in the 250 m thick Rotliegendes sands, with initial reserves
of ca. 1.91012 m3 and a methane content of ca. 82 vol %, the exploration boom for
inferred natural gas accumulations of the Rotliegendes in the North Sea and for
the neighboring region of Germany started from 1963/1964. In the North Sea a
distinction can be made between a dry gas province in the southern North Sea
with deposits off the eastern English and Dutch coasts, and the gas deposits of
the central and northern North Sea. The latter are mostly associated with oil
deposits and linked with the Dan formation but, most of all to sandstones of
the Paleogene system.
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The deposits in the southern North Sea generally occur, as in the

Groningen field, in the sandstones of the Rotliegendes. The methane
gas, like most of the accumulations in Northwest Germany, is attributed to
coalification processes in the underlying seam-bearing Upper Carboniferous
system.
The natural gas reservoirs further to the north could be of similar origin, in
the broadest sense, with the oil deposits proved there. These are partly gas cap
gases and partly gas accumulations in separate reservoir horizons above oil
deposits, or above economically uninteresting oil seams.
On January 1, 1992, ca. 4400109 m3 natural gas had been discovered and
developed in the North Sea. Of this, ca. 1200109 m3 was assigned to the United
Kingdom, ca. 2700109 m3 to Norway, ca. 350109 m3 to the Netherlands, and
ca. 110109 m3 to Denmark. The results of drilling from the German North
Sea give no indication of major natural gas deposits comparable with those of
the neighboring sectors. Only one minor natural gas deposit in the extreme
part of the German North Sea with reserves of ca. 10109 m3 is under development. Production, in the North Sea, mainly from British gas fields, increased
from ca. 50109 m3 in 1985 to 98109 m3 in 1991.
The largest known gas deposits in the North Sea include the following fields: Frigg (Paleocene sandstone, ca. 400109 m3 resources); Leman
(Rotliegend sands, ca. 300 109 m3 reserves); Indefatigable (Rotliegend
sands, ca. 140109 m3); Viking (Rotliegend sands, ca. 140 109 m3); L-10/11
(Rotliegend sands, ca. 100 140 109 m3); K 13 (Rotliegend sands, ca. 100
140 109 m3); Hewett (Triassic sands, ca. 110 109 m3); Troll (Middle/Upper
Jurassic, ca. 1600109 m3).
With continuous exploration on the Norwegian Shelf (Arctic Ocean and
Barents Sea) further large natural gas discoveries can be expected.
2. Reservoir Engineering
2.1. Characterization of Oil and Gas Reservoirs. As described
in Chapter 1, oil and gas reservoirs are accumulations of hydrocarbons
that are stored in porous or fissured strata of the Earths outer crust and
contain a commercially valuable quantity of oil or gas. A precondition for
storage in the sedimentary rocks is a continuous cavity, in the form of pores
or fissures, that permits transport of the fluids into pressure sinks (wells).
Since these sedimentary strata can be found at various depths, it is
important that the rock matrix takes on the high rock compression stress
without much deformation so that when pore pressure is released, the pore
fluids can easily flow to the pressure sink, ie, the well. If large deformations
were to occur in the rock, the flow paths in the neighborhood of the well
could close upon pressure release thus resulting in the virtual sealing of the
reservoir.
Reservoir Rock. Since the reservoir rock rarely has a monomineralic
character, its mineral composition and the internal surfaces resulting from
it are very important, both for the storage capacity of the rock and for
the transmissibility of the fluids stored within it. The crystal structure and
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75
Fig. 7. Composition of a detritral rock (72) a) Grain (texture: sand granules 1/16 2 mm
diameter; silt 1/256 1/16 mm diameter); b) Pore fillings (texture: sand granules 1/16 mm
diameter; silt 1/16 1/256 mm diameter; clay < 1/256 mm); c) Cement; d) Fluid.
specific internal surface of the rock-forming minerals determine the types of

porosity of a reservoir rock.
In principle, cavities are found in a mineral structure along the cleavage
planes of crystals (intercrystalline pore space), within the layer lattice of crystals
(intracrystalline pore space), and, on a larger scale, along the boundary surfaces
of particles (interparticulate pore space) or within the particle at mineral boundaries or growth defects (intraparticulate pore space). Hydrocarbons are stored
mainly in the interparticulate pore space of clastic sediments or the fissured
pore space of chemical sediments (limestone, dolomite). Fissures form in a rock
as a result of deformation when the shear strength is exceeded.
Figure 7 shows the typical composition of a porous clastic sediment (detrital
rock). The rock body consists of sediment particles (grain) that are mainly composed of mineral components quartz, feldspar, and mica; of bioclasts; or oolites.
In most cases the rock particles are cemented together by calcites, dolomites, silicates, or clay minerals. In the interparticulate pore space so formed, pore fillings
of clay minerals, quartz, and mica can lower the available porosity.
Porosity. Porosity f defines the ratio of the pore volume Vp of a reservoir
rock to the bulk volume Vb of the rock:
f
Vp
Vb
According to this definition, the porosity also includes the volume of isolated
pores (dead pores).
If all interconnected elements of the pore volume are taken into account, the
effective porosity is obtained. This is an indicator of the effective storage volume
of a rock. The sum of effective feff and dead fd porosities gives the total porosity:
feff fd f
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Vol. 1
For geometrical or hydrodynamical reasons, not all pores are available for
convective mass transport. A fixed portion of the cavity volume can be regarded
as dead-end pore volume.
The porosity depends essentially on four characteristics of the sedimentary
rock:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Particle shape
Degree of cementation
Particle size distribution
Particle arrangement
The influence of particle shape and degree of cementation is evident from

Figure 7. In general, the more edged the particles, the greater is the interparticulate component of the pore space. The available porosity decreases
with increasing cement component. The most important influencing factors,
however, are the particle size distribution and the particle arrangement in the
rock structure.
Figure 8 A shows a wide distribution of particle diameters which leads to a
large reduction in porosity, since the interparticulate pore space formed by the
coarse fractions is filled up by the fine components. On the other hand, a narrow
particle size distribution (Fig. 8 B) results in a high porosity. In the lower half of
the figure, the cumulative particle size distribution is also shown. Usually the
steeper the cumulative curve, the greater is the porosity of the rock.
Three special cases of particle arrangements and the corresponding porosities are shown in Figure 9. In the cubic, space-centered sphere packing
Fig. 8.
Grain-size distribution and porosity A) Low porosity; B) High porosity.
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A
90
90 60
90
90
77
90
60
60
90
Fig. 9. Packing and porosity (73) A) Space-centered, cubic sphere packing (number
of contacts = 6, f 47.6 %); B) Hexagonal packing (number of contacts 8, f 39.5 %);
C) Densest packing of spheres (rhombohedral) (number of contacts = 12, f 25.9 %).
(Fig. 9 A), in which the particle midpoints form the corners of a cube, the interparticulate pore volume is exactly 47.6 % of the total volume. In this case each
particle has six points of contact with the neighboring particles. In the hexagonal
arrangement of particles (Fig. 9 B), the spherical particles of the upper lattice
plane are displaced by half the particle diameter relative to the lower lattice
plane. In this arrangement, the number of contacts rises from six to eight and
the porosity decreases to 39.5 %. If in the second lattice plane of the packing,
the row of spheres is displaced not only in the x-direction by d/2, but also
in the y-direction perpendicular to it, by d/2, the densest packing of spheres is
obtained (C). Here in the rhombohedral arrangement the particles of the upper
lattice plane are placed exactly in the holes of the lower plane and accordingly
each particle has twelve neighbors and the porosity is only 25.9 %. The porosity
of a natural packing of cemented sedimentary grains usually falls between the
limiting values of 39.5 and 25.9 %.
Pore Configuration Models. Although, at first glance, the shape of the
pores or fissures of a sedimentary rock has very little to do with regular geometric forms, cylindrical capillaries or parallel plates are regarded as geometrically similar to the pores and fissures and are chosen as models for calculating
the pore space properties. These very simple geometries are unable, however,
to reproduce the irregular variation of the pore or fissure cross section or of
the tortuosity of flow path, which are important characteristics of the pore
configuration.
In Figure 10, the commonest types of pore configuration models, up to the
most advanced representation (fractal network model), are shown. The capillary
bundle model (Fig. 10 A) is the most frequently applied pore configuration model,
mainly used for calculating the pore radius distribution, the saturation with
fluids, and the oil displacement process. A particular drawback of this model is
that a transverse flow between the capillaries is not possible. A pore configuration model for fissured reservoir rocks derived from the plate model is the
78
Vol. 1
Fig. 10. Pore configuration models (74) A) Capillary bundle model; B) Brickstone model;
C) Intersphere network model; D) Cascade network model; E) Fractal network model
White color means pore space.
brickstone model (B), in which the individual blocks symbolize the porous matrix
and the gaps between them, the fissures. Here mass transfer between matrix and
fissure is possible. The intersphere network model (C) is used particularly for
determining the phase distribution in the pore space and the capillary forces.
With the cascade network model (D), dead-end pore effects, turbulence effects,
and mixing phenomena can be investigated.
According to the principle of self-similarity of geometric forms in nature,
relations are traceable as far as between the crystal forms in the microcosmos
and the geological outfits (morphology) of the Earths surface. In connection
with this, the fractal dimension is a scale-up factor between the characteristic
dimensions and the image scales. If the spherical shape (circular shape in
Fig. 10 E) is chosen as the characteristic elementary shape of the rock structure
and of the pore space, a fractal network for matrix and pore configuration can be
developed, whose specific internal surface and volume fraction are calculable and
correlatable with other physically measurable quantities such as electrical conductivity and permeability.
An example of the use of pore configuration models for calculating pore
space properties is given here, based on the determination of the pore radius
Vol. 1
79
distribution by the mercury injection method. If the total pore space Vp is

assumed to be represented by a bundle of capillaries of various diameters,
then on injection of a nonwetting liquid phase (ie, mercury) the individual
sizes of capillary are filled stepwise (DV ) as the pressure is raised. Since the
injection pressure for mercury pc is inversely proportional to the radius of
the capillaries, the proportions by volume DV/Vp of the individual capillary
radii can be estimated from the mercury injection curve
pc
2sHg cosyHg
r
where sHg is the surface tension of mercury and y the wetting angle of
contact.
In order to reconcile this measurement with actual pore space configurations, it must be taken into account that each pore has at least two characteristic
dimensions the pore entrance and the pore widening. The characteristic crosssection determined by the mercury injection method corresponds to the pore
entrance radius.
Compressibility of the Pore Space. The compressibility c of a substance
is the change, with external pressure, of its volume relative to its initial volume.
For a solid the compressibility is negligibly small. A porous medium which is
built up of individual particles can, however, change its particle arrangement
under pressure and, therefore, is said to have considerable compressibility.
The deformability is discussed for the different forms of packing of spherical particles in Section 2.1.1.1.1. According to the studies of GEERTSMA (75), the pore
volume compressibility cf depends on the type of pore configuration (porosity of
the medium) and the effective pressure which is the difference of external pressure pe and internal pore pressure pi.
cf
1
qVp
Vp q pe pi
Figure 11 shows that the pore volume change reacts with increasing sensitivity to an increase in the external pressure with decreasing porosity. The
porosity of sedimentary rock under in situ conditions (ie, under the influence
of the overburden pressure of the sediments) can, therefore, be up to 20 % smaller
than the porosity determined in the laboratory (77).
Physical Properties of the Pore Saturating Fluids. Gas, oil, and water
are the relevant pore saturating fluids, whose physical properties must be
known as a function of the pressure, the reservoir temperature, and the fluids
composition. The material properties of these multicomponent systems can
only be predicted for the gas state at low pressure with acceptable accuracy
and without an extensive experimental data base.
For liquids and phase mixtures, estimates of the material properties
are obtained in accordance with the theorem of corresponding states by
normalizing to conditions at the critical point. The state variables, pressure,
and temperature, are normalized by introducing the reduced pressure pr
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Vol. 1
14
12
Ct, 1010 Pa1
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
0.20
0.24
Fig. 11.
Compressibility of the pore volume (76).
and temperature Tr.

pr
p
pc
Tr
T
Tc
Mixtures with complex structure can be described by means of pseudocritical pressure and temperature that are calculated from the molar fractions of the
individual components and the corresponding individual pseudocritical quantities. These simple correlations yield satisfactory results only when the individual
components have similar critical pressures and critical volumes.
In all other cases three-parameter thermodynamic functions of state are
used to improve the accuracy of prediction. These calculation methods are
based on the attempt to produce a functional relationship between the critical
material properties of a component and the molecular interactions. Nevertheless,
no known equation of state is able to determine all properties of hydrocarbon
mixtures equally satisfactorily.
For determining the contents of a reservoir and for calculations of recovery
and flow processes, the most important physical parameters are the density,
compressibility, and viscosity of the fluids. In the following, the methods of calculation applied in practice will be considered without showing the full physical
background. The reader is referred to the references (77,78) given at the end of
this article.
Density. The density of a gas %g can be calculated directly from the equation of state for real gases
%g
Mr p
zRT
where Mr is the molecular mass, p the pressure, z the real gas factor, R the gas
constant, and T the temperature.
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81
The reduced temperature and the reduced pressure serve as adjustment

parameters for the real gas factor z. For gas mixtures, instead of the molecular
mass Mr the mean molecular mass of the mixture is used together with the real
gas factor for the mixture.
For direct calculation of liquid densities, this simple form of the equation is
inadequate. Because of the higher packing density of the molecules in the liquid
allowances must be made for the inherent volume of the molecules and for molecular interactions.
If the critical densities or the densities of the individual components under
standard conditions are known, the density of the mixture %f can be determined
from the molar fractions according to the rule of additive properties
n
P
%f
z j Mr j
1
n z
P
1
j Mr j
%0 j
For reservoir calculations, the so- called formation volume factor B is

usually used instead of density for converting gas and liquid volumes to reservoir
or standard conditions. The formation volume factor is the ratio of the volume
under reservoir conditions to the volume under standard conditions.
B
Volume at pressure p and temperature T

Volume at standard conditions p0 ; T0
where the standard conditions for gases are: p0 = 0.1013 MPa and T0 273.15 K.
For liquids p0 = 0.1013 MPa and T0 = 293.15 K holds.
In the United States, 60 8F, corresponding to 288.65 K, is used as standard
temperature. The formation volume factor for gas Bg can be calculated directly
from the real gas equation:
Bg
zT p0
pT0
From a double-logarithmic plot of the formation volume factor versus pressure, a linear curve is obtained as long as the influence of the real gas factor at
elevated pressure is not noticeable (Fig. 12).
Figure 13 shows the formation volume factor for oil, Bo, as a function of
pressure at constant temperature.
For a gas-undersaturated oil, the formation volume factor Bo at first
increases with decreasing pressure as a result of the liquid-phase expansion of
the oil and reaches its maximum value at the bubble point pressure ( pb). The
greater the gradient of the branch of the curve between the initial reservoir pressure ( pi) and the bubble point pressure, the more compressible is the liquid.
When the pressure falls below the bubble point pressure, the volume of the oil
and with it the formation volume factor decreases rapidly. The final value of 1
is not reached, since the thermal shrinkage of the oil from reservoir-temperature
to standard-temperature condition occurs at a final pressure of 0.1 MPa.
82
Fig. 12.
Vol. 1
Formation volume factor for gas.
To describe the volume behavior of a two-phase mixture of gas and oil, the two
formation volume factors can be added to obtain the two-phase formation volume
factor Bt, taking the gas oil ratio (Rs) into account.
Bt Bo Bg Rsi Rs
Formation volume factor
where Rsi is the initial gas oil ratio.

In Figure 13 the upper part of the curve is identical to the two-phase formation volume factor Bt. The formation volume factor for water Bw, which is
shown in Figure 14, does not show a decrease through shrinkage resulting
1.0
0
Fig. 13.
Formation volume factor for oil (78).
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83
Fig. 14. Formation volume factor for water (78).
from degassing below the bubble point pressure ( pb). Instead, it rises further as
a result of volume expansion on pressure release. This is due to the relatively
low dissolved gas volume in water (ca. 1 m3 gas/m3) compared with oil
(10 50 m3 gas/m3).
Compressibility. The isothermal compressibility of the pore fluids is
given by:
c
1 qv
v q pT
The pore fluids differ clearly in their compressibility behavior. While gases in
the pressure range 0.1 100 MPa are extraordinarily compressible (c = 105
108 Pa1), oils have a moderate to low compressibility (c = 108 1010 Pa1)
depending on their dissolved gas content, and water has a compressibility of ca.
1010 Pa1. The last figure is of the same order as the compressibility of the
rock pore volume. In calculating the compressibility of real substances, the normalized thermodynamic functions of state, pressure, and temperature can be used.
For a gas mixture under real conditions, the compressibility equation
reduced to normalizedconditions is:

cpr
1
1
1 qz

cg
ppc
ppc ppr z q ppr
Here, instead of the critical data for a single gas, pseudocritical values ( ppc and
Tpc) are used as normalizing quantities.
ppr
Tpr
p
ppc
ppc
T
Tpc
Tpc
n
X
y j pc j
1
n
X
1
y j Tc j
84
Vol. 1
where ppr is the pseudoreduced pressure, Tpr the pseudoreduced temperature,

and yj the molar fractions of the individual components.
For an ideal gas, whose z factor is 1, the gas compressibility is therefore
inversely proportional to its pressure. For liquids, whose critical z factor is
0.27 (most higher molecular mass hydrocarbons satisfy this condition), the
compressibility can be determined from normalized pressure temperature
graph (78).
Viscosity. According to Newton, the dynamic viscosity m is the proportionality factor between the shearing stress in the flow direction and the resulting
shearing rate change perpendicular to the flow direction. Gas, oil, and water largely behave as Newtonian substances. For the viscosity of gases at low pressure
and constant temperature, the product of the free path, mean velocity and the density of the gas molecules is a measure of internal friction. At low pressure, only the
Brownian motion velocity of the molecules is relevant for this energy transfer and
the viscosity of gases therefore increases with the square root of temperature. Only
at elevated pressure does a reduction of the internal friction and, therefore, the
viscosity, appear with gases and liquids with increasing temperature.
For gas mixtures the mixing rule definition for n components applies.
n
P
mg
y j mg j M0:5
j
n
P
1
y j M0:5
j
To allow for the influence of pressure and temperature on the viscosity of a real
gas, the normalized representations of the reduced pressure and temperature
can again be employed.
The pressure and temperature dependence of the viscosity of reservoir oils
is shown in Figures 15 and 16, respectively. Above the bubble point pressure pb,
Fig. 15. Viscosity of oil as a function of pressure (78).
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Fig. 16.
85
Viscosity of oil as a function of temperature a) Heavy crude oil; b) Medium crude oil.
the viscosity linearly increases with the reservoir pressure. Below the bubble
point pressure, the oil viscosity falls steeply with increasing pressure or gas
content.
The temperature dependence of the viscosity of oil is characterized by an
exponential function, so that in a semilogarithmic plot versus the reciprocal of
the absolute temperature (see Fig. 16) a straight line is obtained. The slope of
this straight line is greater the higher the oils content of heavy components.
For the dependence of the viscosity of water on the temperature the same mathematical relationships apply. In addition, the viscosity of water increases with
increasing salt content (79).
Reserves. A detailed discussion of worldwide resources of oil and gas is
given in Sections and 1.2.3,, respectively.
Resources mean the total volume of hydrocarbon stored in reservoirs. With
oil, gas, or condensate reservoirs, the initial volume of the pore contents, the socalled original oil in place (OOIP) or original gas in place (OGIP), is the first
quantity used for evaluating a resource. Since for physical, technological, and
economic reasons the resources are not completely recoverable, a second concept
is necessary for characterizing the profitability of a discovery: the reserves.
Reserves mean those quantities of hydrocarbons that at a given time are proved
on the basis of sufficient geological and reservoir engineering information and
can, in future, be produced with currently available methods of recovery and
applicable economic conditions. Reduced to a simple formula,
Reserves Resources Recovery factor
The recovery factors for oil reservoirs, apart from a few exceptions, are
between 20 and 45 % of the contents. For gas reservoirs, the recovery factor
can be up to 85 %. The degree of certainty in the determination of the reserves
increases with increasing development of a reservoir. According to a classification of reserves made by the Committee of the World Petroleum Congress, proven reserves are spoken of when the probability of proof exceeds 90 %, and
unproven reserves when that probability is between 10 and 90 % (80). The
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Vol. 1
unproven reserves are split by a median value of 50 % into probable and possible
reserves. The remainder are the speculative, so far undiscovered, possibly recoverable reserves.
Volumetric Determination of the Reservoir Contents. At the start
of development of an oil or gas reservoir, usually only the contours of the reservoir are known; apart from test analyses data, no adequate production and pressure trends are available. The content of a reservoir can then be surveyed only by
volumetric methods. The contents related to standard conditions are calculated
from the following formulae:
OOIP
Vb f 1 Swi
Boi
OGIP
Vb f 1 Swi
Boi
where OOIP denotes original oil in place, OGIP denotes original gas in place, and
Swi is the initial water saturation.
The bulk volume of the reservoir Vb is determined from a geological model
of the reservoir. In this procedure the nonproductive regions of the strata must
also be taken into account such as clayey interlayers or lenses, water-bearing
belts, and the distinction between gas-, oil- and water-bearing zones (gas
oil water contacts) when delimiting the net rock volume from the gross rock
volume. In the evaluation of borehole measurements, so- called cut-off values
for porosity, saturation, clay content, and permeability are introduced to differentiate between pay zone and nonproductive thickness and to determine the pay
zone thickness (Fig. 17). The black areas correspond to the porous, hydrocarbonbearing formation intervals that are included in the net layer thickness.
For displaying the geological models, various mapping methods are chosen.
For example, in Figure 18, the structural map of a reservoir is represented by
subsurface contour lines (that is in feed). For determining the net rock volume
of a reservoir, the reservoir body can be imagined to be divided into a large number of slices of equal thickness. Each of these slices can be represented by a geometrically similar body such as a truncated cone, truncated pyramid, or other,
irregular shapes, allowing its volume to be calculated. A more elegant method
is the graphical evaluation of the subsurface contour planes. In this method
the areas of the contour line map determined by planimeter for the upper and
lower boundary of the reservoir are plotted against the relative depth in a system
of cartesian coordinates (77).
Furthermore, if the lower and upper boundaries of the reservoir contents
the gas oil and water oil contacts, respectively are taken into account, the
rock volume can be determined directly from the area depth graph by means of
millimeter paper or planimetry. These computed or graphically-determined rock
volumes are inserted into the formulae for calculating the OOIP and OGIP. In
low-permeability reservoirs bearing formation water, the transition zone from
the completely water saturated zone to the oil bearing zone, containing irreducible water, is an uncertainty factor in the oil or gas resource calculation. The transition region is characterized by the capillary pressure curve.
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87
Fig. 17. Net pays from well logging (81).
2.2. Flow Processes in Porous Media. The original state of a crude oil
or natural gas reservoir is characterized by the thermodynamic equilibrium of the
hydrocarbon phases and the capillary equilibrium of the wetting and nonwetting
phases, which in turn depends on the prevailing temperature, pore space pressure,
and rock properties. Not only the composition but also the properties of the oil, gas,
and water phase show a remarkable memory for the early history of the formation
of the deposit. For example, oils that lack in certain alkanes can be recognized as
intermediate products of biological degradation from an original sapropellitic
material. Light oils which have been exposed to oxidation as a result of tectonic
88
Fig. 18.
Vol. 1
Isomap representation of reservoirs/regular contours (82).
postsedimentary processes, might have been converted into medium-heavy oils, but
they still retain the chemical features (fingerprints) of their origins.
The initial distribution of the phases in the pore space is governed by the
equilibrium between interfacial forces and viscous forces during the migration process. If a volatile oil enters a porous rock which is saturated with salt water and
flushes the pore space over extended periods then the resulting initial water
saturation in the deposit is normally greater than the adsorbed water saturation
(ie, the layer of water retained by physical adhesion to the interior surfaces of the
rock). If, in contrast, the migrating oil is composed of heavier hydrocarbon fractions, it displaces the pore water almost down to the level of the absorbed water
saturation. After a reservoir has been filled, the materials are in dynamic rather
than static equilibrium. Diffusion and convection can influence the material equilibrium and the distribution of the phases in the deposit.
Single-Phase Flow. If a fluid with little or no compressibility (water, oil)
is flowing in an infinitely large reservoir system towards a pressure sink (well)
then after a transient phase a steady-state condition is reached between the
quantity removed from the well and the quantity flowing in from the deposit.
Under these conditions, the pressure changes only as a function of space, but
not of time. However, during the transient state before the steady-state equilibrium is reached the pressure also changes with time.
Steady-State Flow Darcys Equation. In the laminar flow regime
ie, in a homogeneously porous medium with a Reynolds number < 1 Darcys
law holds; a single well in an infinitely large reservoir radial flow geometry
can be assumed
q
k qp
v
2prh
m qr
2:1
where q is the flow rate, r the radius, h the thickness of the porous layer, v the
apparent velocity, k the permeability of the rock, m the dynamic viscosity, and p
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89
the pressure. Integration of Equation (02.1) between the well radius rw and the
radius re of the area drained by the well gives the following for steady-state flow:
Boundary conditions: pe at re; pwf at rw are constant with time
qw
2phk pe pwf
Bm ln re =rw
2:2
where B is the formation volume factor of the fluid.

However, for a compressible medium (gas) the volume flow is not constant
along the direction of flow. If Darcys formula is still to be applied it is necessary
to convert the flow rate to some mean pressure pm between the systems input
and output pressures (77). The average flow rate can be converted to the required
flow conditions in the well by using the equation of state for ideal gases.
Boundary conditions for linear geometry: pe at x = l; pwf at x = 0, where x
denotes the distance from the well.
pm
pe pwf
2
qm
Ak pe pwf
m
l
qw pwf qm pm
2
Ak pe p2wf
2l
m
qw
2
Ak pe p2wf
Bm
2 pwf l
Transient Single-Phase Flow. Consider a space element in the form of a

cylindrical capillary of length Dx and cross-sectional area A (Fig. 19). A mass flow
(% vx)x A is injected at the inlet end and the mass flow (% vx)x+Dx A emerges at the
outlet point at a distance x.
Under transient flow conditions, the difference between these two
mass flows corresponds to the mass stored in the volume element DV. The
Fig. 19. Material balance in a cylindrical capillary of length Dx and cross-sectional area A.
90
Vol. 1
material balance must be maintained because of the principle of conservation

of mass.
Mass inMass out Mass stored
A t
%vx x %vx xx

divided by
A Dx Dt
lim
x !0
t !0
%vx xx %vx

%t

t
x
q%vx q%
0
qx
qt
The differential equation for the continuity law is obtained from the difference equation assuming small increments of time and space. The nabla operator
and the porosity in the storage volume DV are introduced so that this equation
can be applied to a porous medium and extended to three-dimensional flow
conditions. For horizontal flow of a medium of low compressibility, the extended
continuity equation becomes:
r%v
qf%
0
qt
2:4
In one dimension:
k qp
m qx

q
k qp
qf%
%
0

qx
m qx
qt

k q% q p
q2 p
q%
% 2
m qx qx
qx
qt
vx
2:5
where k/m is the transmissibility of the pore fluid for a given porous medium.
As an initial condition it was assumed that the transmissibility k/f and the
porosity f are constant throughout the pore space system. The compressibility
equation
c
1 q%
% qp
for a fluid of low compressibility is introduced and used to replace the change in
density % by the change in pressure p.
"

k%
q p 2 q2 p
qp
2 %c
c
m
qx
qx
qt
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91
Both sides are multiplied by the product m/k%. The flow rate, at some distance from the well, is only in the range of a few centimeters per hour so the pressure gradient p/x and the square of the pressure gradient are very small in
comparison with the other variables in Equation (2.5). This term can therefore
be neglected.
This then gives Equation (2.6) which is similar in form to the diffusivity
equation, and is referred to as the pressure propagation or hydraulic conductivity equation for the one-dimensional case.
q2 p fmc q p
qx2
k qt
2:6
Equation (2.5) can also be solved for other initial conditions. If the density of
the fluid phase is defined by a mass law, eg, the gas law for ideal gases, then the
following form of the hydraulic conductivity equation is obtained
q2 p 2
fm q p
2
2
qx
k qt
2:7
These equations can also be represented in three-dimensional form. To

solve Equations (2.6) and (2.7) it is necessary to adapt the flow geometry and
boundary conditions to match the situation in the deposit. For a cylindrical coordinate system Equation (2.8) is obtained.
q2 p 1 q p fmc q p
qr2 r qr
k qt
2:8
With a linear pressure sink as the well, and for infinite extension of the reservoir,
ie, re 1, the Boltzmann transformation can be used for solving Equation (2.8).
The following boundary conditions apply:
t0
t t1
r rw
r re
r rw
r = re
p pi
p pi
p pwf
p pi
The result of the Boltzmann transformation is the exponential integral

equation:
pwf pi

qm
fmct r2
Ei
4kt
4phk
2:9
where the symbol Ei denotes exponential integral and pwf the flowing pressure at
the bottom of the well.
In an infinitely large homogeneous reservoir system with a line source
as the well, the flowing pressure at any point can be calculated from
Equation (2.9) as a function of the radius r and the time t. The natural
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Vol. 1
logarithm can be used in place of the exponential integral provided the argument of the exponential integral is significantly smaller than the limiting value
of 0.01 (83).
pwf pi
qm
gfmct rw 2
ln
4kt
4phk
2:10
where g denotes the Euler constant.

To reconstruct the situation in a deposit, the deposits hydraulic system
must be transformed back to its original state. This can be done by, for example,
closing off an operating well. The pressure in the well will then gradually build
up again until it reaches the original reservoir pressure, assuming that the
deposit is comparable to an infinitely large reservoir system (influence of aquifers). The shut-in of the well is simulated mathematically by superimposing a
negative flow rate q on the radial flow system. Combination of the two equations
for the influx into the well and the out flow from the well gives an equation for
the shut-in pressure pws of the following form:
pws pi
qm
tp t
ln
4phk
t
2:11
where tf tp denotes the flow duration and Dt the shut-in time (84). This equation
has been used to extrapolate the initial reservoir pressure pi from the graphical
presentation of the shut-in pressure plotted against the logarithm of the time
t t
ratio p t 1 (Fig. 20).
For an infinitely large reservoir the initial pressure in the well will
t t
be reconstituted after an infinite shut-in time pt 1: The gradient of the
Fig. 20. Shut-in pressure pWS versus logarithmic time ratio

initial reservoir pressure pi (83).
tp t
t
for extrapolation of
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93
straight line m corresponds to the coefficient in Equation (2.11) in front of

the logarithmic function. As the flow rate is normally determined in a measuring tank above ground, it has to be transferred to the state in the deposit.
This is done by incorporating the formation volume factor B in the defining
equation for m.
m
qmB
4phk
From the gradient m the permeability capacity k h can be calculated for

the reservoir system.
kh
qmB
4pm
In addition to this simple radial model with the selected initial and boundary conditions many methods exist for finding solutions for specific reservoir conditions, which can be applied to individual well and reservoir problems.
Individual solutions have therefore been found for the differential equations to
the following conditions; finite reservoir extension, near wellbore effects, fractured reservoirs, stratified reservoirs, and partial penetration and particular
direction of the well in the producing formation.
Multiphase Flow. Capillary Pressure and Saturation. If there is
more than one phase in the pore space system of a reservoir rock then the distribution of the phases is determined by the interfacial tensions between the fluids
and the solid phase. The equilibrium of forces between two liquid phases (oil and
water) and a solid phase is shown in Figure 21.
The wetting angle y is a measure of the wettability of the solid phase
by the oil and water phases. A value of 08 for y represents an ideally water
wet solid, whereas 1808 defines a completely oil wet surface. The distribution of the phases for a pore cross section therefore can be idealized as
follows:
Water, as the most strongly wetting phase, is positioned directly against

the surface of the rock
Fig. 21. Equilibrium of forces between two liquid phases (water and oil) and the solid
phase (77). sso = interfacial tension solid oil; ssw = interfacial tension solid water; swo
interfacial tension water oil.
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Vol. 1
Fig. 22. Idealized distribution of oil, water, and gas phase in a pore cross section.
a) Water; b) Gas; c) Oil; d) Rock.
Gas, which is the least wetting, is positioned in the center of the pore duct
The oil phase is distributed between them (Fig. 22)
Due to the adhesive forces the pressure in the wetting phase (water) is
lower than in the nonwetting phase (oil). The difference between these two pressures is the capillary pressure pc where
pc po pw
Capillary pressure curves (see Fig. 23) are of fundamental importance for
the mobility of the phases in multiphase flow. They determine the irreducible,
and, therefore, fixed saturation of the wetting phase at infinite capillary pressure
and characterize the capillary ascent of the water table at the boundary of the
oil water zones. The capillary pressure can be directly transferred into elevation by use of the capillary/gravity force equilibrium.
2sow cosy
%w do gh
r
where sow denotes the interfacial tension between oil and water phase, r the
equivalent hydraulic radius of the porous system, %w the density of water, do
the density of oil, g the gravitational constant, and h the elevation above the
water table.
For the same capillary pressure, a higher water saturation is found in a
pore space system of lower permeability (a) than in a highly permeable
one (b). If it is assumed that water represents the wetting phase this means a
reinforced capillary imbibition of water from zones of high permeability into
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95
Fig. 23. Capillary pressure versus wetting fluid saturation (85). a) Low permeability;
b) High permeability.
low permeability and therefore an improved displacement of oil from the pores of
lower permeability.
Relative Permeabilities. The mobilities of the individual phases in multiphase flow in a porous medium depend on the wettability of the rock, on the
interfacial tension between the fluids, and on their viscosities. A new flow coefficient, which is introduced into the phase flow equation as the relative permeability, is needed to describe the different mobilities of the phases in the medium as a
function of their fractional saturation. Relative permeability kr is defined as the
ratio of the effective permeability of a phase (kw, ko, kg) in the presence of one or
more adjacent phases to a reference permeability. The absolute rock permeability according to Darcy, or the permeability to water at 100 % water saturation,
or the permeability to oil for irreducible water saturation can be used as the
reference permeability. The relative permeabilities for a binary oil water system for a more strongly water-wet and a more strongly oil-wet rock are shown
in Figure 24. If the saturation of the wetting phase Sw is plotted on the abscissa
then the curves are displaced to the right with increasing water wettability. On
the other hand, the final value for the relative permeability of the water phase
increases if the water wettability decreases.
This type of representation can only be used for two-phase permeabilities;
for a three-phase system STONE (87) has proposed a paired representation of the
water oil and gas oil relative permeabilities.
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Vol. 1
Fig. 24. Relative permeabilities for a binary oil water system (86). A) Water-wet rock;
B) Oil-wet rock.
Apart from this, a ternary diagram is the only possible way of representing
the relative permeabilities of a three-phase system.
The flow equations for a two-phase system can therefore be represented
while taking account of the functions of the relative permeabilities and the capillary pressure.
Oil:

kro k%o
qSw
o qw

q
ro
r
mo
q pc
qt
qt
Water:

krw k%w
qSw qo qw

rw f
r
mw
q pc qt
qt
where F is the flow potential:
1
p %gz
%
and kro and krw denote the relative permeabilities of oil and water, respectively.
Depending on the boundary conditions, this system of partial differential
equations, can, in general, only be solved numerically.
Drive Mechanisms and Recovery Efficiency. The energy reservoir for
the flow of oil, gas, and water in a porous medium consists of the compression
energy of the aquifer volume surrounding the deposit; the mechanical energy
of the gas liberation process; the influence of gravity; and the capillary pressure
effect.
Vol. 1
97
Fig. 25. Binary diagram for a gas oil mixture (each phase consisting of one component)
(77). A = bubble point pressure (pressure depletion at room temperature); A0 = initial reservoir pressure; C = critical point.
As shown in Section 2.2, the initial pressure in a deposit is mainly hydrostatic. The ratio of the initial pressure to the saturation pressure of the oil gas
mixture characterizes the individual steps of the oil recovery process and the
drive mechanism. Figure 25 shows a simplified binary diagram for a mixture
of gas and oil, each phase consisting of one component.
In this p T diagram the oil recovery process is considered isothermal.
If the initial reservoir pressure pi lies above the bubble point pressure pb
the deposit is termed a gas undersaturated oil deposit. When the pressure
is released the volume expansion drive alone is initially effective. When the
pressure falls below the bubble point pressure, this is supplemented by
the mechanical effect of the gas liberation process. If the bubble point pressure and initial reservoir pressure are equal then the deposit is termed a
gas-saturated oil deposit. If the initial reservoir pressure lies below the bubble
point pressure then the expansion effect of a gas cap can provide an additional
drive mechanism. From Figure 25 it can also be seen that no oil deposits
exist to the right of the critical point C and that the gas reservoir or
condensate phase type then begins. The influence of the different drive
mechanisms is best calculated from a material balance. The physical and
mathematical treatment of these material balances assumes closed systems in which removal of fluid results in a reduction of pressure. If, however,
the removal of fluid is replenished by an aquifer feed, or by water or gas injection then the system pressure remains essentially unchanged. A pressure
98
Vol. 1
change in the system also changes the properties of the phases in a way
which is disadvantageous to the oil recovery process; measures which
maintain the pressure are, therefore, favorable. Water drive is by far the
most effective drive mechanism; it can be introduced by artificial flooding
measures in locations where water cannot be fed from natural sources (ie,
inadequate aquifer size or inadequate energy replenishment due to low aquifer permeability). The oil recovery process by natural aquifer expansion and
by the other drive mechanisms mentioned rate as primary extraction processes. On the other hand, replenishment of the reservoir energy by water
or gas injection is one of the secondary extraction processes.
The recovery efficiency of a deposit is given by the percentage of the
cumulative production of the quantity of hydrocarbon originally present. The
performance of extraction and the recovery efficiency are determined largely
by the geological factors of the deposit and the physics of the oil recovery process. The physical approach to oil recovery processes presupposes a microscopic dimension, and the geological approach a macroscopic one; the
recovery factor must, therefore, include microscopic and macroscopic parameters. The total recovery factor or recovery efficiency ER is the product of
the microscopic recovery factor ED, the areal recovery factor EA, and the vertical recovery factor (flood invasion efficiency) EI. Figure 26 shows that the
recovery efficiencies lie between 20 % and 40 % of the oil present, depending
on the characteristic drive mechanisms and oil viscosities. In gas reservoirs
the recovery efficiency lies between 80 and 90 % of the gas present. This is
Fig. 26. Oil recovery efficiency as a function of pressure for various drive mechanisms
(88). a) Depletion drive; b) External gas drive (small gas cap); c) External gas drive (large
gas cap); d) Water drive.
Vol. 1
99
attributable to the high mobility of the gas and the favorable form of the
volume expansion drive.
Microscopic Recovery Factor. BUCKLEY, LEVERETT, and WELGE (8991)
have developed the theory of the displacement of a fluid by a second, immiscible
fluid in a homogeneous medium. This microscopic process determines which fluid
exhibits the stronger wetting properties towards the porous medium and which
has the greater mobility. The displacement process in the pore space is not as
perfect as the displacement of a fluid by a piston in a machine; this is because
a mobile residual phase saturation of the displaced fluid (oil) remains after the
displacement front has passed. Continued flooding can reduce this mobile residual phase saturation down to an irreducible, fixed percentage. Through a linear
flooding process it is possible to determine the saturation distribution S along the
flooding section, ie, in direction x (Fig. 27).
Fig. 27. A) Saturation distribution along flooding section (direction x); B) Fractional flow
for water along flooding section.
100
EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING Vol. 1
At the inlet cross section the water saturation is only slightly smaller than
the difference of 1 minus the physical residual oil saturation Sor. Up to the flooding front, the water saturation decreases to a value Swf (front saturation),
depending on the mobilities of the phases. The difference between the ultimate
water saturation (1 Sor) and the actual water saturation at any section is
defined by the profile f, the saturation of mobile oil. The front is characterized
by a step change in the water saturation down to the irreducible water saturation
Swi. The proportions of the flowing phases change along this saturation profile
and can be expressed by the fractional flow f of one of the two flowing phases,
as it is shown for different times t1 and t2 in Figure 27 B.
fw
qw
1
qo qw 1 M1
lw krw mo
lo kro mw
The fractional flow for water is a function of the mobility ratio M, ie, the
mobility of water kw/mw as the displacing phase to the mobility of the oil ko/mo
as the displaced medium. At the front the fractional flow of water falls to zero,
as only the mobile oil phase can flow ahead of the front. By using a continuity
approach in the porous medium the velocity has been determined at which the
front or the saturation profile moves through a pore continuum (90). If an infinitely small volume unit is considered at the boundary between oil and water
then the difference between input and output water flow volume in the time
unit Dt must be equal to the change in saturation in the space element A Dx
(see Fig. 28).
tq fw1 q fw2 A xfSw1 Sw2
This finite difference equation can then be transformed into a differential equation which gives the velocity of propagation of a point on the
Fig. 28. Mass balance for an infinitely small volume unit at the saturation boundary
between oil and water.
Vol. 1 EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
101
saturation profile.
lim q fw ut AxfSw
x !0
t !0
qx
q q fw
qt Af qSw
Integration between the limits x and 0 and the times t and 0 gives the equation for determining position x which has reached some arbitrary saturation
value at the time t after injection of a certain volume of water Wi.
W i q fw
Af qSw
Wi
Zt
qdt
If, instead of some arbitrary saturation, the intention is to characterize the

saturation at the front, and hence the front velocity vf, then Figure 29 illustrates
the graphic method for determining the front saturation.
The saturation at the displacement front Swf is defined by the point where
the tangent to the fractional flow curve from its origin intersects the curve itself.
An extension of this tangent until it intersects the fractional flow value 1, characterizes the average water saturation Swbt as the front breaks through at the
end of the flooding section. The difference 1 Sor Swbt provides a measure for
the residual oil which can be mobilized. In practice this mobilizable residual oil
can only be extracted after an infinitely long flooding time. The greater the mobility of the displaced phase in comparison with the displacing phase the more
rapidly the residual oil saturation reaches a quasi steady-state final condition
Sor. This physical residual oil saturation serves as a measure for establishing
the microscopic oil recovery factor ED.
ED
Soi Sor
Sor
1
Soi
Soi
Areal Recovery Factor. Consider a homogeneous deposit with no vertical

stratification and a concentric arrangement of the peripheral production wells at
a distance r from an injection well. Here the areal oil recovery factor EA, ie, the
ratio between swept area AS and the total area A, would be equal to 1 by the time
the flooding front has reached the peripheral production wells.
For a five-point well pattern as shown in Figure 30 a considerable proportion of the area A remains unswept when the flooding front reaches the four
peripheral production wells. The areal oil recovery factor which can be achieved
102
Fig. 29. Fractional flow curve for water, definition of the front saturation Swf and break
through saturation Swbt according to Welge (92).
Fig. 30. Concentric arrangement of four peripheral production with respect to one injection well, 5-point pattern.
103
before breakthrough of the flooding front depends on the mobility ratio of the
front and the arrangement of the wells.
In a homogeneous producing formation the well spacing initially plays no
part. However, as the capacity of the producing formation to accept the injection
medium (water) depends on permeability, the well spacing cannot be set at any
arbitrary distance. There is little point in optimizing the well spacing on the
basis of a homogeneous deposit model, as in practice more complex deposit formations are often found.
Vertical Recovery Factor or Flood Invasion Efficiency. If the oil producing formation were to have no vertical subdivisions then the overall oil recovery factor from this deposit would be the product of the microscopic and areal oil
recovery factors. However, the conditions under which the sediments were
deposited have normally led to a vertical, facially subdivided stratification,
with the result that the vertical recovery factor also has to be taken into account
when determining the overall oil recovery.
If water is invading into a stratified producing formation from an aquifer or
an injection well the strata fill in the order of their permeabilities. The most
permeable layer is flooded first.
DYKSTRA and PARSONS (93) have developed a simple theory for determining
the vertical recovery factor in a stratified producing formation. For this purpose
they have further simplified the microscopic displacement process as described
by BUCKLEY and LEVERETT and have assumed that no mobile residual oil remains
behind the front. However, unlike BUCKLEY and LEVERETT, they have taken into
account the fact that the velocity of the displacement front depends on the mobility ratio of the phases and on the position of the displacement front along the
flooding section. The higher the mobility of the displacing phase the more rapidly
the flooding front extends toward the end of the flooding section. The flooding
velocity at the inlet corresponds to the effective Darcy flow velocity of the oil
phase (see Fig. 31).
Fig. 31. Relative velocity of flooding front as function of fractional distance for different
mobilities of displacing phase (94). a) M 0.1; b) M 0.2; c) M 0.5; d) M 1; e) M 2; f)
M 5; g) M 10.
104
Fig. 32. Cross section of a layered reservoir; position of flood front in the individual
layers at a certain time level t (94).
The flood invasion efficiency EI is given by integration of the water saturation profile in Figure 32 using the following formula
i
P
hj
EI
n
P
xj
i1
n
P
hj
hj
The position of the flooding front at time t in the incompletely swept strata
j i + 1, relative to the layer i in which the water has just broken through, is
determined by the equation

xj
kj
ki
0:5
1 M
1M
M
1M
where xj/l is the position of the flooding front.

The following formula applies to the time until breakthrough ti
ti
fl2 M 1mw
2kwi p
With the aid of these three equations the vertical oil recovery factor can be
determined at any given time. The product of the three factors gives the overall
recovery efficiency ER:
ED ED EA EI
2.3. Modeling of Reservoir and Production Performance. An effective reservoir characterization comprises a description of the reservoirs geological boundaries, the petrophysical properties of the rock, and the material
properties of the contents. Its aim is to calculate the production behavior and
105
plan measures to optimize production from the reservoir. The calculation methods used are the basis for predictions of future production performance and are a
strategic instrument of reservoir management. All methods of prediction are
based on the physical fundamentals of the recovery process and the flow properties of the fluids in a geologically complex reservoir body. The credibility
and reliability of these prediction methods depend on how closely the calculation
techniques model the reality of the recovery process and the reservoir. This
accuracy of the model must be checked by a model validation before use. Once
the model is chosen it must be adjusted to the production history of the reservoir
(model calibration). The better the model is calibrated, the more reliable the
prediction.
The following models for describing the reservoir behavior, with increasing complexity of process description and/or reservoir characterization, can be
distinguished:
1) Tank models (material balances)
2) Combined tank flow model (Tarner prediction method)
3) Multiphase flow models (reservoir simulation)
Material Balances Method. The tank model is the simplest form of reconstruction of the reservoir contents. It is based on the conservation of mass and an
equation of state (88). All forms of material balance use the following approach:
Original contents Quantity produced Quantity remaining
In order to set up a material balance the following assumptions must be
made:
1) The reservoir is considered as an energetic unit
2) The material properties and the pressure can be described by mean values
representative of the reservoir
3) The material laws for the pore contents can be determined with sufficient
accuracy
Material Balance for a Gas-Undersaturated Oil Reservoir Without
Aquifer Influence. This material balance is presented as an example.
Initial State:
1) The initial pressure pi exceeds the bubble point pressure pb
2) The reservoir contents consist of the volume of gas-undersaturated oil NBoi
and the volume of initial water Vwi
106

Vpi
N Boi
1 Swi
Vwi Vpi Swi

(for explanation of terms see the abbreviations list at the beginning of this
article).
State Above the Bubble Point Pressure pb:
1) The actual pressure exceeds the bubble point pressure pb but is lower
than pi.
2) The oil volume NpBo is produced. The volume lost is replaced by the expansion of the rock matrix, the residual oil, and the initial water.
Vp Vpi 1 cf pi p
Vw Vwi 1 cw pi p
N Np Bo Residual oil
(for explanation of terms see the abbreviations list at the beginning of this
article).
State Below the Bubble Point Pressure pb:
1) The reservoir pressure p is less than the bubble point pressure pb.
2) Aside from the volume expansion of oil, initial water, and rock matrix, the
release of gas from solution occurs as a further drive process. To simplify
the calculation of the equilibrium behavior as far as possible, the compressibility equations for the oil, water, and rock phases as well as the real gas
equation for the gas phase are used as material laws.
Vp Vpi 1 cf pi p
Vw Vwi 1 cw pi p
107
From the material balance for gas it follows that:

Free gas NRsi Gp N Np Rs Bg
2:12
From the displacement process in the pore space it follows that:

Free gas Vp Vw Wp Bw N Np Bo
2:13
Vw Wp Bw net water expansion

N Np Bo residual oil volume
Equating (2.12) to (2.13) gives:
NRsi Bg Gp Bg N Np Rs Bg Vp Vw Wp Bw N Np Bo
Separating reservoir and production terms:
N Rsi Bg N Rs Bg N Bo
N Boi
Swi 1 cw p 1 cf p
1 Swi
Gp Bg Np Rs Bg Wp Bw Np Bo
Combining and rearranging the terms with
G p N p Rp
gives

N Rsi Rs Bg Bo
Boi
cf Swi cw p 1 Swi
1 Swi
Np Rp Rs Bo Wp Bw
Further rearrangements with
Bo Boi
co
Boi p
gives

Bg
Bo Boi cf swi cw
Rsi Rs
p
N Boi
Boi
Boi
1 Swi

Bg
co Soi cw Swi cf
N Boi
Rsi Rs
p
Boi
1 Swi
Np Bo Bg Rp Rs Wp Bw
108
with
ceff
co Soi cw Swi cf
1 Swi
it follows that
Np Bg Rsi Rs ceff pBoi
N
Bo Bg Rp Rs
Wp Bw
N
2:14
The ratio Np/N in Equation (2.14) indicates the recoverable quantity of

oil as a fraction of the oil in place for the dissolved-gas drive mechanism
(first term of the equation) and for the fluid- or rock-expansion drive mechanism
(second term of the equation). The third term is normally negligible for reservoirs
without an aquifer.
Tarner Prediction Method. A tank model is only capable of describing the
energetic aspect of the recovery process. For a complete characterization the adequate inclusion of the flow processes in the porous reservoir rock is absent.
TARNER solved this problem by a combination of a material balance and flow equations based on the Darcy law (95).
The calculation is as follows:
For a differential pressure change in the closed reservoir, the expected
cumulative oil production is predicted and the cumulative gas oil ratio
calculated by using a gas material balance. To check the accuracy of the
assumption, the change in saturation in the porous rock caused by fluid
removal and the resulting relative permeabilities for gas and oil are determined. From the flow equations for the gas and oil phases a gas oil ratio
results which is compared with that calculated from the material balance.
If the results are identical, the predicted quantity of oil produced during
an incremental pressure change is correct. Otherwise, the calculation
must be repeated with a new assumption until the two gas oil ratios are
equal.
In the following, the equations for the calculation of the two gas oil ratios
are derived by way of example for a gas-saturated oil reservoir.
Material Balance for Gas. Original gas content Quantity of gas produced residual gas
109
Material Balance for Gas

N Rsi N Boi N Np Bo 1=Bg N Np Rs Gp
Gas cap content
Bg
Dissolved gas
Tz p0
pT0
Gp Np Rp
Rp
qg
q0
when qg and q0 constant
Separating the variables:

N Rsi Bg N Boi N Bo N Rs Bg Np Rp Bg Np Bo Np Rs Bg
NBo Bg Rsi Rs Boi Np Bo Rp Bg Rsi Bg Rsi Bg Rs Bg
with
Bo Rsi Rs Bg Bt
Boi Bti
it follows that:
NBt Bti Np Bt Bg Rp Rsi
Np
Bt Bti
N
Bt Bg Rp Rsi
2:16
or solved with respect to Np Rp:
Gp1 Np Rp1
NBt Bti Np Bt Rsi Bg

Bg
The index 1 refers to the gas oil ratio derived from the material balance.
Change of saturation
OOIP NBoi
Residual oil N Np Bo
110
Vp
N Boi
1 Swi
So
N Np Bo
1 Swi
N Boi
So 1
2:17
Np Bo
1 Swi
N Boi
Dynamic gas oil ratio equation

Rp2
qg
qo

To ; po
qg qo Rs
Bg
Bo
qo
Bo
The index 2 refers to the gas oil ratio derived from flow equation.
Rp2
qg Bo
Rs
qo Bg
Darcy equation (2 immisible phases):

qg
kg A
r pg
mg
when rpc is rather low it follows rpg rpo

qo
Rp
ko A
r po
mo
kg mo Bo
Rs
ko mg Bg
2:18
Gp2 Np Rp2
Each pressure stage can be graphically extrapolated to the convergence of the
DGp values or numerically iterated (see Fig. 33).
Figure 34 shows the typical development of the produced gasoil ratio Rp
plotted against the cumulative oil produced. The gas oil ratio curve above the
bubble point pressure (12) is constant; when the pressure falls below pb then
initially no free gas reaches the well as long as the required critical gas saturation is not reached (23) in the surroundings.
Then follows a steep rise of the gas oil ratio (34), resulting from the rapid
transport of the free gas. The quantity of dissolved gas, which is the source of the
gas yield, is limited. Therefore with advancing production time the cumulative
gas oil ratio reaches a maximum, which is then followed by a rapid drop
(45) until the free gas is exhausted. In the last phase of production (56) it is
principally the gas dissolved in the residual oil that is produced.
111
Fig. 33. Graphical method of solution in the Tarner method. a) Material balance; b) Flow
equation.
Reservoir Simulation. The prediction methods discussed in the previous

sections are applicable only to problems in which the reservoir can be described
by uniform mean properties of the rock and the pore fluids. The individual character of a group of wells or the characteristic drainage volume of their reservoir,
and the occurrence of multiphase flow can be described only by reservoir simulation. This entails modeling the whole body of the reservoir and solving, simultaneously or stepwise, the coupled differential equations for pressure and
saturation in each of its volume elements. This section can only give a short
introduction to the basic principles of the numerical simulation of reservoir
behavior. For further details, see (96), (97). Here the mathematical foundations
for an engineering understanding will be treated with reference to two simple
models (98).
Fig. 34.
Influence of the critical gas saturation on Rp (88).
112
Fig. 35. Grid model for steady-state flow (98).
Model for Steady-State Flow. A five-point well pattern with an injection well at the center of the square is taken as the basis. According to symmetry
considerations, in a homogeneous formation, only one-eighth of the grid area
including the injection well and a production well, need be shown. Figure 35
shows the pattern section dividing the reservoir area into square blocks, the
representative portion being bound by two orthogonal sides and the diagonal
between injection well and production well.
At the center of each block there is a node at which all the blocks properties
are concentrated. The flow geometry in all blocks is linear, except for the drainage areas of the two wells. Here, radial flow geometry prevails and, instead
of a node, there is an external radius re and a well radius rw, representing the
equivalent block boundaries. An incompressible medium is assumed to be
injected into well 1 and produced from well 15. Because of the prevailing pressure regime, outflow from the nodes is possible only to the north or east and
inflow to the nodes only from the south or west. For steady-state flow it is
assumed that for each node the sum of inflows and outflows at every instant is
zero. This is illustrated here for node 8:
q78 q58 q812 q89
2:19
If the permeability is equal in all nodes (ie, in all blocks) and the areas of
flow are likewise identical (since the block width is constant), the general form of
flow equation for the Darcy law (see Section 2.2.1.1) can be written as follows:
qi
Ak
pi
mx
2:20
Since the coefficients before Dpi are constant in all terms, Equation (2.21)
can be written in place of Equation (2.19)
q7 q8 q5 q8 q8 q12 q8 q9
2:21
113
For node 8 there then follows the pressure balance set up in Equation (2.21)
or rearranged to:
q5 q7 4 q8 q9 q12 0
Such a pressure balance can be set up for each of the 13 nodes, in addition
radial flow conditions must be included in the pressure balance for nodes 1 and
15. The 15 equations with 15 unknowns are arranged in matrix form and solved
for the pressure values at the nodes with, eg, the Gauss Jordan or Gauss Seidel method. The calculation can also be performed with different permeabilities
in the individual blocks.
Model for Unsteady-State Flow. If the same model is used, but instead
of an incompressible fluid a compressible medium is injected into the well, then,
instead of a material balance for the individual volume flows in the nodes, a balance for the mass flows must be set up. As already derived earlier from the mass
balance in a cylindrical volume element, a variant of the diffusivity equation
must be used to describe unsteady-state flows. For linear flow through the
volume element of edge length Dx, the following differential equation can be written for the change of flow along the distance Dx:
kA
m
p
x

t
xx
kA
m
p
x

2:22
x
t Axfc p
After separating the variables Dx and Dt, the diffusivity equation for
unsteady-state flow is obtained (Eq. 2.23):
p
k p=x
t
fmc
x
2:23
This differential equation is solved by the finite difference method. In this

procedure the pressure gradient Dp/Dx is regarded as the difference of pressure
in two successive segments, divided by the distance between the centers of the
segments. Figure 36 shows such a linear sequence of segments.
p
p j p j1

x
x j1; j
p
p j1 p j

x
x j; j1
p=x p j1 p j =x p j p j1 =x
x
x
p j1 2 p j p j1
x2
2:24
2:25
2:26
114
Fig. 36.
Linear sequence model.
The pressure gradient between segments j 1 and j is calculated according to Equation (2.24), and the pressure gradient between segments j and
j 1 according to Equation (2.25). The change of pressure gradient between
segments j 1 and j 1 is then shown by Equation (2.26). For unsteadystate processes, the change of pressure in the time Dt is superimposed on
the change of pressure with position Dx. In Figure 36, the index j designates
the position and the index n the time. In the lower part of the Figure 36 the
pressure variation at times n and n 1 is shown. If Equation (2.23) is applied
in general form to define the pressure variation at the beginning and at the
end of the time interval, Equations (2.27) and (2.28) respectively result (see
below).
The pressure variation at the beginning of the time interval is given by:
p j;n p j;n1
k p j1;n 2 p j;n p j1;n
tn1 tn
x2
fmc
2:27
and at the end of the time interval by:

p j;n p j;n1
k p j1;n1 2 p j;n1 p j1;n1
tn1 tn
x2
fmc
2:28
Equations (2.27) and (2.28) can give the same result only when the time
interval Dtn approaches zero. If the pressures at time n in all segments are
known, the pressure in element j at time n 1 can be calculated with Equation (2.27). This method is known as the explicit solution method. The advantage
of the explicit solution method is that it is very easy to program. However, it is
only accurate if very small time steps are chosen.
115
In contrast to the explicit solution (Eq. 2.27) in which there is only one
unknown, ie, the pressure pj at time n 1, three unknown values are present
in Equation (2.28) at the end of the interval (ie, pj1, pj, and pj+1).
If, however, Equation (2.28) is formulated for all three nodes, j 1, j and
j 1, the three unknown pressures can be determined from the three equations.
The equations are arranged in matrix form and solved simultaneously either by
the Gauss Seidel or by the Gauss Jordan method. This procedure is known
as the implicit solution method and has the advantage of yielding sufficiently
accurate results even at quite large time intervals. For modeling problems in
multiphase flow, the saturation equation for each block of the reservoir model
must be solved in addition to the pressure equation. Hence, the chosen block
size of a reservoir model is influenced not only by the availability of geological
and petrophysical information but also by the accuracy of the numerical computation method. In regions of the reservoir where relatively rapid changes occur in
the transport characteristics such as pressure gradient, transmissibilities, and
saturation changes fine-mesh grids are necessary for numerical accuracy of
the solution method. For complex reservoir studies, simulation models with several ten thousand blocks can be produced which require considerable computer
time. There are numerous simulation codes with a dynamicized fine grid size
that follows the movement of flood fronts.
The powerful computer programs currently available to the natural gas and
petroleum industry not only take into account simple processes such as gas dissolution, gravitational force, and capillary pressure effects but also can describe
the infuence of compaction in unconsolidated formations and the influence of
the diffusion and sorption of components. They can also treat particular rheological properties of the phases, eg, the structural viscosity of polymer solutions in
polymer flooding the phase behavior during mixing processes, temperaturecontrolled fractionation of materials (distillation and cracking), thermal conduction,
and thermal convection. A survey of common simulator types is given in Table 3.
Statistical Prediction Methods (Decline Curve Methods). Aside from
tank models or flow models to describe and predict reservoir behavior, statistical
Table 3. Types of reservoir simulators

Description
Physical/chemical processes
Multiphase flow simulator
multiphase flow in porous/fissured media solution of gas in oil

properties of phases depend on pressure and temperature
mixing of phases equilibrium of components between the
phases dispersion flow properties depend on interfacial
tension properties of phases depend on composition
like compositional simulator, in addition : thermal convection,
conduction, and radiation flow properties of phase depend
on temperature chemical reaction of components of a solid
phase (oxidation)
adsorption/desorption of components retention of phases
rheology of aqueous phases properties depend on salt
content of the aqueous phase mass transfer between
aqueous phase and rock
Compositional simulator
Thermal simulator
Chemical flood simulator
116
prediction methods also can be used. These methods are based on observation of
the decline of production or pressure in a reservoir; analysis of the mathematical
trend; and extrapolation of the decline of production or pressure over the period
of prediction. The observed trend curves often show uniform patterns. This is due
to the fact that the change in the flow rate is proportional to the pressure change,
and the pressure change is linked logarithmically, as a result of the compressibility relation, with the volume removed from a closed system. In many cases,
therefore, an exponential decline of the production rate with time can be derived
from the trend analysis.
To characterize the decline curve analysis method, some basic definitions
are given in advance (98). The fractional production decline is defined as the
change of flow rate divided by the initial flow rate
dq
fractional production decline
q
The change of the fractional production decline with time is called the production decline rate D.

dq
D
q dt
In a closed or semiclosed reservoir with no infinitely large, fully active aquifer

available for energy replacement, three types of production rate decline can be
distinguished:
1) Constant production decline rate:
D a0 q0 exponential production decline
2) Linearly proportional production decline rate:
D a0 q1 harmonic production decline
3) Production decline rate is proportional to a power function of the production rate:
D a0 qn hyperbolic production decline
In order to permit simple prediction methods, the production rate or a function of the production rate is plotted against a function of time or against cumulative production, choosing scales such that straight lines are obtained. The basic
method is explained with the aid of exponential and harmonic production
declines as examples.
Exponential Production Decline. Figure 37 shows a semilogarithmic
plot of the production rate versus time. According to Equation (2.29) the gradient
of the straight line is a measure of the production decline rate D.
Fig. 37.
117
Exponential production decline, production rate versus time.
D
dq
a0 q0 a0
q dt
after integration
Zq
dq
a0
q
Zt
q0
ln
dt
q
a0 t Dt
q0
q
eDt
q0
2:29
By combining the variables q and t a new quantity the cumulative production Np is obtained.
tN p
Np
qdt
Zq
tNp
dq
a0
q
q0
Zq
tNp
q0
dq a
dt
qdt
q q0 DNp
2:30
A plot of production rate q versus Np is shown in Figure 38. From this plot
the production decline rate D is also obtained from the gradient. As soon as
118
Fig. 38. Exponential production decline, production rate versus cumulative production.
the production rate of a well falls below a marginal value determined by the cost,
production must be stopped. The corresponding cumulative amount produced
can be determined graphically by extrapolating the production decline curve to
the known limiting production rate qa. The difference between the maximum cumulative production Npa and the present cumulative production Np gives the reserves of the well or reservoir.
Harmonic Production Decline. The defining equation for harmonic
production decline is:
D0
dq
a0 q
qdt
Initial conditions are: when t = 0, D = D0 and q q0,

D0 a0 q0 ; a0
D0
q0
After separating the variables and integrating

Zq
Zt
dq
0

a dt
q2
q0
1 1
D0
t

q q0 q0
q
log
q0
1 D0 t
q
log1 D0 t
q0
2:31
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119
Fig. 39. Harmonic production decline, production rate plotted against cumulative
production.
For harmonic production decline, the double logarithmic plot of the production rate against the time function (1 + D0t ) gives a straight line of gradient 1.
Again, if a new quantity is introduced by combining q and t a semilogarithmic
relation between production rate and cumulative production is obtained after
integration (see Fig. 39).
tNp
Np
qdt
Zq
tN p
dq
a0
q
q0
ln
qdt
q
D0

Np
q0
q0
2:32
With the appropriate plot, a straight line of gradient D0/q0 is obtained,

that again if the limiting production rate qa is known can be extrapolated
to give the maximum cumulative production Npa.
Hyperbolic Production Decline. From the equation for the hyperbolic
production decline rate, after rearrangement of the variables and integration,
the following relations are obtained:
Initial condition: t 0, q q0, D D0
D
dq
a0 qn
qdt
a0
D0
qn0

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EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

wellswhich rise exponentially as a result of ever increasing depths, extreme

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

seismic reflection method is the central element of modern exploration and

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Reflection seismic surveying technique with two reflecting horizons, A and B.

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Geochemical Investigations and Determination of Coalification on

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

on the coalification gradients, which show regional variations, the coalification

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Geotectonic classification of petroleum occurrences.

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Regional Distribution of the Reserves. Middle East Arabian (Persian)

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

percentages of heavy hydrocarbons are known as condensate deposits. While

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

an enrichment process of nitrogen as a result of fractional differentiation during

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

turn of the century. In addition to this, exploratory reserves of almost

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

The deposits in the southern North Sea generally occur, as in the

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

specific internal surface of the rock-forming minerals determine the types of

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

The influence of particle shape and degree of cementation is evident from

Grain-size distribution and porosity A) Low porosity; B) High porosity.

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

distribution by the mercury injection method. If the total pore space Vp is

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Ct, 1010 Pa1

Compressibility of the pore volume (76).

and temperature Tr.

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

The reduced temperature and the reduced pressure serve as adjustment

For reservoir calculations, the so- called formation volume factor B is

Volume at pressure p and temperature T

EXPLORATION, DRILLING, AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Formation volume factor for gas.

%vx x %vx xx

%vx xx %vx

Vw Wp Bw net water expansion

NBt Bti Np Bt Rsi Bg