PETE 220 – RESERVOIR ROCK PROPERTIES

FALL 2019 - 2020

Porosity Questions
1. Questions A-F will be based on the samples below – All have the same volume

a) Which sample(s) has the greatest amount of pore space?

b) Which sample has the lowest porosity?
c) If you were to compare the porosity of Sample A and Sample B, how would the porosities
compare?
d) Explain your answer to Sample C
e) What would happen to the porosities of all samples if they were mixed together?
f) If particles are sorted, as particle size increases, how the porosity of the particles change?

2. A clean, dry sample weighed 20 grams. This sample was saturated in water of density 1.0 g/
cm3 and then reweighed in air, resulting in an increase in weight to 22.5 grams. The saturated
sample was immersed in water of the same density and subsequently weighed 12.6 grams.
What is the bulk volume of the sample?

3. A sandstone core plug is 1 inch in diameter, 2 inches long, and has a mass of 56.6 grams. When
completely saturated with water, its mass increases to 60.9 grams. Calculate the rock porosity.
ρw : 1.00 g/cm3.

4. a) An irregular piece of sandstone is 35.25 grams in mass. When coated with varnish, its mass
increased to 36.55 grams. Compute the rock porosity if the coated sample displaces 15.7 cm3
of water when fully submerged. ρg : 2.65 g/cm3, ρw : 1.00 g/cm3, ρv : 1.80 g/cm3.
b) The varnish coating on the sample was removed and the sample was submerged in water.
When air bubbling stopped, the sample was weighed while suspended in water. It weighed
21.75 grams. Calculate the porosity of rock assuming that the rock composition is not known.
Compare the porosities obtained from two methods and explain the difference.
5. A clean, dry sample weighed 39.522 grams. This sample was saturated in water of density 1.01
g/cm3 and then reweighed in air, resulting in an increase in weight to 43.797 grams. The
saturated sample was immersed in water of the same density and subsequently weighed
24.393 grams. What is the porosity of the sample?

6. The dry sample weighed 20.0 grams. The dry sample coated with paraffin weighed 20.9 grams.
The density of solid paraffin is 0.9 g/cm3. The paraffin coated sample was immersed in a tube
and displaced 10.9 cm3 of liquid. Then the core sample was stripped of the paraffin coat,
crushed to grain size, and immersed in a tube and displaced 7.7 cm3 of liquid. What was the
porosity of the sample? Is this effective or total porosity?

7. Calculate the bulk volume of a preserved (paraffin-coated) core sample immersed in water,
given the following data:
Weight of dry sample in air: 20 grams,
Weight of dry sample coated with paraffin: 20.9 grams (density of paraffin is: 0.9 g/cm3),
Weight of coated sample immersed in water: 10 grams (density of water is: 1g/cm3)
Determine the rock’s porosity, assuming a sand-grain density of 2.67 g/cm3.

8. Calculate the bulk volume of a dry core sample immersed in mercury pycnometer, given the
following data:
Weight of dry sample in air: 20 grams,
Weight of mercury-filled pycnometer at 20 C: 350 grams,
Weight of mercury-filled pycnometer with the sample at 20 C; 235.9 grams.
Density of mercury: 13.546 g/cm3.

9. Calculate the effective porosity of a sandstone sample using the following data:
Weight of dry sample in air: 20 grams,
Weight of saturated sample in air: 22.5 grams,
Density of water is : 1.0 g/cm3,
Weight of saturated sample in water: 12.6 grams.

10. Determine the sandstone’s grain density and porosity, given the following data:
Weight of crushed dry sample in air: 16 grams,
Weight of crushed sample plus absorbed water: 16.1 grams, (density of water is: 1g/cm3)
Weight of water-filled pycnometer: 65 grams,
Weight of water-filled pycnometer with the sample: 75 grams.
11. Calculate the porosity of a core sample and estimate the lithology of the sample when the
following information is available:
Dry weight of sample = 427.3 grams
Weight of sample when saturated with water = 448.6 grams
Density of water = 1.0 gm/cm3
Weight of water saturated sample immersed in water = 269.6 grams
Is the porosity effective or total? Why?

12. Calculate the porosity of the sample described below:

Mass of dry sample: 104.2 grams,
Mass of water saturated sample: 120.2 grams,
Density of water: 1.001 g/cm3
Mass of saturated sample immersed in water: 64.7 grams.
Is this effective porosity or the total porosity of the sample? What is the most probable
lithology of the matrix material? Explain.

13. A core sample is saturated with an oil (ρo : 35oAPI), gas and water. The initial weight of the
sample is 224.14 grams. After the gas is displaced by water (ρw : 1g/cm3), the weight is
increased to 225.90 grams. The sample is the placed in a Soxhlet distillation apparatus, and
4.4 cm3 water is extracted. After drying the core sample, the weight is now 209.75 grams. The
sample bulk volume, 95 cm3 is measured in a mercury pycnometer.
Find the porosity and lithology of the core sample. (Notice that the oil density is
ρo [g/cm3] = 141.5/(131.5+ ρo [API]), when the water density at that particular temperature
and pressure is 1g/cm3)

14. The volumes of the cells of a Boyle’s law device are V1 = 100 cm3 and V2 = 80 cm3, respectively.
A core sample was placed in the first chamber at 0 kPa pressure. Gas was admitted to the
second chamber to a pressure of 413.7 kPa. The valve was opened and the final equalized
pressure was recorded as 199.783 kPa. What is the grain volume?

15. A carbonate whole core (3 inches by 6 inches, 695 cm3) is placed in cell two of a Boyles Law
device. Each of the cells has a volume of 1,000 cm3. Cell one is pressured to 50.0 psig. Cell two
is evacuated. The cells are connected and the resulting pressure is 28.1 psig. Calculate the
porosity of the core.