Formation Evaluation Fundamentals

The contents of this presentation are for

Petroleum Geology training purposes and internal use ONLY and
are NOT to be used for external use or
customer presentations, as they may contain
sensitive information.
 Objectives
After completing this module, the student can:
 Describe theories of origin of hydrocarbons.
 Describe how oil migrates from source rocks through
carrier rocks to reservoir rocks.
 Identify structural and stratigraphic traps.
 Describe lithological properties of various types of
reservoir rocks.
 Differentiate between porosity and permeability.
 Describe fluid saturation
 Compare an undisturbed formation with an invaded
formation in terms of fluid contents.
 Hydrocarbon Sources

 Inorganic
 Organic
 Inorganic Hydrocarbon Sources

 Assumes that some combination of chemical reaction

occurs naturally to form petroleum and coal.
 Receives little support today.
 Organic Hydrocarbon Sources

 Claims that fossil fuels were formed from remains of

plants and animals.
 Plant and animal remains were transformed into
petroleum by:
 Bacterial action
 Heat and pressure
 Catalytic reactions
 Radioactive bombardments.
Organic Hydrocarbon Sources

Radioactive
Bacterial Action Heat Bombardment

Burial Petroleum

Chemical Reactions Pressure Time

 Migration and Accumulation

 Migration is the natural movement of oil from source

rock to reservoir rock.
 Migration influences include:
 Buoyancy
 Hydrodynamics
 Capillary action
 Buoyancy

 Basic mechanism involved in migration of

hydrocarbons.
 Occurs because petroleum is lighter than water.
 Oil will naturally rise to set on top of water.
 Gas will naturally rise above oil.
Buoyancy
 Hydrodynamics

 Hydrodynamics are the forces by which one fluid

flows past another carrying the second fluid with it.
 Hydrodynamics

Confining Bed
(Shale)
Oil Accumulation

Underground Water Flow

Sandstone Bed
Confining Bed
(Shale)

Hydrodynamic Forces of Underground Water

Flow Drag Oil Droplets along with Water
 Capillary Action

 Capillary action is the tendency of a fluid to rise in a

small tube or the way a sponge soaks up water.
 Capillary Action
Oil is absorbed into by capillary action.

Dry Sandstone
Sand
Grain

Original
Oil Level

Oil-filled Sandstone
 Accumulation

 Buoyancy, hydrodynamics, and capillary action cause

the fluids to migrate from source rock to reservoir
rock.
 Reservoir rock must have a cap rock or a confining
bed next to it to seal the reservoir.
 Accumulation

Confining Bed
(Cap Rock)

Confining Bed
Source
Rock Fault Boundary
 Reservoir Traps
 Structural Traps
 Result from rock layer deformation.

 Stratigraphic Traps
 Result when a reservoir bed is sealed by other beds
 Result when porosity or permeability change within a
reservoir bed.
 Structural Traps
 A few examples of structural traps are:
 Anticline
 Syncline
 Fold
 Fault
 Salt Dome
 Structural Traps

 An anticline is an
elongated fold in
which the sides slope
downward from the
crest.
 Structural Traps

 A syncline is a
depressed fold between
two crests.
 Structural Traps

 A fold is a bend or
flex in a layer or
layers of rock.
 Structural Traps

 A fault is a break in the

earth’s strata.
 Often strata on one side
of the fault line have
been displaced relative
to their original positions.
Gas
 Upward
Oil
 Downward Salt
Water
 Laterally
 Structural Traps

 An example of
a fault.
 Structural Traps
Gas

 A salt dome (diapir) is Oil

an anticlinal uplift of Oil

sedimentary rocks
caused by the pushing Salt

up of a body of salt.
 The uplift is typically
spherical. Oil
 Stratigraphic Traps

 Stratigraphic Traps: Result when a reservoir bed is

sealed by other beds or when porosity or permeability
change within a reservoir bed.
 A few examples of stratigraphic traps are:
 Lens
 Unconformity
 Pinchout
 Porosity Trap
 Stratigraphic Traps

 A lens is an
isolated body of
sedimentary rock,
such as a reef or a
sand bar.
 Stratigraphic Traps
 An unconformity is a
surface that separates
one set of rocks from
another younger set.
 An unconformity
represents a period of
non-deposition,
weathering, or erosion,
either sub-aerial or sub-
aqueous, prior to the
deposition of the younger
set.
 Stratigraphic Traps

 A pinchout is the
natural ending of a
sedimentary rock
 regressive sands
 transgressive sands
 Stratigraphic Traps

 A porosity trap is
created because of
variations in porosity
within rock. Oil
 It can also be created
with secondary
porosity.
 Reservoir Rock

 Almost all reservoir rocks are sedimentary.

 Sedimentary rocks include:
 Sandstone
 Conglomerate
 Limestone
 Dolomite
 Reservoir Rock

 Sand
 Loose, uncompacted (unconsolidated) quartz or feldspar.
 Sandstone
 Compacted (consolidated) quartz or feldspar.
 Reservoir Rock
 Cementation can decrease or increase porosity.
 Example: cementation by fluid movement

Cemented
Sandstone Sandstone

Water Rock
with Particles
Solids

Void Spaces
Void Spaces filled (Cemented)
 Reservoir Rock

 Conglomerate
 A cemented clastic rock containing rounded rock fragments
of gravel, pebble size.
 Reservoir Rock

 Limestone
 Formed chiefly by accumulation of shells and coral
 Consists mainly of calcium carbonate
 Reservoir Rock
 Water as a dissolving agent.

L i me st o ne

Acidic
Water

Small Void Spaces Large Void Spaces

 Rock Properties
 Lithology is a description of the mineralogy and rock
type present.
 Lithological types (and oilfield abbreviations) include:
 SS: sandstone
 LS: limestone
 DOL: dolomite
 SH: shale
 SALT: crystalline salt
 Porosity
 Porosity is the ratio of the void space in a rock to the
bulk volume or size of the rock.

Unconnected
Pore Sand Grain

Total Porosity
includes Effective Porosity
Connected and (Interconnected Pores)
Unconnected
Pores
 Porosity
 Porosity varies relative to grain shape and
arrangement.
 Normally porosity varies between 10% and 30%.
 Porosity
 Cubic porosity provides  When grains are stacked
the maximum possible in a rhombohedral
porosity = 47% fashion, porosity = 26%
 Porosity
 If formation consists  If grains are bricklike
of varying sized and loosely stacked,
grains in a closely porosity = 1%
packed arrangement,
porosity = 10%
 Porosity
 Types of porosity include:
 Total Porosity:
 Ratio of total void space in a rock to the bulk volume of

the rock.

 Effective Porosity:
 Portion of total pore space in saturated permeable rock in

which movement of fluids takes place.

 Ratio of interconnected pore space in a rock to bulk

volume of the rock.

 Permeability
 Permeability is the ability of a rock to transmit a fluid.
 It is measured in millidarcies (md).
 Permeability is a function of area, length, pressure,
viscosity, and flow rate of the fluid.
 Formations cannot be produced if permeability is less
than 50 md.
 Permeability
 Fluid flow in permeable sand Sand Grains

Pore Space

1 Atm
1 cm
2
1 cm
Q = 1 cc/sec
Vis = 1 cp

Formation Core
Having Permeability
of 1 Darcy
 Fluid Properties
 Gas, oil, and water are the most commonly found
fluids in a reservoir rock.
 Fluid saturation
 Ratio between the volume that a specific fluid occupies in the
reservoir’s void space
 Fluid saturation of the formation’s void space of a porous
rock is always 100%.
 If the void space is said to be half filled with oil and half filled
with water, then the rock would have a 50% oil saturation (So)
and a 50% water saturation (Sw)
 Fluid Saturation
 Water saturation (Sw): percentage of formation fluid
that is water.
 Oil saturation (So): percentage of formation fluid that
is oil.
 Gas saturation (Sg): percentage of formation fluid that
is gas.
 Fluid Density
 Fluid density describes the mass of formation fluids.
 Fluid density determines the location of different fluids
in a reservoir.
 Gas has the lowest (lightest) density.
 Water has the highest (heaviest) density.
 Oil lies between gas and water in density.
Effect of Fluid Densities

Gas Cap

Gas

Oil

Water

Aquifer
Effect of Formation Water
Pore
Space

Limestone
Quartz

Quartz

Chert

Feldspar

Quartz

Clay

Quartz
Sand Grain
Clay

Formation water wetting

the sand grains
Comparison Between Undisturbed and Invaded
Formations
Undisturbed Invaded
Formation Formation

Washed Out
Hole

Oil
Sw = Irreducible

Mudcake
Formation
Water
Filtrate
Sw = 100%

Shale