Hydrocarbon Exploration & Production
References:
 Frank Jahn et al, Hydrocarbon Exploration
and Production (Developments in
Petroleum Science), second edition, 2008
Method of Deliverance
Method of Deliverance
 Lecturing with open discussion
 Trivia/ Quiz
 Questions and Answers
Rules
 Keep cellphone/ laptop/ tablet off or in
silent mode
 Active participation is a must
 Out-of-topic discussion please outside the
class
Outline
 Introduction [15 mins]
 Part 1: Data Gathering and Interpretation
[60 mins]
 Part 2: Reservoir Management [15 mins]
 Part 3: Reservoir Simulation [15 mins]
 Part 4: Discussions Q&A [15 mins]
The Two Important Things!
 How much hydrocarbon does the
reservoir contain (HCIIP: Hydrocarbons
Initially In Place)
 How much can be recovered (the UR:
Ultimate Recovery)
How to Calculate ?
HCIIP (HC Initially In Place)
 OIIP:
Area x thickness x NTG x Porosity x So
 GIIP:
Area x thickness x NTG x Porosity x Sg
UR (Ultimate Recovery)
 UR:
HCIIP X RF
Basic Physical Parameters of Reservoir
 Net Reservoir Thickness
 Porosity
 Hydrocarbon Saturation
 Permeability
DATA GATHERING
Definition
 Activities which provides geologist and
engineers with the information required to
estimate
 Volume of HC in reservoir
 Its fluid content
 Reservoir productivity
 Potential for development
Data Gathering & Interpretation
 Direct methods
 Mud-logging
 Conventional Coring
 Sidewall Sampling / Sidewall Coring
 Formation Tester
 Fluid Sampling
Data Gathering & Interpretation
 Indirect methods
 Wireline Logging
 Logging while Drilling
 Seismic
Drilling System
Coring
 Coring is performed in between drilling
operations
 While drilling, there is mud-logging data
recorded and analyzed
 Once the interval for coring is identified
from mud log data
 A special assembly is run on drill pipe
comprising a core bit and a core barrel
Conventional Coring
Conventional Coring
Permeability from Core
Side Wall Sampling
Using explosive
Side Wall Coring
Mudlogging
 Cuttings from shale shaker
 Lithology description, gas detection
Example: 7230 Sandstone:
gray pinkish, fine to medium
grain size, angular,
unconsolidated, fair
intergranular porosity, good
oil stain, good cut
fluorescence, contain mica
Wireline Logging
 Basic Product: Open Hole
Log Data
 Represent 5-15% of total
well cost
 Wireline logging was
considered better quality
than LWD (we will discuss
this later in the next
section)
 But as technology
advances LWD is
considered much
improved
Sonde Types
 Natural Gamma ray tools: detecting
radiation
 Electrical logging/ resistivity tools: to
measure conductivity
 Gamma ray generation/ density-neutron
tools: total porosity
 Acoustic logging/ sonic tools: primary
porosity (prefer to go to solid and bypass
the pore with fluid inside)
Basic Logs  Typical Log of Ideal Reservoir
Natural Gamma Ray
 Key concept: Natural radioactive (K, U, Th)
from formation is capture by the tool
 Quartz/ Carbonates: have little/ no
radioactivity
 Shale: have naturally occurring
radioactive components
Electrical Logging/ Resistivity Tools
 Oil and gas are more resistive than the
salty formation water
Gamma Ray Generation/ Density-Neutron
Tools
 Some logging tools use chemical sources that
generate radioactive particles.
 The particles interact with the surrounding
formation, and detectors on the sonde pick up the
resulting signals.
 Gamma radiation is absorbed proportionally to
the density of the formation.
 Other radioactive particlesneutronsare
absorbed proportionally to the amount of
hydrogen.
 Measurements from both of these types of logs
can be converted to porosity values.
Porosity
Density Porosity
Neutron Porosity
Devices - summary
Triple Combo Summary
 Gamma Ray Log
 Low GR  sand
 High GR  shale
 Resistivity Log
 Low resistivity  formation water
 High resistivity  hydrocarbon or could
also indicate tight formation.
Triple Combo Summary
 Density Log
 Low Density  high porosity
 High Density  low porosity
 Neutron Log
 Low NPHI  more Hydrogen Index high
porosity
 High NPHI  less Hydrogen Index low
porosity
Formation Tester: Pressure &
Mobility
Fluid Sampling
 Collect samples from a formation, bring
them to surface, and analyze them insitu
or in a laboratory.
Image Logs
 Resistivity and acoustic wave based log
data could be acquired and converted to
produce image of formation
Image logs - examples
Seismic Related Data Gathering
 Surface Seismic
 3D high quality (high fidelity seismic
data)
 VSP
 Cross-hole seismic
 Cross well-bore seismic
 Microseismic
 Usually related to fractures in the
reservoir
Surface Seismic
 Seismic Inversion
 When reservoir condition allows and
data is of sufficient quality
 The seismic data could be inverted to
impedance
 The impedance could be linked to
reservoir porosity
Microseismic
 In the tight formation reservoir
permability is so limited
 Hydraulic fracturing is applied to improve
permeability
 Essentially this fractures network is the
porosity of the reservoir
 During fracc-ing microseismic survey is
recorded to analyse and understand
network of fractures
RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT
Part 2: Reservoir Management
Managing The Subsurface
 Key Steps/Milestones:
 Gathering data,
 Monitoring (& gathering other data
sets),
 Updating the strategy.
The Big Picture - Integration
Cost vs. Gain
 The philosophy behind is always to include
 How much is it to pay for the
information?
 How much could we gain from the
additional information?
Typical Change of Estimate of UR
EOR and IOR
EOR and IOR
 Before we do improvement or
enhancement on the hydrocarbon
recovery we should consider
 Type of reservoir and fluids
 Available access and facilities
 Impact to environment
Wetting Surface in Reservoir Rocks:
Mobile Oil and Immobile Oil
RESERVOIR SIMULATION
Part 3: Reservoir Simulation
 Simulation is one of the most powerful
tools for guiding reservoir management
decisions.
Analogue Reservoir
Reservoir Model and Simulation
 Keyword: What if ??
Source: http://9gag.com/gag/aEGGLEO/geologist-cake
Source: http://oilandcareers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Reservoir-Engineer.jpg
Production Simulation
Simulation Model Generation
 Input: reservoir geometry, rock properties,
fluid and well properties
Simulation Model Generation
(2)
 Input: reservoir geometry, rock properties,
fluid and well properties
History Match and Prediction
History matching is the act of adjusting a reservoir model until its simulated production
response closely reproduces past behaviour. Once a reservoir model has been history
matched, it can be used to simulate future reservoir behaviour.
LWD and Wireline
LWD
Wireline
Divided Core
Log Measurements
Well to Well Correlation
Grid Type
Water Flooding
Gamma Ray
LOW
Permeability
HIGH
Clean sand
Shaly sand
Shale
LOW
HIGH
Oil Water or Gas?
3. GAS (1989.51 m)
 Last fluid analysis: gas
 Resistivity: 10
 T1: 3
 Capacitance: -3.7
 HI: 0.15
 Bubble Point: 1909.29
 Mobility before and after: 23 and 148 mD/cP
 Viscosity index: 3.29
 Compressibility: 2.85e-4
3. GAS (1989.51 m)
3. GAS (1989.51 m)
(2977.8 m @ well-xyz_8.5in-phase)
Formation Tester
Formation Tester
WATER (2977.8 m @ well xyz_8.5in-phase)
 Last fluid analysis: water
 Resistivity: 13
 Fluid resistivity: 12.48
 T1: 5
 Capacitance: 58.7
 HI: 0.76
 Bubble Point:  Mobility before and after: 16.2 and 23 mD/cP
 Viscosity index: 0.82
 Compressibility: -
WATER (2977.8 m @ well xyz_8.5inphase)