Water Saturation Modelling –

A Multi-disciplinary Approach
FORCE Seminar

Tor Barkve
January 24, 2017

www.roxarsoftware.com
Thales of Miletus ( ~ 500 B.C )
Everything is water

Gus Archie ( ~ 1940 A.C )

Not all is water

Herman Friele ( ~ 2000 A.C )

There is much water

Eldar Sæthre ( ~ 2017 A.C )

Too much is water
In the beginning, there was water…

Migration of oil:
A drainage process

The initial distribution should

be described by a primary
drainage capillary pressure curve
What do we observe?
HEIGHT

The observed initial distribution may

deviate from the ideal smooth curve
due to

 A complex geological history

 Changes in lithology
 Changes in wettability

Sw
OIL GAS
TROLL EAST
PROVINCE PROVINCE

90 m Troll relic oil zone:

PALEO
OWC
Residual oil below OWC

WEST EAST
What do we observe?

Snorre production tests were performed at

different depths in the transition zone.

A very high water saturation was necessary

before produced water was observed.

The initial production of water cannot be

explained by a simple capillary pressure/
relative permeability model.
ACCURACY UNCERTAINTY
 CORE
ANALYSIS LAB

PETROPHYSICS

SW MODELLING
A common language?
A common understanding?
RESERVOIR
A common model?

GEOLOGY
We too often fail to plan...

• Unclear overall responsibility

– Is that correct?

• We don’t know how to plan

– That’s correct!

• It’s of no use; the plan will not be followed

– That may be correct!
Planning

• Goals for all disciplines

• Responsibilities
• Terminology
• Which model to use in each domain
• Scale handling
• Product deliveries and documentation

Failing to plan is planning to fail

A shared language
Swir – Irreducible Sw:
The minimum water saturation in the Swir
Swcr Sw
capillary pressure curve.

Swcr – Critical Sw:

The maximum water saturation where
water is immobile.

FWL – Free water level:

The depth where the water/oil Sw
capillary pressure is zero.

OWC - Oil/water contact: OWC

The minimum depth where the water
FWL
saturation has it’s maximum value.

Depth
Dangerous terms...

Connate water
Effective porosity
Effective permeability
Fluid contact
Transition zone
 Petrophysical modelling Geological modelling Flow modelling

5.0

4.0
Capillary pressure, Pc (bar)

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Water saturation, Sw (frac.)

Establish Sw functions Define fluid segments and Initialize the flow model
honouring both log and core populate the geo model with honouring upscaled
data. water utilising an established Sw saturations from the geo
Define fluid levels. function and mapped rock model and SCAL.
properties. Report produced volumes.
Report initial volumes.
Workflow for petrophysical Sw-model

CORE
ANALYSIS LAB

CORE DATA:
k, w, Pc
PETROPHYSICS
RAW LOGS
FLOW ZONES
RESERVOIR
CPI’s
Sw MODELS ZONATION
FLUID LEVELS FACIES

GEOLOGY
Petrophysical modelling

Many possible models:

• Leverett’s J function
• Modified J function
• Non-Leverett correlation
• Normalised or non-normalised saturations

There is only one single model which can be used by

all involved disciplines and at all involved scales:

The Leverett J function

(Non-modified, with or without normalised saturations)
Leverett’s J function


pc ( S w )   cos  J ( S w )  (  w   o ) gH
k
J ( S w )   S w

k
log H  k1  k 2 log S w

Defining J functions

Core data and/or log data?

Use of petrophysical parameters
Grouping?

S w  S w ( H , k ,  , x) X = Zone, Facies, RQI, FZI, ....

 CORE
ANALYSIS LAB

PETROPHYSICS CORE DATA: RESERVOIR

k, w

FLUID REGIONS
CPI’s
J FUNCTIONS
GEO MODEL SW
FLUID LEVELS VOLUMES

GEOLOGY
 Petrophysical modelling Geological modelling Flow modelling

5.0

4.0
Capillary pressure, Pc (bar)

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Water saturation, Sw (frac.)

Establish J functions. Define fluid segments and Initialize the flow model using
Define fluid levels. populate the geo model with the established J functions.
water utilising established J Report produced volumes.
functions and mapped rock
properties.
Report initial volumes.
Scale effects

J functions are defined at log/core scale,

but applied at cell scale
Sedimentological scales

T.Barkve adapted from Pickup and Hern (2002)

100

10 Seismic data Para-

sequences
Vertical thickness (m)

Log
1 Flow model

0.1 Core Geological model

Beds
0.01 Probe

Laminae
0.001
0.001 0.01 0.1 1.0 1 10 100 1000 10000
Horizontal length (m)
Investigating scale effects – geo model

1) Calculate Sw in geo model by blocking log data

2) Calculate Sw in geo model from Leverett’s J function
k
log H  k1  k 2 log S w


k
log H


log Sw 0
Elements of quality control of geo model

1) Grid parameter calculator:

• Variation in volumes
• Compare blocked logs versus J curves
– Scale effects
• Visual inspection
– Logs and blocked logs
– HCPV maps
 CORE
ANALYSIS LAB

SCAL DATA:
PC AND REL.PERM
PETROPHYSICS
J FUNCTIONS RESERVOIR
FLUID LEVELS

GEO MODEL SW
VOLUMES

GEOLOGY
Investigating scale effects – flow model

1) Calculate Sw in flow model by upscaling geo model Sw

2) Calculate Sw in flow model from Leverett’s J function
k
log H  k1  k 2 log S w


FROM 2) FROM 1)
k
log H


log S w log S w
Potential dangers in Sw upscaling

f = 0.2 f = 0.2
K = 0.001 mD K = 100 mD
Sw = 1 Sw = 0.1
f = 0.2 f = 0.2
K = 100 mD K = 100 mD
Sw = 0.1 Sw = 0.1

f = 0.2
K = 75 mD
Sw = 0.325

Sampling across faults Mobilizing water in stochastical models

Alternative Sw models in the flow simulator

• Pc = 0. Swcr = min( Swi, cutoff )

• Pc model with multiple regions
• J function model
Effects of Pc on dynamic modelling

In reservoirs with large-scale contrasts

in reservoir properties, selection of Pc
data may have a significant impact on
the dynamic result. Low perm

High perm
Water injection  Imbibition data.

Often, dynamic effects of capillary pressure are negligible.

Hysteresis in capillary pressure is often overkill, but could be

considered in WAG simulations.
Rel.perm hysteresis is usually more important!
Summary
• Sw modelling is difficult and time consuming
• Plan as a team!
• The (non-modified) J function approach is the only
formulation which can be used by all disciplines
• If possible, use a shared J function model at all scales
– Core, log, geo, flow
– Scale effects can be investigated in log-log plots
• Be clear on distinction between data used for modelling
and data used for verification
• Be careful with using upscaled Sw
• Keep the formulation simple, consider uncertainty
• Plan as a team!