2.

From Material Balance to

Reservoir Simulation
Gillian Pickup 2016

1
 Outline
• Lecture 1
– Material Balance

• Lecture 2
– Darcy’s Law

• Lecture 3
– Buckley-Leverett Theory

2
 Lecture 1
• Introduction
– Review of basic engineering concepts

• Material Balance
– Derivation of equations for an under-saturated oil
– Determination of STOIIP for an oil reservoir with no
water production or aquifer influx

3
1.1 Review of Basic Engineering Quantities

• We assume you are familiar with:

– Viscosity (mo, mw and mg)
– Density (ro, rw, rg)
– Phase saturations (So, Sw, Sg)
– Initial or connate water saturation (Swi or Swc)
– Residual oil saturation (Sor)

• What are the units for viscosity and density?

4
1.1 Review of Basic Engineering Quantities

• We assume you are familiar with:

– Viscosity (mo, mw and mg) – cP, Pas
– Density (ro, rw, rg) – lb/ft3, kg/m3
– Phase saturations (So, Sw, Sg)
– Initial or connate water saturation (Swi or Swc)
– Residual oil saturation (Sor)

5
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Formation Volume Factors
– Bo, Bw, Bg

Vol. oil+ dissolved gas in reservoir

Bo 
Vol. oil at STC

– What are the units for B?

– How do Bo, Bw, Bg vary with pressure?

6
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Formation Volume Factors
– Bo, Bw, Bg
– reservoir volume/stock tank volume
– Units of rb/stb, or rm3/sm3
– Stock Tank Conditions – 60oF, 14.7 psi

7
 Variation of B with Pressure
• Formation Volume Factor

Bg
Bo
FVF

Bw

Pb P

8
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Gas solubility factor, or solution gas oil ratio
– Rso, Rsw

Vol. dissolved gas in reservoir

Rso 
Vol. oil at STC

– What are the units for Rso?

– How does Rso vary with pressure?

9
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Gas solubility factor, or solution gas oil ratio
– Rso, Rsw
– Units are scf/stb (sometimes Mscf/stb), or sm3/sm3

Rso
Rso

Pb P

10
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Isothermal fluid compressibilities
– co , cw , cg

1  rk  1  Vk 
ck     
rk  P  Vk  P 
k = o, w or g

– What are the units for co?

11
Review of Basic Engineering Quantities
• Isothermal fluid compressibilities
– co , cw , cg

1  rk  1  Vk 
ck     
rk  P  Vk  P 
k = o, w or g
– Units are psi-1, bar-1, or Pa-1
– Note that we sometimes assume that co is constant with
pressure, but this is not necessarily the case

12
 2. Material Balance
• Material balance has been used in reservoir
engineering for decades (since 1936)
• It is used for
– Determining the STOIIP
– Calculating water influx
– Predicting mean pressure in the future

• It can supply the input for reservoir simulation

13
 Advice from Dake (1994)
• See textbook on “The Practice of Reservoir
Engineering” (and Topic 2 notes)
• Note that:
– Performing reservoir simulation does not replace
good reservoir engineering analysis
– MB and RS are complimentary
– When setting up a reservoir simulation, you are
inputting the STOIIP, but this should be a history
matching parameter

14
 Notes on Material Balance
• Material balance is a volume balance
• The volume of the reservoir is assumed fixed
• The changes in the reservoir volumes of oil,
water, gas and rock must add up to zero
• If oil is produced, other fluids are rock must
expand to fill the space
• Reservoir pressure will drop, although this may
be balanced by influx of water

15
 Notes on Material Balance
• The reservoir response depends on the
compressibilities or the fluid and the rock
Fluid or formation Compressibility (10-6 psi-1)
Formation rock, crock 3 - 10
Water, cw 2-4
Undersaturated oil, co 5 - 100
Gas at 1000 psi, cg 900 - 1300
Gas at 5000 psi, cg 50 - 200

16
 2.2 Derivation of Material Balance
Initial Conditions
• Initial conditions pressure = po
• Reservoir is a “tank” oil
• Swi is average saturation
– may be distributed N
throughout the tank
NBoi = Vf.(1-Swi)
– but drawn here separately

water, Swi
W = Vf.Swi

17
 Derivation of Material Balance
After Production (Np)
pressure = p
• After a time, oil has
been produced oil oil prod, Np
– P has fallen
(N – Np)Bo water
– water may be produced prod, Wp
– also, water may NBoi = Vf.(1-Swi)
encroach from aquifer

water, Sw
W + We - WpBw
water influx, We
18
 Definitions
Symbol Definition
N STOIIP – stock tank oil initially in place (stb)
Boi Initial formation volume factor of oil (rb/stb)
Np Cumulative volume of oil produced at time t, pressure, p (stb)
Bo Oil formation volume factor at current t and p (rb/stb)
W Initial volume of water in the reservoir (rb)
Wp Cumulative volume of produced water (stb)
Bw Water formation volume factor (rb/stb)
We Water influx into reservoir (rb) (“e” stands for “encroachment”)
cw Isothermal compressibility of water
crock Isothermal compressibility of rock
p Change in reservoir pressure , p – po

Vf Initial void space (rb); V f  N .Boi 1  Swi  ; W  V f .Swi

Swi Initial water saturation (of the whole system)
cf Void space isothermal compressibility (psi-1) c f  1 V f  V f p 

19
 Pressure Change and Volume Balance
• Initial pressure is Po, after production of some oil
pressure has reduced to P
• Change in pressure is taken as P = P – Po
– So P is negative

• Volume balance is
Vo  Vw  Vrock  Vo  Vw  V f  0 (1)

20
 Material Balance Equation
• Full derivation in the Appendix for Topic 2

 Np  Boi Boi  Swi  cw  c f 

   1    p  0 (2)
 N  Bo Bo  1  S wi 

• The following assumptions have been made

– there is no gas cap and no gas is coming out of solution
– there is no water production and no water is coming in
from the aquifer

21
 Material Balance Equation
• Alternative form

 Np  Boi Boi  Swi  cw  c f 

1      p
 N  Bo Bo  1  S wi  (3)

• N p N is the recovery factor, so

 
• 1  N p N is the oil remaining in the reservoir

22
 STOIIP Calculation
How well do you
• Need to know Bo(P), Swi, cw and cf think this input
• Also Np and P as a function of time data is known?

• Calculate right side of equation

 Np  Boi Boi  Swi  cw  c f 

1      p
 N  Bo Bo  1  S wi 

23
 STOIIP Calculation, contd
• Plot 1  N p N  vs  p
• With perfect data, will be ~ straight line for o/w
– could be some noise though

24
 Bo as a Function of Pressure
• Bo may vary linearly with P above the bubble point

25
 Calculation of STOIIP
• We know “X” from the RHS of Equation 3
• For a given p and Np, we can calculate N

Np
1 Y
N
X

0
 p

26
 2.3 Conditions for the Validity of Mat Bal

• We assume that the whole reservoir is at one

pressure
– Pressure must equilibrate rapidly
– Hydraulic diffusivity, Dh, must be large
• See Topic 4

k
Dh 
m c

27
 Conditions for the Validity of Mat Bal
• Also, we must have adequate data
– Cumulative production and pressure as a function of time
– PVT data (Bo, cw, cf)
– Also an estimate of Swi – average water saturation

• We must be able to define the average pressure

decline
– the more “tank like” the better

28
 What Mat Bal Can’t Do
• There are a many things which Mat Bal cannot do,
where you need reservoir simulation, e.g.
– Predicting water breakthrough in a water flood
– Deciding where to drill in-fill wells
– Complex recovery processes, such as EOR (Topic 9)

29
 Review of Lecture 1
• In this lecture, we have revised some general
reservoir engineering
• Make sure that you are familiar with:
– m, r, c, Sw, B, Rs

• Also, you should understand the concept of material

balance
– and know how to calculate the STOIIP

30
 Lecture 2
• Review of Darcy’s Law
– Important because we’ll be dealing with fluid flow

• Single Phase Darcy’s Law

– Darcy Experiment
– Darcy’s Law with Gravity
– Radial Darcy’s Law

• Darcy’s Law for Two-Phase Flow

31
 Darcy’s Law
• This is not actually how Darcy did his experiment, but
shows how permeability could be measured in a lab

P

Q Q

kA  P 
Q
m  L 

32
 Darcy’s Law
• In a given system (fixed L and A), flow rate is
proportional to P
– constant of proportionality = k/m
P

Q Q

kA  P   is a constant which
Q
m  L  depends on the units

33
 Area, A
• Note that the area A is the area perpendicular to
flow
– for flow in the x-direction, A  y  z

A
y
x

34
 Darcy’s Law
• Usually written as

Q k P k  P 
u   .   .  (4)
 A m L m  x 
Flow along x
• Note the minus sign P
– Fluid flows down pressure gradient

35
 Units – See Table 4 of Notes
• The permeability of a piece of rock 1 cm3 is 1 Darcy if
the flow rate is 1 cc/s and the pressure gradient is 1
atm/cm
– In this case  = 1

• Normally, we give permeability in mD

• In field units (bbl/day, ft, psi, cP, mD)
–  = 1.127 x 10-3

36
 Units, contd
• MRST uses SI units,
– length in m
– time in s
– pressure in Pa
– viscosity in Pa.s
– permeability is in m2
– (and  = 1 when using SI units)

1 Darcy = 9.869 x 10-9 cm2 = 0.9869 x 10-12 m2 ~ 1 mm2

37
 Darcy’s Law in 3D
• Fluid can flow in any direction, and simulator
needs to take account of this

1  P  1  P 
ux  - kx   uy  - ky  
m  x  m  y 

1  P 
uz  - kz   (5)
m  z 

• More details in the Appendix for Topic 2

38
 Darcy’s Law in 1D with Gravity
• Darcy’s Law becomes

1  P z 
ux  - k x  - gr  (6)
m  x x 

• g is the acceleration due to gravity

• r is the density

39
 Darcy’s Law in an Inclined System
• Suppose the x-axis is tilted by an angle, q

 z 
   sin q
 x 

40
 Darcy’s Law in an Inclined System
• Then

1  P 
ux  - kx  - g.r .sin q  (7)
m  x 

41
 Radial Form of Darcy’s Law
• So far, we have used Cartesian coords (x, y, z)
• However, when simulating flow in vertical wells,
radial (r/z) geometry is useful

42
 Radial Form of Darcy’s Law
• Notation
Q = volumetric flow rate of fluid into well
r = radial distance from well
h = height of formation
dP = incremental pressure drop from r  (r + dr) i.e. over dr
A = area of surface at r = 2p.r.h
m = fluid viscosity
k = formation permeability

43
 Radial Form of Darcy’s Law
• Radial form of Darcy’s Law

2p khr  dP 
Q   (8)
m  dr 

44
 Radial Form of Darcy’s Law
2p khr  dP 
• Rearrange Equation (8) Q
m  dr 

mQ  dr 
dP     (9)
2p kh  r 

• Integrate between the wellbore radius (rw) and some

distance, r

45
 Radial Form of Darcy’s Law
• Integrating
mQ  dr  mQ  dr 
r r rw r

r dP   2p kh r  r  or r dP   2p kh r  r  (10)
w w w

• Therefore
mQ  r 
P  rw   P  r   P (r )  ln   (11)
2p kh  rw 
• This is the pressure drop away from an injector
– Change signs for a producer

46
 Radial Pressure Profile
• Pressure varies logarithmically with radius
mQ  r 
P(r )  ln   More in Topic 3
2p kh  rw 

47
 4. Darcy’s Law for Two-Phase Flow
• Usually we have at least two phases flowing in a
reservoir
– We will focus on 2 phases – oil and water

k f A Pf
Qf 
mf L

• kf is the permeability to fluid, f

– Sometimes termed effective permeability

48
 Darcy’s Law for Two-Phase Flow
• Darcy-type experiment with oil and water

Pw
Po
Qw Qw
Qo Qo

49
Darcy’s Law for Two-Phase Flow
Pw
Po
Qw Qw
Qo Qo

k f A  Pf  kabs krf A  Pf 

Qf      (13)
mf  L  mf  L 
f = o or w

kf = phase permeability; krf = relative permeability

kabs = absolute, or single-phase permeability
50
 Relative Permeability
• Typical relative permeability curves
– More on rel perms in Topic 7

51
 Capillary Pressure
• Note that Po and Pw may be different due to capillary
pressure

Pc  Sw   Po  Pw
• Strictly speaking Pc is
Pc  Sw   Pnonwett .  Pwett .

• More on Pc in Topic 7

52
 Two-Phase Flow with Gravity
• Differential form of Darcy’s Law

k .krw  Pw z 
uw  -  - g rw 
m  x x 
(14)
k .kro  Po z 
uo  -  - g ro 
m  x x 

53
 Review of Lecture 2
• In this lecture, we have revised Darcy’s Law
• Make sure you are very familiar with
– Darcy’s Law for single-phase flow
• linear, in 1D or more dimensions
• with gravity
• radial flow
– Darcy’s law for two-phase flow

54
 Lecture 3
Fractional Flow Theory
• Introduction
• Derivation of the Continuity Equation
• Buckley-Leverett Solution
• Welge Tangent

55
 Introduction to Fractional Flow
• Although reservoir simulation allows us to calculate
the flow of fluids in complex 3D models, it is very
useful to be able to assess the effect of rel perms
with some quick spreadsheet calculations
– “shock front” height
– time to breakthrough
– Recovery at breakthrough

56
5.1 Introduction to Fractional Flow
• Although reservoir simulation allows us to calculate
the flow of fluids in complex 3D models, it is very
useful to be able to assess the effect of rel perms
with some quick spreadsheet calculations
– “shock front” height
– time to breakthrough
– Recovery at breakthrough

57
 Simple Problem
. (15)

• How does a waterflood progress in a 1D model?

• We make a few assumptions
– Water displacing oil (no gas)
– No gravity or Pc
– Incompressible system

kabs krw . A P kabs kro . A P

Qw   Qo  
mw x mo x
(15)

58
 1D Model
• Figure shows part of a 1D model
– split into blocks of length x
– numbered i = 1, 2, …. n

Block i-1 Block i Block i+1

i-1/2 i+1/2
Rock Rock Rock
A Oil qo Oil Oil
So
qw
Sw
Water Water Water

x x x+x

59
 Fractional Flow
• Fractional flow of water and oil
Qw Qo
fw  (16) fo   1  fw (17)
QT QT

• Using Darcy’s Law

Qw   kabs krw A mw  P x 
fw  
QT   kabs krw A mw  P x    kabs kro A mo  P x 

60
 Fractional Flow
• Fractional flow of water from (16)
Qw   kabs krw A mw  P x 
fw  
QT   kabs krw A mw  P x    kabs kro A mo  P x 

• Cancel kabs, A and P x

1
krw mw 1  kro mw 
fw    1  
krw mw  kro mo  kro mw   krw mo  (18)
1  
 krw mo 

61
 Example Fractional Flow Curve
• Since fw depends on rel perm, fw depends on Sw

62
 5.2 Continuity Equation
• Consider the 1D model and the mass balance for
block i
– Since we have an incompressible system, this is a volume
balance
Block i-1 Block i Block i+1
i-1/2 i+1/2
Rock Rock Rock
A Oil qo Oil Oil
So
qw
Sw
Water Water Water

x x x+x

63
 Continuity Equation
• Mass of water flowing into and out of block i, in time
t

Mass that Mass the

Change in
flows INTO flows OUT OF
Block i over
- Block i over
= mass in Block i
over time t
time t time t

64
 5.2 Continuity Equation
• Mass of water IN over time t = r w  Qw  t x (19)

• Mass of water OUT over time t = r w  Qw  t x x (20)

• Change in mass over time t =

 A   x  r w  S w t t  A    x  r w  S w t 

 r w  A    S w t t  S w t  (21)

(r, A and  are constant)

65
 Continuity Equation
• From (19), (20) and (21) we get:

  Qw x x
 Qw x r w  t  r w  A    S w t t  S w t 
(22)
• Divide throughout by Axt


 S w t t  Sw t  1  Qw
  x x
 Qw x  0 (23)
t A x

66
 Continuity Equation


 S w t t  Sw t  1  Qw
  x x
 Qw x  0 (23)
t A x

• Let x  0, t  0 S w 1 Qw
   0 (24)
t A x

• Or, using Qw  QT  f w
Sw QT f w
   0 (25)
t A x
67
 5.3 Buckley-Leverett Solution
• Assumptions
– Water saturation is a function of position and time
• Sw(x,t)
– Oil aren water viscosities are constant
– The rel perms for oil and water are a function of Sw only

• The fw is a function of Sw only, and

 f w   df w   S w 
   .  (26)
  x   w
dS x 
68
 Buckley-Leverett Solution
• Therefore the continuity equation becomes

QT  f w   S w   S w 
      (27)
 A  S w   x   t 

• The full differential for Sw is

S w S w
dS w  dx  dt (28)
x t t x

69
 Take a Fixed Water Saturation
S w S w
dS w  dx  dt (28)
x t t x
• Choose x = x(t) to coincide with a surface of fixed
water saturation, Sw
• Then dSw  0
• So (28) becomes
 dx   Sw   Sw 
     t   x  (29)
 dt  Sw    

70
 Buckley-Leverett Solution
 S w   S w  QT  f w 
• (27) can be re-written 

 






 t   x  A  w
S

 dx   Sw   Sw 
• And (29) is        
 dt  Sw  t   x 

• Therefore
 dx  QT  df w 
     (30)
 dt  Sw  A  dS w 

71
 Buckley-Leverett Solution
• This is the Buckley-Leverett Equation

 dx  QT  df w   df w 
      vT   (30)
 dt  Sw  A  dS w   dS w 

• where vT  QT / ( A) is the interstitial velocity

• It says that the velocity of a saturation value, Sw, is
equal to the derivative of the fractional flow times
the total fluid velocity

72
 Buckley-Leverett Solution
• Integrating with respect to time gives:

W  t   df w 
x  Sw , t     (31)
A  dS w 

• where W(t) is the amount of water which has been

injected since t = 0
• It is assumed that water is injected at the left side,
where x = 0

73
 Usefulness of B-L Solution
• If we know the relative permeabilities and viscosities,
we can calculate fractional flow as a function of Sw

• And, if fw(Sw) is differentiable, we can compute the

saturation distribution in a 1D model, as a function of
time

74
 5.4 Welge’s Method
• Typical fractional flow curve

75
 Derivative of fw
• The velocity and therefore the distance travelled
depend on df w dS w , shown below

xSw  df w dS w

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 Derivative of fw
• Previous figure turned round
– Obviously unrealistic: Sw is double-valued!

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 Saturation vs Distance
• But take a volume balance
– Sw stays at Swc, then there is an abrupt increase – a shock

shock
front

Swc

78
 Saturation vs Distance
• But take a volume balance
– Sw stays at Swc, then there is an abrupt increase – a shock

shaded areas
are equal

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 Saturation vs distance
• Final curve

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 Welge Tangent
• Welge discovered that the saturation shock front
could be determined by drawing a tangent from Sw =
Swc to the fractional flow curve.

Welge
tangent

Swc Swf (1 – Sor)

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 Other Useful Results
• Time to water breakthrough
LA
tbt 
Qw  df w dS w  Swf

• Recovery efficiency at breakthrough

1
R
df w dS w
• Only valid for a 1D homogeneous system, but good
for a rough estimate

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 Review of Lecture 3
• You should now know
– How to calculate fractional flow
– How to derive the continuity equation
– How to derive the Buckley-Leverett Equation
– The significance of the Welge tangent

• You will have an opportunity to practise using

Buckley-Leverett Theory in Tutorial 2 for this topic

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