Petroleum Reservoir Systems

Oras J. Mkinga (PhD)

UDSM, Department of Petroleum Science and Engineering
20th November 2023
Petroleum Reservoir Systems
Natural hydrocarbons (HCs) accumulations may exist in the gaseous state, the
liquid state, the solid state, or in any combinations of gas, liquid, and solid
depending on ranges of pressures and temperatures.

The topic is focusing on the liquid state and the gaseous state of the
hydrocarbons (petroleum fluids).

A reservoir is broadly defined as a subsurface body of rock having enough

porosity and permeability to store and transmit fluids (glossary.oilfield.slb.com,
2020).
Types of Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir Fluids
Petroleum reservoirs are generally classified as oil or gas reservoirs based on
the location of the point representing the initial reservoir temperature (T) and
pressure (𝑝𝑖 ) with respect to the critical temperature (𝑇𝑐 ) in the pressure-
temperature diagram.

Subdivision criteria:
o The composition of the reservoir hydrocarbons mixture.
o Initial reservoir pressure and temperature.
o Pressure and temperature of the surface production.
Fig. 1.1 Classification of petroleum reservoirs.
Pressure-Temperature Diagram
The p-T diagram can be used to:
o Classify reservoirs,
o Classify the naturally occurring hydrocarbon systems, and
o Describe the phase behavior of the reservoir fluid.

Different HC system have a different phase diagram; however, the general

configuration is similar.
Fig. 1.2 A typical p-T diagram of a multicomponent system of real hydrocarbon reservoir fluids.
Terminologies in p-T Diagram
o Bubble-point curve: The line separating the liquid-phase region from the two-phase region
(line BC in Fig. 1.2).

o Dew-point curve: The line separating the vapor-phase region from the two-phase region
(line AC) .

o Phase envelope (two-phase region): The region enclosed by the bubble-point curve and
the dew-point curve (line BCA), wherein gas and liquid coexist in equilibrium.

o Critical point: The critical point (𝑝𝑐 , 𝑇𝑐 ) for a multicomponent mixture is referred to as the
state of pressure and temperature at which all intensive properties of the gas and liquid
phases are equal (point C).
Terminologies in p-T Diagram
Quality lines: The lines within the phase diagram are called quality lines. They
describe the pressure and temperature conditions for equal volumes of liquids.
Note that the quality lines converge at the critical point (point C).

Cricondentherm (𝑻𝒄𝒕 ): The maximum temperature above which liquid cannot

be formed regardless of pressure (point E). The corresponding pressure is
termed the Cricondentherm pressure (𝑝𝑐𝑡 ).

Cricondenbar (𝒑𝒄𝒃 ): The maximum pressure above which no gas can be

formed regardless of temperature (point D). The corresponding temperature is
termed the Cricondenbar temperature (𝑇𝑐𝑏 ).
Oil Reservoirs
o Reservoir with temperature less than the 𝑇𝑐 of the reservoir fluid is known as
an oil reservoir.

o Based on initial reservoir pressure:

Undersaturated oil reservoir, 𝑝𝑖 > 𝑝𝑏
Saturated oil reservoir, 𝑝𝑖 = 𝑝𝑏
Gas-cap (two-phase) reservoir, 𝑝𝑖 < 𝑝𝑏

Where: 𝑝𝑖 = initial reservoir pressure

𝑝𝑏 = bubble-point pressure
Oil Reservoirs
Crude oils exhibit a wide range in physical properties (e.g., appearance and gas-oil ratio, GOR)
and chemical compositions.

In general, crude oils are commonly classified based on these properties with p-T diagram into
four types:

1) Ordinary black-oil,
2) Low-shrinkage crude oil,
3) High-shrinkage (volatile) crude oil, and
4) Near-critical crude oil.
Ordinary Black-Oil

Fig. 1.3 A typical p-T diagram for an Fig. 1.4 Liquid-shrinkage curve for black-
ordinary black-oil. oil.

o The p-T diagram of the black-oil is characterized by approximately equally (evenly) spaced
quality lines.
o The typical range of physical prop:
Producing GOR API gravity Color of Stock-Tank Oil
200 – 700 scf/STB 15 – 40 Brown – dark
Low-Shrinkage Oil

Fig. 1.5 A typical p-T diagram for a low- Fig. 1.6 Liquid-shrinkage curve for low-
shrinkage oil. shrinkage oil.

o The p-T diagram of the black-oil is characterized by characterized by quality lines that are
closely spaced near the dew-point curve.
o The typical range of physical prop:
FVF Producing GOR API gravity Color of Stock-Tank Oil
< 1.2 bbl/STB < 200 scf/STB < 35 Black (or deeply colored)
Volatile Crude Oil

Fig. 1.7 A typical p-T diagram for a Fig. 1.8 Liquid-shrinkage curve for volatile
volatile crude oil. crude oil.

o The p-T diagram is characterized by the quality lines that are close together near the bubble-
point and are more widely spaced at lower pressures.
o The typical range of physical prop:
FVF Producing GOR API gravity Color of Stock-Tank Oil
< 2 bbl/STB 2,000 – 3,200 scf/STB 45 – 55 Greenish – orange
Near-Critical Crude Oil

Fig. 1.9 A schematic phase diagram for Fig. 1.10 A typical liquid-shrinkage curve
the near-critical crude oil. for the near-critical crude oil.

o The typical range of prop:

FVF Producing GOR 𝐶2 − 𝐶6 𝐶7+

≥ 2 bbl/STB > 3,000 scf/STB ≥ 35 mol% 12.5 – 20 mol%
Fig. 1.11 A comparison of liquid-shrinkage for crude oil systems.
Gas Reservoirs
o Reservoir temperature is greater than the 𝑇𝑐 of the reservoir system.

o Natural gases can be subdivided into four categories based on physical properties and
chemical compositions:
Retrograde Gas-Condensate Reservoir

Fig. 1.12 A typical p-T phase diagram for

a retrograde system. Fig. 1.13 A typical liquid dropout curve for
condensate system.
o The typical range of physical prop:
Producing GOR API gravity Color of Stock-Tank Oil
8,000 – 70,000 scf/STB ≥ 50 Water-white/slightly colored
Near-Critical Gas-Condensate Reservoir

Fig. 1.14 A typical p-T phase diagram for Fig. 1.15 Liquid-shrinkage (dropout)
a near-critical gas condensate reservoir. curve for a near-critical gas-condensate
system.
o The volumetric behavior of this type of natural gas is similar but the changes takes place
rapidly than that of retrograde condensate reservoir.
Wet Gas Reservoir
Fig. 1.16 Phase diagram for a wet gas. (After Clark,
N.J. Elements of Petroleum Reservoirs, SPE 1969).

o The reservoir fluid will always remain in the

vapor phase region as the reservoir is
depleted isothermally.

o The pressure and temperature will decline

when the produced gas flows to the surface.

o If the gas enters the two-phase region, then a liquid phase will condense out the gas and be
produced from the surface separators.

o The typical range of physical prop:

Producing GOR API gravity Color of Stock-Tank Oil
60,000 – 100,000 scf/STB ≥ 60 Water-white
Dry Gas Reservoir

Fig. 1.17 Atypical p-T phase diagram of dry gas reservoir.

o Hydrocarbon mixture exists as a gas both in the reservoir and in the surface facilities.

o The only liquid associated with the gas from a dry gas reservoir is water.

o Generally, a gas system with GOR greater than 100,000 scf/STB is categorized as a dry gas
reservoir.
Compositional Ternary Diagram
The classification of hydrocarbon fluids can also be characterized by using the
initial composition, particularly, the heavy components in the hydrocarbon
mixtures of the system (McCain 1994, Ahmed et al 2019). The compositional
boundaries that separate different types of hydrocarbon systems can be
conveniently defined by using a ternary diagram with equilateral triangles as
shown in Fig. 1.18.

Fig. 1.18 Compositions of various reservoir fluid types.

 Low shrinkage Ordinary Volatile oil Near critical Retrograde Wet gas Dry gas
oil oil gas
C7+ >70.5 70.5-31 31-20 20-12.5 12.5-3 <3* <7*
 Component Oil [mol%]
N2 2.728
CO2 1.790
C1 75.394
C2 5.620
C3 2.359
I-C4 0.553
N-C4 0.985
I-C5 0.435
N-C5 0.447
C6 0.709
C7+ 8.979
Total 100.00
C1+N2 78.12
C2-C6+CO2 12.90
 Reservoir Geometries

o External reservoir geometry

(hydrocarbon trap makeup)

o Internal reservoir geometry

(nature of rocks)
(https://petrowiki.spe.org/Reservoir_geology, 2015)
Reservoir Geometries
Importance:

Wireline logs & core 1D o Conceptual model(s)

measurements
Production & pressure data Volumetric with o Engineering decision(s)
unconstrained spatial info
Geologic info (external & Contains spatial info
internal geometry)
External Reservoir Geometry
o Reservoir traps are porous and permeable rock which are overlaid by
impermeable rock (seals) wherein oil and gas can accumulate.

o Traps that are filled with hydrocarbons are often referred to as pools,
however, engineers normally use the term reservoir.

o A presence of one or more reservoirs in a single area is referred to as a field.

o The volume of oil and gas that can accumulate is defined partly by the height
of the trap because any additional hydrocarbons will spill out the bottom.
(Holstein, 2007).
External Reservoir Geometry
o The base of the trap is therefore called the spill point.

o The trap may not be full because the height of the oil column will be
controlled by the capacity of the seal to impede flow and the volume of oil
that migrates to the trap.

o Traps are commonly classified based on the origin as:

▪ structural,
▪ stratigraphic, and
▪ hybrid (or structural/stratigraphic) traps.
 o Structural traps are closures formed
by structural movements (uplift and
differential compaction) within the
Earth.

o Most of the world’s oil is found in

structural, which were the first type to
be exploited by surface mapping.

Fig. Structural traps

Fig. Stratigraphic traps

o Stratigraphic traps are closures (paleotopographic highs ) formed by

sedimentation and diagenesis, without the need for structural movements.
 Fig. Stratigraphic traps
o Structural/stratigraphic traps are closures formed by patterns of reservoir rock
that intrude upon a structure (combination of structure, deposition, and
diagenesis).
o A seal is a low-permeable to impermeable rock or immobile fluid, such as tar,
with a capillary entry pressure large enough to trap hydrocarbons.

o Typical seals include top, bottom, lateral, and fault.

o Faults may be sealing or nonsealing, depending on whether the sand offsets

another sand (nonsealing) or shale (sealing).

o Seal (flow barrier) requirement: minimum capillary displacement pressure of

the seal or flow-barrier material be greater than the buoyancy pressure of the
hydrocarbons in the accumulation.
Internal Reservoir Geometry
o Internal reservoir geometry (or reservoir architecture) is essential to
predicting the distribution of reservoir quality so that primary and secondary
development programs can be planned.

o Reservoir architecture provides a basis for distributing petrophysical

properties in 3D space.

o In most cases, this operation is done by relating lithofacies to petrophysical

properties because lithofacies can be directly linked to depositional
processes for prediction.
(Holstein, 2007).
Fig. An example of internal architecture of a reservoir from stratigraphic section of Ainsa quarry in Barcelona