Reservoir Physics and Chemistry (GEO502)

Content

This course covers:

• Brine and rock chemistry
• Reservoir mineralogy
• PVT properties of brines, hydrocarbons and inorganic gasses
• Interactions between reservoir minerals and fluids
• Reservoir wettability
• Fluid flow in porous media
• Wettability alteration processes for optimized fluid flow in Reservoirs

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

After completing the course, students should know:

• the different elements and processes that lead to the formation of porous reservoir traps, and the charging of pore fluids, brine, gas, or hydrocarbons in the subsurface.
• Porous reservoirs contain several phases: minerals, formation water, gas, and liquid hydrocarbons. The students should know chemical terms and definitions related to minerals and mineral surfaces, and the chemistry of the pore fluids, water, gas, and hydrocarbons.
• Basic knowledge about the type of pore fluids, and the behavior of the fluids in the reservoir, through production and process systems.
• Knowledge related to liquid-liquid and liquid-solid interactions, and an increased understanding of the factors/parameters that influence mineral surface charges, mineral dissolution, and the integrity of the reservoir during operations.
• Knowledge related to Crude oil - Brine- Rock (CoBR) interactions dictating initial reservoir wettability
• how fluid flow in porous media is controlled by wettability and how chemical induced wettability alteration processes could optimize oil recovery by e.g. Smart Water injection.

Skills:

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• Describe the behavior of the reservoir mineral and fluid phases.
• Calculation of storage capacity of waste fluids in reservoirs, or in place reserves based on petrophysical, and production/test data.
• Perform representative sampling of reservoir fluids for compositional and PVT analysis.
• Conduct experimental techniques for compositional and PVT analysis in the laboratory.
• Use compositional and PVT simulation tools for reservoir and production-fluid property calculations.
• Do simple calculations within water chemistry, use the geochemical modelling tools to investigate compatibility between formation and injection fluids, phase interactions between brines and minerals effecting mineral dissolution and precipitation, and report these observations.
• Evaluate reservoir wettability, and evaluate the potential for chemical wettability alteration to improve Oil recovery
• Communicate the chemical and physical knowledge in a good and straightforward way.

General competence:

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• Communicate and explain to industry and society how reservoir fluids systems work with respect to pressure, volume, and temperature.
• Describe how the reservoir phases could interact with injection fluids during reservoir operations.
• Evaluate the potential for waste fluid storage, injection, and production of fluids in a sustainable way without affecting the reservoir integrity during operations.
• Design optimal and environmentally responsible solutions for the utilization of reservoirs in the subsurface

Required prerequisite knowledge

Exam

Coursework requirements

The following repports must be approved in order to have access to the final exam.

• Project report; Laboratory exercises in PVT analysis of reservoir fluids.
• Project report; Brine chemistry and geochemical interactions

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Study Program Director:

Study Adviser:

Method of work

The course includes lectures, excercises, and laboratory practices.

6 hours per week with organized lectures and problem solving.

Open for

Course assessment

Literature