7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
Youarehere:ReferenceMaterials>AnalysisMethodTheory>MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
ClicktoseeSubtopics/RelatedTopics:

Overview
Materialbalanceanalysisisaninterpretationmethodusedtodetermineoriginalfluidsinplace(OFIP)basedonproductionandstaticpressuredata.Thegeneralmaterialbalance
equationrelatestheoriginaloil,gas,andwaterinthereservoirtoproductionvolumesandcurrentpressureconditions/fluidproperties.Thematerialbalanceequationsconsidered
assumetanktypebehaviouratanygivendatumdepththereservoirisconsideredtohavethesamepressureandfluidpropertiesatanylocationinthereservoir.Thisassumptionis
quitereasonableprovidedthatqualityproductionandstaticpressuremeasurementsareobtained.
Considerthecaseofthedepletionofthereservoirpicturedbelow.Atagiventimeaftertheproductionoffluidsfromthereservoirhascommenced,thepressurewillhave
droppedfromitsinitialreservoirpressurepi,tosomeaveragereservoirpressurep.Usingthelawofmassbalance,duringthepressuredrop(p),theexpansionofthefluidsleftover
inthereservoirmustbeequaltothevolumeoffluidsproducedfromthereservoir.

Thesimplestwaytovisualizematerialbalanceisthatifthemeasuredsurfacevolumeofoil,gasandwaterwerereturnedtoareservoiratthereducedpressure,itmustfitexactly
intothevolumeofthetotalfluidexpansionplusthefluidinflux.
Thegeneralformoftheequationcanbedescribedasnetwithdrawal(withdrawalinjection)=expansionofthehydrocarbonfluidsinthesystem+cumulativewaterinflux.Thisis
shownintheequationbelow.

Eachtermintheequationcanbegroupedbasedonthepartofthesystemitrepresents.Thetablebelowshowsthetermsandasimplifiedversionofthegeneralequationbasedon
theterms.

SummaryofTermsintheMaterialBalanceEquation
Term

Description
Simplifiedgeneralequation.
Volumeofwithdrawal(productionandinjection)at
reservoirconditionsisdeterminedbytheoil,water
andgasproducedatthesurface.
Totalexpansion.

Iftheoilcolumnisinitiallyatthebubblepoint,
reducingthepressurewillresultinthereleaseofgas
andtheshrinkageofoil.Theremainingoilwill
consistofoilandtheremaininggasstilldissolvedat
thereducedpressure.
Gasexpansionfactor.Forexampleasthereservoir
depletes,thegascapexpandsintoreservoirvolume
previouslyoccupiedbyoil.
Eventhoughwaterhaslowcompressibility,the
volumeofconnatewaterinthesystemisusually
largeenoughtobesignificant.Thewaterwillexpand
tofilltheemptyingporespacesasthereservoir
depletes.Asthereservoirisproduced,thepressure
declinesandtheentirereservoirporevolumeis

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

1/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
reducedduetocompaction.Thechangeinvolume
expelsanequalvolumeoffluidasproductionandis
thereforeadditiveintheexpansionterms.
Ratioofgascaptooriginaloilinplace.Agascap
alsoimpliesthattheinitialpressureintheoilcolumn
mustbeequaltothebubblepointpressure.
Ifthereservoirisconnectedtoanactiveaquifer,then
oncethepressuredropiscommunicatedthroughout
thereservoir,thewaterwillencroachintothe
reservoirresultinginanetwaterinflux.Tocalculate
theamountofwaterinflux,eithertheFetkovich,
CarterTracey,

Notalltermswillbeusedatanyonetime,butthepurposeofacompleteequationistoprovideabasisfromwhichtoanalyzemanytypesofreservoirs:gasexpansion,solutiongas
drive,gascapdrive,waterdrive,etc.Termsthatarenotneededforaparticularreservoirtypewillcanceloutoftheequation.Forexample,whenthereisnogascaporiginally
present,theGandBgitermsarezero.

ApplicationofMaterialBalance
Materialbalanceisanimportantconceptinreservoirengineeringsinceitisaperformancebasedtoolusedtoestablishtheoriginalvolumeofhydrocarbonsinplaceinareservoirthat
typicallycontainsmanywells.Additionally,theprocessofmatchingpressurebaseddepletiontrendsbetweenwellsgivesthereservoirengineertheabilitytocreateaperformance
basedviewoftheconnectedporevolumeinthereservoir.Consequently,itisimportantthat:
1.Allfluidstakenfromorinjectedintothereservoirbemeasuredaccurately.
2.Pressure,volume,andtemperaturecharacteristics(PVTproperties)bemeasuredandvalidated.Subsurfacesamplesfromseveralproperlyconditionedwellsarepreferred.
3.Atleastonestaticpressurefromeachwellpriortoproductionandseveralafterproductionhascommencedarerequiredtoachievegoodresults.
Theestablishmentoforiginalinplacefluidvolumesandconnectedporevolumearecriticaltothedevelopmentofongoingdepletionplans,especiallywheresecondaryortertiary
recoverymethodsarebeingconsidered.

GasMaterialBalance
Gasmaterialbalanceisasimplifiedversionofthegeneralmaterialbalanceequation.Whenthegeneralequationisreducedtoitssimplestformcontainingonlygasterms,itappears
asshownbelow:

Inthisequation,itisassumedthatgasexpansionistheonlydrivingforcecausingproduction.Thisformiscommonlyusedbecausetheexpansionofgasoftendominatesoverthe
expansionofoil,water,androck.Bgistheratioofgasvolumeatreservoirconditionstogasvolumeatstandardconditions.Thisisexpandedusingtherealgaslaw.

Thereservoirtemperatureisconsideredtoremainconstant.Thecompressibilityfactor(Z)forstandardconditionsisassumedtobe1.Thenumberofmolesofgasdonotchange
fromreservoirtosurface.Standardtemperatureandpressureareknownconstants.WhenBgisreplacedandtheconstantsarecancelledout,thegasmaterialbalanceequationthen
simplifiesto:

Whenplottedonagraphofp/Zversuscumulativeproduction,theequationcanbeanalyzedasalinearrelationship.Severalmeasurementsofstaticpressureandthecorresponding
cumulativeproductionscanbeusedtodeterminethexinterceptoftheplottheoriginalgasinplace(OGIP),shownasGintheequation.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

2/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

AdvancedGasMaterialBalance
Foravolumetricgasreservoir,gasexpansion(themostsignificantsourceofenergy)dominatesdepletionbehaviourandthegeneralgasmaterialbalanceequationisaverysimple
yetpowerfultoolforinterpretation.However,incaseswhereothersourcesofenergyaresignificantenoughtocausedeviationfromthelinearbehaviourofap/Zplot,amore
sophisticatedtoolisrequired.Forthis,amoreadvancedformofthematerialbalanceequationhasbeendeveloped,andthestandardp/Zplotismodifiedtomaintainalineartrend
withthesimplicityofinterpretation.
InhisworkonCBM,King(1993)introducedp/Z*toreplacep/Z.BymodifyingZ,parameterstoincorporatetheeffectsofadsorbedgaswereincorporatedsothetotalgasinplaceis
interpretedratherthanjustthefreegasinplaceandastraightlineanalysistechniqueisstillused.ThisconcepthasbeenextendedtoadditionalreservoirtypeswithFekete'sp/Z**
method(Moghadametal.2009).
Thereservoirtypesconsideredintheadvancedmaterialbalanceequationare:overpressuredreservoirs,waterdrivereservoirs,andconnectedreservoirs.ThetotalZ**equationis
shownbelowwiththemodifiedmaterialbalanceequation.

OverpressuredReservoir
Attypicalreservoirconditions,gascompressibilityisordersofmagnitudegreaterthanthatoftheformationrockorresidualfluids.Inreservoirsathighinitialpressuresthegas
compressibilityismuchlower,inthesameorderofmagnitudeastheformation.Atypicalexampleofthiswouldbeanoverpressuredreservoir,whichisareservoiratahigher
pressurethanthehydrostaticcolumnofwateratthatdepthinotherwords,ahigherthanexpectedinitialpressuregiventhedepth.Inthissituation,ignoringtheformationand
residualfluidcompressibilitywillresultinoverpredictionoftheoriginalgasinplace.Theinitialdepletionwillshoweffectsofbothdepletionandreservoircompactionandtheslopeof
ap/Zplotwillbeshallower.Oncethepressureismuchlowerthantheinitialpressure,gasexpansionisdominantandasteeperslopeisobservedonthep/Zplot.Whenmatchingon
theshallowerslopeofthisbowshapedtrend,alllaterpressuredatawillbelowerthantheanalysisline,andtheestimatedoriginalgasinplacewillbehigherthanthetrueoriginalgas
inplace.Theplotbelowshowsanoverpressuredreservoirmatchedontheinitialdataandtheanalysislineoftheadvancematerialbalancemethod.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

3/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

Basedonthedefinitionofcompressibility,thefollowingequationrepresentsthetotaleffectofformationandresidualfluidcompressibility:

Theapproximateformofthisequation,foundbyconsideringcompressibilityforoil,water,andtheformationasconstantandexas1+x,is:

Inordertousethiscompressibilityinthematerialbalanceequation,thechangeinporevolumeistakenrelativetotheinitialporevolume.Therigorousandapproximateformsare
shownbelow.
Rigorousform:

Approximateform:

WaterdriveReservoir
Somegasreservoirsmaybeconnectedtoaquifersthatprovidepressuresupporttothegasreservoirasitisdepleted.Inthiscase,thepressuredecreaseinthegasreservoiris
balancedbywaterencroachingintothereservoir.Asthishappens,theporevolumeofgasisdecreasingandtheaveragereservoirpressureismaintained.Oftenthisreservoirwill
showaflatpressuretrendaftersomedepletion.Anexampleofthisbehaviouronap/Zplotisshownbelow.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

4/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

Thechangeinreservoirvolumeduetonetencroachedwatercanbedeterminedfromthefollowingequation:

Tousethisinthematerialbalance,thechangeinporevolumeistakenrelativetotheinitialporevolume,shownbelow.

Whendealingwiththisequation,themajorunknownvaluetobedeterminediswaterencroachmentfromtheaquifer(W e).Twoaquifermodelsareprovidedtodeterminenet
encroachedwater:SchilthuisSteadyStateModelandFetkovichModel.

SchilthuisSteadyStateModel
Thisisthesimplestaquifermodelandassumestherateofwaterinfluxisproportionaltopressuredrawdown.Inthismodelitisassumedthattheaquifervolumeismuchlargerthan
thegasreservoirandremainsattheinitialpressure.

Usingthismodel,theonlyparametertosolveforisthetransfercoefficient(J).

Fetkovich
IntheFetkovichaquifer,theaquiferisassumedtobeinpseudosteadystateanddepleteaccordingtothematerialbalanceequation.Inthismodel,boththeaquifervolumeand
transfercoefficientmustbedetermined.Theequationsareshownbelow.

Whilethetransfercoefficientisdefined,therequiredinputstocalculatethetransfercoefficientareoftennotknown.Morecommonlythetransfercoefficientisdeterminedaspartof
matchingthep/Zplot.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

5/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

ConnectedReservoir
Anotherscenariowhichwillappearaspressuresupportonthep/Zplotistheconnectedreservoirmodel.Thegenericdescriptionisthattwogasreservoirsareconnected,described
byatransfercoefficientbetweenthem,andgasfeedsfromonetanktotheotherasoneofthetanksisdepleted.Thiscanbeobservedwithtwogasreservoirswithsome
communication,twozonesinareservoirwithdifferentpermeabilityorsomebarrierbetweenthem,orevenanotherwayofconsideringthesituationoffreeandadsorbedgasina
reservoir.Becausebothwaterdriveandconnectedreservoirsshowpressuresupport,itcanbeeasytomistakewhichmodelshouldbeused.Inaconnectedreservoir,theinfluxinto
themainreservoirisgasascomparedtoinfluxofwaterinwaterdrive.Sothepressuresupportwillbeaccompaniedbymoregasinthereservoirratherthanashrinkingreservoiras
inwaterdrive.Typicallyiftheinitialp/Ztrendpointstoanoriginalgasinplacesmallerthanthecumulativeproduction,aconnectedreservoirwillbetheappropriatemodeltouse.

Foraconnectedreservoir,thematerialbalanceequationiswrittenasshownbelowtoaccountforgasinflux.

Thiscanbeconvertedintoadimensionlesstermsimilartothetermsdescribingrelativechangeinporevolume(cwip,cep,andcd)forothermodels,asshownbelow.

Similartothewaterdrivemodel,theinfluxofgasfromthesecondreservoir(GT)islikelynotaknownvalue,andsomustbedeterminedbasedonthesizeoftheconnectedreservoir
andthetransfercoefficientbetweenthereservoirs.Theequationforgasinfluxisshownbelow.

OilMaterialBalance
Asseeninthegeneralmaterialbalanceequationtherearemanyunknowns,andasaresultfindinganexactoruniquesolutioncanbedifficult.However,usingothertechniquesto
helpdeterminesomevariables(forexample,mororiginalgasinplacefromvolumetricsorseismic),theequationcanbesimplifiedtoyieldamoreusefulanswer.Variousplotsare
availabletoconductanoilmaterialbalanceratherthancalculatingananswerfromindividualmeasurementsofreservoirpressure.Theprimaryanalysisplotisthe

HavlenaOdeh(AllReservoirTypes)
Similartotheinterpretationofgasmaterialbalance,oilmaterialbalanceusesplottingtechniques.However,unliketheequationforsinglephasegasexpansion,thestandardformof
thematerialbalanceequationforoilreservoirsdoesnoteasilyyieldalinearrelationship.Theequationcanbeorganizedtoshowlinearbehaviour.Basedontherearrangementbelow,
thelargecombinationsoftermsareusedasxandywhileGistheslopeandNistheintercept.Thisofcourseimpliesthatwaterinfluxtermforeachdatapointisaknownvalue,or
thesimplerscenariothatthereisnowaterinflux.Additionally,ifthewaterinfluxisneglectedincalculatingthetermstheresultwillbenonlinearbehaviourontheplot.Thiscanbea
diagnostictodeterminethepresenceofwaterdrive.Inpractice,thescatterinthedatamaybegreatenoughandthesignatureofwaterdrivesubtleenoughthatdeviationfromlinear

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

6/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

behaviourontheHavlenaOdehplotmaygounnoticed.

Anexampleoftheplotisshownbelow.Thescattershowninthedatapointsdemonstratesthedifficultyindeterminingtrendsinthereservoirbehaviour.

Thismethodworksformostreservoirtypes.Inthecaseofanundersaturatedreservoir(abovebubblepoint)theEg+Bgi*Efwtermwillbezeroandthisplotwillnotbeasuseful.The
standardHavlenaOdehplotcanbesubstitutedforonethatexcludesfreegasterms.

HavlenaOdehFvs.Et(NoInitialGasCap)
Ifthereservoirtobeanalyzedhasnoinitialfreegas,thefreegastermsoftheequationcanbeeliminated.Thisequationisnowmuchsimplertolinearize.Intheequationshown
below,thetotalexpansiontermissplitintotheoilandwater/formationexpansionterms.Onceagain,theinclusionofwaterinfluxissuchthatitisassumedtobeknown.

Inthisformoftheequation,Nistheslopeonaplotofexpansiontermsversuswithdrawalandinfluxterms.Thereisnointerceptsotheanalysislineistypicallyforcedthroughzero.
SimilartotheHavlenaOdehplotthatincludesgasterms,ifwaterinfluxisneglectedandanonlineartrendresults,thiscanbeadiagnosticforobservingwaterdriveeffects.An
exampleoftheplotisshownbelow.

Nvs.Time
Usingplotsofvarioustermsinthematerialbalanceequationcanbeusedforoverallanalysis,buteachpressuremeasurementcanbeindependentlyusedformaterialbalance
calculation.Comparingtheresultsofoverallanalysisandsinglepointcalculationsdemonstrateswhetherthereisconsistencybetweenthemethods.Itisexpectedthatthesingle
pointcalculationswillremaininatrendaroundtheoriginaloilinplacedeterminedfromtheoverallanalysis.Thiscomparisoncanbeplottedasaseriesoforiginaloilinplaceresults
displayedatthepointintimeofthepressuremeasurement,withacontinuouslineatthevalueoforiginaloilinplacefromtheoverallanalysis.Theplotisshownbelow.

Thisplotisalsousefulasadiagnostictodetermineifthecorrectreservoirtypehasbeenassumed,andalsotoassessthedataquality.Aninconsistenttrendusuallyindicatesthat
thequalityofthepressuremeasurementsarenotgood,orthedefinitionofthewellsinthereservoirshouldbereviewed.Aconsistentupwardtrendindicatesthatanotherdrive
mechanismmaybepresent,whereasadownwardtrendindicatesthatnotallwellsinthereservoirhavebeenincludedintheanalysis.

PressureHistoryMatch
Thepressurematchmethodemploysaniterativeprocedurethatusesthevaluesoforiginaloilinplace,originalgasinplace,andWtocalculatethereservoirpressureversustime.
Thepressurematchisthenplottedagainsttherealmeasuredstaticreservoirpressuresandcompared.Thisisbyfarthemostrobustandeasilyunderstoodmaterialbalance
techniqueforthefollowingreasons:

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

7/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
1.Pressureandtimeareeasilyunderstoodvariables,andsosensitivityanalysiscanbeconductedrelativelyeasily.
2.Useoftimeenablestheanalysttoseedirectlytheimpactof:
Changingwithdrawalrates,especiallyshutinsonreservoirpressuredecline
Injectionoperationsonpressureresponse
Waterdriveandconnectedreservoirsonreservoirdepletion,especiallysincethesearebothcumulativewithdrawalandtimebasedprocesses.
3.Arelativelysimple,iterativeprocessisusedtoachieveauniquesolutionwherein:
Startwiththesimplestsolution(oiland/orgasdepletiononly)andthenproceedtomorecomplexmodelsonlyifdemonstratedtoberequired
Employalefttorightmatchingtechnique(earlytimetolatetime),whereininitialreservoirpressureismatchedfirst,followedbyearlytimedepletionresponse,and
thenlatetimeresponses.Sincewaterdriveandconnectedreservoirmodelsarecumulativewithdrawalandtimebased,theirresponsesareminimalatearlytimes
andmaximizedatlatetimes.
4.Majorchangestodepletion,suchasconversiontostorageorblowdown,canbebothsegregated(time)andintegratedinasingleanalysismethod.

Anexampleofapressurehistorymatchisshownbelow:

DriveIndices
Driveindicesforoilreservoirsindicatetherelativemagnitudeofthevariousenergysourcesactinginthereservoir.Asimpledescriptionofadriveindexistheratioofaparticular
expansiontermtothenetwithdrawal(hydrocarbonvoidage).Thesedriveindicesarecumulativeandwillchangeasthereservoirisproduced.Aplotofdriveindicesandthedetailsof
specificdriveindicesareshownbelow.

SummaryofDriveIndices

DriveIndex

Description
DepletionDriveIndex

Segregation(GasCap)DriveIndex

WaterDriveIndex

FormationandConnateWaterCompressibilityIndex

Ifthedriveindicesdonotsumtounity(orverycloseto1),thecorrectsolutiontothematerialbalancehasnotbeenobtained.

DiagnosticsDakeandCampbell
DakeandCampbellplotsareusedasdiagnostictoolstoidentifythereservoirtypebasedonthesignatureofproductionandpressurebehaviour.Theplotsareestablishedbasedon
theassumptionofavolumetricreservoir,anddeviationfromthisbehaviourisusedtoindicatethereservoirtype.
IntheDakeplot,thesimplestoilcaseofsolutiongas/depletiondrive(nogascap,nowaterdrive)isusedtodeterminetheaxesoftheplot.Thematerialbalanceequationis
rearrangedasshownbelow.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

8/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

Inavolumetricreservoirproducingduetodepletiondriveonly,productionisbalancedbytheoilandwater/formationexpansionandtheoriginaloilinplaceisconstant.Ifaplotof
cumulativeoilproductionversusthenetwithdrawaloverexpansioniscreatedwiththisreservoirtype'sdata,thepointswillremainalongahorizontalline.
Ifagascapispresent,therewillbeagasexpansioncomponentinthereservoir'sproduction.Asproductioncontinuesandthereservoirpressuredecreased,thegasexpansionterm
increaseswithanincreasinggasformationvolumefactor.Tobalancethis,thewithdrawaloveroil/water/formationexpansiontermmustalsocontinuetoincrease.Thusinthecaseof
gascapdrive,theDakeplotwillshowacontinuallyincreasingtrend.
Similarly,ifwaterdriveispresentthewithdrawaloveroil/water/formationexpansiontermmustincreasetobalancethewaterinflux.Withaverystrongaquiferthewaterinfluxmay
continuetoincreasewithtime,whilealimitedorsmallaquifermayhaveaninitialincreaseinwaterinfluxthateventuallydecreases.

TheCampbellplotisaverysimilardiagnostictoDake,withtheexceptionthatitincorporatesagascapifrequired.IntheCampbellplot,thewithdrawalisplottedagainstwithdrawal
overtotalexpansion,whilethewaterinfluxtermisneglected.Ifthereisnowaterinflux,thedatawillplotasahorizontalline.Ifthereiswaterinfluxintothereservoir,thewithdrawal
overtotalexpansiontermwillincreaseproportionallytothewaterinfluxovertotalexpansion.TheCampbellplotcanbemoresensitivetothestrengthoftheaquifer.Inthisversionof
thematerialbalance,usingonlyETneglectsthewaterandformationcompressibility(compaction)term.TheCampbellplotisshownbelow.

VoidageReplacementRatio
Waterinjectionisasecondaryrecoverytechniquethatisoftenemployedasameansforpressuremaintenancetoreenergizeareservoir.Therearemanyeasytousetechniquesfor
monitoringawaterinjection/waterfloodproject,(Hallplot,WOR,

Voidagereplacementratioisdefinedastheratioofinjectedreservoirvolumetoproducedreservoirvolume.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_Bal

9/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

Typically,waterfloodingcommencesafteraperiodofprimaryproduction.Thepurposeofwaterfloodingistoenhancerecoverybymaintainingreservoirpressure,orwhennecessary,
increasingreservoirpressuresothatitapproachesthebubblepointpressuretomaintainsolutiongas.Consequently,instantaneousvoidagereplacementratiooftencommencesat
valuesgreaterthanone,andthendeclinesgraduallytooneasthetargetreservoirpressureisachieved.Ontheotherhand,cumulative

Voidagereplacementcalculationsareoftenconductedontheentirereservoir.Sincereservoirsaremoreheterogenousthanhomogenous,eventhoughthe
Useofvoidagereplacementcalculationsisanexcellentwaytobetterunderstandconnectivitywithinareservoir.

VolatileOilWalshFormulation
Volatileoilisalsocalledhighshrinkagecrudeoil,ornearcriticaloil.Itcontainsrelativelyfewerheavymoleculesandmoreintermediatesthanblackoils.IthasahigherAPI(typically
greaterthan44),andistypicallylighterincolor.
Asmallreductioninpressurebelowthebubblepointcausesthereleaseofalargeamountofgasinthereservoir.Anadditionalpropertyisusedtothedescribevolatileoilthe
volatileoilratioRv.Thevolatileoilratiodescribestheamountofvolatilizedoilinthereservoirgasphaseandistypicallyexpressedin
Regularmaterialbalancedoesnotaccountforvolatileoil.Inareservoircontainingvolatileoil,theWalshformulationisusedtocalculateoriginaloilinplace.Theequationswhichare
modifiedfromstandardmaterialbalanceareshownbelow.
Terms

Description
Modifiedwithdrawaltermfor
volatileoil.

Modifiedoilexpansiontermfor
volatileoil.

Modifiedgasexpansiontermfor
volatileoil.

CBMMaterialBalance
TherearethreeformsofthematerialbalanceavailableforCBManalysis:
King(1993)
Seidle(1999)
JensenandSmith(1997)

King(1993)
Thegasmaterialbalanceequationcanbeexpressedingeneraltermsas:
Gp=GGr
ThematerialbalanceproposedbyKing(1993)isthemostcomprehensive,andconsidersthefollowingwithrespecttothegasmaterialbalanceequation:
Gasadsorbedinthecoalmatrix
Gascontainedinthecleats(fracturesystem)
Watercompressibility
TherearetwosourcesofgasinCBMreservoirs,thegasadsorbedinthematrix,andthegasstoredinthecleatspace:
Gtotal=Gadsorbed+Gcleats
ThegasadsorbedinthecoalmatrixcanbedescribedbytheLangmuirisotherm:

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_B

10/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory

Astheaboveequationexpressesvolumeinscf/ton,thetotalvolumeofadsorbedgasinthereservoircanbefoundbythefollowingequation:

Where:
A=area(acres)
h=netpay(ft)
Gadsorbed=volumeofadsorbedgas(mmscf)
P=pressure(psia)
PL=Langmuirpressure(psia)
VL=Langmuirvolume(scf/ton)
b=bulkdensity(g/cm3)
Thegascontainedinthecleatvolumeisdescribedbytheequationforvolumetricstorageintheporespace:

Where:
A=area(acres)
Bg=gasformationvolumefactor(ft3/scf)
Gcleats=volumeofgasstoredinthecleats(mmscf)
h=netpay(ft)
Sw=watersaturation
=porosity
Addingthetwogasvolumesresultsinthefollowingexpressionforthetotalgascontent:

Theaboveequationcanbeusedtocalculatetheinitialgasinplace(Gi)byusingthepressure,porosity,andwatersaturationatinitialconditions.Theremaininggas(Gr )canbe
calculatedusingpressure,porosity,andwatersaturationatthecurrentaveragereservoirpressure.Substitutingtheoriginalgasinplace,andtheremaininggasatthecurrent
conditionsintothegeneralgasmaterialbalanceequationwillyield:

Intheaboveequation,threetermschangewithpressure:
Sw(watersaturation)
(porosity)
Bg(gasformationvolumefactor)
Thewatersaturationinthecleats,aswellasthecleatvolumeitself,changeswithpressureandwaterinflux/efflux.Thewatersaturationinthecleatsisaffectedbythree
mechanisms:
Theexpansionofwaterduetoitscompressibility
Waterinflux(fromanaquifer),andefflux(fromproduction)
Thechangeinporevolumecausedbytheformationcompressibility
Inmathematicalterms,thisisexpressedbythefollowingequation:

Where:
A=area(ft2)
Bw=waterformationvolumefactor(ft3/scf)
cw=watercompressibility(1/psia)
cf=formationcompressibility(1/psia)
h=netpay(ft)
p=pressure(psia)
pi=initialreservoirpressure(psia)
=averagewatersaturation
Swi=initialwatersaturation
W e=encroachedwater(bbls)
W p=producedwater(bbls)

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_B

11/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
i=initialporosity

Theporositychangeswithpressureasaresultoftheformationcompressibility,andcanbeexpressedbythefollowingequation:

Thegasformationvolumefactorcanbeexpressedusingthegasrealgaslawasfollows:

Substitutingthesethreeequationsintothegasmaterialbalanceequationyieldsthefollowing:

WithZ*definedas:

OGIPcanbecalculatedfromtheaboveequationwhenp=0(implyingthepressurehasbeencompletelydepleted,andallthegashasbeenproduced):

DividingtheGpequationbytheexpressionforOGIPyieldsamoreusefulformofthematerialbalanceequation:

PlottingP/Z*versusGpyieldsthefamiliargraphicalrepresentationofthematerialbalanceequation,withayinterceptatPi/Zi*,andanxinterceptatOGIP.

Seidle(1999)
Seidle(1999)suggestedusingasimilarmaterialbalanceasthatdevelopedbyKing,butwiththesimplifyingassumptionthatthewatersaturationisconstant.Thissimplificationis
justifiedbytheassumptionthatthewatersaturationinCBMreservoirshavelittleimpactonthecalculationsastheterminwhichitappearsissmallincomparisontotheoneinwhich
itisaddedto.Formuchoftheproducinglifeawell,theexpressionforZ*isdominatedbytheratioofsorbedtofreegasinthedenominator.Formationandwatercompressibilitiesare
alsoassumedtobenegligible.TheseassumptionsresultinthefollowingexpressionforZ*:

ThisdefinitionofZ*canbeusedinthesamematerialbalanceequationderivedbytheKingmethod:

JensenandSmith(1997)
TheJensenandSmith(1997)methodassumesthatthegasstoredinthecleatspaceisnegligible(12%),resultinginthecompleteomissionofwatersaturationeffects.Inthiscase,
thegascontentisdescribedsolelybytheadsorbedvolume:

Where:
A=area(acres)
h=netpay(ft)
Gadsorbed=volumeofadsorbedgas(mmscf)
P=pressure(psia)

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_B

12/13

7/27/2015

MaterialBalanceAnalysisTheory
PL=Langmuirpressure(psia)
VL=Langmuirvolume(scf/ton)
b=bulkdensity(g/cm3)

Thegasmaterialbalanceequationcanbeexpressedas:
Gp=GGr
whichbecomes,

Dividingby(1.3597x103)VLAh b,andrearranginggives:

Plotting

versusGpyieldsastraightlinewithayinterceptat

,andanxinterceptattheOGIP.

Copyright2014IHSInc.

http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Analysis_Method_Theory/Material_B

13/13