Syllabus

PETE 693-Fall 2017 3 Credits

Advanced Petrophysics

Meeting Time and Place: 5:30-7:00 pm, Room to be decided

Instructor: Mohabbat Ahmadi, Room# DU 411, email: mahmadi@alaska.edu
, Phone: 907-474-1903
Office Hours: Thursday (11:30-1:00 pm) or by appointment
Textbook: Advanced Petrophysics, Ekwere J. Peters, Live Oak Book
Company, 2012.
TA: There is no TA

Additional References:

1. Petroleum Reservoir Engineering: Physical Properties by James W. Amyx , Daniel M.

Bass, Robert L. Whiting, 1960
2. Properties of Reservoir Rocks: Core Analysis by Robert Monicard and David Berley,
1980
3. Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties by Abhijit Y. Dandekar, 2006
4. Petrophysics, Theory and Practice of Measuring Reservoir Rock and Fluid Transport
Properties, Third Edition, by Djebbar Tiab and Erle C. Donaldson, 2011

Grading
Homework +
30%
Quizzes A = 90-100 B- = 70-74 D = 57-59
2 tests 30% A - = 85-89 C+ = 67-69 D- = 54-56
Project 20% B+ = 80-84 C = 64-66 F < 53
Final Exam 20% B = 75-79 C- = 60-63
Total 100%

Homework assignments will be collected at the start of class. Late assignments are not
accepted. Questions about grading should be brought to my attention as soon as possible. You
will have one week after the item is returned to discuss your grade. No grade will be changed
after this one-week period. Depending on my understanding of your learning efforts, I may
include quizzes. In some occasions, additional assignment and readings will be offered for extra
credits for those who are interested.

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Tests
There will be two tests before final exam. The exact date and time of tests as well as the
materials will be covered in each test will be decided as we proceed through the semester. There
will be no make-up test. All students are expected to take the tests at the scheduled time unless
the student has requested in writing an exception for good reason and I have approved the new
time in writing at least two days before the test date.

Homework and Quizzes

Regular homeworks and quizzes will be used to gauge your learning effort. Additional technical
papers readings may be assigned as needed. You are encouraged to discuss assignments with
other students or me after you have applied individual diligent effort. However, the work you
turn in must be entirely your own.

Project
Each student is expected to select a topic related to the course and conduct an extensive literature
review on it. Students are anticipated to prepare a final report and a presentation for the whole
class. You are expected to decide on the topic of your interest in the first week of class. Final
report and presentation are due last week of classes.

Teaching philosophy and Student Attendance

The course includes a large amount of interpretative and explanatory material that will be
presented only during lectures. Discussion and questions during class is strongly encouraged.
There is no mandate to attend classes but you are strongly encouraged to attend all classes.

Course Description
This course will cover concepts and principles exclusively related to oil and gas reservoirs rock,
rock-fluid interactions and fluid flow-related properties. The course starts with a short
introduction of rocks on the earth followed by study of factors affecting porosity, direct and
indirect porosity measurement (experimental and logs), factors affecting permeability, lab and
field scale permeability measurement, Darcy and Non-Darcy flow, measure of permeability
variability, dimensional analysis, dispersion and its measurement methods in the lab and field
scale, surface and interfacial tension measurement techniques, rock wettability and is effect on
rock-fluid interaction, capillary pressure measurement and pore size distribution determination,
finally relative permeability and one-dimensional immiscible displacement.

Course Objective
The goals of this course is to expose students to petroleum reservoir properties related to
hydrocarbon storability, rock-fluid interactions and flow related characteristics as well as their
different measurement/calculation techniques at an advanced level.
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Course Outcome
Students upon successful competition of this course will
- Develop a better understanding of porosity, fluid saturations, permeability and its
local and directional variations as well as rock-fluid wettability and capillarity
- Fully understand different techniques used to measure/calculate those properties and
their differences
- Know how those properties affect static/dynamic oil/gas/water distribution, flow and
miscible/immiscible displacement in reservoir, and finally
- Link that knowledge to techniques used for resource estimation and recovery
enhancement

Tips to Succeed
Assuming that we are all interested in the topic and feel enthusiastic about it, the following hints
can help to meet the objective.
Attend all lectures.
I will let you know what materials from the text book or technical papers will be covered
in the next week lectures. You are encouraged to study them and raise your questions
during classes.
We all gain more in an interactive environment. Therefore, participate in the class
discussions.
Be proactive and allocate enough time to complete the assignments.
Use instructor office hour to address questions not been raised in the class or whatever
question you have related to this course.

Disabilities Services:

The Office of Disability Services implements the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and
insures that UAF students have equal access to the campus and course materials. The instructor
will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (208 WHIT, 474-5655) to provide reasonable
accommodation to students with disabilities. Students are required to arrange with disability
office to take quizzes/exams as planned by instructor.

Tentative Agenda

Course introduction, rocks, classification of sedimentary

rocks, sandstone versus carbonates, fractured reservoirs
Porosity, factors affecting porosity, laboratory measurement HW#1, Due
Week 1 of porosity, fluid saturations next week
Week 2 Indirect measurement of porosity from logs, porosity logs, HW#2, Due
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 resistivity logs, lithology rocks, NMR logs, MRI imaging of next week
laboratory cores
Laboratory measurement of permeability, field determination
Week 3 of permeability
Factors affecting permeability, permeability-porosity HW#3, Due
Week 4 correlations next week
Week 5 Darcy and non-Darcy flow, flow through fractures
Permeability anisotropy, measurement of transverse HW#4, Due
Week 6 permeability, Validity of Darcy equation next week
Week 7 Test#1
Dispersion in porous media, one-dimensional convection-
Week 8 dispersion equation,
Measurement of dispersion coefficient in lab and field scale, HW#5, Due
Week 9 factors affecting dispersion coefficient next week
Surface and interfacial tension, laboratory techniques for
Week 10 measuring surface and interfacial tension
Wettability and its measurement, effect of wettability on rock- HW#6, Due
Week 11 fluid interaction next week
Week 12 Test#2
Capillary pressure, capillary pressure-saturation relationship,
use of capillary pressure in reservoir simulation, capillarity
Week 13 hysteresis and end effect in laboratory cores
Theory of one-dimensional immiscible displacement in HW#7, Due
Week 14 porous media, Buckley-Leverett approximation solution next week
Laboratory measurement of two-phase relative permeability
Week 15 by unsteady-state, Factors affecting relative permeability

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