Saturation Height Function
In the 
oil and gas industry the description of the hydrocarbon volume is one of the key 
disciplines. The hydrocarbons initially in-place (HCIIP) are defined as:
HCIIP = Gross Rock Volume x Net-to-Gross x 
Porosity x Hydrocarbon saturation 
 
There are 
different methods to calculate the HCIIP from simple calculations of using 
average values to complex geomodels which take account geological trends and 
account for the capillary forces in the hydrocarbon column. 
Over the 
years different methods were developed to describe the changing water saturation 
in the reservoir with height above the free water level and also taking the 
reservoir quality into account. 
Today 
some of the most common approaches are:
·        
Leverett 
– J
– 
Function
·        
Brooks – 
Corey
·        
Skelt – 
Harrison
·        
Cuddy
·        
Thomeer
The SPE 
paper 71326 compares some of the named approaches on a field example.
For more information: