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:

https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/SPE-71326-MS