Introduction to

petrophysics
Lesson 1

edited by P. Vass
for Petroleum Geoengineer MSc Students
 Introduction
Petrophysics
The term was introduced by G.E. Archie and J.H.M.A. Thomeer (professor
of Delft University of Technology).
Gustavus (Gus) E. Archie (1907-1978) graduated in both mining and
electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin and worked for
Shell Oil Company as a scientist and engineer.
His contribution to the science and technology of the oil industry is very
significant (e.g. Archie's law).

Their definition:
"Petrophysics is the study of the physical and chemical
properties of rocks and their contained fluids."
It is an applied earth science and its results support primarily the
petroleum industry. In fact, the demands of petroleum industry
called it into existence. It is in close contact with geology,
geophysics and reservoir mechanics.
https://wiki.seg.org/wiki/Gustavus_Archie https://petrowiki.org/Petrophysics
 Introduction
Petrophysicist (or log analyst)
a person whose professional activity focusses basically on the scope
of petrophysics.
Petrophysicists are in close communication with geologists,
geophysicists, drilling, reservoir and production engineers. The mutual
and effective exchange of information among the members of a
reservoir management team is a fundamental condition of the
successful, economical and environment-friendly hydrocarbon
exploration and production.

Main activities and objectives of Petrophysics

investigation of the properties of reservoir rocks relating to the pore
system as well as the fluid distribution and flow characteristics of the
pore system,
interpretation of the physical properties of reservoir rocks
identification and evaluation of hydrocarbon reservoirs, hydrocarbon
sources, seals, aquifers,
https://petrowiki.org/Petrophysics
 Introduction
Main activities and objectives of Petrophysics
determination of the following reservoir and fluid characteristics:
• bed boundaries (thereby the thicknesses of beds)
• lithology (rock types)
• porosity
• fluid saturations and pressures
• fluid types and characteristics
• permeability (absolute)
• fractional flow ( of oil, gas, water) based on the absolute and the
relative permeability of the rock types,
(Remark: these characteristics are highly dependent on each
other.)
determination of the actual value of reservoir and fluid
characteristics at a level of certainty
evaluation of the volume of hydrocarbon in place inside a field and
the exploitable volume of hydrocarbon.
https://petrowiki.org/Petrophysics
 Introduction
The most important contributions of a petrophysicist to the
successful and cost effective hydrocarbon exploration and
production are as follows:
differentiating the permeable formations from the
impermeable ones,
differentiating the oil, gas and water bearing formations,
estimating
the porosity of the formations,
the amount of hydrocarbons present in the
formations,
the amount of hydrocarbons exploitable from the
formations,
designing suitable reservoir management strategies to
optimize the hydrocarbon recovery for long time.

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
The most important tasks to be executed by a petrophysicist:
• analysing the physical and chemical properties of the rocks
in the subsurface,
• identifying the mineral components and the fluid types,
• determining their amounts and distributions.

The main sources of data supporting the petrophysical

workflow:

Data acquisition technique Type(s) of data

Drilling ROP, WOH, WOB, bit depth,
torque, RPM etc. are recorded
as a function of rig time
 Introduction

Data acquisition technique Type(s) of data

Mud logging analysis of drill cuttings,
analysis of drilling mud returning
to the surface,
detecting shows of gas, oil or
water
gains or losses of drilling mud
Wireline logging Wide variety of well logging
methods are available to measure
the different physical and
geometrical properties of the rock
formations and the borehole.
 Introduction

Data acquisition technique Type(s) of data

Coring lithology
(the detailed core analysis is hydrocarbon shows
performed in laboratories) heterogeneity and fracturing
porosity
permeability (Klinkenberg, liquid
and relative permeability)
wettability and capillary
pressure
grain and pore size distributions
Well testing wireline formation testing
drill stem tests
production tests
pressure build-up tests etc.
 Introduction
The steps of evaluation for any portion of a borehole:
• identification of the lithology,
• differentiation of the reservoir rocks from the non-reservoir
ones (a reservoir rock has a high enough connected
porosity),
• for the reservoir intervals, observation of the presence of
hydrocarbon, and calculation of the water saturation,
• for the hydrocarbon bearing zones, separation between oil
and gas, and calculation of gas and oil saturations.
 Introduction
The following conditions are necessary for a hydrocarbon
reservoir to exist at the same location:
1. "a source rock containing the original organic remains,
2. pressure and temperature conditions suitable to convert the
organic remains into oil and gas,
3. a porous, permeable reservoir rock where the hydrocarbon can
accumulate,
4. a migration pathway from the source rock to the reservoir rock
for the hydrocarbons,
5. a suitable trap to keep the hydrocarbons in the reservoir rock
until we wish to exploit it." (Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes)
The geological processes necessary for providing these conditions
typically take very long time (e.g. deposition, burying, diagenesis,
maturation, migration, accumulation).
The joint probability of these events to occur is much lower than
the probability of any event to occur independently of the others.
 Introduction
Formation
it is a genetic unit of a stratigraphic column,
it was produced under uniform or uniformly alternating conditions
it is not necessarily homogeneous from a lithology point of view
(single rock type  alternations of two or a few rock types 
highly heterogeneous lithology)
its physical characteristics unambiguously distinguish it from the
other formations,
its thickness may range in a wide range (< 1 m  n x 1000 m)

Occurrent rocks in a formation from a petrophysical point of view

reservoir rocks
and/or impervious rocks
and/or source rocks.
(e.g. shales or limestones with more
than1% organic matter)
O. Serra 2007: Well Logging and Reservoir Evaluation
 Introduction
Reservoir
it is a limited volume of a rock in the subsurface,
its high enough porosity and permeability support the accumulation
of crude oil and natural gas in it,
either a single bed or several ones form it.

Bed
it is the smallest lithostratigraphic unit,
it is typically the part of a formation,
its thickness ranges from 1 cm to a few meters,
several sedimentation units may form it.

Sedimentation unit
it is a layer of sediment whose deposition passes off under
approximately unchanging conditions.

O. Serra 2007: Well Logging and Reservoir Evaluation

 Introduction
Calculation of hydrocarbon volume in a reservoir
It is the primary job of the petrophysicist.
It is based on the lithological assessment and zonation of the
reservoir in question.
Required data:
• volume of each zone containing hydrocarbons in the
formations (generally reservoir and non-reservoir rocks
alternate within a formation),
• porosity of each zone,
• hydrocarbon saturation of each zone.

A zone code is allocated for each hydrocarbon bearing zone

to unambiguously identify it during the formation evaluation
and the documentation of the results.
Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes
 Introduction
The applied rock
model Solid rock
framework Pore space filled
(rock matrix)
with fluids

Volume of
Volume of hydrocarbon
rock matrix

Volume of
water

Bulk volume of the reservoir rock

 Introduction
Step 1
Calculation of the volume of reservoir rock in a single zone
Required data:
• area of the zone (A),
• thickness of the zone (h).
Sources of the data Derived data
the evaluation of seismic the area of the zone
datasets (sections)
(reservoir geologist's job)
lithological interpretation of well the thickness of the zone
logs (the minimum thickness is
rarely defined less than 5 ft.)
Bulk volume of the reservoir rock in a single zone:
Vrock= A h
Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes
 Introduction
Step 2
Calculation of the (total) pore volume of a single zone
Required data:
• (total) porosity of the zone () (relative amount of pore
space to the bulk volume),
• bulk volume of the reservoir rock in the zone (calculated in
the previous step).

Pore volume of the zone:

Vpore=   Vbulk =  A  h

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Step 3
Calculation of the volume of hydrocarbon in the zone

Required data:
water saturation of the pore space (Sw),
pore volume of the zone (calculated in the previous step).

The hydrocarbon saturation of the pore space:

SHC=1-SW

The volume of hydrocarbon in the zone:

VHC= Vpore SCH=   A  h (1-SW)

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Standard units used in the oil industry

Their application is traditional and based on the US

customary system (of measure).
The results of the calculations are usually expected to be
presented in these units.

Quantity Unit
volume of oil barrel (bbl)
volume of gas cubic foot (cu ft)
thickness foot (ft)
area acre (ac)

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Conversions between oil-field units and SI units.

Unit Equivalent in foot- Equivalent in SI

units units
1 acre 43560 sq ft 4047 m2
1 barrel 5.6154 cu ft 159 l = 1.59 hl
1 acre foot 43560 cu ft 1233522 l =
(=7758 bbl) 12335.22 hl
1 foot 1 ft 0.3048 m
1 cubic foot 1 cu ft 28.3168 l

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
The volume of oil originally in place (OOIP) calculated in oil-
field units:
OIP = 7758  A h   (1- Sw) [bbl]

The volume of gas originally in place (GOIP) calculated in oil-

field units:
GIP = 43560  A h   (1- Sw) [cu ft]

The values of A and h must be substituted in acres and feet.

Other terms corresponding to the above-mentioned ones:

• volume of oil in place (OIP)
• volume of gas in place (GIP).

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
The applied units when the area of the zone is not known:
bbl/ac and cu ft/ac

Net sand (or Net thickness)

is the total thickness of clean (little clay content), porous,
permeable, hydrocarbon-bearing zones in a reservoir interval or a
well. Only the net sand is involved in the calculation of OIP or GIP.
Gross sand (or Gross thickness)
is the total thickness of reservoir zones within an interval or a well
independently of its clay content, porosity, permeability and
hydrocarbon saturation.
Net to gross ratio (NTG)
is the ratio of net sand to gross sand. It is used for qualifying a
reservoir interval or a well. (0  NTG  1 or 100%)

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Net pay (or Pay thickness)
is the part of the net thickness which is considered to be
produce commercial quantities of hydrocarbon.

The volume of hydrocarbon significantly changes as it has

been exploited from the reservoir through a well and stored in
stock tanks.
The magnitude of volume change depends on
• the changes in pressure and temperature
• and the composition of the hydrocarbon.
While the compressible gas expands due to pressure drop,
the slightly compressible oil shrinks due to temperature drop.
The so-called formation volume factor is used for taking into
account the effect of volume change in the calculations.
Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes
 Introduction
Oil formation volume factor (Bo)
gives the ratio of the volume under reservoir conditions to the
volume under stock tank conditions for a standard mass of
produced oil. It has no unit.

Stock Tank Oil Originally In Place (STOOIP)

the oil originally in place (in the reservoir) is converted to a
volume which corresponds to the pressure and temperature
conditions of the stock tank.
7758 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ℎ ∙ 𝜙 ∙ (1 − 𝑆𝑤 ) [bbl]
𝑆𝑇𝑂𝑂𝐼𝑃 =
𝐵0
A and h must be substituted in acres and feet

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Gas formation volume factor (Bg)
gives the ratio of the volume under reservoir conditions to the
volume under stock tank conditions for a standard mass of
produced gas. It has no unit.

Stock Tank Gas Originally In Place (STGOIP)

the gas originally in place (in the reservoir) is converted to a
volume which corresponds to the pressure and temperature
conditions of the stock tank.
43560 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ℎ ∙ 𝜙 ∙ (1 − 𝑆𝑤 ) [cu ft]
𝑆𝑇𝐺𝑂𝐼𝑃 =
𝐵𝑔
A and h must be substituted in acres and feet

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes

 Introduction
Example:
A = 1800 ac, h = 125 ft,  = 16 %, Sw = 32 %
Bo = 1.6, Bg = 0.0032

1. Calculate the volume of oil originally in place (OOIP) and

the volume of stock tank oil originally in place (STOOIP).

2. Calculate the volume of gas originally in place (GOIP) and

the volume of stock tank gas originally in place (STGOIP).

Paul Glover: Petrophysics MSc Course Notes