Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir Engineering: Research
Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir Engineering: Research
Petroleum Reservoirs and Reservoir Engineering: Research
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Luis Loera
Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo
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Abstract
This article aims to provide brief insight into reservoir engineering. The definition of petroleum
reservoirs, with a classification and their characteristics are contained within. Also, the definition,
objectives and main tasks of reservoir engineering is commented. Finally, the main production
stages from petroleum reservoirs are briefly reviewed. An effort has been made on giving a special
focus on the importance of the understanding of the reservoirs to optimize the oil and gas
production.
Introduction
Hydrocarbons are mixtures of organic
compounds that can exist in different phases,
according to the pressure and temperature
conditions at what they are found. As fluids,
they can exist as liquid and gas. When
hydrocarbons are produced from a reservoir
and transported to the surface, they
experience changes in their pressure and
temperature conditions affecting their flowing
characteristics and their composition.
Figure 1. Initial fluids distribution in an oil
Understanding of this is necessary for reservoir (Tarek, 2000).
predicting how fluids would behave at any
position and conditions of the production The five basic elements necessary to generate
system facilities. and store hydrocarbons are: Source rock,
migration pathway, reservoir rock, trap and
Petroleum reservoirs seal. Listed elements, and the appropriate
A reservoir is defined as is “the portion of a timing for their generation and occurrence are
geological trap which contains oil and/or gas known as petroleum system (Schlumberger,
as a single hydraulically connected system” 2015).
(Craft, 1991). Due to their petrophysical
Some reservoirs are connected to enormous
characteristics, oil and gas accumulation
volumes of water-saturated rocks, known as
occurs mainly in sedimentary rocks as
aquifers (Figure 2). Sometimes, more than
limestone, dolomite, and sandstone, where
one reservoir is connected to the same
fluids are stored and distributed according to
aquifer and pressure decline in one of the
their densities (Figure 1) (Craft, 1991).
reservoirs might affect the rest (Craft, 1991).
Also, when the portion of rock delimited by
the trap is saturated with oil and/or gas, the a reservoir in such a manner as to obtain a
trap and the reservoir are the same (Craft, high economic recovery” (Moore, 1955).
1991), as occurs with shale gas reservoirs.
The main task of reservoir engineering is the
optimization of the oil and gas extraction
process (Essley, 1965). To do this, it is
necessary to analyse/interpret information
generated from useful subsurface
measurements, whose objective is the study
and characterization of the behaviour of the
reservoir. This is accomplished by models,
which generate reliable and useful
information to evaluate and determine the
best exploitation strategy.
References
Craft, B. C. y Hawkins, M. F., 1991,
“Introduction to Reservoir Engineering”,
Applied Reservoir Engineering, p. 2-5.