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Petroleum Technology 1
Unit 3, Petroleum Properties

Open Distance Learning

PgC/PgD/MSc in Oil and Gas Engineering

2
January 2002, Version 1
School of Mechanical and Offshore Engineering

postgraduate
PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:

Applications

Review

In this topic the general material balance is simplified to represent dominant

drive mechanisms and drive indices are introduced to show the change in
influence of these mechanisms during reservoir life.

Content
Material Balance Methods

In many situations, one particular drive mechanism is dominant, and the general
material balance equation can be simplified accordingly.

Undersaturated Volumetric Reservoir

In this case there is no gas cap (m=0) and the water terms (influx and production) are
negligible since the reservoir is volumetric. The equation then reduces to:-

N=
[ ]
Np B t + (R p − R si )B g
(S c + c f )∆p
B t − B ti + B ti wc w
1 − S wc

For an undersaturated reservoir Rs = constant so Rs = Rsi. It may be assumed that any

gas produced has come out of solution in the oil simultaneously produced so:-

R p = R s = R si

Also we have B t = B o + (R si − R s )B g = B o

and B ti = Boi

Bo − Boi
also = c o ∆p
Boi

So = 1 − S wc (since Sg = 0)

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PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

Bo  1 
then N = Np   as obtained previously
B oi  c e ∆p 

Saturated Reservoir, Dissolved gas drive

For an undersaturated reservoir, the rock and connate water compressibilities are
usually significant. For a saturated reservoir, however, these compressibilities can
usually be neglected since they are much smaller than the compressibility of the free
gas present. If the drive is predominantly by dissolved gas, there will be no initial gas
cap, so m = 0.

Neglecting the water terms, the material balance equation then simplifies to:-

Np Bo − Boi + (R si − R s )Bg
=
N Bo + (R p − R s )Bg

Gas Cap Drive

For this case the rock and connate water compressibilities and the water influx and
production terms are neglected.Then:-

N=
[
Np B t + (R p − R si )Bg ]
 Bg 
B t − B ti + mB ti  − 1
 B gi 
 

And making use of:-

B t = Bo + (R si − R s )Bg

B ti = Boi

N=
[
Np Bo + (R p − R s )B g ]
then
 Bg 
BO + (R si − R s )B g − B oi + mB oi  − 1
 Bgi 
 

Using Havlena and Odeh’s notation this may be written

F = N(E o + mE g )

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PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

Frequently there may be considerable uncertainty about the estimated value of m for a
reservoir. The above equation can be used to check estimates of m, since if a plot of F
versus (Eo + mEg) is prepared, a straight line of slope N will be obtained if the estimate
of m is close to the true value.

Figure 1. Plot of F versus Eo+mEg

If the plot shows significant curvature, the value of m can be adjusted as shown in
Figure 1. In other cases both m and N are subject to considerable uncertainty, so the
following alternative rearrangement may be employed:-

F Eg
= N + mN
Eo Eo

If production data is plotted in the form F / Eo versus Eg / Eo linear regression may be

used to obtain the best straight line for the data: this will have intercept N and slope mN,
so values for m and N may be obtained.

Water Drive

In this case the rock and connate water compressibilities may often be neglected (the
∆p term is small for an active water drive, as pressure decline is typically slow).
If there is no initial gas cap m = 0 and the material balance becomes;-

N=
[ ]
Np Bo + (R p − R s )B g − (We − WpB w )
B o − Boi + (R si − R s )B g
Using Havlena and Odeh’s parameters this becomes:-

F = NE o + We

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PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

By a similar approach it can be shown that for the case of water drive with an initial gas
cap:-

F = N(Eo + mE g ) + We

The quantity in these equations subject to the greatest uncertainty is the water influx W e,
which cannot be measured but must be obtained from some water influx model. Various
models are available for predicting W e – eg, the Schilthuis steady state model, the van
Everdingen and Hurst unsteady state model etc. The applicability of the water influx
model may be checked against the production history by plotting:-

F We
versus (for cases with no initial gas cap)
Eo Eo

F We
or versus (for cases with initial gas cap)
Eo + mE g Eo + mE g

These plots will be linear with Intercepts equal to m if W e has been modelled
appropriately. As an example, in the case with no initial gas cap:-

Figure 2. Plot of F / Eo versus W / Eo for reservoir with no initial gas cap

The simplest water influx model, the Schilthuis steady state model, may be put in the
form:-

t
We = k ∫ (p
o
i − p )dt

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PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

where p = reservoir pressure at time t

pi = initial reservoir pressure (at time t = 0)
We = cumulative water influx at time t
k = the water influx constant (assumed constant for the particular
reservoir).
Note: The water drive mechanism discussed should be classified strictly as a
combination drive, since dissolved gas ( and any gas cap present) contribute
substantially to the drive.
In waterflood operations an additional term W IBw will appear in the water term, where WI
is the injected water volume (stb).

Pirson’s Rearrangements

Pirson showed that if the compressibilities of the rock and connate water are neglected,
the general material balance equation can be rearranged as follows:-

 Bg 
N(B t − B ti ) + Nm
B 
[
− 1 + (We − WpB w ) = Np B t + (R p − R si )B g ]
 gi 

Dividing through by the right hand side the result can be expressed in the form

DDI + GDI + WDI = 1

N(B t − B ti )
where DDI = = depletion drive index
[
Np B t + (R p − R si )B g ]
= fraction of production due to depletion or dissolved gas drive

 Bg 
NmB ti  − 1
 B gi 
GDI =   = gas cap drive index
[
Np B t + (R p − R si )B g ]
= fraction of production due to gas cap drive

We − WpB w
WDI = = water drive index
[
Np B t + (R p − R si )B g ]
= fraction of production due to water drive

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PgDip/MSc Oil and Gas Engineering/Petroleum Technology 1 Topic 22: Material Balance Methods:
Applications

In a combination drive reservoir, the values of each index will vary throughout the
production history as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Variation in depletion, gas cap and water drive indices with reservoir life

The denominator in the index terms can be expressed as:-

[ ] [
Np B t + (R p − R si )B g = Np Bo + (R p − R s )B g ]
= cumulative volume of oil and gas produced at
time t = t1 measured under reservoir conditions at that time

N(B t − B ti ) = expansion of oil initially in reservoir and dissolved gas released

from it measured under reservoir conditions at t = t1

 Bg 
NmB ti  − 1 = expansion of initial gas cap measured under
B 
 gi 
reservoir conditions at t = t1

We − WpB w = net water influx measured under reservoir conditions at t=t1

© The Robert Gordon University 2002 6