POROSITY PERMEABILITY VOLUME AND LIFESPAN GABRIEL WIMMERTH 1 THE POROSITY OF A RESERVOIR DETERMINES THE QUANTITY OF OIL AND GAS. THE MORE PORES A RESERVOIR CONTAINS THE MORE QUANTITY, VOLUME OF OIL AND GAS IS PRESENT IN A RESERVOIR. BY GABRIEL KEAFAS KUKU PLAYER WIMMERTH DISSERTATION PRESENTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTORATE IN PETROLEUM ENGINEERING In the Department of Engineering and Science at the Atlantic International University, Hawaii, Honolulu, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Promoter: Dr. Franklin Valcin President/Academic Dean at Atlantic International University October 2015 2 DECLARATION I declare by submitting this thesis, dissertation electronically that that the comprehensive, detailed and the entire piece of work is my own, original work that I am the sole owner of the copyright thereof(unless to the extent otherwise stated) and that I have not previously submitted any part of the work in obtaining any other qualification. Signature: Date: 10 October 2015 Copyright@2015 Atlantic International University All rights reserved 3 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my wife Edla Kaiyo Wimmerth for assisting, encouraging, motivating and being a strong pillar over the years as I was completing this dissertation. It has been quite a tremendous journey, hard work and commitment for me and I would not have completed this enormous work, dissertation without her weighty, profound assistance. 4 ABSTRACT The oil and gas industry, petroleum engineering, exploration, drilling, reservoir and production engineering have taken an enormous toll since the early forties and sixties and it has predominantly reached the peak in the early eighties and nineties. The number of oil and gas companies have been using the vertical drilling approach and successfully managed to pinch the reservoir with productive oil or gas. Many others have also failed in the same process. Namibia on the other hand also tried its luck, onshore and offshore, since the early 1908 but never has been successful in hitting an oil or gas reservoir. They only managed to hit a WILDCAT. What has been the problem in Namibia as its counterpart with the same rock formations Brazil has been successful on several oil and gas reservoirs along their two dominant oil and gas Basins, Santos and Campos? The thesis will surely outline the above mentioned practical and engineering problem and provide analytical and conclusive solutions. The objective of this thesis is principally centred on the quantity and lifespan of an oil and gas reservoir based on its porosity and permeability. How much oil or gas and what is the quantity of oil or gas in a porous reservoir? Does porosity determine the quantity of oil or gas in a reservoir? In order to achieve this answer and hence conclusively provide answers. I must have executed a vigorous and practical approach. I had to engage the basic properties of different types of rocks and their ability to store oil or gas in its reserves. How did I achieve the above mentioned problems and guidelines? I approached oil and gas companies, which are currently busy exploring and drilling for oil or gas onshore and offshore in Namibia. I equally got information on the internet, on these companies. I also demonstrated with my scientific experimental techniques in my study at home, with different types of stones and sponges with different sizes and use the basic sun flower oil in order to determine the porosity of a reservoir, hence to determine the quantity of oil or gas. I alternatively handed out 500 questionnaires to different people, students, teachers and lecturers in trying to find out the porosity of a reservoir, by collecting different types of stones, use either water, sunflower or any liquid of their disposal in trying to find out the porosity and quantity of the fluid in a particular reservoir. The questions on the questionnaire were as follows: (i) How many circular stones? (ii) Determine the volume of the circular stones. (iii) Determine the volume of fluid, oil or water in the circular container (iv) How many rectangular stones? (v) Determine the volume of the rectangular stone inside the container. (vi) Determine the role of the liquid inside the rectangular container. (vii) How many triangular stones? (viii) Determine the volume of the triangular stones inside the container. (ix) The volume of the liquid in the triangular container (x) Mix the fourth container with different types and sizes of stones, circular, rectangular and triangular. How many stones of each shape, circular, rectangular and triangular? (xi) The total volume of the stones in the container, circular, rectangular and triangular. (xii) The net volume of the fluid inside the mixed container. (xiii) Determine the pressure of the different containers, circular, rectangular and triangular stones inside (xiv) Determine the pressure of the mixed container 5 (xv) Will pressure determine the porosity of a reservoir? (xvi) Determine the wettability of the container. (xvii) Is it possible that plate tectonics will continuously take place or did it reach its proximity? It is also practically and scientifically possible that a particular oil or gas reservoir will have different types of porosity and that will be provided by different sizes of stones in a test demonstration of a reservoir. The reservoir with the different types, sizes of stones, circular, rectangular and triangular provided the best results of a practical reservoir in the oil and gas industry. The earth crust consists of different types of rocks, like the igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, which are produced by different atmospheric conditions. These types of rocks finally provide the landscape of the earth. On the other hand, different types of rocks provide different types of reservoirs, like the oil and gas reservoirs. The oil and gas reservoirs are formed over centuries of fossil foil deposition and sedimentation. The sedimentation takes place under different types of pressure and temperature conditions, which eventually result into a hydrocarbon of oil and gas. The rock formations on the different continents are based on the plate tectonics theories, as the PANGAEA and the GONDWANA went through different rock formations over ages and hence underwent certain geomorphologic processes, like crystallization, erosion, sedimentation and metamorphism, in order to be classified as a rock. Crystallization process can take place underground or on the surface. The erosion and sedimentation processes are assisted by wind, running, flowing water and organisms over hundreds and thousands of years. On the other hand is metamorphism a process which only changes the face of an existing rock, in conjunction with the continuously changing temperature and pressure conditions and hence rocks are usually identified by the minerals they are constituting. There are three types of fluids in a reservoir, gas, water and oil. These fluids are flowing differently inside a reservoir, like radial flow, linear flow, spherical and hemispherical flow. The velocity of a fluid has been formulated by Henry Darcy for homogenous fluid in a porous medium. The velocity of a fluid is directly proportional to pressure gradient and inversely proportional to the fluid viscosity. In other words the size of a pore, will determine the permeability and hence the quantitative volume of oil and gas inside a reservoir. Any engineer will be able to formulate a suitable mathematical model in order to describe the performance of any reservoir, once a straight line is plotted, based on the observed production and pressure data of the indentified reservoir. The most applicable material balance equation of a simple reservoir and the basic knowledge of reservoir engineers will be based on the following information: (i)The initial hydrocarbon in place of a reservoir (ii) How much hydrocarbon can be produced at different pressures(iii)The primary mechanism for reservoir production(iv)The potential usefulness of varying enhanced recovery techniques. The frequently changing pressure applications on the earth crust, will determine the quantity of fluid in a reservoir. As long as there is a continuous change in pressure on any reservoir, there will always be different 6 shapes, sizes of pores and permeability in a reservoir. A reservoir, which does not have any pores, will never have any quantity of oil and gas. A Reservoir Simulation is used tremendously and extensively to identify opportunities and company objectives in securing and increasing oil production in heavy oil deposits and reservoirs. The oil recovery process is enhanced by decreasing the oil viscosity by injecting steam or hot water inside a well with oil. The simulation models and the seismic imaging are very much important and critically advantageous to the respective companies and governments, which are on the attempt of trying to explore, drill and produce any gas or oil in any region or location. It is of utmost importance to know, whether in a certain area, region or place there is an availability of a resource, like oil or gas before any plans are carried out and this can only be determined by seismic 3D imaging and hence the seismic application. Once an oil and gas reservoir has been identified and located and the companies know that there is oil or gas available, then the planning will start on how to drill and extract oil or gas from deep down the sea, sub-surface. The seismic imaging or data will also bring forth the quantity of the possible oil or gas. The application of software on the other hand is also of utmost importance in reservoir engineering. This is the very much imperative to use technological applications and software in determining the types of oil and gas reservoirs and hence determine which reservoirs are containing the required and expected oil or gas for production. It is also only through a certain kind of software application any reservoir engineer will be able to determine where and which reservoir contains any volume of oil or gas without physically observing at close distance the containment of a particular reservoir.