Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S.

Kadhim 1

The General Material Balance Equation (GMBE)

Introduction
The General Material Balance Equation (GMBE) is developed based on an oil reservoir with a
primary gas cap at initial conditions and reservoir pressure designated as . At a later time,
reservoir pressure is assumed to have been reduced from production of oil, water, and gas.

The general material balance equation (GMBE) has long been recognized as one of the basic tools of
reservoir engineers for interpreting and predicting reservoir performance. The GMBE, when
properly applied, can be used to:
1. Estimate initial hydrocarbon volumes in place
2. Predict future reservoir performance
3. Predict ultimate hydrocarbon recovery under various types of primary driving mechanisms

During the production period, it is assumed that there was water influx into the reservoir from an
aquifer. It is also assumed that water and/or gas was injected into the reservoir. These conditions
are illustrated in the following Figure.
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Before deriving the material balance, it is convenient to denote certain terms by symbols for brevity.
The symbols used conform where possible to the standard nomenclature adopted by the Society of
Petroleum Engineers.
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Derivation of the General Material Balance Equation (GMBE)

The GMBE can be represented volumetrically in reservoir barrels as:

Before developing the terms of the expression for the GMBE in Eq. (1), it is necessary to derive
other expressions that apply to oil reservoirs with primary gas caps. The ratio of original
reservoir gas cap volume and the original reservoir oil zone volume is defined as:
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Development of Terms in the Expression of Equation (1)

1. Net change in oil production volume:

2. Net change in water production volume:

3. Gas cap volume change:

(NmBoi = GBgi)
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4. Solution gas released into the gas cap:

5. Oil volume change:

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6. Connate water and rock expansion:

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In a combination-drive reservoir where all the driving mechanisms are simultaneously

present, it is of practical interest to determine the relative magnitude of each of the
driving mechanisms and its contribution to the production.
Rearranging Equation 24 gives:
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The four terms of the left-hand side of Equation (27) represent the major primary driving
mechanisms by which oil may be recovered from oil reservoirs. As presented earlier in this
lecture, these driving forces are:
a. Depletion Drive. Depletion drive is the oil recovery mechanism
wherein the production of the oil from its reservoir rock is achieved by the expansion of the
original oil volume with all its original dissolved gas. This driving mechanism is
represented mathematically by the first term of Equation (25) or:

DDI = N (Bt − Bti)/A (28)

where DDI is termed the depletion-drive index.

b. Segregation Drive. Segregation drive (gas-cap drive) is the mechanism

wherein the displacement of oil from the formation is accomplished by the expansion of the
original free gas cap. This driving force is described by the second term of Eqt. (25), or:

SDI = [N m Bti (Bg − Bgi)/Bgi]/A (29)

where SDI is termed the segregation-drive index.
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c. Water Drive. Water drive is the mechanism

Where in the displacement of the oil is accomplished by the net encroachment of water into
the oil zone. This mechanism is represented by the third term of Equation (25) or:

WDI = (We −Wp Bw)/A (30)

where WDI is termed the water-drive index.

d. Expansion Drive.
For under-saturated oil reservoirs with no water influx, the principal source of energy is a
result of the rock and fluid expansion. Where all the other three driving mechanisms are
contributing to the production of oil and gas from the reservoir, the contribution of the rock
and fluid expansion to the oil recovery is too small and essentially negligible and can be
ignored.
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Uses and Basic Assumption of The Material Balance Equation

The material balance equation derived in the previous section has been in general use for
many years mainly for the following:
1. Determining the initial hydrocarbon in place.
2. Calculating water influx.
3. Predicting reservoir pressures.

The basic assumptions in the material balance equation (MBE) are as follows:
1. Constant temperature: Pressure-volume changes in the reservoir are assumed to occur
without any temperature changes. If any temperature changes occur, they are usually
sufficiently small to be ignored without significant error.

2. Pressure equilibrium: All parts of the reservoir have the same pressure, and fluid
properties are therefore constant throughout. Substantial pressure variation across the
reservoir may cause excessive calculation error. The lose validity in cases of volatile oil or
gas condensate reservoirs where compositions are also important. Special laboratory
procedures may be used to improve PVT data for volatile fluid situations.
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3. Constant reservoir volume: Reservoir volume is assumed to be constant except for those
conditions of rock and water expansion or water influx that are specifically considered in
the equation. The formation is considered to be sufficiently competent that no significant
volume change will occur through movement or reworking of the formation due to
overburden pressure as the internal reservoir pressure is reduced.
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The Application of the GMBE

 Schilthius published the first GMBE in 1936.

 In 1953, van Everdingen et al. applied a linear form of the GMBE to a partial water-drive
reservoir.
 The full potential of the GMBE as a straight line equation was developed by Havlena and
Odeh in classical papers published in 1963 and 1964.
 Cole (1969) pointed out that since the sum of the driving indexes is equal to one, it follows
that if the magnitude of one of the index terms is reduced, then one or both of the remaining
terms must be correspondingly increased.
Equation (30) can be solved at any time to determine the magnitude of the various driving
indexes. The forces displacing the oil and gas from the reservoir are subject to change from
time to time. Changes in fluid withdrawal rates are primarily responsible for changes in the
driving indexes.

WDI = (We −Wp Bw)/A (30)

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The effect of pressure errors on calculated values of initial oil or water influx depends on the
size of the errors in relation to the reservoir pressure decline. This is true because pressure
enters the material balance equation mainly as differences (Bo-Boi), (Rs – Rsi), and (Bg-Bgi).
Because water influx and gas cap expansion tend to offset pressure decline, the pressure
errors are more serious than for the under-saturated depletion reservoirs.

In the case of very active water drives and gas caps that are large compared with the
associated oil zone, the material balance is useless to determine the initial oil in place
because of the very small pressure decline
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Example: A combination-drive reservoir contains 10 MMSTB of oil initially in place. The

ratio of the original gas-cap volume to the original oil volume, (m), is estimated as 0.25. The
initial reservoir pressure is 3,000 psia at 150°F. The reservoir produced 1 MMSTB of oil,
1,100 MMscf of 0.8 specific gravity gas, and 50,000 STB of water by the time the reservoir
pressure dropped to 2,800 psi. The following PVT is available:

(Pi)

Calculate:
a. Water influx
b. Net water influx
c. Primary driving indexes at 2,800 psi
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Solution
Because the reservoir contains a gas cap, the rock and fluid expansion can be neglected
( cf and cw = 0).
A. Water influx
1. Calculate cumulative gas-oil ratio Rp:
Rp=Gp/Np

2. Arrange the following Equation to solve for We:

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B. Net water influx

Net water influx =We −Wp Bw = 411,281 − 50,000 = 361,281 bbl

C. Primary recovery indexes

1. Calculate the parameter A by using the following Equation:

A = Np [Bt + (Rp − Rsi) Bg]

A = 10^6 [1.655 + (1100 − 1040) 0.00092] = 1,710,000

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2. Calculate DDI, SDI, and WDI by applying the following Equations:

The depletion-drive index=DDI = N (Bt − Bti)/A
The segregation-drive index=SDI = [N m Bti (Bg − Bgi)/Bgi]/A
The water-drive index=WDI = (We −Wp Bw)/A
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These calculations show that the 43.85% of the recovery was obtained by depletion drive,
34.65% by gas-cap drive, 21.12% by water drive, and only 0.38% by connate-water and
rock expansion. The results suggest that the expansion-drive index (EDI) term can be
neglected in the presence of a gas cap or when the reservoir pressure drops below the
bubble point pressure. In high pore volume compressibility reservoirs, such as chalks and
unconsolidated sands, however, the energy contribution of the rock and water expansion
cannot be ignored even at high gas saturations.
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Example: The Big Butte field is a combination-drive reservoir. The current reservoir
pressure is estimated at 2,500 psi. The reservoir production data and PVT information
are given below:
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Solution
1. Assuming the same porosity and connate-water for the oil and gas zones, calculate m:

2. Calculate the cumulative gas-oil ratio Rp: (Rp=Gp/Np)

3. Solve for the initial oil-in-place by applying the following Equation: