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    Subsurface Coursework-Short Notes-Q2 (A) & (B)

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    Mathews Eyyo
    The document is a coursework submission sheet for an MSc student named Mathews Eyyo. It includes information such as the due date of November 5th 2010, the date submitted of November 3rd 2010, the course and module details, assignment title, and lecturer. It also includes a signed declaration by the student confirming the work is their own and sources have been properly acknowledged.

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    Subsurface Coursework-Short Notes-Q2 (A) & (B)

    Uploaded by

    Mathews Eyyo
    310 views6 pages
    The document is a coursework submission sheet for an MSc student named Mathews Eyyo. It includes information such as the due date of November 5th 2010, the date submitted of November 3rd 2010, the course and module details, assignment title, and lecturer. It also includes a signed declaration by the student confirming the work is their own and sources have been properly acknowledged.

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    Subsurface Coursework-Short Notes-Q2 (a) & (b)

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    The document is a coursework submission sheet for an MSc student named Mathews Eyyo. It includes information such as the due date of November 5th 2010, the date submitted of November 3rd 2010, the course and module details, assignment title, and lecturer. It also includes a signed declaration by the student confirming the work is their own and sources have been properly acknowledged.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    310 views6 pages

    Subsurface Coursework-Short Notes-Q2 (A) & (B)

    Uploaded by

    Mathews Eyyo
    The document is a coursework submission sheet for an MSc student named Mathews Eyyo. It includes information such as the due date of November 5th 2010, the date submitted of November 3rd 2010, the course and module details, assignment title, and lecturer. It also includes a signed declaration by the student confirming the work is their own and sources have been properly acknowledged.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 6

    School of Engineering

    COURSEWORK SUBMISSION SHEET

    All sections except the “LATE DATE” section must be completed and the declaration signed, for the
    submission to be accepted.
    Any request for a coursework extension must be submitted on the appropriate form (please refer to
    http://www.rgu.ac.uk/academicaffairs/quality_assurance/page.cfm?pge=44250), prior to the due
    date.
    Due Date Date Submitted For official use only
    05.11.2010 03.11.2010 LATE DATE

    MATRIC No.1007629

    SURNAME:EYYO

    FIRST NAME(S):MATHEWS
    COURSE & STAGE MSc Oil & Gas Engineering
    Eg MSc Oil & Gas Engineering
    MSc Drilling & Well Engineering Full Time
    MODULE NUMBER & TITLE ENM200 & SUBSURFACE

    ASSIGNMENT TITLE Definitions / Short notes

    LECTURER ISSUING COURSEWORK Dr. Bryan Cronin

    I confirm: (a) That the work undertaken for this assignment is entirely my own and that I have
    not made use of any unauthorised assistance.
    (b) That the sources of all reference material have been properly acknowledged.
    [NB: For information on Academic Misconduct, refer to
    http://www.rgu.ac.uk/academicaffairs/assessment/page.cfm?pge=7088]

    Signed …………MATHEWS EYYO....................... Date ...............03.11.2010.......................

    Marker’s Comments

    Marker Grade
    Subsurface Course Work – Question 2 (a) & (b)

    2
    Subsurface Course Work – Question 2 (a) & (b)

    Gas Cap Drive

    The flow of oil from the reservoir to the well bore may be due to the
    natural force (or drive) or due to both natural and external drive. The oil
    recovery from the reservoir by the action of any natural force is called
    primary recovery. In most cases the initial reservoir pressure is adequate
    enough to bring the fluid to the surface.

    Gas cap drive is one of the primary recovery mechanisms that provide
    natural energy for the recovery of oil. The Characteristic feature of a gas
    cap drive reservoir is the gas cap that overlies the oil in the reservoir.
    The Figure 1 represents a Gas Cap Drive reservoir.

    Figure 1: Gas cap drive reservoir (Clark, N.J., Elements of Petroleum Reservoirs,
    SPE, 1969)

    3
    Subsurface Course Work – Question 2 (a) & (b)

    In a gas cap drive reservoir the gas is compressed by the oil bearing zone
    which lies beneath the gas cap. So when the gas expands it will drive the
    oil to the well bore. The reservoir pressure depends on the volume of gas
    in the gas cap compared to oil volume. As production progresses the gas
    cap will expands and the oil contact will be displaced down into the
    reservoir which results in the essential maintenance of gas in the
    reservoir and hence increase the recovery efficiency.

    The reservoir pressure would be declined gradually as the production


    increases. As a result dissolved gases will come out of the crude and
    increases the gas saturation which forms a free gas zone on the oil
    phase. This results in the flow of excessive gas to the surface. So the gas
    saturation should be kept as low as possible to get a good recovery of oil.
    Maintaining low production rates will help the gas saturation to minimize,
    as free gas migrates to the gas cap and thereby improving the recovery
    rates. Generally the decline of reservoir pressure and production rate is
    comparatively slow with regard to other primary drive mechanisms. And
    the gas cap drive reservoir has an oil recovery rate of 20 to 40 percent.

    References
    Ahmed, T.H., 2006.Reservoir engineering handbook. 3rd ed, Burlington,
    MA: Elsevier.

    4
    Subsurface Course Work – Question 2 (a) & (b)

    Primary Hydrocarbon Migration

    The geological study of a reservoir explains that the hydrocarbon does


    not originate in the traps where they exist but they are migrated from the
    source rocks due to several actions. The process of migration of
    hydrocarbons from the parent rock or source rock to a porous and
    permeable reservoir is called Primary Hydrocarbon Migration. There are
    several theories for explaining different mechanisms involved in the
    process of migration under various environmental and geological
    conditions. And these mechanisms can be broadly classified as those in
    which migration of hydrocarbons from the source rocks assisted by the
    movement of water and the migration as a separate phase without
    involving any water movement.

    The petroleum reservoirs or the reservoir carrier beds are characterised


    by good porosity and permeability whereas the source rocks which are
    identified as the accumulation of sediments and formation of
    impermeable shales. As a result of the continuous accumulation the
    shales are compacted and deeply buried which further leads to squeezing
    out of interstitial water. This results in poor porosity and high density.
    Various data on the expulsion of water from the source rocks shows that
    water is forced out during the burial stage itself which is well before the
    hydrocarbon formation temperature. Therefore the method of expulsion
    of hydrocarbons from the high density non porous or poor porous rocks is
    ill defined. However the clay minerals with considerable amount of
    smectites in the shales have some bound water in their lattice structure
    which will be squeezed out when smectites are transformed to illite at a
    temperature of 200˚F. Since this temperature is within the range of
    hydrocarbon formation the squeezed out water will assist the migration of
    oil.

    5
    Subsurface Course Work – Question 2 (a) & (b)

    Another possible primary migration mechanism is that oil flow as a


    separate phase. After the pore water is squeezed out the major oil
    formation takes place in a continuous phase at higher depths in the
    organically rich shale where the compaction is minimal or no compaction.
    Then the migration could occur along the mineral network of source
    rocks. And the driving force for this migration is assumed to be the
    differential pressure between the source rocks and the carrier basins.

    References

    Tiab,D., 2004. Petrophysics:theory and practice of measuring reservoir


    rock and fluid transport properties. 2nd ed, London: Elsevier

    Gluyas, J.G., 2004. Petroleum geoscience. Malden, MA: Blackwell


    Publications

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