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An experimental investigation on relative permeability ratio coefficients and their prediction by using pore properties in carbonate rocks

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Abstract

Relative permeability is one of the dynamic properties in reservoir fluid flow that is essential in characterizing the simultaneous flow of fluids in the reservoir and plays a vital role in reservoir production studies and EOR processes. The relative permeability ratio is used to describe better and employ relative permeability data presented in individual curves. The simultaneous flow of reservoir fluids is well described by the coefficients a and b, which are obtained from the linear part of the ratio curve. These coefficients, considered critical parameters of the relative permeability curve, are complex. Factors and concepts affecting the a and b coeffecients are not well defined. The corresponding values of a and b were obtained from the experimental relative permeability data for carbonate rocks. Factors affecting these coefficients were studied and evaluated in this paper. The results indicate that coefficient b is mainly affected by the pore size heterogeneity and fluid saturation distribution. In contrast, the coefficient a is influenced by residual water saturation and fine pores. Another notable result of this study was using experimental relationships to determine the relative permeability parameters, including coefficients a and b and residual saturation values using mercury injection data.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the University of Tehran for providing facilities for this study. The Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) thanked for data preparation. Anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their helpful comments that greatly improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Kazem Saadat & Hossain Rahimpour-Bonab

  2. School of Energy and Electronic Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England

    Jebraeel Gholinezhad

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  1. Kazem Saadat
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  2. Hossain Rahimpour-Bonab
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by K. Saadat, H Rahimpour-Bonab and J. Gholinezhad. The first draft of the manuscript was written by K. Saadat and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hossain Rahimpour-Bonab.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

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Saadat, K., Rahimpour-Bonab, H. & Gholinezhad, J. An experimental investigation on relative permeability ratio coefficients and their prediction by using pore properties in carbonate rocks. Arab J Geosci 16, 459 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11564-1

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