Leaky Petroleum Reservoirs:
Are the confining beds (top & bottom) of a petroleum reservoir are completely impermeable with extremely low-permeability?
Are the vertical flow components remain ‘always’ negligible?
If the confining beds ‘leak’ the fluids ‘either from’ or ‘to the’ reservoir, how exactly the transient radial fluid flow equation would get influenced?
Will it be feasible – in a real field scenario – to distinguish between (a) capture/loss of brine into/from the reservoir; and (b) capture/loss of hydrocarbon fluids into/from the reservoir – resulting from ‘leak’?
Whether the additional data on (a) ‘vertical permeability’ of the reservoir; (b) permeabilities of top & bottom confining units – would suffice – to address the leakance of the confined petroleum reservoir? Or Do we still require more data?
How exactly to distinguish the ‘leakage of fluids into a petroleum reservoir’ from that of ‘production of pore-fluids from a petroleum reservoir resulting from storage effect’?
Dear Suresh Kumar Govindarajan,
You have made an interesting question... With 8 years of petroleum exploration experience, discovering a totally new concept of petroleum capturation (but last 26 years did not work in the profession!) ... First, you have to make difference between the lithological nature of confining beds the main importance for you is the top strata, but exists situation when the bottom strata same play important role in your subject... Because a theoretical reservoirs bottom part is the reservoir water, the next is the petroleum and on the top is the natural gas... In the case of clay, sandstone totally saturated with clay, ' flexible lime marl' you will have trap with completely impermeable bottom and top. in the case of metamorphic, volcanic, limestone, dolomite stone exist condition when they have vertical microfisure (macrofisure) when you have to count with them... In rest I do not have experienced thought, only idea for you: you have to imagine this 'fisure' like a macro artificial opening and experience got from to use in case of the natural environment only one thing... do not forget that in case of natural condition the main role has the difference of layer pressures which is an important factor in such a case...
Regards,
Laszlo
Nature hates a gradient. All petroleum reservoirs leak at some rate, albeit very slowly. Most trapped petroleum is above the ambient pressure/depth gradient, excepting very shallow deposits that are in communication with atmospheric pressure. There are many documented instances of the oil column becoming too thick during active oil migration /charge resulting in a pressure that exceeds the integrity of the top seal. This can result in catastrophic lose of oil in the reservoir or the oil column being limited to a height the overlying seal can hold. Hope this helps.
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