SPE
SPE 20478
Application of Integrated Pore-to-Core Image Analysis To Study
Fluid Distribution in Reservoir Rocks
L. Tomutsa, * S.M. Mahmood, * A. Brinkmeyer, and M. Honarpour, *
Nat!. Inst. for Petroleum & Energy Research
* SPE Members
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 65th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held in New Orleans, LA, September 23-26, 1990.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as prese~ted, have no! been reviewed by th.e Soci~ty of 'petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
any POSition of th~ Society of Pe~roleum Engineers, ItS officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy IS restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Publications Manager, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836. Telex, 730989 SPEDAL.
ABSTRACT
Effects of small-scale variations in rock properties on fluid
distribution was studied in a layered Berea and a glauconite-
laminated Shannon sandstone using x-ray computed tomography
(CT), thin-section analysis, and rock-slab micromodeIs.
Dry and partially saturated cores were CT scanned at
different stages of imbibition and drainage cycles to determine the
spatial variations of rock properties and fluid distributions. Tests
with brine-mineral oil (of 6.5 and 20 cP viscosities) and miscible
brine-brine systems were conducted.
Based on the CT images, locations of various degrees of oil
trapping were identified, from which samples were cut for thin-
section analysis. Fluorescent and transmitted light microscopy
images from these thin-sections were analyzed using commercial
petrographic image analyses (PIA) software. Statistical analyses
of pore and throat sizes were used to delineate small-scale spatial
distributions of porosity and permeability.
Using a newly developed technique, micromodels containing
2 to 3 millimeter thick rock slabs were constructed. Multiphase
displacement tests were performed, and pore-level behavior was
observed.
The influence of layering resulting from variation in pore
characteristics on front adVancement, fluid distribution, and
trapping was studied at core and microscopic scales using
combination of CT and micromodel techniques. Presence of lower
qualitylayers re-duced the effect of instability and inhibited oil
intrusion in these layers.
This integrated use of images at different scales, as obtained
by various imaging techniques, was found to be useful in prOViding
an improved understanding of the effects of small-scale rock
heterogeneities on fluid flow and trapping. Such integration can
be helpful in proper interpretation of petrophysical data, such as
relative permeability, capillary pressure, and electrical resistivity of
core samples.
References and illustrations at end of paper.
137
r
INTROPUCTION
X-ray Computed tomography (CT) scanning is a powerful tool
for studying the influence of small scale geological heterogeneities
on fluid flow and trapping. Sequential imaging using a CT scanner
provides information about changes in saturation and saturation
distributions during displacement processes. The presence of small-
scale rock heterogeneities that may influence fluid movements,
trapping, movement of flood fronts, dispersion, viscous fingering,
and other flow conditions in cores, can be investigated by CT
scanning. 1 Displacement mechanisms of miscible and immiscible
displacements under unstable flow conditions have been studied
by Peters and Hardham. 2 The effect of viscous and gravity forces
on sweep efficiency and hydrocarbon recovery during miscible
displacements in a three-dimensional model of a five-spot pattem
was studied by Withjack and Akervoll. 3 Wellington and Vinegar4
measured porosity and fluid saturation during multiphase fluid flow
and studied oil displacement mechanisms in homogeneous cores
using a CT scanner.
The investigation of core level heterogeneities and their influence
on fluid flow behavior of the rock reqUires an understanding of
flow activities at pore level. To understand the role of microscopic
heterogeneities on the transport and trapping of fluids in
sedimentary rocks, fluid displacement experiments were performed
in rock-slab micromodels. These models contained 2- to 3-
millimeter thick slabs of rocks sandwiched between two trans-
parent plates.
Rock-slab micromodels offer similarities in many critical para-
meters S -g dictating fluid flow and trapping because actual rock is
used. The 2- to 3- millimeter thickness of the rock slab contains 27
to 40 pores of 75 micrometer average size, which is greater than
the minimum number of pores required (12 to 20) to discern
important trends. 8,g
Since the rock-slab micromodel technique is relatively new, its.
scope and limitations are not yet fully understood. Earlier
experiments in homogeneous Berea and Bentheimer rock-slab
micromodels showed that the behavior was not always similar to
those observed in glass network models. 10-12 The difference was
seen in tests consisting of several imbibition and drainage cycles in
each of the three models under similar operating conditions. This
discrepancy was attributed to the differences in critical similarity
parameters, such as aspect ratio and connectedness.
2 APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED PORE TO CORE IMAGE ANALYSIS
TO STUDY FLUID DISTRIBUTION IN RESERVOIR ROCKS
To study the influence of rock heterogeneities on fluid flow
behavior, rock characteristics were determined from thin-section
analyses, mercury capillary pressure tests, and petrographic image
analyses (PIA). The influence of heterogeneities and directional
permeability characteristics on fluid flow and trapping under low
flow rate conditions of 1 to 20 fVday was investigated by CT
scanning. The movement and trapping of fluids in the pores of
the rocks were observed directly and recorded by micromodels.
ROCK CHARACTERIZATION
Layered Berea and Shannon sandstones selected for this
study were characterized to distinguish the contrast between
each layer. The microscopic examination of the Berea sandstone
rock indicated that layering represents variation in porosity
resulting from packing and sorting. In the more porous area, the
number of grain contacts averaged about 3.5 per grain, whereas
in the less porous areas, there were close to 5.4 contacts per
grain. The layering in the Shannon sandstone is more visually
apparent and is due to the abundance of glauconite in various
layers. The number of grain contacts in the glauconite-rich laminae
averaged 5.8, while in the more porous, glauconite-poor laminae,
the average grain contact were about 4.0. The average pore
throat size in the glauconite-poor laminae is twice as large as that
in the glauconite-rich layers. The clay-rich laminae in Shannon
sandstone shows larger pore throat size contrast with clay-poor
laminae than the contrast between layers of Berea sandstone.
The average porosity, and average permeability of the Berea and
Shannon sandstones from core analyses, CT imaging, and
petrographic image analyses of thin sections are shown in table 1.
Porosities of the rock slabs were determined by CT scanning of
the rock in the dry condition and then scanning again in saturated
with tagged (10% potassium iodide) brine. The resulting images
were subtracted to produce the images of the pore space as
occupied by the tagged brine. The images obtained were
downloaded to a PC-based image analysis system and converted
to a compatible file format where average laminae porosities were
computed. Small variations in porosities were mapped for both
Berea and Shannon sandstone slabs and are shown in Fig. 1.
Variations of porosity in the laminations of both Berea and
Shannon rock slabs are clearly visible. The variations are more
pronounced in the Shannon (3 to 6%) than the Berea (1 to 2%)
samples.
Two methods of image collection were used to "map" the
porosity and permeability of the thin sections. The first method
was an unbiased collection of images without regard to lamination
orientation. The second method was a biased collection of images
along the lamination direction. The first method was used to
obtain an average porosity and permeability for the entire thin
section. A total of 120 images at 1-mm intervals (12 columns by
10 rows) were captured using a black and white camera in
conjunction with a 10x fluorescent objective and green filter.
The Berea shows a closer match between thin section porosity
and permeability as compared to the core analyses values. The
good agreement can be attributed partly to the samples' relative
lack of clay and other fine (interstitial) material that tends to add a
degree of uncertainty when setting a pore/grain threshold in an
image analysis system. This is evident in the Shannon sample
which has a higher concentration of clay material. Although there
is a closer match between porosity values, permeability differs by a
factor of 2.5.
The second method of image collection was a biased collection
of images along the direction of the laminations. For the Berea,
10 laminations (12 images per lamination) were investigated.
whereas for the Shannon, 5 laminations (15 images per
lamination) were investigated. Table 2 shows the variation of
porosity obtained from CT scanning (large-scale) and petrographic
image analysis (small-scale) for both Berea and Shannon
sandstone.
138
SPE 20478
Mercury injection capillary pressure tests on core samples of
Berea and Shannon were conducted and results are shown. in
Figs. 2 and 3. High-porosity layers in the Shannon seem to have
slightly greater pore throat radii, and there are three times more of
them in Shannon than in Berea sandstone. Low- porosity layers,
however in the lower quality Shannon sandstone have pore
throats that are significantly smaller than the high-permeability
layers in both sandstones. In addition, Fig. 3 shows that both
sandstones contain at least two populations of pores with
different pore throat sizes. Both sandstones contain a significant
degree of microporosity. However, the difference in pore throat
contrasts between layers in Shannon is more pronounced than
that in Berea sandstone.
CT scanning and PIA of thin sections provided data on porosity
and permeability variations due to layering at two different scales -
- coarse and fine. The mercury injection capillary pressure provided
the distribution of pore throat diameters in different layers of the
rock showing at least two populations of pores in each rock. Thin
section analysis showed the nature of these layers and their
connectivity.
EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
CT and Thjn-Section
To study the effect of small-scale rock heterogeneities on fluid
flow and oil trapping, a slab was cut from a Berea block in such a
way that the laminations were approximately at 45 degrees to the
flow direction (Fig. 4a). Another slab was cut from a Shannon
block (outcrop) with layering parallel to the direction of flow (Fig.
4b). The two rocks were selected to present both a small contrast
(Berea) and a high contrast (Shannon) in porosity and
permeability between the layers.
Both blocks were encapsulated in clear casting plastic (Castolite-
ATM), and flow experiments were performed with the blocks
placed in the gantry of a Siemens Somatom II CT scanner. To
minimize "cupping" caused by beam hardening, these flow cells
were surrounded by crushed Berea. To monitor the progress of
the floods in real time, saturation maps were obtained in cross
sections parallel to the flow. The CT scanning plane was parallel to
the longer side of the blocks.
The average porosity of the slab of Berea as computed from CT
data after saturation with untagged brine was 18.7%, which
c0'!1pared well with 18.4% measured before encapsulation by
helium porosimetry. The absolute permeability was measured to be
200 and 300 md perpendicular and parallel to the bedding plane,
respectively.
Rock-Slab Mjcromodels
The experimental set-up consisted of a modified geological
microscope, a powerful fiber optic light source, a sensitive high-
resolution monochromatic video camera (Plumbicon tube, 0.005
lux, 900 TV-lines), and a super-VHS VCR (450-lines). For
photography, an automatic 35-mm camera was attached. Fig. 5
shows assembly details of a rock-slab model. It essentially
consisted of an actual rock slab of 2 to 3 millimeter thickness
sandwiched between two plexiglass plates. Gaskets were used to
confine the flow to the rock. By-passing through the adjoining
rock/glass surface was completely eliminated by applying very thin
coatings of transparent silicon rubber, in which the surface grains
were partially imbedded. Descriptions of these models have been
reported previously .11
SPE 20478 L. TOMUTSA, S. MAHMOOD, A. BRINKMEYER AND M. HONARPOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ON CT STUPIES
Displacement Experiments in Berea Slab
Miscible Displacements:
Miscible flooding experiments were performed by first saturating
the Berea with untagged brine and then displacing it with tagged
brine with at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/hr. In these tests, front
advancement was in a piston-like manner, and no noticeable effect
of laminations was seen on the front advancement, or on the final
saturation distribution. Tagged brine was initially injected in the
lower right-hand corner of the block. After some advancement,
the tagged brine was pushed back in a reverse direction when the
injection port was reversed (Fig. 6). Complete displacement of
the tagged brine by the untagged brine was observed, the front
profile was vertical, and there was no indication of mixing or
trapping of the tagged brine.
Drainage-Imbibition Cycle Using Low-Viscosity Oil
The Berea slab was fully saturated with tagged brine (10%
potassium iodide) and then flooded from the left-hand end with
6.5 cP untagged Soltrol oil at 3.2 ml/hr. The oil front
advancement and the final distribution of oil and brine saturations
at the completion of the drainage process were strongly
controlled by the presence of rock laminations in the Berea
slab(Fig.7b).
The average volumetric oil saturation at the end of the oil flood
was calculated to be 73.6% after the injection of 6.5 PV (167.6
ml) of oil through the rock slab as compared to 68% calculated
from CT images. Saturation variations between the laminations at
the end of the oil flood were negligible. Perhaps the permeability
contrast was not sufficient to result in a significant saturation
variation at the end of the oil flood performed under favorable
mobility conditions. However, as preViously discussed, this
contrast was sufficient to influence the frontal advance. The
effective permeability to oil at residual brine saturation was 92 md.
The imbibition process was initiated when tagged brine was
injected at the right-hand end of the Berea slab. The variation of
the saturation at the end of the waterflood due to the presence of
laminations was not significant because the width of the low
quality layers was smaller than the CT resolution.
Drainage-Imbibition Cycle Using High-Viscosity Oil
After cleaning the Berea slab with pentane and isopropyl alcohol
and drying with nitrogen gas, the slab was resaturated with
tagged brine and flooded with 20 cP oil. The effect of laminations
on the oil front was very similar to that of the 6.5-cP oil flood.
Nevertheless, at the end of the oil flood, the saturation contrast
between laminations was difficult to observe, being of the same
order of magnitude as the saturation resolution of the equipment.
The oil saturation at the end of the drainage cycle was 71% after 6
PV of oil was injected, and the effective permeability to oil was 94
end.
The imbibition cycle was performed by injecting tagged brine at
the right-hand end of the Berea slab at 0.45 ml/hr. A very
dispersed front showing a clear saturation gradient was observed
(Fig. 7d). Again, no clear effect of the laminations was observed
regarding the shape of the front. The average brine saturation
after 7 PV brine had been injected, as determined by CT was 70
%, and the effective permeability to water was 9 md.
Monitoring fluid movement in Berea showed that layers influence
front advancement but the observation of variation in fluid
saturation and flow in these small layers were beyond the CT
resolution. Rock-slab micromodel was later used to study this
phenomenon.
139
3
Displacement Experiments in Shannon Slab
A series of displacement tests was conducted on a glauconite-
laminated Shannon core sample to see the role of parallel
laminations on frontal advancement, saturation hysteresis, and
residual oil saturation. A flow cell was constructed containing a
slab (Table 1) from an outcrop Shannon block. The porosity of
the slab was 30%, air permeability was 934 md, and pore volume
was 55.2 ml. The end point relative permeability values suggest
that this rock is water-wet, which is in line with published data on
this formation. A dry scan of the slab showing the nature of the
laminations is shown in Fig. 8a.
Drainage-Imbibition Cycle Using Low-Viscosity Oil
The slab was first saturated with synthetic brine which was
tagged for CT scanning. The CT images of this fully brine-
saturated block again show laminations. The absolute brine
permeability of this block in the cell was about 200 md, much
smaller than air permeability of the parent block. This lower
permeability value is attributed to the configuration of the injection
system, as diagnosed by CT imaging.
An oil with a low viscosity of 6.5 cP was then injected at slow
rates (equivalent to 2 to 4 ft/d velocity) to displace brine. Oil
primarily invaded the high-permeability layers, whereas the low-
permeability streaks remained fully brine-saturated (Fig. 8b). The
CT images show saturation distribution maps of a vertical 8 mm
cross section parallel to the flow. A CT image at the end of the oil
flood is shown in Fig. 8c. It is clear from this figure that oil did
not penetrate the low-permeability streaks. At the end of the oil
flood, when the volume of the brine in the production stream
became negligible, oil saturation reached 53%. The effective
permeability to oil at maximum oil saturation was approximately
210 md.
After the first 6.5-cP oil injection, reducing brine to residual
level, brine was injected again. A CT image during this waterflood
is shown in Fig. 8d. This is a subtracted image showing the
differential advance of brine (i.e. only the areas which previously
contained oil but were now invaded by brine). It does not show
areas which were initially filled with brine and remained brine filled.
The influence of layering is still predominant, but much less than
that in the primary drainage.
At the end of the waterflood, which occurred when oil
production had virtually ceased, the oil saturation was reduced to
32%, and effective water permeability had increased to 50 md.
Note the large residual oil and initial brine saturation, resulting in
small mobile oil saturation, perhaps because of the lack of
contribution to flow from some of the layers.
During secondary drainage, 6.5 cP oil was injected again. The
frontal behavior was very similar to the primary drainage. The
effective oil permeability at the end of this oil flood was 210 md,
which was identical to the oil permeability measured during primary
drainage.
Drainage-Imbibition Cycle Using High-Viscosity Oil
The frontal behavior, fluid saturations and flow resistances in
third imbibition were quite similar to those of the secondary
imbibition. For the third drainage cycle, however, a higher
viscosity oil (20 cP) was injected (4 ml/hr), which showed some
variations in spatial distribution of fluids. The saturation gradient
along the flow direction was quite noticeable. At the end of the
third drainage cycle, higher brine saturation was noticed near the
production port due to end effects. The effective oil permeability
near the end of the oil injection cycle was 170 md, slightly less
than that of the 6.5-cP oil at the end of the previous drainage
cycle. Thus, use of a higher viscosity oil resulted in the end effects
and higher saturation gradients. An additional waterflood was
carried out, which again was very similar to previous ones.
4 APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED PORE TO CORE IMAGE ANALYSIS
TO STUDY FLUID DISTRIBUTION IN RESERVOIR ROCKS
In summary, the repeated cycles of imbibition and drainage w~re
similar in frontal behavior, residual saturations, and end POint
permeabilities, except for noticeable differences i~ the f~rst
imbibition/drainage cycles. Differences were also noticed dUring
6.5 and 20-cP oil injection. Some of the tighter layers in Shannon
stayed fully saturated with brine and did not participate in two
phase flow process.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ON ROCK-SLAB
MICROMODEL STUDIES
Test CQnditiQns fQr RQck-Slab MjcromQdels
TWQ micromodels were fabricated for this study, one containing
a 2 mm slab of layered Berea sandstone, and the other containing
a similar size slab from a glauconite-laminated Shannon sandstone.
These rocks were similar to those used for CT studies and were cut
from the same blQck. However, the orientation of laminations and
layering was perpendicular to the flow in micrQmod~ls, ,,:,he~eas it
was parallel in the Shannon and angular to flow direction In the
Berea during CT studies.
For the flow experiments, the two phases used were synthetic
brine (same as in CT studies) with green dye and Soltrol (6.5 cP)
mineral oil with red dye. The dyed brine had a surface tension of
65 mN/m and had an interfacial tension of 35 mN/m with dyed oil.
The rocks in the micromodel were initially clean and dry. The
models were fully saturated with a synthetic brine. They were
inspected microscopically to ensure that no ~esidual g.a~ remaine~.
A 6.5-cP whits mineral oil was then contmuously Injected until
brine production stopped. A waterflood was then carried out until
oil production stopped.
The rate of fluid injection was not unifQrm because the injection
rate of the syringe pumps reduced as the pressure increased (up
to about 30 psi). To induce flow initially, often the fluids were
injected at a higher rate by manual injection or by selecting a
higher setting on the pump. Thus, a precise account of rates
during each stage of displacement is not known. However, the
velocity was estimated to remain between 1 and 10 ft/d for the
majority of the experiments.
Displacement Tests in RQck-Slab MicromQdel
The dynamic observations discussed in this. secti.on qen~ral~y a~e
recorded on video cassettes, while the static flUid distribution IS
documented in color photographs as well. Because of the
complexity in detail of multiphase fluids in rock pores,
monochromatic (black-and-white) images are not legible. Because
of this limitation, the actual photographs are not included in this
paper. However, color photographs and video recording~ at
magnifications ranging from 4X to 500X were used for analySIS Qf
results. A sample of color phQtQgraphs showing some of these
observations has been presented previQusly.1 0
The events taking place in the pores were statistical in nature
(I.e. there were usually some exceptions to each ~bservati.on).
Thus, the observations had to be somewhat generalized. ThiS IS
inherent because of the statistical nature of pore size distributions.
Residual Fluid Saturations
At the end of waterflood, most of the residual oil was in the
form of ganglia extending over several pores. Isolated oil droplets
in the form of ganglia were trapped as a result of viscous by-
passing of displacing brine. Most of the pores containing oil were
almost completely filled with it. Occasionally, one or more isolated
oil blobs of pore-size scale also were trapped in a pore. These
trapped blobs seemed to attach to the grain surfaces (perhap~ by'
the impurities, as identified in at least a few instances), or held In a
dead-end portion of the pore, aided by gravity difference. In the
low quality sand layers, the Qil was virtually absent.
140
SPE 20478
Displacement Behavior
The non-wetting liqUid followed the path of least overall
resistance. The non-wetting phase did not always occupy the
largest channels because many times brine was seen in a larger
pore than oil in adjacent pores.
End-effects were clearly seen in these tests. The saturation of
brine was much higher near the producing port than it was in
other areas. Even though not measured by an instrument, this
saturation difference was discernable due tQ the intensity of the
water-base dye.
Influence of Layering Perpendicular to Flow
Perpendicular layering in both Berea and Shannon rock slabs
helped in reducing the affect o~ front insta?i1itie.s. In tests on
homogeneous Berea rock-slab micromodels, fingering was seen ~o
be a dominant feature. 12 Quite contrarily, the displacement was In
a zone-by-zone fashion. The zone closest to the injection well was
filled first, then the next, and so on. Within each zone; however,
some influence of front instability was visible.
The effect of these layers on residual fluid distribution was q~ite
pronounced. Mostly brine was held in tight (I?W porosity)
barriers. The communication between any two adjacent zones
separated by a tight barrier was only throug~ a fe,,:, large.-dia.meter
channels. Quite often, this connection was Intermittent (I.e. It was
broken soon after it was made). This observation perhaps
explains an earlier observation of CT flow studies, I.e. the low
value of oil permeability at residual brine saturation as comp~re~ to
the absolute permeability of the rock and the lack of contnbutlon
of some layers in the two phase flow.
IntegratiQn Qf VariQus Techniques TQ Understand RQle of Rock
Heterogeneities Qn FlUid Displacement
Displacement tests using rock-slab mi~ro~odel~ a~d CT s~an
corefloods can both provide useful inSight m interpreting
petrophysical properties of rocks containing core-~~ale hetero-
geneities and explain the influence of heterogeneities on flow
behavior. Case histories of such applications are described here.
The petrographic image analysis of the t~o rock~ using thi.n-
sections showed that Berea was layered With medium porosity
contrast, and Shannon was laminated with glauconite and had
higher porosity contrast. The mercury injection capillary pressure
curves for the rocks had bi-modal distributions of pore and pore
throat sizes.
With this information, attempts were made to understand how
is layering would influence the displacement behavior, so that ~ore
infQrmed decisions could be made abQut core selection,
orientatiQn, and laboratory testing. Also, such information will be
useful in the interpretation of displacement data.
The influence of bi-modal pore-throat size characteristics of
these two sandstones due to sorting and the amount and
distribution of clays was observed in both rock-slab micromodel
tests and CT-scan corefloods.
In cases where contrasts in permeability, pore size, and pore
throat-size distribution were moderate, piston-like displacement
took place in the absence of fingering for favorable mobility ratios,
and little variation in residual oil saturation was obtained in both
CT and micromodels. In Shannon rocks with high
porosity/permeability contrasts, higher brine saturation was held in
tighter layers than others.
As seen through a rock-slab model, capillary discontinui!y
between layers was playing an important role. Up to a certain
pressure, the piston-like oil front was unable to advance through
the tighter layers, perhaps due to its higher capillarity. However,
 ,.
SPE 20478 L. TOMUTSA, S. MAHMOOD, A. BRINKMEYER AND M. HONARPOUR 5

as the injection pressure increased, oil invasion through some
relatively larger pore channels took place. Once the non-wetting
fluid broke through a tighter layer, it reestablished a front in the
following higher permeability layer. On many occasions, it was
observed that the channels that established communication across
tighter layers were disconnected as injection pressure was
decreased.
During coreflooding of the Shannon rock slab containing
laminations parallel to the direction of flow, low-quality layers did
not participate in two-phase flow process as seen by subtracting
sequential CT images. These lower-quality layers: however, might
have contributed to water production, as such flow is not
discernable by differential imaging techniques.
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of an improved understanding of the role of small-
scale rock heterogeneities obtained by combining CT scanning,
rock-slab micromodels, thin-section analyses, and computerized
image analyses, the following conclusions were reached:
1. Heterogeneities in Berea and Shannon rocks, which were due
to variations in permeability, connectivity, and pore-throat size
distribution, influenced brine saturation distributions and
dominated front movement and trapping.
2. Layers with moderate permeability contrast perpendicular to
the direction of flow, reduced front instabilities and resulted in a
piston-like displacement.
3. Micromodels provided supplemental information about the
effect of heterogeneities on microscopic fluid distribution and
movement.
4. Porosity and permeability computed from CT scanning were
in agreement with those measured with conventional core analysis
and determined from petrographic image analysis. This
combination provided additional information about porosity and/or
permeability variations at various scales and rock quality.
6. Mohanty, K. K. and A. E. Miller: "Factors Influencing
Unsteady Relative Permeability of a Mixed-wet Reservoir Rock,"
SPE paper 18292 presented at Soc. Pet. Eng. 63rd Ann. Tech.
Conf. and Exhibit. held in Houston, TX, OCt 2-5, 1988.
7. Jerauld, G. R. and S. J. Salter: "The Effect of Pore-Structure
on Hysteresis in Relative Permeability and Capillary Pressure:
Pore-Level Modeling," Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 5, 1990,
pp 103-151.
8. Larson, R. G., L. E. Scriven and H. T. Davis: "Percolation
Theory of Residual Phases in Porous Media," Nature, Vol. 268, No.
4, August 1977, pp 409-413.
9. Chatzis, I and F. A. L. Dullien: "Modelling Pore Structure By
2-D and 3-D Networks With Application To Sandstones," J.
PetTech., Jan.-Mar. 1977, pp 97-108.
10. Mahmood, S. M., D. Doughty, L. Tomutsa, and M. M.
Honarpour: "Pore Level Fluid Imaging Using High Resolution
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Thin Slab Micromodels,"
presented at the Fourth Ann. Tech. Conf. of the Society of Core
Analysts, Dallas, TX, Aug. 14-16, 1990.
11. Mahmood, S. M.:, and N.L. Maerefat"New Techniques of
Pore-Scale Visualization of Fluids in Porous Media: The Effect of
Pore Structure on Fluid Distribution," Department of Energy
Report No. NIPER-372, September 1988. NTIS Order No.
DE89000731.
12. Mahmood, S. M:"Fluid Flow Behavior Through Rock-Slab
Micromodels in Relation to Other Micromodels," Department of
Energy Report No. NIPER-448, September 1988. NTIS Order
No. DE90000244.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported in part by the Department of Energy

under cooperative agreement DE-FC22-83FE60149. The authors
extend their appreciation to Tom Burchfield, Min Tham, Mike
Madden, Bill Linville of NIPER and Bob Lemon of the DOE for
their assistance and support in this work. We thank Edna Hatcher
for typing this document and Eddie Lou of Washington University
for his contribution in plotting data and performing some of the
image analyses.

REFERENCES

1. Hove, A., J. K. Ringen, and P.A. Read: "Visualization of

Laboratory Core Floods with the Aid of Computerized
Tomography of X-Rays," SPE 13654 presented at Soc. Pet. Eng.
California Regional Meeting, Bakersfield, CA, Mar. 27-29, 1985.

2. Peters, E.J. and W. D. Hardham: "A Comparison of Unstable

Miscible and Immiscible Displacements," SPE 19640 presented at
Soc. Pet. Eng. 64th Ann. Tech. Con. and Exhib., San Antonio,
TX, Oct. 8-11, 1989.

3. Withjack, E. M., and I. Ekervoll: "Computer Tomography

Studies of 3-D Miscible Displacement Behavior in a Laboratory
Five-Spot Model," SPE 18096 presented at 63th Ann. Tech. Con.
and Exhib., Houston, TX, Oct. 2-5, 1988.

4. Wellington, S. L., and H. J. Vinegar: "X-Ray Computerized

Tomography," J. Pet. Tech., August 987, pp 885-898.

5. Swanson, B. F.: "Rationalizing the Influence of Crude

Wetting on Reservoir Fluid Flow With Electrical Resistivity
Behavior," J. Pet.Tech., August 1980, pp 1459-1464.

141
 SPE 20478

TABLE 1. - Average porosity and permeability of Berea, Shannon sandstone from core analysis,
CT scanning, and petrographic image analysis of thin sections

Berea Shannon

Slab length, cm 13.73 13.42

Slab width, cm 1.95 2.36
Slab height, cm 5.20 5.75
Average porosity, %
Core analysis 18.7 30.4
CT-scanning 18.4 25.4
Thin section analysis 19.0 30.0
Permeability, mel
Core analysis 200/300· 980
Thin section analysis 294·· 2,253

• Permeabilities perpendicular/parallel to bedding plane.

•• Permeability calculated from petrographic imag analysis of thin
sections representing flow parallel to the bedding plane.

Table 2. - Comparison of the variation of porosity for Berea and Shannon slabs obtained
from CT-scanning and petrographic image analysis

Petrographic image analysis CT-scanning

Berea Shannon Berea Shannon
Lamination Porosity, % Lamination Porosity, % Lamination Porosity, % Lamination Porosity, %

1 18.0 1 11.5 1 17.0 1 23.1

2 16.2
3 17.1
4 16.8
5 20.9
6 20.8
7 19.0
8 20.3
9 24.5
10 19.4
2 27.6 2 18.0 2 26.8
3 24.1 3 17.2 3 22.3
4 14.3 4 18.3 4 20.8
5 17.8 5 16.7 5 21.7
6 18.9 6 21.5
7 25.8
8 22.6
9 23.0

142
 SPE 20478

Shannon Block -13.417 x 5.746 x 2.359 em

- -
,,=18% k=274 md

----
,,=14% k=126 md

,,=24% k=669 md
,,=28% k=2005 md
"=12% k=66 md

Fig. 1-Small variations in porosities In (a) Berea and (b) Shannon sandstone slabs from CT scanning
and petrographic image analysis of thin sections.

143
 SPE 20478

Hg SATURATION vs PRESSURE and PORE RADII

- - i::>._Llo,
~

·~
a.
103 t 50 C3
W 'T ~
ex: JJ
»
::::>
o

........'" '" - -. -
(J)
(J)
W
ex: 101 . - - 100~
a.. ••• ~.~.~.~.~.~~--~
,----------,
---+- Pressure (Berea)
I II II Pressure (Shannon-High k)
.... - Pressure (Shannon-Low k)

100 80 60 40 20 o
Hg SATURATION, %

Fig. 2-Mercury injection capillary pressure data and pore throat size distributions for Berea
and two layers of Shannon sandstone.

PORE DIAMETER vs INCREMENTAL INTRUSION

-
Z
Cl
E
0.08
0.1
o
b.
Berea
Shannon-High k

a .... Shannon-Low k
en
:::>
a: 0.06
.....
Z
--J
«
..... 0.04
Z
W
~
W 0.02
a:
0
z
0
1000 100 10 1 0.1
PORE DIAMETER, J,.lm

Fig. 3-Mercury injection vs. pore throat size distributions for Berea and two layers of Shan-
non sandstone.

144
 SPE 20478

VCR REAL TIME

TV CAMERA
OR
35mm CAMERA

WATER INJECTION

OIL INJECTION

NITROGEN GAS INJECTION

*FIBER OPTIC LIGHT SOURCE

MICROSCOPE

*MICROSCOPIC LIGHT SOURCE HAS BEEN

REPLACED BV 200-WATT XENON LIGHT SOURCE

. . TUBING

Layout of Mi cromodel Study

Fig. 5-The assembly used for rock slab micromodel studies.

146