Reservoir Engineering for Other Disciplines


Trainer(s): Wim Swinkels
Duration: 5 days

Business context

In the E&P business, Reservoir Engineers play a key role in handling, analysing and interpreting subsurface and production data at all stages of field development. Reservoir Engineering data and models are used in field development plans to optimise economic production of hydrocarbons. 

In this course fundamental concepts and a broad spectrum of modern practical reservoir engineering methods are addressed. Extensive use is made of practical and actual field problems to illustrate relevant subjects.

Who should attend

This course is applicable for professionals with prior technical or engineering exposure to exploration and production activities. Targeted participants include new Reservoir Engineers, Production Engineers, Petrophysicists and Geoscientists involved with exploration and development of oil & gas reservoirs.

The course is also useful for Petroleum Engineering team leaders, IT staff and support staff working with reservoir engineering, development and production departments.

Course content

  • Reservoir rock properties.
  • Capillary pressures, surface tension, wettability.
  • Distribution of hydrocarbon fluids, pressure regimes, fluid gradients and contacts
  • Hydrocarbons-in-place estimation,
  • Reserves and resources estimation methods.
  • Fluid properties and phase behaviour,  PVT parameters, fluid sampling
  • Recovery drive-energy, material balance, recovery factors and production forecasts.
  • Gas reservoir engineering concepts.
  • Radial flow equation and well behaviour
  • Skin: source and how to minimize it.
  • Well testing, pressure tests: drawdown and build-up.
  • Reservoir modeling
  • Production forecasting
  • Relative permeability, movable oil, fluid displacement,  mobility,
  • Reservoir heterogeneity and sweep.
  • EOR principles
  • Field Development Planning

Learning, methods and tools

At the end of the course, participants will understand the physics of oil and gas fields, and have an awareness of modern reservoir engineering principles and practices for reservoir development and production, including the estimation of oil and gas reserves.

Topics are introduced by lectures and discussion, and learning is re-inforced by practical small classroom exercises. Active participation is encouraged. Hand-out material in paper and/or electronic format will be provided.  Use of laptops and other handheld devices for the exercises is encouraged and facilitated.

A short test or quiz can be held at the end the course.

Day by day programme

Day 1 - Reservoir rock and volumes

  • Course Introduction, the Reservoir Engineering work flow, example case
  • Reservoir rock properties, permeability and fluid flow
  • Distribution of hydrocarbon fluids
  • Exercise:  fluid gradients and contacts
  • Volumetric Oil in Place and Gas in Place calculations (STOIIP and GIIP)
  • Reserves basic principles
  • Exercise: Hydrocarbons in place estimation

Day 2 - Fluid behaviour and Material Balance

  • Oil and gas, composition and phase behaviour
  • Reservoir fluid properties of oil and gas
  • Exercise PVT correlations for oil and gas
  • Drive Mechanisms
  • Oil Material Balance,
  • Read and discuss: material balance field case

Day 3 - Well behaviour and well tests

  • Gas Material Balance and applications,
  • Exercise volumetric gas volume estimation, p/z plot
  • Wells, inflow performance, skin, horizontal wells
  • Exercise: use of well inflow calculations
  • Oil well testing,  Pressure Draw Down and Build Up analysis
  • Decline Curve Analysis and Production forecasting
  • Exercise: production forecasting

Day 4 - Displacement, sweep and reservoir modelling

  • Relative permeability and capillary pressure, movable oil
  • Displacement and Recovery, sweep, heterogeneity
  • Reservoir Simulation - Basic Principles
  • Reading and discussion of simulation field cases

Day 5 - Recovery and development planning

  • Recovery
  • Principles of Enhanced Oil Recovery
  • Field Development Planning
  • Exercise: development planning
  • Special topics
  • Course Recap, Quiz and evaluation