Petrophysics

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Petrophysics (petro is Latin for "rock" and physics is the study of nature) is the study of the physical and chemical properties that describe the occurrence and behavior of rocks, soils and fluids [1]. Petrophysics mainly studies reservoirs of resources, including ore deposits and oil or natural gas reservoirs.

Petrophysics is a sub-field of Geophysics. Petrophysical studies are utilised by Geology, Mineralogy, Exploration geophysics and other related studies.

Some of the properties studied in petrophysisc are Porosity, Density, Magnetization, Electrical conductivity, Solid mechanics, Thermal conductivity and Radioactivity.

[edit] Petrophysical properties of oil and gas reservoirs

An example of what a petrophysicist would study is the behavior and characteristics of a oil or gas reservoir; by studying it's Porosity, Water saturation, and Permeability.

Almost all oil and gas produced today comes from accumulations in the pore spaces of reservoir rocks - usually sandstones, limestones, or dolomites. The amount of oil or gas contained in a unit volume of the reservoir is the product of its porosity by the hydrocarbon saturation. In addition to the porosity and the hydrocarbon saturation, the volume of the formation containing hydrocarbons is needed in order to estimate total reserves and to determine if the accumulation is commercial. Knowledge of the thickness and the area of the reservoir is needed for computation of its volume. To evaluate the producibility of a reservoir, it is necessary to know how easily fluid can flow through the pore system. This property of the formation rock, which depends on the manner in which the pores are interconnected, is its permeability. The main petrophysical parameters needed to evaluate a reservoir, then, are its porosity, hydrocarbon saturation, thickness, area, and permeability. In addition, the reservoir geometry, formation temperature and pressure, and lithology can play important roles in the evaluation, completion, and production of a reservoir.

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