COURSE SYLLABUS FOR PNG 405 - Spring 2007

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Course Overview

PNG 405 Rock and Fluid Properties. Reservoir rock properties, rock and fluid properties (interaction between rock and fluids), flow behavior in reservoir, and fluid properties.
Prerequisites: PHYS 211.

PNG 405 will cover properties of natural rocks and fluids that are important in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. The major emphasis will be on fluid storage in reservoir rocks and in flow of fluids through the rock's pore structure. These phenomena dominate calculations that are common in the areas of reservoir and production engineering. However, we will also spend some time early in the course to understand other chemical and mechanical properties, which are important in drilling and logging applications. The following is an approximate sequence of the material to be covered.

What will be expected of you?

This course requires a minimum of 8-12 hours of student activity each week, depending on the speed at which you work. Included in the 8-12 hours each week is time to complete projects and related activities. You'll be glad to know that you don't have to show up for class at a certain time! All you need to do is complete each assignment and a quiz before the published deadline at the end of the week.

You will need to check out the course message boards regularly. That's where students and instructors share comments, pose questions, and suggest answers. I strongly encourage you to get in the habit of logging in to the course Web site every day to check in on the class. With only occasional exceptions, I usually check message boards daily. You can be sure that I will read, but not necessarily respond to, every single message.

My colleagues and I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. How much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule, and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with me, as well as with your fellow students.

For a more detailed look at what will be covered in each lesson, as well as due dates for our assignments and activities, please refer to the semester-specific course schedule that is part of this syllabus (see "Course Schedule").

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Course Objectives

The overall objective of the course is to provide the student with basic understanding of the origin and physics of petroleum reservoirs and the ability to perform quantitative calculations related to their conditions and fluid-flow performance. At the end of the course, students should be able to:

Describe and explain the nature of a petroleum reservoir and the geologic processes and materials that result in its rock properties, temperature and pressure conditions, and fluid content.
Know the basic forms of Darcy's law governing single-phase fluid flow in porous media, including the systems of units commonly used, and be able to calculate flow rates and pressure differentials given specific sets of boundary conditions.
Be able to extend the use of Darcy's law to include the effect of gravity, non-uniform permeability, and other heterogeneities.
Be able to extend the use of Darcy's law to include two immiscible fluid phases. Be able to explain and calculate two-phase flow problems in terms of relative permeability, residual saturation and fractional flow.
Know the basic nomenclature of organic compounds and be able to explain and calculate fundamental single-component, two-component, and multi-component phase relations in temperature, pressure, and composition space.

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Course Materials

In order to take this course, you need to have the required course materials and an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the on-line course resources).

Textbooks:

Text material prepared for web course and available through angel. Otherwise, for the last 1/3 of the course on reservoir fluid properties, we will use Properties of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids by Emil Burcik (IRDC), reproduced by permission of IRDC and will be available at the Student Bookstore.

Supplemental Textbook:

Petrophysics by Tiab and Donaldson , On reserve in library. Available online for ~ $130
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering by Amyx, Bass and Whiting; on reserve in library, some copies available at through Amazon.com for $35 to $55.
Petroleum Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties by Dandekar, Abhijit Y., On reserve in library (pending recall). Available through Amazon.com for ~ $80

Using Penn State Library Resources

Many of Penn State's library resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Library site, you can...

access electronic databases, and even full text articles, from the LIAS Fast Track,
borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep...or even your desktop,
access materials that your instructor has put on Electronic Reserve,
talk to reference librarians in real time using the "Virtual Reference Service",
...and much more.

NOTE: You must be registered with the University Libraries in order to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and services. Registration and services are free.

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Technical Requirements

For this course we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on on the " Technical Requirements" page.

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If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please go to the In Touch tab and use the Technical Issues discussion board .

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Handwritten Deliverables

Scanning Hand Written Pages
A number of lessons require you to submit digital files (scans) of hand written work. You must have access to a scanner or similar piece of equipment that will allow you to create digital copies of your work. The digital copies of your work should be saved as 150 dpi jpeg files with the quality level set to a minimum of 80% (8 of 10).

Pay special attention when scanning files if your work has been done in pencil. Make sure that the final jpeg file is legible before submitting the assignment to the drop box. Any work that is found to be illegible may be marked incorrect.

If you have any questions about creating scanned copies of your work, please go to the In Touch tab and use the Technical Issues discussion board .

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Course Structure

This course is 15 weeks in length.

Course begins January 16, 2007
Course ends May 4, 2007
Course length: 15 weeks

There are 13 lessons in the course and each lesson is to be completed in approximately one week.

Lesson 0: Orientation

Lesson 1: Petroleum Geology and Petroleum Engineering

Lesson 2: Density and Porosity

Lesson 3: Basic Flow of Fluids Through Porous Rocks

Lesson 4: Flow in Heterogeneous Situations

Lesson 5: Gravity Effect on Darcy's Law

Lesson 6: Radial Flow

Lesson 7: Flow of Gases in Porous Media

Lesson 8: Multi-phase Flow and Relative Permeability

Lesson 9: Interfacial Tension and Capillary Pressure

Lesson 10: Basic Fluid Reservoir Properties

Lesson 11: Ideal and Real Gases

Lesson 12: Phase Relations (1- Component)

Lesson 13: Phase Relations (2+ Components)

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Course Policies

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Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Changes will be posted to the course message board.

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