Abstract:

Relative permeability is a key parameter in reservoir description, oil & gas field development and numerical reservoir simulation.Steady-state and unsteady-state methods are often used for determining the parameter.However, the relative permeability can't easily be obtained through the experiments as they are often time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes require certain experimental conditions.In contrast, resistivity data are easy to get through laboratory measurements and well logging.This paper proposes a new method of getting relative permeability by using easily-obtained resistivity data through a combination of capillary tube model and Archie equation and introduction of tortuosity.The method was verified by data from the published literatures and experiment results.It shows that the relative permeability of water phase obtained through the method is highly comparable to that acquired through experiment method.So when relative permeability data are inadequate or unavailable, we can estimate the relative permeability of water phase by using the method based on resistivity data.

Key words: relative permeability, resistivity, tortuosity, capillary tube model