CRAFT & HAWKINS DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

What does a Reservoir Engineer do?

Reservoir engineers determine the fluid and pressure distributions throughout the reservoir, the natural energy sources available, and the methods most useful in recovering the maximum amount of oil or gas from the reservoir. By producing the reservoir and drilling additional wells, change occurs; thus, the reservoir engineer spends much of his or her time modeling the reservoir, to adjust to these changes, with the help of sophisticated computers.

Definition:
Reservoir: a subsurface, porous, permeable rock body in which oil and/ or gas is stored. Most reservoir rocks are limestones, dolomites, sandstones, or a combination of these. The three basic types of hydrocarbon reservoirs are oil, gas, and condensate. An oil reservoir generally contains three fluids – gas, oil, and water – with oil the dominant product. In the typical oil reservoir, these fluids occur in different phases because of the variance in their gravities. Gas, the lightest, occupies the upper part of the reservoir rocks; water, the lower part; and oil, the intermediate section. In addition to its occurrence as a cap or in solution, gas may accumulate independently of the oil; if so, the reservoir is called a gas reservoir. Associated with the gas, in most instances, are salt water and some oil. In a condensate reservoir, the hydrocarbons may exist as a gas, but, when brought to the surface, some of the heavier ones condense to a liquid.

Updated: 8/24/07
3516 Patrick F. Taylor Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Tel: 225.578.5215 / Fax: 225.578.6039
Copyright © 2007 LSU Craft & Hawkins Dept. of Petroleum Engineering