A measure of ability of a porous formation to allow a certain fluid to pass through it: where
\mu_f
| {\bf v}|
\nabla p
(1)
k_f = \mu_f \frac{| {\bf v}|}{ | \nabla p |}
fluid viscosity fluid velocity pressure gradient
Units = md
Permeability depends on fluid type, filling the porous media and the fluid type which is sweeping through it which leads to splitting its value into a product of two components:
| (2) | k_f = k_a \cdot k_{r\alpha} |
where
k_a = k_{abs} = k_{air} | absolute permeability to air which is defined by the reservoir pore structure only |
|---|---|
k_{rf} | relative permeability to a given fluid which is defined by the interaction between fluid and reservoir matrix |
See also
Petroleum Industry / Upstream / Subsurface E&P Disciplines / Petrophysics