PETE 3110 1L1: Petrophysics Lab

Course Requirements

Regular attendance, on-time arrival to lab sessions, on-time submission of assignments, and preparation for lab reports.

Policies, Rules, and Guidelines:     

1. ONLINE-ONLY SUBMISSION POLICY: All laboratory reports must be submitted online, where the course management system tracks the exact date and time of each submission. No hard-copy submissions will be accepted.
2. A prelab report must be submitted by 11:59 PM the night before your lab is scheduled (Monday). Failure to submit the prelab on time will cause you to get a zero grade on the related experiment. Prelab guidelines are attached at the end of the syllabus.
3. A post-lab calculation sheet is required to be submitted within seven days after you conduct the experiment (Tuesday before midnight). Post-lab calculation sheets are attached at the end of each experiment manual.
4. Two comprehensive lab reports will be required by the end of this course.
5. Lab reports will be graded based on the format, content, and especially on the discussion of results. No matter the results, the student is expected to critique and elaborate on them in the report's discussion section. Graphical analysis of data and results is expected.
6. Attendance to laboratory sessions is mandatory. Unexcused absences will result in a zero grade for the particular laboratory experiment.
7. Lab coats must be worn at all times during lab sessions. Students may either wear the available coats in the laboratory or they may bring their own lab coats. When instructed by the assistant, wearing other protective equipment is also obligatory and necessary for the health and safety of the student.
8. Shorts, short skirts, and open-toe shoes are not allowed in the lab at any time. If a student shows up to the lab in short pants, short skirts, or open-toe shoes, he/she will not be able to enter the lab or conduct the experiment. That will result in a ZERO for the lab.
9. Students will conduct the experiments in groups, but prelab and postlab reports will be prepared and submitted individually. Students are expected to fill a data sheet with the experimental data obtained during lab session.
10. Students must clean the equipment and work area before leaving the lab (or before beginning the experiment, if necessary). In too many instances in the past, the lab work area for a number of experiments has been left unclean and unusable for the next section of students. This will not be tolerated. Take pictures of your lab area after you have finished. The work area is to be left as clean as (or better than) when you started.
11. Students should set up and perform the experiments according to the procedure presented in the lab manual. The instructor will not do the experiment for the student but will provide the required guidance and will be available to help and answer questions. There will be a training session before each lab where the instructor introduces the theory and experimental apparatus.
12. Various pieces of equipment used this semester can be easily damaged if the instructions are not followed carefully. Be careful, and if you are not sure about how to do something, ask first rather than later.
13. Any accidents, damage, breakage, or leakage should be immediately reported to the instructor.

In this course, students will gain an understanding of the physical properties of petroleum reservoir rocks, including porosity, relative and effective permeability, fluid saturations, capillary characteristics, PVT experiments, and fluid-rock interaction.

Laboratory Outline

In this lab, the following experiments will be conducted:

Laboratory Report Format and Instructions

Pre-lab Report Sections

(Max 4 pages not including cover Page, table of content, and table of figures):

Your pre-lab report will contain the following 6 sections:

1. Title or cover Page
2. Table of content
3. Table of figures and a list of tables (if applicable)
4. Purpose
5. Learning Expectations
6. 1-question answer from Pre-lab Questionnaire

1. Title or Cover Page, for both the prelabs and postlabs, should include the following information (a sample cover page is given here):

• The full name of the University, College and Department.
• Full title of the laboratory essay and its identification code. 
• Course identification (include PETE number), instructor name.
• Date when the lab session is scheduled and the date when the report was submitted.
• The name of the student and his/her TAMIU identification number.

1. Table of content

Watch the video in the link below to learn how to automatically add table of content in Word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avkTcQ4inMo

2. Table of figures and a list of tables (if applicable)

Watch the video in the link below to learn how to add captions to table and figure, how to cross-references, and how to add a table of figures and tables.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82-uUnpfus4

3. Purpose (½ page min – 1 page max): In your own words, state the purpose of the lab in less than one (1) page. This section should include answers to the following questions. The answers should be implemented in the paragraph, not explicitly answered.

1. What are the reasons that justify the study?
2. What is its importance and relevance to the PETE industry?
3. A very brief review of the relevant theory and most important concepts being studied.

4. Learning Expectations (1 page min - 1 ½ page max): Please demonstrate that you have studied the lab manual and carefully watched the lab video (Not prepared yet) before coming to the lab. In order to do this,

1. Briefly elaborate on the experimental techniques that will be used to achieve the purpose of the lab stated in Section (4).
2. Provide few sentences with a summary of the experimental
   1. Procedure
   2. Materials
   3. Substances
   4. Equipment you expect to encounter in your lab experience.
3. Describe how the lab purpose is accomplished experimentally. In this section, please make sure that you address the following questions:
   1. What are your learning expectations?
   2. What are the physical principles involved in the experiment?
   3. Are there equations that will be used to explain the behavior of the phenomenon to be studied?
   4. Which are they?

** Do not re-write the text found in your manual; this section is intended to indicate your understanding of and research on the subject. Therefore, it should solely be comprised of your own sentences briefly explaining your understanding of the experiment **

          ** Copy-and-paste from the lab manual will translate to a zero grade for the lab **

** You do not need to make pictorial representations of the equipment or apparatus used in the lab or provide any flow diagrams of the experimental procedure; only include major procedural steps you expect to take **

6. 1-question answer from Pre-lab Questionnaire (½ page max ): Please select and answer the one (1) question from your pre-lab questionnaire that you find most relevant and interesting prior to conducting this lab.

Post-lab Report Sections

(No page limit, but keep it short!)

Your post-lab report will contain the following 6 sections:

1. Title or Cover Page
2. Table of content
3. Table of figures and a list of tables (if applicable)
4. Results and Calculations
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
7. 1-question answer from Post-lab Questionnaire
8. References

1. Title or Cover Page: Please follow format indicated above except the highlighted parts below.

2. Table of content

Watch the video in the link below to learn how to automatically add table of content in Word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avkTcQ4inMo 

3. Table of figures and a list of tables (if applicable)

Watch the video in the link below to learn how to add captions to table and figure, how to cross-references, and how to add a table of figures and tables.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82-uUnpfus4

4. Results and Calculations: Please present all your results in a tabular form, including the raw data obtained during the lab session and the calculated ones.  Table captions should place above the table where figure captions should be placed below the figure. When enough data has been collected, results should be also presented in graphs,  2 or 3 dimensions-curves, pie, bars, columns or surface charts are useful resources to shown the behavior of a phenomenon with respect to time or a physical magnitude (length, width, height). If possible, several curves should be shown in the same plot.  Different symbols should be used in order to identify the experimental points of each curve, such as triangles, squares, asterisks, etc. Please include a sample of calculation and error analysis in this section.

Sample of Calculation: A sample of calculation is the presentation of an example for every calculation required to obtain the expected results.  Equations, units and data table used for every calculation must be shown in this section. Once the sample of calculation has been completed, the student must indicate the table where the whole set of results will be fully exposed. Please do not show repeated calculations for every single point of data.

Sample of Error Analysis: It is generally possible to compare all experimental results with respect to a reference. This means that if the student is determining a physical or chemical property, the obtained results can be compared with literature data. If there are several methods developed for the same essay, one of them would be more accurate and precise, therefore, the others could be compared with this. The error is a measurement of deviation from the real result and has to be expressed in terms of percentages.

5. Discussion: Discussion should be brief and concise and explain results, trends patterns and the source of difference from the expected data behavior. You may reference literature when necessary to reinforce your point of view.  Discussion of your results must be a reflection of your skills to accurately analyze your results, regardless of the complexity level or experimental problems obtaining the data. Please answer: Were the outcomes of the experiment as expected? Why?

6. Conclusions: This is the most important part of the post-lab report and it should summarize what you did. Please consider: What did you do? What did you find? What do you think? Please use short phrases that briefly express the most important results of the study. Make sure you give possible practical uses/implications of your observations and answer the following question: Was the purpose of the lab (as stated in your pre-lab) accomplished?

7. 1-question answer from Post-lab Questionnaire: Please select and answer the one (1) question from your post-lab questionnaire that you find most relevant and interesting after you have finished this lab.

8. References: If you used any reference other than your lab manual to prepare your pre- and/or post-lab reports for this experience, you must include them in this section. Keep in mind that lab reports with a reasonable number of references would be a clear indication that the student did research the subject under study (highly encouraged). References in the main text (use square brackets to address a reference) should be cited numerically in the order of their use in the text. The following format should be applied while citing different sources.

Reference to an article (or paper):

Raghavan, R., Cady, G.V., and Romey, H. J. Jr: ”Well Test Analysis for the Vertically Fractured Wells”, J.Pet.Tech. Aug.1972, 1014-1020

Reference to a book:

Craft, B. C. and Hawkins, M.F: Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, Prentice-Hall Inc., New York, 1959.

Reference to a paper presented at a meeting but not published:

Spanos, P.D. and Payne, M.L.:”Advances in Dynamic Bottom-hole Assembly modelling and Dynamic Response Determination”, paper SPE 23905 presented at the 1992 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, Feb.18-21

Reference to a company document, manual etc:

Ruska High Pressure Viscometer Operating Manual, Ruska Instrument Corporation, Houston, Texas, 1970.

Reference to a web page / Internet site:
Understanding a Hydrometer                                                                    (page or article title)

www.brewsupplies.com/understanding_a_hydrometer.htm (address)

Last accessed: August 20, 2009      

(date the page was accessed)

Recommendations (optional—NOT submitted with the post-lab / must use separate dropbox )

*BONUS POINTS**: (at instructor’s discretion): You can earn up to 20 extra points in your postlab report if you submit a brief (less than 1-page) report via the independent “Lab Recommendations” dropbox placed in blackboard only for this purpose. You must detail relevant and innovative changes that you recommend for the particular experiment that was conducted or about the lab in general. Suggestions can range from equipment setup and improved experimental procedure to any other detail about the lab that could enhance the educational experience for upcoming students.

NOTE: A recommendation submission per se does not guarantee any kind of bonus points. The suggestion or recommendation has to be relevant and innovative (at instructor’s discretion). Make sure that you include your name, TAMIU ID, lab section, and lab experiment so your submission can be recognized.

Laboratory Reports Grading Rubric