Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

WETTABILITY
CONTENT
• Wettability
• Wetting characteristic
• Factors affecting wettability
• Wetting hysteresis

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

Introduction
Wettability describes which fluid preferentially spreads on a solid surface when two
immiscible fluids are present in contact with that solid. Wettability controls fluid
distribution in porous rock and strongly influences capillary pressure, relative permeability,
and hydrocarbon recovery efficiency.
Wettability is defined as the tendency of one fluid to spread on or adhere to a solid
surface in the presence of other immiscible fluids. The concept of wettability is illustrated
in Figure 4-1. Small drops of three liquids—mercury, oil, and water—are placed on a clean
glass plate. The three droplets are then observed from one side as illustrated in Figure
4-1.
It is noted that the m ercury retains a spherical shape, the oil droplet develops
an approxim ately hem ispherical shape, but the w ater tends to spread over the
glass surface.
When a liquid is brought into contact with a solid surface, the liquid either expands over
the whole surface or form small drops on the surface.

The tendency of a liquid to spread over the surface of a solid is an indication of the
wetting characteristics of the liquid for the solid.

Wetting Fluid / Non‑Wetting Fluid: The fluid that preferentially coats the solid
surface is the wetting fluid; the other is the non‑wetting fluid.

Contact Angle (Θ): The angle measured through the liquid at the three‑phase contact
line between solid, liquid and another fluid (liquid or gas).

Contact angle quantifies wettability:

I. small θ (near 0°) → strongly wetting;

II. large θ (near 180°) → strongly non‑wetting.

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

There exists a surface tension between a fluid and a solid, in the same way that a surface
tension exists between an interface between two immiscible fluids When two fluids are
in contact with a solid surface, the equilibrium configuration of the two fluid phases (say
air and water) depends on the relative values of the surface tension between each pair
of the three phases (Figure 7.1)
Let us denote surface tension as γ, and solid, liquid and gas as s, l, and g respectively.
Each surface tension acts upon its respective interface, and define the angle θ at which
the liquid contacts the surface.
This is known as the wetting (or dihedral) angle of the liquid to the solid in the presence
of the gas. Equilibrium considerations allow us to calculate the wetting angle from the
surface tensions:

γ sg = γ lg cos θ + γ sl
This is known as Young’s equation (1805).

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

From γ sg = γ lg cos θ + γ sl
A wetting phase is one which spreads over the solid surface and preferentially wets the
solid. The contact angle approaches zero (and will always be less than 90°).
A non-wetting phase has little or no affinity for a solid and the contact angle will be
greater than 90°.
RESERVOIRS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR WETTABILITY
Rocks can be classified as water-wet, mixed-wet or oil-wet.

 Contact angle and wettability are directly related, but in an inverse manner in
terms of the effect:
o Low Contact Angle: Indicates high wettability (liquid spreads easily on the
surface).
o High Contact Angle: Indicates low wettability (liquid beads up on the
surface).
 As the contact angle decreases, the wetting characteristics of the liquid increases.
 Complete wettability would be evidenced by a zero-contact angle.
 Complete nonwetting would be evidenced by a contact angle of 180°.

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

Types of Wettability:
I. Water-wet: Rock prefers water over oil. (Water-wet: the rock/mineral surface is
coated with water, while oil and gas occupy the central position of the largest
pores.)
II. Oil-wet: Rock prefers oil over water. (Oil-wet: the relative positions of oil and
water are reversed with respect to the water-wet state; the rock/mineral surface
is coated with oil and the water is in the center of the largest pores)

III. Intermediate-wet: No strong preference between oil and water. (Intermediate

wettability: this term applies to reservoir rocks where there is some tendency for
both oil and water to adhere to the pore surface.)

Note: Because of the attractive forces, the wetting phase tends to occupy the smaller
pores of the rock and the nonwetting phase occupies the more open channels.

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

WETTING HYSTERESIS
Wetting hysteresis is a phenomenon where the contact angle of a liquid on a solid
surface depends on the direction of the process, either advancing or receding. This
non-equilibrium behavior arises from the complex interactions between the liquid, solid,
and vapor phases.

Wetting hysteresis is the difference between the largest contact angle when a drop
spreads forward and the smallest contact angle when it pulls back, shown as θa − θr.

Causes of Wetting Hysteresis:

Wetting hysteresis arises from various factors that affect the interaction between a
liquid and a solid surface. Some key causes include:

1) Surface Roughness: Surface roughness can create energy barriers, leading to

differences in advancing and receding contact angles.
2) Chemical Heterogeneity: Variations in surface chemistry can create regions
with different wettability, contributing to hysteresis.
3) Adsorption and Desorption: The adsorption and desorption of molecules on
the solid surface can alter the surface energy, leading to hysteresis.
4) Liquid Penetration: Liquid penetration into the solid surface or pores can cause
swelling or changes in surface properties, contributing to hysteresis.
5) Contact Line Pinning: The contact line (where the liquid, solid, and vapor
phases meet) can become pinned on surface features, leading to hysteresis.
6) Surface Rearrangement: Surface rearrangement or reorganization in response
to changing environmental conditions can contribute to hysteresis.
7) Contamination: Surface contamination can alter the surface energy and
wettability, leading to hysteresis.
8) Pore Geometry: The geometry of pores in porous media can also contribute to
wetting hysteresis.

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

Applications Of Wetting Hysteresis:

1. Waterflooding: Wetting hysteresis impacts the efficiency of waterflooding

operations.
2. EOR: Understanding wetting hysteresis is crucial for designing effective EOR
strategies.
3. Reservoir Simulation: Wetting hysteresis is an important input parameter in
reservoir simulation models.

Factors affecting Wettability

I. Temperature

Temperature has effect on both oil/water and water mineral interfaces, a shift in
wettability of mineral surfaces towards water wet at elevated temperature is
observed.

Surface tension drops: Temperature reduces the "pulling force" between oil and
water (called interfacial tension or IFT). Lower IFT makes it easier for water to
spread and wet the surface.
II. Oil Composition

Sticky molecules (like asphaltenes and resins) in crude oil can attach to rock
surfaces, making them more oil-wet.

III. Water
o Presence of water inhibits oil wetting ability.
o lower salinity reduces the contact angle which promotes water wet conditions
which are more favorable in water flood mechanisms and high salinity
increases the contact angle which shifts the system towards the oil -wet
conditions hence reducing the efficiency of the water based EOR methods).
o distribution toward a more water-wet state.

IV. Surface Roughness and Heterogeneity: roughness and chemical

heterogeneity change apparent contact angles and can amplify intrinsic wettability
trends; models for rough surfaces (Wenzel, Cassie–Baxter) describe these effects.

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Fundamentals of Rock Properties (Wettability)

Influence of Wettability on Relative Permeability in Porous Media.

Relative permeability describes how easily one fluid phase (e.g., oil, water, or gas) flows
through a porous medium when other immiscible fluids are also present. It’s a function
of saturation and wettability.

Wettability plays a crucial role in determining relative permeability in porous media,

especially in multiphase flow systems like oil–water or gas–water reservoirs.

How Wettability Influences Relative Permeability

I. In water-wet rocks
o Water sticks to the rock surface and flows in thin films along the pore walls.
o Oil occupies the larger pore centers and flows more easily.
o Result: Higher oil relative permeability, lower water relative permeability.

II. In oil-wet rocks

o Oil clings to the rock surface.
o Water is pushed to the centers of pores, where it flows more easily.
o Result: Higher water relative permeability, lower oil relative permeability.

III. In mixed-wet systems

o Both fluids share surfaces and pore centers.
o Relative permeabilities are more balanced, often improving recovery efficiency.
Note:

Wettability controls which fluid gets the “easy path” through the rock.

 If the rock prefers water → oil flows better.

 If the rock prefers oil → water flows better.

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