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Oil, Gas & Mining vocabulary · Exploration & Geology

Permeability

Meaning in oil, gas & mining, with examples

/ˌpɜːrmiəˈbɪləti/nounCommon term

In oil, gas & mining, permeability means: How easily fluids can flow through a rock, which depends on how well its pores are connected. It is measured in darcies or millidarcies (mD).

In Turkish: geçirgenlik, permeabilite

How it is used

A rock can hold a lot of oil (high porosity) but still produce little if its permeability is low. Tight reservoirs and shale have very low permeability and often need hydraulic fracturing. Engineers often say 'perm' for short.

Example sentences

  1. Permeability in this zone is only about 0.1 millidarcy.

  2. Low permeability explains why the well's flow rate is so poor.

Common collocations

  • high permeability
  • low permeability
  • permeability barrier
  • relative permeability
  • porosityThe share of a rock's volume made up of empty spaces (pores) that can hold oil, gas or water, usually given as a percentage.
  • reservoirA layer of porous rock deep underground that holds oil or gas in the tiny spaces between its grains, with rock above it that stops the fluids escaping.
  • hydraulic fracturingPumping water, sand and chemicals into a well at very high pressure to crack the rock, so oil or gas can flow more easily from tight formations such as shale.
  • flow rateThe amount of oil, gas or water that flows from a well or through a pipe in a given time, such as barrels per day or cubic metres per hour.

More terms: Exploration & Geology

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