FACULTY OF PETROLEUM AND RENEWABLE ENERGY ENGINEERING

SKPP 2731 Reservoir Engineering Laboratory

Section: 02
Date of Experiment: 30th March 2015
Date of Submission: 06th April 2015
Name of Lecturer: Dr Mansoor
Group: D
Experiment 4: API Gravity Measurement
NAME
Muhammad Ameerul Zaeem Bin Md
Zuhri
Sridaar A/L Kanaiya
Siti NurHawa binti Janiman

MATRIC NO.
A13KP0064

EMAIL
ameerul13@spe.petroleum.utm.my

A13KP0122
A13KP0119

sridaar13@spe.petroleum.utm.my
sitinurhawa13@spe.petroleum.utm.m
y

Executive Summary

This experiment was conducted to calculate the API Gravity for several fluid samples by
using Hydrometer method. API gravity is thus an inverse measure of the relative density of a
petroleum liquid and the density of water, but it is used to compare the relative densities of
petroleum liquids. For example, if one petroleum liquid floats on another and is therefore less
dense, it has a greater API gravity. In oil industries, the measurement of the API gravity for the
sample is important in order to study the quality of the oil in the reservoir. Through API Gravity
measurement the oil can be classified into heavy and light oil.

Introduction

API stands for the American Petroleum Institute, which is the major United States trade
association for the oil and natural gas industry. The API represents about 400 corporations in the
petroleum industry and helps to set standards for production, refinement, and distribution of
petroleum products. They also advocate on behalf of the industry. One of the most important
standards that the API has set is the method used for measuring the density of petroleum. This
standard is called the API gravity.
Specific gravity is a ratio of the density of one substance to the density of a reference
substance, usually water. The API gravity is nothing more than the standard specific gravity used
by the oil industry, which compares the density of oil to that of water through a calculation
designed to ensure consistency in measurement. Less dense oil or light oil is preferable to
more dense oil as it contains greater quantities of hydrocarbons that can be converted to gasoline.
API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of an oil, which is nothing more than
the ratio of its density to that of water (density of the oil/density of water). The value used in this
scale was 141.5. Specific gravity for API calculations is always determined at 60 degrees
Fahrenheit and atmospheric pressure. API gravity is found as follows:

API gravity = (141.5/Specific Gravity) 131.5

Conversely, the specific gravity of petroleum liquids can be derived from the API gravity value
as:
Specific Gravity = 141.5/ (API gravity+131.5)
Though API values do not have units, they are often referred to as degrees. API gravity
moves inversely to density, which means the denser an oil is, the lower its API gravity will be.
An API of 10 is equivalent to water, which means any oil with an API above 10 will float on
water while any with an API below 10 will sink.
The API gravity is used to classify oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy. As the
weight of an oil is the largest determinant of its market value, API gravity is exceptionally
important. The API values for each weight are as follows:

Light API > 31.1

Medium API between 22.3 and 31.1

Heavy API < 22.3

Extra Heavy API < 10.0

These are only rough valuations as the exact demarcation in API gravity between light
and heavy oil changes depending on the region from which oil came.

Experimental