SPE 78592
Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils
M. A. Al-Marhoun, SPE, and E. A. Osman, SPE, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Copyright 2002, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the 10
th
Abu Dhabi International Petroleum
Exhibition and Conference, 13-16 October 2002.
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Abstract
Reservoir fluid properties data are very important in reservoir
engineering computations such as material balance
calculations, well testing, reserve estimates, and numerical
reservoir simulations. Ideally, those data should be obtained
experimentally. On some occasions, these data are not either
available or reliable; then, empirically derived correlations are
used to predict PVT properties. However, the success of such
correlations in prediction depends mainly on the range of data
at which they were originally developed. These correlations
were developed using linear, non-linear, multiple regression or
graphical techniques.
Recently, researchers utilized artificial neural networks
(ANN) to develop more accurate PVT correlations. ANNs are
biologically inspired non-algorithmic, non-digital, massively
parallel distributive and adaptive information processing
systems. They resemble the brain in acquiring knowledge
through learning process, and storing knowledge in inter-
neuron connection strengths.
The present study presents new models developed to
predict the bubble point pressure and, the formation volume
factor at the bubble point pressure. The models were
developed using 283 data sets collected from Saudi reservoirs.
These data were divided into three groups: the first was used
to train the ANN models, the second was used to cross-
validate the relationships established during the training
process and, the last was used to test the models to evaluate
their accuracy and trend stability. Trend tests were performed
to ensure that the developed model would follow the physical
laws. Results show that the developed models outperform the
published correlations in terms of absolute average percent
relative error, and standard deviation.
Introduction
PVT properties are very important in almost all reservoir
engineering computations. These include material balance
calculations, well testing, reserve estimates, and numerical
reservoir simulations. Ideally, those data should be obtained
from laboratory studies on bottom-hole collected samples.
However, in some instances, these data are either not available
or reliable; then, empirically derived correlations are used to
predict PVT properties. There are many empirical correlations
for predicting different PVT properties, they were developed
using linear or non-linear multiple regression or graphical
techniques. Recently, researchers utilized artificial neural
networks (ANN) to develop more accurate PVT correlations.
The developed correlations have some limitations as they were
originally developed for certain range of reservoir fluid
characteristics and geographical area with similar fluid
compositions. Thus, the accuracy of such correlations is
critical and local correlations are found to be more accurate
when compared to global correlations.
Bubble point pressure (Pb) and Bubble point Oil Formation
Volume Factor (Bob), are very important PVT properties.
Bubble point pressure is defined as the pressure at which the
first gas bubble evolves from liquid phase, thus differentiating
between single and multi-phase state of reservoir fluids. Also,
Bob is defined as the volume of reservoir oil that would be
occupied by one stock tank barrel oil plus any dissolved gas at
the bubble point pressure and reservoir temperature. Precise
prediction of Pb and Bob is very important in reservoir and
production computations. The objective of this study is to
develop new predictive models for Pb and Bob based on
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) using field data collected
from Saudi reservoirs.
ANNs are biologically inspired non-algorithmic, non-
digital, massively parallel distributive and adaptive
information processing systems. They resemble the brain in
acquiring knowledge through learning process, and storing
knowledge in inter-neuron connection strengths.
The present study presents two new models developed to
predict Pb and Bob. The developed models are based on 283
field data sets collected from different Saudi reservoirs. These
data were divided into three groups. The first one (142 sets)
was used to train the ANN models, the second group (71 sets)
was used to cross-validate the relationships established during
the training process and, the last group (70 sets) was used to
2 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman
test the models to evaluate their accuracy and trend stability.
Results show that the developed models outperform the
published correlations in terms of absolute average percent
error, and standard deviation.
Trend tests were performed to check the behavior of the
predicted values of Bob and Pb for any change in reservoir
temperature, Gas Oil Ratio (GOR), gas gravity and oil gravity.
The developed models were found to obey the physical laws.
PVT Empirical Correlations
The importance of developing and using empirical correlations
for PVT properties was realized more than six decades ago.
Many studies were carried out to develop new PVT
correlations. Perhaps Standing1,2 was the first to present
correlations for Pb and Bob, which were based on laboratory
experiments on 105 samples gathered from 22 different crude
oils in California. Katz3 presented five methods for predicting
the reservoir oil shrinkage. Lasater 4 developed a graphical Pb
correlation based on 158 samples from 137 reservoirs in
Canada, U.S. and South America. Vazquez and Beggs5
developed correlations for Bob. More than 6000 data points
from 600 laboratory measurements were used in developing
their correlations. Glaso6 developed correlation for Bob using
45 oil samples from North Sea hydrocarbon mixtures. Al-
Marhoun7 published correlations for estimating Pb and Bob for
the Middle East oils using 160 data sets from 69 Middle
Eastern reservoirs.
Labedi8 developed correlations for Bob for African crude
oils using 129 data sets. Dokla and Osman9 published set of
correlations for estimating Pb and Bob for UAE crude oils using
51 data sets to calculate new coefficients for Al-Marhoun7
Middle East models. Al-Marhoun10 published another
correlation for Bob using 11,728 experimental values
representing samples taken from 700 reservoirs mostly from
Middle East and North America.
Macary and El-Batanoney11 presented correlations for Pb
and Bob using 90 data sets from 30 independent reservoirs in
the Gulf of Suez, Egypt to develop the correlations. Omar and
Todd12 presented bubble point pressure and oil formation
volume factor correlations, based on Standing1 model, using
93 data sets from Malaysian oil reservoirs. Petrosky and
Farshad13 developed correlations for Gulf of Mexico crude oils
using 90 data sets. Kartoatmodjo and Schmidt14 used a global
data bank to develop correlations for all PVT properties using
data from 740 different crude oil samples, which gathered
from all over the world and provided 5392 data sets. Al-
Mehaideb15 published correlations for properties of UAE crude
oils using 62 data sets from UAE reservoirs.
Many other studies were conducted to evaluate the
previous empirical correlations using set of local data to
recommend the use of a specific correlation for a specific PVT
property. Saleh et al.16 evaluated the empirical correlations for
Egyptian oils. Sutton and Farshad17, 18 published an evaluation
for Gulf of Mexico crude oils. They used 285 data sets for gas-
saturated oil and 134 data sets for undersaturated oil.
SPE 78592
McCain19 published an evaluation of all reservoir properties
correlations based on a large global database.
A comprehensive study was performed by Ghetto et al.20
on PVT properties correlation based on 195 global data sets
collected from the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, Middle East,
and the North Sea reservoirs. Elsharkawy et al.21 evaluated
PVT correlations for Kuwaiti crude oils using 44 samples.
Mahmood and Al-Marhoun22 presented an evaluation of PVT
correlations for Pakistani crude oils using 166 data sets from
22 different crude samples. Hanafy et al.23 published results of
evaluation study for Egyptian crude oils. The results of their
study strongly support the approach of developing a local
correlation versus a global correlation.
Another comprehensive study was conducted by Al-Fattah
and Al-Marhoun24. They used 674 data sets from published
literature. Al-Shammasi25 evaluated the published correlations
and neural network models for Pb and Bob for accuracy and
flexibility to represent hydrocarbon mixtures from different
geographical locations worldwide. He presented a new
correlation for bubble point pressure based on global data of
1661 published and 48 unpublished data sets.
PVT Neural Network Models
Recently, artificial neural network models were used
extensively in most of petroleum engineering applications.
Applications of ANN in petroleum engineering were discussed
by many authors26-30. However, only few publications are
available in literature for ANN applications in predicting PVT
properties. Gharbi and Elsharkawy31 published neural network
models for estimating Pb and Bob for Middle East crude oils.
They utilized two hidden layers neural networks to model each
property separately. The Pb model had eight neurons in the
first layer and four neurons in the second. The Bob model had
six neurons in both layers. Both models were trained using
498 data sets collected from the literature and unpublished
sources. The models were tested by other 22 data points from
the Middle East. Results showed improvement over the
conventional correlation methods with reduction in the
average error for the Pb and Bob.
Another ANN model was developed by Gharbi and
Elsharkawy32 for estimating Pb and Bob for universal use. The
model was developed using three-layer neural network model
and 5200 data sets collected from all over the world
representing 350 different crude oils. Another set of data
consisting of 234 data sets was used for verifying the results of
the model. The reported results for the universal model
showed less improvement than the Middle East neural model
over the conventional correlations. The Pb average error was
lower than that of the conventional correlations for both
training and test data. The Bob, on the other hand, was better
than conventional correlations in terms of correlation
coefficient. The average error for the neural network model is
similar to conventional correlations for training data and
higher for test data than the best performing conventional
correlation.
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils
All previous studies utilized backpropagation neural
networks. Elsharkawy33 presented a new technique to model
the behavior of crude oil and natural gas systems using a radial
basis function neural network model (RBFNM). The model
can predict Bob, solution gas-oil ratio, Rs, oil viscosity,
saturated oil density, undersaturated oil compressibility, and
evolved gas gravity. He used differential PVT data of ninety
samples for training and another ten novel samples for testing
the model. Accuracy of the model in predicting the solution
gas-oil ratio, oil Bob, oil viscosity, oil density, undersaturated
oil compressibility and evolved gas gravity was compared for
training and testing samples to all published correlations. The
comparison shows that his model is much more accurate than
these correlations in predicting the properties of the oils. The
behavior of the model in capturing the physical trend of the
PVT data was also checked against experimentally measured
PVT properties of the test samples. He concluded that
although, the model was developed for specific crude oil and
gas system, the idea of using neural network to model
behavior of reservoir fluid can be extended to other crude oil
and gas systems as a substitute to PVT correlations that were
developed by conventional regression techniques.
Al-Shammasi25 presented neural network models and
compared their performance to numerical correlations. He
concluded that statistical and trend performance analysis
showed that some of the correlations violate the physical
behavior of hydrocarbon fluid properties. In addition, he
pointed out that the published neural network models missed
major model parameters to be reproduced.
A novel approach for predicting the complete PVT
behavior of reservoir oils and gas condensates using Artificial
Neural Network (ANN) was introduced by Varotsis et al.34.
The method uses key measurements that can be performed
rapidly either in the lab or at the well site as input to an ANN.
The ANN was trained by a PVT studies database of over 650
reservoir fluids originating from all parts of the world. Tests of
the trained ANN architecture utilizing a validation set of PVT
studies indicate that, for all fluid types, most PVT property
estimates can be obtained with a very low mean relative error
of 0.5-2.5%, with no data set having a relative error in excess
of 5%. This level of error is considered better than that
provided by tuned Equation of State (EOS) models, which are
currently in common use for the estimation of reservoir fluid
properties. In addition to improved accuracy, the proposed
ANN architecture avoids the ambiguity and numerical
difficulties inherent to EOS models and provides for
continuous improvements by the enrichment of the ANN
training database with additional data.
In their comparative study, McCain et al.35 considered
three independent means for developing Pb correlations,
namely, non-linear regression of a model, neural network
models, and non-parametric regression. Using 728 global data
sets; they found that the best possible correlations of Pb are
accurate to an average absolute error of about 13 percent.
They concluded that the only options currently available for
obtaining accurate values of bubble point pressure are either
3
regular field measurement of average reservoir pressures or
laboratory measurement with a sample representative of the
original reservoir oil.
Osman et al. 36 developed a new model to predict the Bob at
the bubble-point pressure, based 803 published data sets from
the Middle East, Malaysia, Colombia, and Gulf of Mexico
fields. They trained a backpropagation three-layer neural
network using 403 data sets, cross validate the results during
training using 200 data sets, and tested their model, among
others, using the remaining 200 data sets. They used a new
training algorithm, which was developed by one of the
authors, to train a feedforward three-layer network. The first
layer consists of four neurons, the second (hidden) layer
consists of 5 neurons, and the third layer contains one neuron
representing the output (Bob). Results showed that their model
provides better predictions and higher accuracy than the
published empirical correlations (absolute average percent
relative error of 1.789%, and correlation coefficient of 0.988).
They performed trend analysis to check the behavior of the
predicted values of Bob for any change in reservoir
temperature, Rs, gas gravity and oil gravity. Their model was
found to be physically correct. They concluded that the
stability of the model is an indication of successful training
where over-fitting was avoided.
Data Acquisition and Analysis
The 283 data sets used for this work were collected from
different Saudi Fields. Each data set contains reservoir
temperature, oil gravity, total solution gas oil ratio, and
average gas gravity, Pb and Bob. Of the 283 data points, 142
were used to train the ANN models, 71 to cross-validate the
relationships established during the training process and 70 to
test the model to evaluate its accuracy and trend stability. A
statistical description of training and test data are given in
Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.
Neural Networks
An artificial neural network is a computer model that attempts
to mimic simple biological learning processes and simulate
specific functions of human nervous system. It is an adaptive,
parallel information processing system, which is able to
develop associations, transformations or mappings between
objects or data. It is also the most popular intelligent
technique for pattern recognition to date. The basic elements
of a neural network are the neurons and their connection
strengths (weights). Given a topology of the network structure
expressing how the neurons (the processing elements) are
connected, a learning algorithm takes an initial model with
some prior connection weights (usually random numbers)
and produces a final model by numerical iterations. Hence
learning implies the derivation of the posterior connection
weights when a performance criterion is matched (e.g. the
mean square error is below a certain tolerance value).
Learning can be performed by supervised or unsupervised
algorithm. The former requires a set of known input-output
data patterns (or training patterns), while the latter requires
4 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman
only the input patterns. This is commonly known as the feed
forward model, in which no lateral or backward connections
are used37.
Advantages of Artificial Neural Networks
Several advantages can be attributed to ANNs rendering them
suitable to applications such as considered here. Firstly, an
ANN learns the behavior of a database population by self-
tuning its parameters in such a way that the trained ANN
matches the employed data accurately. Secondly, if the data
used are sufficiently descriptive38, the ANN provides a rapid
and confident prediction as soon as a new case, which has not
been seen by the model during the training phase, is applied.
Possibly, the most important aspect of ANNs is their ability to
discover patterns in data that are so obscure as to be
imperceptible to normal observation and standard statistical
methods. This is particularly the case for data exhibiting
significantly unpredictable nonlinearities39. Traditional
correlations are based on simple models, which often have to
be stretched by adding terms and constants in order for them to
become flexible enough to fit experimental data, whereas
neural networks are marvelously self-adaptable. Using a
sufficiently large database for training, ANNs allow property
values to be accurately predicted over a very wide range of
input data29.
An ANN model can accept substantially more information
as input to the model, thereby, improving significantly the
accuracy of the predictions and reducing the ambiguity of the
requested relationship. Moreover, ANNs are fast-responding
systems. Once the model has been educated predictions
about unknown fluids are obtained with direct and rapid
calculations without the need for tuning or iterative
computations. Furthermore, an outstanding attribute of the
ANNs is their capability of becoming increasingly expert by
retraining using larger databases. Continuous enrichment of
the ANN knowledge eventually leads to a predictive model
exhibiting higher accuracy of predicting PVT properties29.
Architecture of Neural Network Models
In this study, a back propagation networks (BPN) were used.
A backpropagation network is multi-layered and information
flows from the input to the output through at least one
hidden/middle layer. Each layer contains neurons that are
connected to all neurons in the neighboring layers. The
connections have numerical values (weights) associated with
them, which will be adjusted during the training phase.
Training is completed when the network is able to predict the
given output. For the two models, the first layer consists of
four neurons representing the input values of reservoir
temperature, solution gas oil ratio, gas specific gravity and
API oil gravity. The second (hidden) layer consists of seven
neurons for the Pb Model, and eight neurons for the Bob model.
The third layer contains one neuron representing the output
values of either Pb or Bob. Simplified schematic of the used
neural networks for Pb and Bob models are illustrated in Figs. 1
and 2 respectively.
SPE 78592
As mentioned earlier, the data were divided into two
groups: training group (213 data sets) and testing group (70
data sets). The training group is split into two groups: the first
(142 data sets) was used to train the network; the second set
was used to test the error during the training, this was called
cross validation. It gives the ability to monitor the
generalization performance of the network and prevent the
network to over fit the training data37. In a BPN, the input
activity is transmitted forward while the error is propagated
backwards. The neurons in the BPN use a transfer function
that is sigmoid or S shaped. A key feature of the sigmoid
function is that it has a minimum value of zero and a
maximum value of one and is differentiable everywhere with a
positive slope. The derivative of the transfer function is
required to calculate the error that is back propagated and the
derivative of the sigmoid function is easy to calculate. The
resulted weights for the Bob and Pb models are given in
Tables 3 and 4, respectively. In addition, the relative
importance of each input property are identified during the
training process and given for Bob and Pb models in Tables 5
and 6, respectively.
Over-training a network must be avoided and it is
important to frequently monitor the error as training
progresses. It has been shown that over training a network
causes the network to memorize results rather than generalize.
Then, the resulted model can perfectly predict the data similar
to training data, but it will perform badly if new cases
submitted to the network. The cross-validation method used in
this study utilized as a checking mechanism in the training
algorithm to prevent over-training.
Statistical Error Analysis
Statistical error analysis is performed to compare the
performance and accuracy of the new model to other empirical
correlations. Average absolute percent relative error,
minimum and maximum absolute percent error, root mean
square and standard deviation were used as comparison
criteria.
Results and Discussion
After training the neural networks, the models become ready
for testing and evaluation. To perform this, the last data group
(70 data sets), which was not seen by the neural network
during training, was used. To compare the performance and
accuracy of the new models to other empirical correlations,
five correlations for both Bob and Pb models were selected.
For Bob model, the correlations are those of Standing (1947)1,
Vazquez and Beggs (1980)5, Glaso (1980)6, Al-Marhoun
(1988)7, Al-Marhoun (1992)10. For Pb model, the correlations
are those of Standing (1947)1, Lasater4 (1958), Vazquez and
Beggs (1980)5, Glaso (1980)6, and Al-Marhoun (1988)7.
Detailed discussion of each model is given below.
Oil FVF at Bubble-Point Pressure (Bob) Model:
The statistical results of the comparison for Bob model are
given in Table 7. The Artificial Neural Network Model
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils
outperforms all the empirical correlations. The proposed
model showed high accuracy in predicting the Bob values
(correlation coefficient is 0.9989), and achieved the lowest
absolute percent relative error, lowest maximum error, lowest
root mean square error, and the lowest standard deviation
among other correlations.
The absolute percent relative error is an important indicator
of the accuracy of the models. For ANN model, it was
0.5116%, while other correlations indicates higher error values
of 0.8451% for Al-Marhoun (1992)10, 1.0056% for Al-
Marhoun (1988)7, 1.6833% for Standing1, 2.6516% for
Vazquez and Beggs4, and 1.7865 for Glaso6 Correlation. Also,
ANN model achieves the lowest standard deviation of 0.6626,
while other values range between 3.2538 for Vazquez and
Beggs5, and 1.1209 for Al-Marhoun (1992)10 correlation. The
model achieved standard deviation almost 50% of the best of
other correlations. Thus, the ANN model outperforms all
other empirical correlations. The higher accuracy of the
predicted results indicates that the neural network was
successfully trained.
Figures 3-8 illustrate scatter diagrams of the predicted
versus experimental Bob values. These cross plots indicates the
degree of agreement between the experimental and the
predicted values. If the agreement is perfect, then all points
should lie on the 45 degrees line on the plot. Compared to
other cross plots, Fig. 8 shows the tightest cloud of points
around the 45 degrees line indicating an excellent agreement
between the experimental and the calculated data values. The
most scattered points were found in Fig. 4, Vazquez and
Beggs5 correlation, and Fig. 5, Standing1 correlation,
indicating their poor performance for this set of data.
Bubble-Point Pressure (Pb) Model:
Similarly, the statistical results of the comparison for Pb model
are given in Table 8. The Artificial Neural Network Model
outperforms all the empirical correlations. The proposed
model showed high accuracy in predicting the Pb values
(correlation coefficient is 0.9965), and achieved the lowest
absolute percent relative error, lowest root mean square error,
and the highest correlation coefficient among other
correlations.
For ANN model, the absolute percent relative error was
5.8915%, while other correlations indicates higher error values
of 8.1028% for Al-Marhoun (1988)7, 9.6821% for Lasater4,
10.4562% for Standing1, 10.9713% for Vazquez and Beggs5,
and 20.7569 for Glaso6 Correlation. Besides, ANN model
achieves the lowest standard deviation of 8.6781, while other
values range between 16.1595 for Glaso6 Correlation, and
11.1440 for Al-Marhoun (1988) correlation. Thus, the
developed Pb ANN model outperforms all other empirical
correlations.
Figures 9-14 illustrate scatter diagrams of the predicted
versus experimental Bob values. Compared to other cross
plots, Fig. 14 shows the tightest cloud of points around the 45
degrees line indicating an excellent agreement between the
experimental and the calculated data values. The most
5
scattered points were found in Figs. 12, 9, and 10 representing
Glaso6, Lasater4 and Standing1 correlations, respectively,
which indicate their poor performance for this set of data.
It should be noted that, except for the present model and
Al-Marhoun (1988)10 correlation, the average absolute percent
relative error is at least 10%. This error is found to be within
the error bound of 13% suggested by McCain et al.35. The
common thing between the present model and that of Al-
Marhoun (1988)10 correlation, is that they both were
developed for Saudi Crude oils; this supports the idea of
developing local/regional correlations for predicting PVT
properties rather than universal ones which recommended by
other researchers23.
Trend and Group Error Analysis
The above discussion shows that the developed models
outperform other empirical correlations in predicting Bob and
Pb values. A group error analysis was conducted to study the
behavior of the developed models at different ranges of input
parameters. Figures 15-17, illustrate the group error analysis
for oil API gravity, gas relative density and solution gas-oil
ratio, respectively, for Bob model. While figures 18-20,
illustrate the same for Pb Model. The developed models
achieved the lowest absolute average percent error consistently
for almost all ranges of different properties. These findings
prove the superiority of the developed Bob and Pb ANN models
over other correlation.
Now, the models should be tested to ensure that they are
physically correct. In order to perform these tests, trend tests
must be conducted. The model was tested using hypothetical
intermediate data points, and the dependence of Pb and Bob on
solution gas oil ratio (Rs), reservoir temperature (T), oil API
gravity and gas relative density (g) was studied. Figures 21-
23, illustrate the trend analysis for oil API gravity, gas relative
density and solution gas-oil ratio, respectively, for Bob model.
While figures 24-26, illustrate the same for Pb Model. Results
demonstrate the fact that the developed models obey the
physical rules and follow the same trends of other correlations.
Conclusions
1. Two new models were developed to predict the bubble-
point pressure, and the oil formation volume factor at the
bubble-point pressure for Saudi crude oils. The models were
based on artificial neural networks, and developed using 283
unpublished data sets collected from different Saudi fields.
2. Of the 283 data sets, 142 were used to train the Bob and
Pb Artificial Neural Network models, 71 to cross-validate the
relationships established during the training process and adjust
the calculated weights, and the remaining 70 to test the model
to evaluate its accuracy.
3. The results show that the developed Bob model provides
better predictions and higher accuracy than the published
empirical correlations. The present model provides predictions
of the formation volume factor at the bubble point pressure
with an absolute average percent error of 0.5116%, standard
deviation of 0.6626 and correlation coefficient of 0.9989.
6 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman
4. In addition, the developed Pb model outperforms the
published empirical correlations. It provides predictions of the
bubble point pressure with an absolute average percent error of
5.8915%, standard deviation of 8.6781 and correlation
coefficient of 0.9965. Also, results support the idea of
developing local/regional models rather than universal ones.
5. Group Error Analysis was conducted and showed that the
developed models consistently provide predictions with lowest
error compared to other empirical correlations
6. Trend analysis was performed to check the behavior of
the predicted values of Bob for any change in reservoir
temperature, solution gas oil ratio (Rs), gas gravity and oil
gravity. The models behaviors were found to be physically
correct.
Nomenclature
Pb = Bubble- point pressure, psi
Bob = OFVF at the bubble- point pressure, RB/STB
Rs = solution gas oil ratio, SCF/STB
T = reservoir temperature, degrees Fahrenheit
o = oil relative density (water=1.0)
g = gas relative density (air=1.0)
Er = average percent relative error
Ei = percent relative error
Ea = average absolute percent relative error
Emax = Maximum absolute percent relative error
Emin = Minimum absolute percent relative error
RMS = root mean square error
r = correlation coefficient
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank King Fahd University of Petroleum
and Minerals for the facilities utilized to perform the present
work and for their support.
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SPE 78592
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of Empirically Derived PVT Properties for Egyptian Oils,
paper SPE 15721, presented at the 1987 Middle East Oil
Show & Conference, Bahrain, March 7-10.
17. Sutton, R. P. and Farshad, F.: Evaluation of Empirically
Derived PVT Properties for Gulf of Mexico Crude Oils
SPRE (Feb. 1990) 79.
18. Sutton, Roberts P. and Farshad, F.: Supplement to SPE
1372, Evaluation of Empirically Derived PVT Properties
for Gulf of Mexico Crude Oils SPE 20277, Available from
SPE book Order Dep., Richardson, TX.
19. McCain, W. D.: Reservoir fluid property correlations-
State of the Art, SPERE, (May 1991) 266.
20. Ghetto, G. D., Paone, F. and Villa, M.: Reliability
Analysis on PVT correlation, paper SPE 28904 presented
at the 1994 SPE European Petroleum Conference, London,
UK, October 25-27.
21. Elsharkawy, A. M. Elgibaly, A. and Alikhan, A. A.:
Assessment of the PVT Correlations for Predicting the
Properties of the Kuwaiti Crude Oils, paper presented at
the 6th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition &
Conference, Oct. 16-19, 1994.
22. Mahmood, M. M. and Al-Marhoun, M. A.: Evaluation of
empirically derived PVT properties for Pakistani crude
oils, J. Pet. Sci. & Engg. 16 (1996) 275.
23. Hanafy, H.H., Macary, S.A., Elnady, Y. M., Bayomi, A.A.
and El-Batanoney, M.H.: Empirical PVT Correlation
Applied to Egyptian Crude Oils Exemplify Significance of
Using Regional Correlations, paper SPE 37295 presented
at the SPE Oilfield Chemistry International Symposium,
Houston, Feb. 1821, 1997.
24. Al-Fattah, S. M. and Al-Marhoun, M. A.: Evaluation of
empirical correlation for bubble point oil formation volume
factor, J. Pet. Sci. & Engg. 11(1994) 341.
25. Al-Shammasi, A.A.,: Bubble Point Pressure and Oil
Formation Volume Factor Correlations, paper SPE 53185
presented at the 1997 SPE Middle East Oil Show and
Conference, Bahrain, March 1518.
26. Kumoluyi, A.O. and Daltaban, T.S.: High-Order Neural
Networks in Petroleum Engineering, paper SPE 27905
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils 7

presented at the 1994 SPE Western Regional Meeting,
Longbeach, California, USA, March 23-25.
27. Ali, J. K.: Neural Networks: A New Tool for the
Petroleum Industry, paper SPE 27561 presented at the
1994 European Petroleum Computer Conference,
Aberdeen, U.K., March 15-17.
28. Mohaghegh, S. and Ameri, S.,:" A Artificial Neural
Network As A Valuable Tool For Petroleum Engineers,"
SPE 29220, unsolicited paper for Society of Petroleum
Engineers, 1994.
29. Mohaghegh, S.:" Neural Networks: What it Can do for
Petroleum Engineers," JPT, (Jan. 1995) 42.
30. Mohaghegh, S.:" Virtual Intelligence Applications in
Petroleum Engineering: Part 1 - Artificial Neural
Networks, JPT (September 2000).
31. Gharbi, R.B. and Elsharkawy, A.M.: Neural-Network
Model for Estimating the PVT Properties of Middle East
Crude Oils, paper SPE 37695 presented at the 1997 SPE
Middle East Oil Show and Conference, Bahrain, March 15
18.
32. Gharbi, R.B. and Elsharkawy, A.M.: Universal Neural-
Network Model for Estimating the PVT Properties of Crude
Oils, paper SPE 38099 presented at the 1997 SPE Asia
Pacific Oil & Gas Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
April 14-16.
33. Elsharkawy, A.M.: Modeling the Properties of Crude Oil
and Gas Systems Using RBF Network, paper SPE 49961
presented at the 1998 SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas
Conference, Perth, Australia, October 12-14.
34. Varotsis N., Gaganis V., Nighswander J., and Guieze P.,:
A Novel Non-Iterative Method for the Prediction of the
PVT Behavior of Reservoir Fluids, paper SPE 56745
presented at the 1999 SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, October 36.
35. McCain W. D. Jr., R. Soto B., Valko, P.P., and Blasingame,
T. A. Correlation Of Bubble point Pressures For Reservoir
Oils - A Comparative Study, paper SPE 51086 presented
at the 1998 SPE Eastern Regional Conference and
Exhibition held in Pittsburgh, PA, 911 November.
36. Osman, E. A., Ahmed, O.A., and Al-Marhoun, M.A.,:
Prediction of Oil PVT Properties Using Neural Networks,
Paper SPE 68233, presented at the 2001 SPE Middle East
Oil Show and Conference, Manama, March 17-20.
37. Gaganis V., Nighswander J., and Guieze P.,: A Novel
Non-Iterative Method for the Prediction of the PVT
Behavior of Reservoir Fluids, paper SPE 56745 presented
at the 1999 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, Houston, Texas, October 36.
38. Farshad, F.F, Leblance, J.L, Garber, J.D. and Osorio, J.G.:
Empirical Correlation for Colombian Crude Oils, paper
SEP 24538, Unsolicited (1992), Available from SPE book
Order Dep., Richardson, TX.
39. Bishop, C.: Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition,
Oxford University Press, NY (1995).
40. Fauset, L.: Fundamentals of Neural Networks, Prentice
Hall, NJ, USA, 1996.
41. Hornik, K., Multilayer Feedforward Networks are
Universal Approximators, Neural Networks, (1989), Vol.
2, 359.

TABLE 1: STATISTICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INPUT DATA USED FOR TRAINING AND CROSS
VALIDATION (213 POINTS)
Property Min Max Average St. Dev Skewness Kurtosis
Oil FVF At Pb 1.028 3.562 1.342 0.284 2.116 8.001
Bubble point Pressure 90 3331 1461.85 874.50 0.0896 -1.0253
Temperature, F 75 240 148.7254 46.8860 0.1744 -1.2770
Gas-Oil Ratio 24 1453 421.1479 288.6717 0.6914 0.9868
Gas Relative Density 0.7527 1.8195 1.0148 0.1596 1.0257 3.6746
API Oil Gravity 17.5 44.6 31.6000 5.3127 -0.2295 -0.1744

TABLE 2: STATISTICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INPUT DATA USED FOR TESTING (70 POINTS)

Property Min Max Average St. Dev Skewness Kurtosis

Oil FVF At Pb 1.038 2.478 1.338 0.262 1.425 2.302
Bubble point Pressure 200 2980 1301.03 855.25 0.3125 -1.0150
Temperature, F 75 240 141.0845 48.6244 0.4672 -0.8938
Gas-Oil Ratio 42 1432 417.6761 297.8883 0.7481 0.6039
Gas Relative Density 0.755 1.3757 0.9919 0.1397 0.7731 0.7458
API Oil Gravity 21.3 42.8 31.5183 5.1435 0.3763 -0.5983
8 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman SPE 78592

Table 3: Neural Network Weights for the Input/Hidden and Hidden/Output (Bob)
TF RS GG API Bias Bob
Hidden-1 -0.173500 -0.822400 0.415544 0.263639 0.519419 -0.429400
Hidden-2 -0.322400 -0.174600 0.034070 -0.118500 0.078664 -0.180300
Hidden-3 -0.610000 1.690620 -0.769900 -0.133100 -1.543472 1.152460
Hidden-4 -0.672700 -1.202007 -0.775000 -0.640200 -2.283127 -1.798524
Hidden-5 0.477910 0.769988 0.128638 -0.206800 0.791861 0.523499
Hidden-6 -0.173400 0.512312 0.423855 0.298485 0.450604 0.552624
Hidden-7 -0.104657 0.613203 0.034940 0.527646 -0.729198 -0.652400
Hidden-8 -0.168600 0.817578 -0.358600 -0.344200 -1.167921 0.818268
Bias -0.39148

Table 4: Neural Network Weights for the Input/Hidden and Hidden/Output (Pb).
TF RS GG API Bias Bob
Hidden-1 -0.274300 -0.461700 -0.342800 -1.489020 -0.972900 1.057560
Hidden-2 -0.433402 3.012868 1.807702 1.460784 0.280584 2.149831
Hidden-3 0.775541 0.225653 0.422911 -0.007921 0.467191 -0.713300
Hidden-4 0.596768 0.469901 -2.202500 -0.527902 1.097973 1.334441
Hidden-5 -1.443345 -0.358000 -0.888100 0.682801 0.134255 -0.886400
Hidden-6 0.756867 -0.223400 -1.682137 -0.714800 0.879603 0.940091
Hidden-7 0.028149 -1.540217 2.772899 0.242137 -1.192084 -1.363673
Bias 0.511933

Table 5: Sensitivity Analysis for Bob Model Table 6: Sensitivity Analysis for Pb Model

TF Rs GG API TF Rs GG API
Rank 4 1 2 3 Rank 4 1 2 3
Error 192.554 796.59 302.54 275.82 Error 211.66 783.72 307.04 279.19
Ratio 2. 824 11.684 4.4377 4.0458 Ratio 3.385 12.534 4.9105 4.4652

TABLE 7: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS FOR DIFFERENT Bob EMPIRICAL

CORRELATIONS
Correlation Er EA Emin Emax Erms STDEV
Standing (1947) -1.0541 1.6833 0.0660 7.7997 2.3381 2.1021
Vazquez & Beggs (1980) 2.3831 2.6516 0.0011 14.2682 4.0144 3.2538
Glaso (1980) 0.4538 1.7865 0.0062 7.3839 2.1980 2.1662
Al-Marhoun (1988) 0.0288 1.0056 0.0198 3.0915 1.2452 1.2539
Al-Marhoun (1992) -0.3917 0.8451 0.0003 3.5546 1.1798 1.1029
ANN (Present Study) 0.2173 0.5116 0.0061 2.6001 0.6928 0.6626
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils 9

TABLE 8: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS FOR DIFFERENT Pb EMPIRICAL

CORRELATIONS
Correlation Er EA Emin Emax Erms STDEV
Standing (1947) -8.4404 10.4562 0.2733 47.0213 14.4722 11.8409
Lasater (1958) -5.5942 9.6821 -36.2160 20.9857 12.8912 11.6980
Vazquez & Beggs (1980) -9.8541 10.9713 0.2406 43.3581 15.1122 11.5402
Glaso (1980) -18.4736 20.7569 2.0345 63.7634 24.4678 16.1595
Al-Marhoun (1988) 0.9409 8.1028 0.0935 38.0850 11.3712 11.4140
ANN (Present Study) -0.2215 5.8915 0.2037 38.1225 8.6187 8.6781

Input Layer Hidden Layer Output Layer

Rs

Tf Bob

GG
API

Fig. 1- Schematic of the Artificial Neural Network Topology Used for Bob Model.

Rs

Tf
Pb
GG

API

Fig. 2- Schematic of the Artificial Neural Network Topology Used for Pb Model.
10 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman SPE 78592

2.2 2.2

2.0 2.0
Predicted Bob

Predicted Bob
1.8 1.8

1.6 1.6

1.4 1.4

1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2

Measured Bob Measured Bob

Fig. 3- Cross Plot of Standing Correlation for Bob. Fig. 3-Cross Plot of Vazquez & Beggs Correlation for Bob.

2.2 2.2

2.0 2.0
Predicted Bob

Predicted Bob

1.8 1.8

1.6 1.6

1.4 1.4

1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2

Measured Bob Measured Bob

Fig. 5- Cross Plot of Glaso Correlation for Bob. Fig. 6- Cross Plot of Al-Marhoun (1988) Correlation for Bob.

2.2 2.2

2.0 2.0
Predicted Bob

Predicted Bob

1.8 1.8

1.6 1.6

1.4 1.4

1.2 1.2

1.0 1.0
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2

Measured Bob Measured Bob

Fig 7- Cross-Plot of Al-Marhoun (1992) Correlation for Bob. Fig. 8- Cross Plot of Artificial Neural Networks Model for Bob.
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils 11

4000 4000

3200 3200
Predicted Pb

Predicted Pb
2400 2400

1600 1600

800 800

0 0
0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000 0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000

Measured Pb Measured Pb

Fig. 9- Cross Plot of Lasater Correlation for Pb. Fig. 10-Cross Plot of Standing Correlation for Pb.

4000 4000

3200 3200
Predicted Pb

Predicted Pb

2400 2400

1600 1600

800 800

0 0
0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000 0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000

Measured Pb Measured Pb

Fig. 11- Cross Plot of Vazquez & Beggs Correlation for Pb. Fig. 12- Cross Plot of Glaso Correlation for Pb.

4000 4000

3200 3200
Predicted Pb

Predicted Pb

2400 2400

1600 1600

800 800

0 0
0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000 0 800 1600 2400 3200 4000
Measured Pb Measured Pb

Fig. 13- Cross Plot of Al-Marhoun (1988) Correlation for Pb. Fig. 14- Cross Plot of Artificial Neural Networks Model for Pb.
12 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman SPE 78592

6
Glaso
5 Vazquez&Beggs
Standing

Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Marhoun-88
4
Marhoun-92
ANN
3

0
21.8<API<27.1 (15) 27.1<API<30 (13) 30<API<33 (12) 33<API<35 (18) 35<API<45 (12)
Fig. 15- Effect of Oil API Gravity on Group Error for Bob Model.

Standing
5 Vazquez&Beggs
Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Glaso
Marhoun-88
4
Marhoun-92
ANN
3

0
0.7<GG<0.9 (14) 0.9<GG<1.0 (14) 1.0<GG<1.05 (16) 1.05<GG<1.1 (11) 1.1<API<1.38 (15)
Fig. 16- Effect of Gas Relative Density on Group Error for Bob Model.

5
Standing
Vazquez&Beggs
4 Glaso
Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Marhoun-88
Marhoun-92
3 ANN

0
41<RS<100 (12) 100<RS<400 (14) 400<RS<550 (11) 550<RS<600 (15) 600<RS<1453 (18)
Fig. 17- Effect of Solution Gas-Oil Ratio on Group Error for Bob Model.
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils 13

35
Lasater

30 Standing
Vazquez&Beggs

Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Glaso
25
Marhoun-88
ANN
20

15

10

0
21.8<API<27.1 (15) 27.1<API<30 (13) 30<API<33 (12) 33<API<35 (18) 35<API<45 (12)

Fig. 18- Effect of Oil API Gravity on Group Error for Pb Model.

30
Lasater
Standing
25 Vazquez&Beggs
Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Glaso
M arhoun-88
20
ANN

15

10

0
0.7<GG<0.9 (14) 0.9<GG<1.0 (14) 1.0<GG<1.05 (16) 1.05<GG<1.1 (11) 1.1<API<1.38 (15)
Fig. 19- Effect of Gas Relative Density on Group Error for Pb Model.

30

25
Avg Absolute Relative Error %

Lasater
20 Standing
Vazquez&Beggs
Glaso
15 M arhoun-88
ANN

10

0
41<RS<100 (12) 100<RS<400 (14) 400<RS<550 (11) 550<RS<600 (15) 600<RS<1453 (18)
Fig. 20- Effect of Solution Gas-Oil Ratio on Group Error for Pb Model.
14 Muhammad A. Al-Marhoun and El-Sayed A. Osman SPE 78592

1.40
Standing
Vazquez & Beggs
Glaso

Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Marhoum 88
1.35 Marhoun 92
ANN

1.30

1.25
10 20 30 40 50 60
Oil Gravity, API
Fig. 21- Trend Analyis: Effect of Oil API Gravity on Predicted Bob.

1.44
Standing
Vazquez & Beggs
1.40
Glaso
Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Marhoun 88
1.36 Marhoun 92
ANN

1.32

1.28

1.24

1.20
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Gas Relative Density GG

Fig. 22- Trend Analysis: Effect of Gas Relative Density on Predicted Bob.

4.0
Standing
Vazquez & Beggs

3.2 Glaso
Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Marhoun 88
Marhoun 92
ANN
2.4

1.6

0.8
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Solution Gas Oil Ratio, Rs, SCF/STB

Fig. 23- Trend Analysis: Effect of Solution Gas-Oil Ratio on Predicted Bob.
SPE 78592 Using Artificial Neural Networks to Develop New PVT Correlations for Saudi Crude Oils 15

4000
Lasater
Standing
Vazquez & Beggs
3000

Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Glaso
Marhoum 88
ANN
2000

1000

0
10 20 30 40 50 60
Oil Gravity, API
Fig. 24- Trend Analyis: Effect of Oil API Gravity on Predicted Pb.

6000
Lasater

5000 Standing
Vazquez & Beggs
Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Glaso
4000 Marhoun 88
ANN
3000

2000

1000

0
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Gas Relative Density GG

Fig. 25- Trend Analysis: Effect of Gas Relative Density on Predicted Pb.

12000
Lasater

10000 Standing
Vazquez & Beggs
Predicted BOB, RB/STB

Glaso
8000
Marhoun 88
ANN
6000

4000

2000

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Solution Gas Oil Ratio, Rs, SCF/STB

Fig. 26- Trend Analysis: Effect of Solution Gas-Oil Ratio on Predicted Pb.