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Fluids
Fluids
Fluids in a reservoir
Description of the Hydrocarbon
Reservoir Pressure
Reservoir Temperature
Hydrocarbon phases
Fluid Production
Formation Volume factors
Notes
Surface tension forces
Wettability
Relative permeabilities
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© JJ Consulting 1997 1
Reservoir fluids need to be described in a different way from the rocks.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC The first definition is one of contacts, where the fluids would be in
equilibrium. These are the gas-oil-contact, the oil-water-contact and the
Definitions gas-water-contact. The latter is only possible in a well with gas and water
(no oil).
The second figure is the oil in place, the amount of hydrocarbon in the
reservoir.
Fluid Contacts The final figure is one of the hydrocarbon properties, the gas-oil-ratio;
how much gas is in the oil. Due to the complexity of the hydrocarbons in
the reservoir there are many other parameters which are needed to fully
describe the fluids.
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Another way to describe the hydrocarbons is by the mixtures of the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC groups of hydrocarbon structure types. The three major groups are shown.
The simplest and most abundant is the paraffin series, with the more
Hydrocarbon Structure complex structures in varying proportions.
The major
constituent of
hydrocarbons
is paraffin.
Notes
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Hydrocarbons vary widely in their properties. The first classification is by
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC fraction of each component. This ranges from a dry gas which is mostly
C1 (methane) to tar which is mostly the heavier fractions. The black oil
Hydrocarbon Composition normally found is between the two extremes, with some C1 and some
heavier fractions.
Every hydrocarbon extracted from a reservoir is of a different
composition.
Typical hydrocarbons have the following
composition in Mol Fraction
Hydrocarbon C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6+
Tar/bitumen 1.0
Notes
Black oil 100-2500cf/b 30-40
Tar/bitumen 0 <10
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Gas specific gravity with respect to air should not be confused with the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC specific gravity with respect to water.
Hydrocarbon Gas
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The pressure in the reservoir is controlled by the aquifer as it is assumed
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC that it is, somewhere, connected to surface. This means that the pressure in
the water is effectively continuous controlled by the pressure gradient.
Reservoir Pressure The pressure gradient depends on the salinity of the water, the temperature
and the regional tectonic stresses. It is usually constant over a large area..
If the depth in the water is 10000 feet and the water gradient is 0.45psi/ft,
Reservoir Pressures are normally controlled by the pressure is 10000*0.45 = 4500 psi.
the gradient in the aquifer (water table).
P = h*Gw
Notes
where
h - depth
Gw - water gradient
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The pressures in the oil and gas depend on the gradients (densities) of
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC these fluids. The difference in gradients with the water gradient depends
on the specific gravity with respect to water.
Reservoir Pressure Calculations could be done using the oil and gas gradients, however it is
easier to use the regional gradient and the specific gravities.
Notes
Powc
Powc
Notes
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Find the pressures at the OWC, GOC and Top.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC
Notes
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Calculate the pressure on surface of
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC - oil produced from the GOC
- gas produced at the Top of the reservoir.
Reservoir Pressure Example 2
Notes
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Salt domes occur in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf and
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC several other places in the world. Pressures in the surrounding formations
can greatly exceed the expected values.
Overpressured Zones
Notes
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Temperature in wells depends on a regional gradient. There can be local
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC “hot spots” where this is sharply increased. The temperature is measured
during each logging run.
Reservoir Temperature Gradient Temperatures gradients are greatest near the edges of the plates and lowest
near the centres of the old continental plates as these are the thickest
points of the crust.
Notes
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The pressure and temperature are two quantities that can be easily
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC measured. Thus it is useful to describe the fluids behaviour during
production in these terms. Experimentally it is easier to measure pressure
Fluid Phases and volume hence the classical experiment is done using these parameters
at a constant temperature.
Notes
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This is a plot for the single hydrocarbon component used in the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC experiment. The Vapour pressure curve terminates in the Critical Point.
Phase Diagram -single This is a unique point for any substance, pure or a mixture.
The plot describes how this fluid behaves with changing pressure and
component temperature.
If it starts in the liquid and the pressure is reduced, keeping the
temperature constant, it will cross the vapour pressure curve and become a
The experiment is conducted at different gas. Starting as a liquid at constant pressure and increasing the
temperatures. temperature will also change it to a gas.
Notes
Liquid
Gas
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Reservoirs do not have simple single-component hydrocarbons. Their
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC Pressure/Temperature diagrams are more complex.
The Bubble Point and Dew Point curves still meet at the critical point.
Phase diagram Oil There is now an envelope where two phases, oil and gas, exist in
equilibrium. This is due to there being both heavy and light components in
The Pressure/Temperature (PT) phase diagram for an oil the fluid.
reservoir: This typical diagram is used to describe how the oil at reservoir conditions
Point 'A' is the initial reservoir condition of pressure and behaves when it is produced to surface.
temperature.
If the reservoir is produced at a constant temperature
until the fluid reaches the wellbore, the line to Point 'B' is
drawn. This represents the flow of fluid from the reservoir to the
borehole. The fluid travelling to surface now drops in both
temperature and pressure arriving at he "separator conditions"
(s) with a final volume of oil and gas.
Liquid
Notes
A
Critical Point
B
Pressure
Separator Conditions
Gas
Temperature 18
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Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC liquid can easily be sold.
Notes
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This is the final diagram for the reservoir fluids. This is a dry gas which
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC never enters the envelope under any normal producing conditions.
Gas Reservoir
Notes
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Downhole, pressures and temperatures are high, on surface they are much
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC lower hence the fluids will change in volume.
Gas come out of the oil depending on the gas-oil ratio.
Hydrocarbon Volumes Water will only have dissolved gas in a gas well near the gas-water
contact.
Notes
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Downhole sampling has the advantage that it is possible to measure the
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC fluid being sampled hence avoid unwanted production, of, for example,
free gas by coning.
Fluid Sampling There are a number of tools to perform a bottomhole sample.
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The volume change has to be quantified. Surface volumes are measured
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC (production rates); these need to be converted to downhole conditions in
order to compute how much has been produced at reservoir conditions and
FVF Oil and Gas hence how much is left.
Bw is around 1, as water is nearly incompressible. Bo is measured in a
PVT laboratory experiment, it is just over 1, a typical value would be 1.2.
Bg can be measured in the laboratory or using empirical charts. This
There is a change in volume between downhole figure depends very much on the pressure and is always very small of the
conditions and the surface. order of 10-3.
Notes
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The fluid in the reservoir will contain light fractions. The reference
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC conditions are surface temperature and pressure.
FVF Oil, Bo
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This is a typical plot obtained from a PVT laboratory measurement. The
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC only change is an exaggeration of the increase in Bo from reservoir
pressure to bubble point pressure.
PVT Plot, Oil Note the volume of liquid “shrinks from reservoir conditions to surface.
Notes
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The measurement of the gor and Bo are done at discrete points of
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC pressure. The pressure is reduced to the required value and the gas
allowed to escape. The resultant fluid is then measured.
Description On Bo/Rs Plot
GOR, Rs
The GOR does not change going from the
reservoir pressure to the bubble point pressure.
(There is no change in the amount of gas in the
oil.)
Below the bubble point pressure gas comes out of
solution, hence there is less than before and the
GOR decreases.
At the reference pressure, Rs = 0. Notes
FVF, Bo
The Bo increases slightly from the
reservoir pressure to the bubble point pressure as
the lighter components expand.
Below the bubble point pressure, some of the gas
has escaped hence the volume is reduced leading
to a decrease in Bo.
At the reference pressure Bo = 1.
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In an ideal gas the equation links pressure and volume to the temperature,
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC T, and two constants, n and R. Hence two different states can be
compared, e.g. downhole and surface.
Gas Laws There are no ideal gases in the reservoir as they are all compressible,
hence the factor, z.
Ideal Gases
PV = nRT
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The correlation charts can be found in most textbooks, a number exist.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC These methods will work on “standard gases”, usually just the dry gas.
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The equation from the previous pages is rearranged to give the ratio of
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC volume downhole to the volume at reference. This leads to an equation
with pressure, temperature and z, all of which are easy to measure.
FVF gas,Bg In this equation some terms already have values,
p1 = 14.7, T1 = 520 degrees R, z1 = 1.
p2 and T2 are the measured downhole figures. The only factor remaining
is z2 which can easily be found.
Bg is a very small number controlled mainly by the pressure. This figure
is often reversed to give 1/Bg.
Notes
TPR= T PPR = P
Tpc Ppc
Where
T and P are the relevant temperatures and
pressure.
Tpc and Ppc are the critical temperature and
pressure.
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The critical pressure and temperature of any (known) mixture can be
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC approximated using this method. The critical pressures and temperatures
and pressures of each component is constant. The method involves
Critical Properties calculation summing the contribution of each individual component.
Pseudo-critical pressure =
Notes
Ppc = Σ y1Pc1 + y2Pc2 + ....... = 653 psia
Pseudo-critical temperature =
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Find Bg for this gas mixture at the downhole temperature and pressures
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC given.
T2 = 234˚F
p2 = 3467psia Notes
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In most cases the figure of 1 is adequate.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC
FVF water, Bw
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The porosity has to be split between the fluids occupying the pore space.
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC Saturation is the name given to the fraction of a given fluid.
The normal representation is as a percentage, in equations a fraction must
Saturation be used.
Definitions
Sw = water saturation.
So = oil saturation.
Sg = gas saturation. Notes
Sh = hydrocarbon saturation = So + Sg
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The graphical representation shows the simple porosity model split now
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC between water and hydrocarbon.
The volume of a fluid is the porosity times the saturation.
Saturation Definition
Notes
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Wettability is caused by surface tension forces between the fluid
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC molecules.
Most reservoirs are water wet, mainly because the water was there first,
Wettability the rocks being deposited in water. The hydrocarbon which migrated in at
a later date displaces most of the water but rarely wets the rock as the
surface tension forces in the water are stronger.
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The capillary pressure experiment is a simple one. The controlling factor
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC is the radius of the capillary tube. The smaller the tube the greater the
capillary pressure.
Capillary Forces
Pc = capillary pressure.
σ = surface tension.
q = contact angle.
rcap = radius of capillary tube. Notes
Notes
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There is always water in the hydrocarbon zone. This water is “stuck” to
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC the rocks by surface tension forces, it is “wetting” the rocks. The water
will never be produced under normal production conditions, hence the
Irreducible Water Saturation term irreducible.
The amount of irreducible water depends on the grain size and on the
mixture of grains. A rock with a mixture of small grains and large grains
can have water in the small grains and oil in the pore space associated
In a formation the minimum saturation induced with the large grains.
by displacement is where the wetting phase
becomes discontinuous.
In normal water-wet rocks, this is the irreducible
water saturation, Swirr.
Large grained rocks have a low irreducible
water saturation compared to small-grained
formations because the capillary pressure is
smaller.
Notes
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The transition zone is a phenomenon seen in all reservoirs. The thickness
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC of this zone varies from less that the resolution of the standard tool to very
long, hundreds of feet.
Transition Zone The size of the pores also controls the permeability, small pores mean low
permeability. Hence a long transition zone means a low permeability
formation.
Notes
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In the reservoir the definition of permeability is no longer valid as there
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC are usually more than one fluid present. Only in the water zone can the
absolute permeability be used. Irreducible water is present is all other
Permeabilities parts of the system, hence the other two definitions.
Absolute permeability
- a rock property
- measured with a fluid saturating 100%
of the pore space
Effective permeability
- a rock/fluid property
- the permeability of a fluid which does not
saturate the rock to 100% Notes
Relative Permeability
- a rock/fluid property
- the ratio of the effective permeability to
the absolute permeability
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Note that there can only be a permeability for a specific fluid if there is a
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC flow of that fluid.
Effective Permeabilities
Notes
Relative permeabilities
Notes
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The four stages are 100% water, oil and water mixture, residual oil and
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC irreducible water.
The first stage represents a water zone only. The last represents an oil
Relative Permeability zone. The residual oil stage is a reservoir that has been completely
produced.
The other stage is an intermediate stage, either a production stage or
somewhere in the transition zone.
Take a core 100% water-saturated. (A)
Force oil into the core until irreducible water
saturation is attained (Swirr). (A-> C -> D)
Reverse the process: force water into the core
until the residual saturation is attained. (B)
During the process, measure the relative
permeabilities to water and oil.
Notes
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Initially, the core permeability will be the absolute permeability as there
Schlumberger Basic Petroleum Engineering FTC is only one fluid at 100% saturation.
The relative permeability of water will drop to zero when Swirr is reached
Relative Permeability Experiment because no more water will move.
The relative permeability to oil will rise but never reach the absolute
permeability because there is still water in the pores.
When water is forced in, the relative permeability of water will rise but
not reach the absolute value for the same reason.
Notes
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