Fluid Phase Behavior for Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Fluid Phase Behavior for Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs

Alireza Bahadori, PhD, CEng, MIChemE, CPEng, MIEAust, NER, RPEQ

School of Environment, Science & Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia

Managing Director of Australian Oil and Gas Service, Pty, Ltd, Lismore, NSW, Australia

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

List of Contributors

Biography

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter One. Oil and Gas Properties and Correlations

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Crude Oil Properties

1.3. Gas Properties

1.4. Interfacial Tension

Chapter Two. Equations of State

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Cubic Equation of State (EOS)

2.3. Noncubic EOS

2.4. Corresponding State Correlations

2.5. Mixing Rules

Chapter Three. Plus Fraction Characterization

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Experimental Methods

3.3. Splitting Methods

3.4. Properties Estimation

3.5. Recommended Plus Fraction Characterization Procedure

Chapter Four. Tuning Equations of State

4.1. Matching the Saturation Pressure Using the Extended Groups

4.2. Grouping Methods

4.3. Composition Retrieval

4.4. Assigning Properties to Multiple Carbon Number

4.5. Matching the Saturation Pressure Using the Grouped Composition

4.6. Volume Translation

Chapter Five. Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium (VLE) Calculations

5.1. An Introduction to Equilibrium

5.2. Flash Calculations

5.3. Methods of Finding K-Value

5.4. Bubble and Dew-point Calculations

5.5. A Discussion on the Stability

5.6. Multiphase Flash Calculations

5.7. Calculation of Saturation Pressures With Stability Analysis

5.8. Identifying Phases

Chapter Six. Fluid Sampling

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Sampling Method

6.3. Recombination

6.4. PVT Tests

6.5. Flash Calculation

Chapter Seven. Retrograde Gas Condensate

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Gas-Condensate Flow Regions

7.3. Equations of State

7.4. Mixing Rules

7.5. Heavy Fractions

7.6. Gas Properties

Chapter Eight. Gas Hydrates

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Types and Properties of Hydrates

8.3. Thermodynamic Conditions for Hydrate Formation

8.4. Hydrate Deposition

8.5. Hydrate Inhibitions

Chapter Nine. Characterization of Shale Gas

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Shale Gas Reservoir Characteristics

9.3. Basic Science Behind Confinement

9.4. Effect of Confinement on Phase Envelope

Chapter Ten. Characterization of Shale Oil

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Types of Fluids in Shale Reservoirs and Genesis of Liquid in Shale Pores

10.3. Shale Pore Structure and Heterogeneity

10.4. Shale Oil Extraction

10.5. Including Confinement in Thermodynamics

Index

Copyright

Gulf Professional Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier

50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States

The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions.

This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).

Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-12-803437-8

For information on all Gulf Professional Publishing publications visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/

Publisher: Joe Hayton

Acquisition Editor: Katie Hammon

Editorial Project Manager: Kattie Washington

Production Project Manager: Mohana Natarajan

Cover Designer: Vicky Pearson

Typeset by TNQ Books and Journals

Dedication

Dedicated to the loving memory of my parents and grandparents, and to all who contributed so much to my work over the years.

List of Contributors

M.A. Ahmadi,     Petroleum University of Technology (PUT), Ahwaz, Iran

A. Bahadori

Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia

Australian Oil and Gas Services Pty Ltd, Lismore, NSW, Australia

E. Mahdavi,     Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

M. Mesbah,     Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

N. Rahmanian,     University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom

E. Soroush,     Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

M. Suleymani,     Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Biography

Alireza Bahadori, PhD, CEng, MIChemE, CPEng, MIEAust, NER, RPEQ is an academic staff member in the School of Environment, Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and the managing director of Australian Oil and Gas Services, Pty Ltd (www.australianoilgas.com.au). He received his PhD from Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. During the past 20  years, Dr. Bahadori has held various process and petroleum engineering positions and was involved in many large-scale projects at National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), and Clough AMEC Pty Ltd.

He is the author of around 300 articles and 14 books. His books have been published by multiple major publishers, including Elsevier, John Wiley & Sons, Springer, and Taylor & Francis Group.

Dr. Bahadori is the recipient of the highly competitive and prestigious Australian Government's Endeavor International Postgraduate Research Award as part of his research in the oil and gas area. He also received a Top-Up Award from the State Government of Western Australia through Western Australia Energy Research Alliance (WA:ERA) in 2009. Dr. Bahadori serves as a member of the editorial board and reviewer for a large number of journals. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Member of Institution of Chemical Engineers, London, UK (MIChemE), Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and Chartered Member of Institution of Engineers Australia (MIEAust). Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). Registered Chartered Engineer of Engineering Council of United Kingdom, London, UK and Engineers Australia's National Engineering Register (NER).

Preface

The demand for primary energy is ever growing. As the world struggles to find new sources of energy, it is clear that the fossil fuels will continue to play a dominant role in the foreseeable future. Within the hydrocarbon family, the fastest-growing hydrocarbon is natural gas. Most estimates put the average rate of growth at 1.5–2.0%.

Unconventional oil and natural gas activity is revolutionizing the world's energy future and generating enormous economic benefits. As oil and gas production from resource plays continues to expand, substantial growth is expected in capital expenditures and industry employment to support this activity, generating millions of jobs and billions in government receipts. Even for the United States, the world's biggest gas market, this represents almost 100  years of supply. Many perceive the discovery of unconventional gas and, in particular, Shale Gas to be a game changer.

Growing production from unconventional sources of oil—tight oil, oil sands—is expected to provide all of the net growth in global oil supply to 2020, and over 70% of growth to 2030. By 2030, increasing production and moderating demand will result in the United States being 99% self-sufficient in net energy. A number of books are available on the market.

Fluid-phase behavior represents the behavior of hydrocarbon reservoir fluids (i.e., oil, gas, and water) during the life of a reservoir as well as the effect of changes in temperature and pressure during fluid transfer from reservoir to surface/processing facilities.

In this book, we discuss the role of pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) tests/data in various aspects of Petroleum Engineering for both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.

After introducing various laboratory facilities, PVT tests, and reports for various hydrocarbon systems are discussed in detail. This book provides the following information for both conventional and unconventional reservoirs in detail.

• Provide professionals with the knowledge on thermodynamic aspects of reservoir fluids.

• Learn the importance of PVT test design and results.

• Evaluate the quality of PVT data.

• Identify the relevant PVT data for various tasks, best practices, and avoidance of common mistakes.

• Understand the reasons behind various PVT tests.

• Understand natural gas hydrate phase behavior.

• Develop an effective knowledge of shale gas and shale oil characterization.

• Awareness of various equations of state, their strengths, and weaknesses.

• Gain perspective of fluid characterization.

• Awareness of various techniques for characterizing the heavy end.

• Appreciate the need for equation of state (EOS) tuning, the role of experimental data and parameters used for tuning.

• Gain knowledge of generating the necessary PVT input data for reservoir simulation using industry standard software.

Dr. Alireza Bahadori

School of Environment, Science & Engineering

Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Lismore, New South Wales (NSW), 2480, Australia

Australian Oil and Gas Services, Pty Ltd, Lismore, NSW, Australia

www.AustralianOilGas.com.au

July 7, 2016

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the Elsevier editorial and production team, and Ms Katie Hammon and Ms Katie Washington of Gulf Professional Publishing, for their editorial assistance.

Chapter One

Oil and Gas Properties and Correlations

E. Mahdavi¹, M. Suleymani¹, and N. Rahmanian²     ¹Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran     ²University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom

Abstract

Crude oil and gas are naturally occurring mixtures composed of mainly hydrocarbons and small amounts of nonhydrocarbon compounds such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Crude oil and gas samples are characterized in petroleum engineering by their different physical properties. The composition of reservoir fluid is known as the most significant factor, which affects its PVT behavior. The phase behavior of the reservoir fluid and reservoir temperature are two important factors; the type of reservoir fluid is determined based on them. Crude oil and gas properties are used in various steps of petroleum engineering in order to evaluate oil and gas reserves, recovery efficiency, production optimization, etc. More particularly, the phase behavior of natural gas should be addressed precisely not only for gas reservoirs, but also for oil reservoirs, due to its substantial role in oil production mechanisms of saturated oil reservoirs. Therefore, an accurate evaluation of reservoir fluid properties is required for prediction of oil and gas production during the life time of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Obviously, the best source for description of properties is laboratory experiments of actual reservoir fluid sample. However, there are many correlations that can be used in lack of experimental data for prediction of oil and gas properties. In this chapter, the most physical and thermodynamic properties of crude oil (oil density, oil gravity, compressibility, bubble point pressure, solution gas ratio, oil formation volume factor, and viscosity) and gas (gas density, gas compressibility, gas formation volume factor, and viscosity) are defined, and the corresponding correlations are presented.

Keywords

Correlation; Density; Gas formation volume factor; Oil and gas properties; Oil formation volume factor; PVT behavior; Viscosity

1.1. Introduction

Crude oil and gas are naturally occurring mixtures composed of mainly hydrocarbons and small amounts of nonhydrocarbon compounds such as sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Crude oil and gas samples are characterized in petroleum engineering by their different physical properties. The composition of reservoir fluid is known as the most significant factor, which affects its pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) behavior. The phase behavior of the reservoir fluid and reservoir temperature are two important factors; the type of reservoir fluid is determined based on them. Crude oil and gas properties are used in various steps of petroleum engineering in order to evaluate oil and gas reserves, recovery efficiency, production optimization, etc. More particularly, the phase behavior of natural gas should be addressed precisely not only for gas reservoirs but also because of its substantial role in oil production mechanisms of saturated oil reservoirs. Therefore an accurate evaluation of reservoir fluid properties is required for the modeling and simulation of oil and gas production during the lifetime of a hydrocarbon reservoir. The best source for a description of properties is laboratory experiments of actual reservoir fluid samples. However, there are many correlations that can be used in lieu of experimental data for the prediction of oil and gas properties.

In the following sections, the most physical and thermodynamic properties of crude oil (oil density, oil gravity, compressibility, bubble point pressure, solution gas ratio, oil formation volume factor, and viscosity) and gas (gas density, gas compressibility, gas formation volume factor, and viscosity) are defined, and the corresponding correlations are presented.

1.2. Crude Oil Properties

1.2.1. Oil Density

Density is defined as the mass of a unit volume at a specified pressure and temperature. There are several theoretical and empirical expressions for estimating oil density. The predictive capability of theoretical approaches, such as the all cubic Equation of State (EOS), for liquid density is poor, so a correction must be applied. Also, it is needed to perform a tough calculation to find the density of liquid phases. Although empirical correlations are much easier to use, they are developed from experimental data points. Therefore the correlations are valid for limited ranges of pressure, temperature, and composition. Some theoretical and empirical correlations are provided in the following sections.

1.2.1.1. Equation of State Method

Gas and liquid densities can be determined from molar volumes predicted by cubic EOS. Generally, the results of EOSs like Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) give a reliable value for gas density. However, for the liquid phase it leads to an underestimation (Pedersen et al., 1984b). Péneloux et al. (1982) introduced a correction for molar volume obtained from SRK EOS. A modified form of SRK EOS proposed by Péneloux is presented:

(1.1)

where c is a measure of deviation from true density. For a mixture, this parameter is obtained from

(1.2)

where zi and ci are the mole fraction and a constant for component i.

For nonhydrocarbon components and hydrocarbon components with a carbon number less than 7, the ci is computed as follows:

(1.3)

where ZRA is the Racket compressibility factor defined as (Spencer and Danner, 1972):

(1.4)

Péneloux et al. (1982) suggested a correlation for the approximation of the c parameter for the C7+ fraction, but it only works well for the gas phase or the gas condensate phase.

1.2.1.2. Alani–Kennedy Equation

Alani and Kennedy (1960) presented an equation for the prediction of fluid density. The experimental results revealed that this equation is an effective and highly accurate method for estimating liquid phase density, but it is not reliable for vapor density calculation. Alani and Kennedy's equation is as follows:

(1.5)

where P is the pressure, psia; T is the temperature, °R; V is the specific volume, ft³/lb  mol; R  =  10.7335 lb  ft³/in.² °R  lb mol; and a and b for pure components are obtained by

(1.6)

(1.7)

K, m, n, and C are constants that are tabulated in Table 1.1.

For the C7+ fraction, a and b are obtained by the following equations:

(1.8)

Table 1.1

Values of Constants Utilized in Eqs. (1.6) and (1.7) for Different Pure Hydrocarbons

(1.9)

where MW is the molecular weight of the C7+ fraction, lbm/lb  mol; ρ is the density of C7+ at 14.7  psi and 520°R, g/cm³; and T is the temperature, °R.

For a mixture, the following simple mixing rule is used for the calculation of a and b constants:

(1.10)

(1.11)

Example 1.1

Estimate oil density with the following composition at 650°R and 2000  psi.

Solution

a and b must be specified first for each component by using Table 1.1 and Eqs. (1.6) and (1.7), except for the C7+ fraction. These two parameters for the C7+ fraction can be computed easily by 1.8 and 1.9 equations. Therefore a, b, and MW for mixture are obtained. The results of the calculations are presented in the next table.

MW, molecular weight.

The specific molar volume is the root of the following cubic equation:

The above equation has a unique real root:

The density is given by

1.2.1.3. Standing–Katz Method

Standing and Katz (1942a,b) originally suggested a correlation for density in a graphical form. Later, it was converted to the following set of equations by Pedersen et al. (1984b), which is used for the determination of fluid density. The results of this method are more acceptable for the liquid phase. It is important to note that all of the densities are in g/cm³.

For the determination of density, initially the density of the (H2S  +  C3+) fraction is computed by

(1.12)

 is the density of the (H2S  +  C3+) fraction, g/cm³; MWi is the molecular weight of component i; and ρi is the pure component density at the standard condition, g/cm³.

The i index includes H2S, C3, and heavier components with a carbon number more than 3. The densities for some of the pure components at the standard condition (at 1  atm and 15.6°C) are listed in the table below.

The effect of the C2 component was introduced into the model. So, the density of the (H2S  +  C2+) fraction is determined by

(1.13)

where A0, A1, A2, a1, and a2 are given by

(1.14)

(1.15)

(1.16)

(1.17)

(1.18)

and w2 is the weight fraction of the C2 component.

The effect of the CO2 fraction has also been considered. Therefore the density of (CO2  +  H2S  +  C2+) is obtained by an additive volume basis using the density of the (H2S  +  C2+) fraction and the CO2 density at standard conditions, i.e., P  =  14.7  psi and T  =  520°R.

Next, the density of the (H2S  +  C2+) fraction plus the C1 and N2 components is calculated at a standard condition as follows:

(1.19)

where B0, B1, B2, b1, b2, and b3 are obtained by

(1.20)

(1.21)

(1.22)

(1.23)

(1.24)

(1.25)

and w1 is the mole fraction of (C1  +  N2).

Afterward, the density at the standard conditions should be adjusted to the desired temperature and pressure conditions. First, the density at the prevailing pressure and standard temperature is calculated:

(1.26)

C0, C1, C2, C3, c1, c2, and c3 are presented here:

(1.27)

(1.28)

(1.29)

(1.30)

(1.31)

(1.32)

(1.33)

(1.34)

(1.35)

(1.36)

(1.37)

where P is in psi.

Finally, ρp must be corrected for temperature.

(1.38)

where

(1.39)

(1.40)

(1.41)

(1.42)

(1.43)

(1.44)

(1.45)

(1.46)

(1.47)

(1.48)

Note that T is in °R in the above equations.

Example 1.2

Calculate the oil density for oil with the following composition at 650°R and 2000  psi by the Standing–Katz Method.

The following table summarizes the procedure that was used to calculate the (H2S  +  C3+) fraction density.

In order to correct ρ(H2S  +  C3+) for the C2 component, some parameters must first be computed. These parameters are listed in the subsequent table:

and then

Next, the density of the mixture in the presence of C1 and N2 (ρ0) must be obtained. The required parameters are listed in the following table:

So far, we have just achieved oil density at the standard condition. The oil density at the desired pressure and standard temperature can be obtained as follows:

The following table contains all of the parameters incorporated into the above equation.

Finally, the density at the desired temperature and pressure is attained by

where E0, E1,… are listed in the succeeding table.

1.2.1.4. American Petroleum Institute Method

The American Petroleum Institute (API) (Daubert and Danner, 1997) proposed the following equation for the density of a mixture at the standard conditions:

(1.49)

where ρo is the pure component density at standard conditions, g/cm³.

The values of density for some nonhydrocarbons and pure hydrocarbons are given in Table 1.2.

Density at standard conditions has to be corrected by C1 and C2, which are the density correlation factors for the standard condition and the actual condition, respectively. Densities at the desired condition and the standard condition are correlated as follows:

(1.50)

Generally, the C parameter is given by

(1.51)

where Ai can be expressed as

(1.52)

The values of Bi for each Ai are presented in Table 1.3.

(T/T(P/Pfor a mixture, a method for determining Tc and Pc of a mixture is required. For this purpose, molar averaging of critical properties can be applied as a simple mixing rule.

Table 1.2

Density of Some Pure Hydrocarbon and Nonhydrocarbon Components

Table 1.3

Bi Values of A1, A2, A3, and A4 Equations

Example 1.3

Estimate the oil density for oil discussed in the previous example at 13  atm and 377K by the API method.

Solution

The calculation of oil density at the standard condition is illustrated in the following table.

MW, molecular weight.

The oil density at the standard condition is

The calculation of C for condition Tc and Pc of mixture is roughly given by molar averaging critical properties, as shown in the following table. For heptane plus fraction, the empirical correlations of Riazi and Daubert (1980) are applied to determine the critical properties. Slightly more detail is given at the bottom of the table.

Therefore Pc and Tc are 2.65  MPa and 645.95K, respectively.

The C parameter should be calculated for the actual condition and the standard condition as follows:

So, oil density at the desired condition is

1.2.1.5. Other Methods

Above the bubble point pressure, density can be written using the definition of oil compressibility as

(1.53)

where ρob is the density of oil at the bubble point pressure, lb/ft³, and Co is the oil compressibility at an average pressure of P and Pb, 1/psi.

Therefore the oil density can be calculated by incorporating the above equation and the empirical correlations of oil compressibility, which will be discussed later.

The following equation describes the oil density below the bubble point pressure using the oil formation volume factor, the solution gas ratio, oil specific gravity, and gas specific gravity, all of which will be defined later:

(1.54)

where γo is the oil specific gravity; Rs is the solution gas oil ratio, SCF/STB; γg is the gas specific gravity; and Bo is the oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB.

It should be noted that there are several correlations for the oil formation volume factor and the solution gas ratio that can be coupled by Eq. (1.54) for estimating the oil density below the bubble point pressure.

1.2.2. Oil Gravity

Oil specific gravity is defined as the ratio of oil density at a certain pressure and temperature to the density of water at the same P and T. It is usually reported at the standard condition (60°F/60°F), i.e., a temperature of 60°F and 14.7  psi.

(1.55)

where γo is the oil specific gravity; ρo is the oil density; and ρw is the water density.

In the petroleum engineering field, another parameter, API gravity, is usually used and is expressed as

(1.56)

where γo is the oil specific gravity at (60°F/60°F).

1.2.3. Oil Compressibility

The pressure dependency of an oil sample is expressed by the isothermal compressibility coefficient of the oil or oil compressibility. Oil compressibility plays the most significant role in oil production as the main mechanism of oil recovery in undersaturated oil reservoirs. Oil compressibility is defined as the ratio of the change in the oil relative volume per unit pressure drop, and it is expressed as follows:

(1.57)

Above the bubble point pressure, it can be written by the following expression using the formation volume factor:

(1.58)

where Co is the oil compressibility, 1/psi; Bo is the oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB; and P is pressure, psi.

There are also some correlations that can be used for the computation of oil compressibility above the bubble point pressure.

1.2.3.1. Vasquez and Beggs Correlation

Vasquez and Beggs (1980) presented a correlation for oil compressibility based on 4036 experimental data points as follows:

(1.59)

where Rsb is the solution gas ratio at the bubble point pressure, SCF/STB; T is the temperature, °R; and P is the pressure, psi.

In this correlation, it was postulated that the gas gravity depends on the separator operating condition. Gas specific gravity at 100  psig separator can be taken as a reference because most separators operate near 100  psig working pressure in oil fields. The normalized gas specific gravity is defined as follows:

(1.60)

where γgn is the normalized gas specific gravity at the reference separator pressure; γg is the gas specific gravity at the separator condition (Psep and Tsep); Tsep is the separator temperature, °F; and Psep is the separator pressure, psi.

1.2.3.2. Petrosky Correlation

Petrosky (Petrosky and Farshad, 1993) correlated the oil compressibility of oil samples above the bubble point pressure with Rsb, γg, API, T, and P by the following expression:

(1.61)

where γg is gas specific gravity and T is temperature, °R.

At pressure below the bubble point pressure, the oil compressibility is defined as

(1.62)

Note that in the above equation, Bg should be used in bbl/SCF.

Example 1.4

Calculate the oil compressibility for a crude oil sample with the PVT properties given below using the Vasquez and Beggs and the Petrosky correlations.

Solution

Vasquez and Beggs:

As the first step, the normalized gas specific gravity has to be calculated:

Petrosky correlation:

1.2.4. Oil Bubble Point Pressure

Bubble point pressure is a crucial characteristic of the reservoir fluid that is used for forecasting reservoir performance. The bubble point pressure is defined as the highest pressure at which gas bubbles coexist with oil. Several correlations have been reported in the literature to estimate the bubble point pressure of crude oil samples. The bubble point pressure is handled as a function of solution gas oil ratio, gas gravity, oil gravity, and temperature.

1.2.4.1. Standing Correlation

Standing (1947) proposed an empirical correlation for bubble point pressure with 105 experimental data points from California oil fields. He designed a two-step flash liberation test to collect experimental data. The reported average error in this method is about 4.8%. The Standing correlation was first presented in graphical form, and later a mathematical formalism was introduced as follows:

(1.63)

where Pb is the bubble point pressure, in psi; Rs is the solution gas and ratio, in SCF/STB; and γg is gas specific gravity.

(1.64)

where T is temperature, °R.

It should be noted that the above correlation might result in big errors in the presence of nonhydrocarbon components.

1.2.4.2. Vasquez and Beggs Correlation

Vasquez and Beggs (1980) used an extensive set of data from different oil fields for the derivation of their correlation. The subsequent formula is the result of regression over more than 5000 data points. The authors proposed the following expression:

(1.65)

where Pb is the bubble point pressure, psi; Rs is the solution gas and ratio, SCF/STB; and γgn is the normalized gas specific gravity at the reference separator condition (Eq. (1.60)).

Table 1.4

Coefficients of Vasquez and Beggs Correlation

a is defined as

(1.66)

and the temperature unit is °R.

The constants are presented in Table 1.4.

1.2.4.3. Al-Marhoun Correlation

Based on experimental PVT data from Middle East oil mixtures, Al-Marhoun (1988) established the following equation. The author reported an average absolute relative error of 3.66%. The following correlation has been proposed based on nonlinear regression:

(1.67)

where Pb is the bubble point pressure, psi; T is the temperature, °R; Rs is the gas oil ratio, SCF/STB; γg is gas specific gravity; and γo is oil specific gravity.

The constants are as follows:

1.2.4.4. Glaso Correlation

Glaso (1980) developed a correlation for bubble point prediction based on experimental data mostly from North Sea reservoirs. The average error and standard deviation with respect to the experimental data are 1.28% and 6.98%, respectively. The Glaso correlation is more accurate than the Standing correlation for the North Sea. Glaso introduced the effect of oil paraffinicity in the presence of methane on the prediction of the gas/oil equilibrium condition. The correlation is as follows:

(1.68)

A is given by

(1.69)

where Pb is the bubble point pressure, psi; Rs is the solution gas and ratio, SCF/STB; T is the temperature, °R; and γg is the gas specific gravity.

1.2.4.5. Petrosky Correlation

Petrosky (Petrosky and Farshad, 1993) developed a correlation for Gulf of Mexico oil. An analysis of a set of 128 PVT data of oil mixtures has been utilized to develop a nonlinear regression model. The authors claimed that the forecasting results provided an average error of 3.28% relative to the database. Their correlation is as follows:

(1.70)

where a is

(1.71)

and Pb is the bubble point pressure, psi; Rs is the solution gas and ratio, SCF/STB; T is the temperature, °R; and γg is the gas specific gravity.

Example 1.5

Calculate the bubble point pressure for a crude oil with the following properties by using the methods of Standing, Vasquez and Beggs, Al-Marhoun, Glaso, and Petrosky.

Solution

Standing correlation:

Vasquez and Beggs correlation:

Al-Marhoun correlation:

Glaso correlation:

Petrosky correlation:

1.2.5. Solution Gas Oil Ratio

The amount of gas dissolved in a unit volume of oil at a specified temperature and pressure is defined as the solution gas oil ratio. When the reservoir pressure is above the bubble point, all of the available gases are dissolved in oil, leading to a maximum and constant solution gas oil ratio. Below the bubble point pressure, the liberation of gas bubbles from crude oil reduces the solution gas oil ratio (see Fig. 1.1). It is well known that the solution gas oil ratio strongly depends on the reservoir pressure, reservoir temperature, oil density, and gas density. Some of the most popular correlations for predicting the solution gas oil ratio are presented below.

Figure 1.1  Solution gas oil ratio versus pressure.

1.2.5.1. Standing Correlation

Standing's correlation (Standing, 1947) for bubble point pressure can be rearranged and written for the solution gas oil ratio. They suggested the following correlation and reported a relative average error of 4.8%:

(1.72)

where a is defined by Eq. (1.64).

1.2.5.2. Vasquez–Beggs Correlation

The bubble point estimating correlation proposed by Vasquez and Beggs (1980) can be solved for the gas oil ratio. An analysis of 5008 measured data points has been used for constructing the following correlation of the gas oil ratio:

(1.73)

where Rs is the solution gas oil ratio, SCF/STB; T is the temperature, °R; P is the pressure, psi; and γgn is calculated using Eq. (1.60). The coefficients are presented in Table 1.5.

Table 1.5

Coefficients of the Vasquez and Beggs Correlation for the Solution Gas Oil Ratio

1.2.5.3. Al-Marhoun Correlation

The Al-Marhoun (1988) bubble point pressure correlation can be solved for the gas oil ratio determination. Several oil samples from Middle East reservoirs have been subjected to research. Results of this correlation can be reliable for fluids with similar bulk properties to original oil samples used for derivation. This correlation is as follows:

(1.74)

where Rs is the solution gas oil ratio, SCF/STB; T is the temperature, °R; P is the pressure, psi; and γg is the gas specific gravity.

The constants are defined as

1.2.5.4. Glaso Correlation

A correlation