Lesson 9

Reservoir Fluid Properties

(PVT)
Hadi Nugroho
Geological Department
Diponegoro University
2010
Modified by EBS 2014

Further Reading
McCain Jr, W.D. 1990, Properties of Petroleum

Fluids 2nd Ed Chapter 2

Satter, A. et al, Practical Enhanced Reservoir
Engineering, Chapter 3
Dake, L.P. 1978, Fundamentals of Reservoir
Engineering, Chapter-1 Section 1.8, Chapter 2
Coss, R., Basics of Reservoir Engineering, IFP
Chapter 3
Glover, P.W.J., 2001, Formation Evaluation MSc
Course Notes, Chapter 2
Danesh, A., 1998, PVT and Phase Behaviour of
Petroleum Reservoir Fluids, Chapter 2 and 5

Petroleum Reservoirs
Rock Properties
Pressure / Temperature

Fluid Properties
Reservoir Drive

Factors Controlling the Petroleum Properties

Source
Rock Type
Source
Rock
Maturity

Migration
Distance

HC
Composition

Temperature

Geothermal
Gradient

Alteration
Post
Entrapment

Pressure

Reservoir
Depth

Chemical Composition
Normal Paraffin (alkane)

Iso-paraffin (branched-chain paraffin)

Naphthene (cyclo-paraffin)

Aromatic (benzene)
NSO compounds

Chain

Cyclic / ring

Crude Oil and Gas

Hydrocarbon - Mixture of C1 C50 at various
composition for the individual crude, plus other specific
materials and impurities
Indonesian Crude:

PARAFINIC BASE, COMPONENT OF WAX

WITH LOW S (SULPHUR) CONTENT

H H H H
H
HCCCC C H
H H H H
H

Middle East Crude:

H H H H
H
HCCCC C H
H H H H
H

AROMATIC BASE, COMPONENT OF LUBE &

ASPHALT WITH HIGH S (SULPHUR) CONTENT
H
C

C-H

H-C
H-C

C-H

C
H

Fluid Properties
Density
(Specific
Gravity)
Phase
Behavior
(PVT)

Viscosity

Compressibility

Gas Specific Gravity

g = g / air @ 60 oF or 15 oC where air = 1
Range of values: 0.6 0.9
Pipeline quality: 0.6 (mostly C1)

Wet gas: 0.9 (C5+ significant)

Gas follows rules (Equation of States) gas

deviation factor can be calculated knowing
gas composition or specific gravity

Oil Density (Specific Gravity)

or

Crude Type

API gravity

Density (kg/m3)

*)Light crude oil

Medium oil
Heavy crude oil

> 31.1
22.3 31.1
10.0 22.3

< 870
870 920
920 1000

Extra heavy oil

< 10.0

> 1000

*) Note: the boundary of light crude varies from one to another due to practical
reasons. NYMEX 37o API, NEB Canada 30.1o , PEMEX - 27o

Viscosity
Absolute (Dynamic) Viscosity: a measure of the internal

resistance of a fluid to flow

Units:

Pa s (pascal second) / mPa s (millipascal second)

Dyne s/cm2 (dyne second per square cm) / poise

Conversions:

1 Pa s = 1,000 mPa s = 10 poise

1 cp = 1 mPa s

Kinematic viscosity a measure of resistive flow of a

fluid under influence of gravity

1 cm2/s = 1 stokes
1 mm2/s = 1 cSt

Gas Viscosity Chart

Gas Viscosity value ranges 0.006 0.016 cp

Crude Oil Viscosity

Low
Medium
High
Very High

Viscosity (cp)
<5
5 10
10 - 30
> 30

Notice that gas viscosity is a lot lower than oil -->

when there is gas in the reservoir, gas is far more
mobile than oil

Compressibility
Change in volume with respect to a change in pressure

Typical figures at a pressure of 2000 psia:

cw = 3 106/psi - water
co = 15 106/psi - oil
cg = 500 106/psi gas

Gas is highly compressible source of reservoir energy

Other Properties

Video
Solution Gas Oil Ratio (Rs) gas volume
dissolved in oil (SCF/STB or Sm3/STm3)

Formation Volume Factor (Bo or Bg) volume of

the fluid (oil or gas) at reservoir conditions

corresponding to one stock tank unit of volume
(RB/STB or Rm3/STm3)

Bubble Point Pressure (Pb) pressure at which

solution gas starts to liberate from the oil

Petroleum Phases
Gas / vapor

(C1 C5)
Liquid
(C5 C23)
Solid

Phase Diagram for Pure C2 (left) and

Pure C7 (right)

CP Critical Point

Phase Diagram for a Mixture of C2 and C7

Phase Diagram Nomenclature

Cricondenbar

Cricondentherm
the maximum
temperature
above which liquid
cannot be formed
regardless of
pressure
Cricondenbar
maximum pressure
above which no
gas can be formed
regardless of
temperature

Reservoir Classification Based on Fluids

Dry Gas

Wet Gas
Gas Condensate

Volatile Oil
Black Oil

Phase Separation
Unit at Well Head

Dry Gas and Wet Gas

Composition C1 C5 (C1 > 85%), liquids may be formed

Separator PT outside phase envelope

Separator PT inside phase envelope so some liquids formed during

production

Retrograde Condensation

C1 ~ 65%, Gas Oil Ratio > 6,000 scf/bbl, Oil gravity > 45o API
Conversion factor from SCF/Bbl to SM3/SM3 - 0.177295

Volatile Oil
If P above Bubble

Point, no gas cap

GOR increasing

to 1,200 scf/bbl

Crude 38o API

Better recovery

if pressure
maintained above
bubble point
pressure

Conversion factor from Sm3/Sm3 to scf/bbl - 5,640317

Black Oil
No gas cap if P

above Pb
GOR ~ 600
scf/bbl
Crude 23 38o
API

Video

In Summary
Knowing fluid properties is crucial for field

development

Gas & Gas Condensate follow gas rules, knowing

composition and specific gravity may correlate to

other properties

Crude properties are more complex and require

lab determination early - prior to production

Fluid properties are essential parameters for

reservoir simulation

Good Luck
and
Have a Nice Day