Petroleum Engineering 325

Petroleum Production Systems

Week 2 Class Lecture

The Five Reservoir Fluids

Texas A&M University Spring 2014

11

 A good summary of
Petroleum Reservoir Fluids
can be found in the article
at the right
A pdf of this article can be
found on eCampus in the
Lab section for Week 2
The 1994 article was
written by Dr. W.D. McCain
a professor in the
Petroleum Engineering
Department at at Texas
A&M
An expert in Petroleum
Fluids
Author of the book The
Properties of Petroleum
Fluids

What Type of Fluid is in My Reservoir

Reservoir fluid type can be confirmed only by laboratory
testing of the fluid
However, readily available production data usually will
indicate the type of fluid in the reservoir
Initial producing gas-oil ratio (GOR)
Stock-tank liquid gravity
Stock-tank oil color

Initial producing GOR is most important

Reservoir Types

Black Oil
Volatile Oil
Retrograde Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas

From Laboratory Measurements, Heavy Components in

Petroleum Mixtures Have the Strongest Effect on the
Characteristics of Fluids

Black Oils have many heavy molecules

Volatile Oils contain fewer heavier molecules
Retrograde Gases have even fewer heavy ends
Wet Gases even fewer
Dry Gas is mostly methane Dry Gases

Black Oils are in the lower right hand

part of the graph and Dry Gas is in the
upper right corner. Other fluids exist in
between.

Black Oils

Phase Diagrams
Phase diagrams are plots of pressure against temperature that show
conditions for which a particular substance will exist as a liquid, gas, or
both
Phase diagrams show the phases of petroleum fluids in the reservoir
Bubble Point Pressure, pb, is the
pressure at which the first gas is
formed as pressure is reduced at
constant temperature applies to oil
reservoirs
Dew Point Pressure is the pressure
at which the first liquid is formed as
pressure is reduced at constant
temperature applies to gas
reservoirs
Critical Point is where the properties
of liquid and gas converge
6

 Oil Reservoirs have bubble points

Gas Reservoirs have dew points
Retrograde gas reservoirs that is

Wet Gas and Dry Gas reservoirs exhibit no phase change in

the reservoir as pressure depletes

Black Oil

Not necessarily black in color,

but is dark
Line 123 represents the
pressure depletion path at
reservoir temperature
If the initial reservoir pressure
is above the bubble point,
point 1 on the phase diagram
to the right, the oil reservoir is
undersaturated

As reservoir pressure
proceeds from point 1 to 2, oil
remains as a single phase in
the reservoir

No free gas in the reservoir

Gas is produced at the

surface due to further
pressure and temperature
drop through the producing
system getting the oil to the
surface
The GOR at the surface is
constant

As reservoir pressure is
further reduced from 2 to 3,
gas now comes out of
solution in the reservoir and
the oil is now saturated
From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain

Black Oil Reservoirs

Above the bubble point line, only liquid is present in the
reservoir
Oil flows through the reservoir as a single phase
Gas may still be produced at the surface along with the oil because
pressure and temperature decrease as the oil is produced to the
surface and the bubble point is crossed somewhere in the process,
but after the oil enters the wellbore

Below the bubble point is when gas is liberated from oil

The bubble point pressure is the pressure at which the
first gas is formed, pb
Reservoirs above the bubble point are called
undersaturated

Black Oil Reservoirs

If the initial reservoir pressure is less than or equal to the
bubble point pressure OR if the flowing bottomhole pressure
(pwf) is below the bubble point, free gas will form in the
reservoir and likely flow in the reservoir.
When oil and gas are present in the reservoir, this type of
reservoir is known as a two-phase or saturated reservoir

10

Volatile Oil

Similar to a Black Oil, if the

initial reservoir pressure of a
Volatile Oil is above the
bubble point, point 1 on the
phase diagram to the right,
the oil reservoir is
undersaturated

No free gas in the reservoir

As reservoir pressure is
depleted below the bubble
point, large volumes of gas
leave solution in the reservoir,
which greatly reduces the
permeability to oil such that
the reservoir flow stream
becomes mostly gas
By the time reservoir
pressure reaches point 3, the
effective permeability to oil
becomes near zero and the
flow stream in the reservoir is
essentially all gas
Volatile Oils are sometimes
called high-shrinkage oils
From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 11

Black Oils vs. Volatile Oils

When above the bubble point pressure, both are liquids in the reservoir
no free gas in the reservoir
Both exhibit bubble points as reservoir pressure is decreased during
production
Both release gas in the reservoir pore space at pressures below the
bubble point
Phase diagrams look similar, so whats the difference between a Black
Oil and Volatile Oil

Black
Oil

Volatile
Oil

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Black Oils vs. Volatile Oils

Black Oil

Volatile Oil

Gas that comes out of solution is

typically a dry gas
Producing GOR < 1,750 scf/STB
Stock tank liquid gravity <45API
Color of stock tank liquid is dark,
sometimes with a green or brown
cast
Stock tank liquid gravity
gradually decreases during most
of the life of the reservoir

Gas that comes out of solution is

typically a retrograde gas
Producing GOR > 1,750 scf/STB
Stock tank liquid gravity >40API
Color of stock tank liquid is of
some color
Brown, reddish, orange, or green

Stock tank liquid gravity

increases with time

13

Black Oils vs. Volatile Oils

Black Oil

Gas that comes out of solution is

typically a dry gas

Volatile Oil

What do we know about dry gases

they dont produce any liquids as
pressure and temperature decrease

Dry gas moves through the reservoir

as a second phase, so we have 2phase flow in the reservoir
Above the bubble point pressure,
GOR and API remain fairly constant
Below bubble point pressure, as gas
evolves out of solution over time
GOR increases with time
API gravity decreases with time

Gas that comes out of solution is

typically a retrograde gas
What do we know about retrograde
gases they do release additional
condensate at the surface

With the additional condensate

API increases over time

As reservoir pressure decreases

below the bubble point and gas is
released in the reservoir, the
permeability to oil get very small and
much of the liquids produced at the
surface (gas and condensate) are
from the retrograde gas

Lighter ends are removed from the oil

14

Retrograde Gas

Initial a gas in the reservoir, as

the pressure depletion path in
the reservoir (line 123) goes
through a dew point
Continuing from point 2 to point
3 (below the dew point),
condensate appears in the
reservoir pore spaces
Throughout most of the
reservoir, the permeability to
this condensate is near zero, so
much of this condensate never
gets produced

Near the wellbore, the velocity

of the gas may be high enough
that some of the condensate
near the wellbore may be
produced

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 15

Wet Gas

Similar to a Retrograde Gas, a

Wet Gas is a gas in the
reservoir
Unlike a Retrograde Gas, as the
reservoir pressure is depleted,
the reservoir gas does not go
through a dew point in the
reservoir, therefore throughout
the life of the reservoir,
condensate does not fall out in
the reservoir
As the gas is produced up the
tubing and through the surface
facilities, pressure and
temperature are reduced and
condensate is produced
The word Wet gas refers to
hydrocarbon liquids, which
condense at the surfce, not
water

16

Dry Gas

Dry gas is almost all methane

The two-phase envelope is
small and lies below the
reservoir and surface conditions
The fluid is solely gas in the
reservoir and at the surface
Condensate is not produced
The word Dry gas refers to
hydrocarbon liquid

Quite often, liquid water is

condensed at the surface as
pressure and temperatures are
reduced

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 17

Retrograde Gases, Wet Gases, and Dry Gases

All are initially a gas in the reservoir
Retrograde Gases exhibit dew points as reservoir pressure
is reduced and release increasing volumes of liquid
condensate into the pore space as pressure is reduced
below the dew point
This condensate seldom flows and is lost to production

18

Retrograde Gases, Wet Gases, and Dry Gases

All are initially a gas in the reservoir
Wet Gases and Dry Gases remain gaseous in the reservoir
throughout depletion neither releases condensate into the
reservoir
The difference between the two is Wet Gases release condensate
as pressure and temperature are reduced to separator conditions
In other words, as gas is produced up the tubing and into the surface facilities,
condensate falls out

Dry Gases do not produce any condensate

NOTE: in this context, wet and dry does not refer to the presence or
absence of water or water vapor. Water is always present in petroleum
reservoir, and all gases normally are saturated with water vapor

19

Identify Reservoir Fluid Type with

Field Information

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 20

Identify Reservoir Fluid Type with

Laboratory Information

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 21

Generalized Producing Trends for the

Five Reservoir Fluid Types

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 22

The Five Reservoir Fluids as Defined by their

Initial Producing GOR and C7+ Content

From: Petroleum Engineer International, April 1994, W.D. McCain 23