PVT

Properties of Reservoir Fluids

as function of
Pressure

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Volume
Temperature

PVT Behaviour

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Main Reservoir Fluids:

Black Oil

p>pb

Bo, o, co are ASSUMED constant

Solution-Gas Drive

p<pb

Bo, o, co = f(p)

Dry Gas

p>pd

Bg, g, cg = f(p)

Reservoir Fluids
Schematic Phase Diagrams
Generic (single and multi-component cases)
Black Oil
Solution-Gas Drive
Dry Gas
Black Oil (p>pb)
Properties: Bo, o, co (ASSUMED constant)

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Solution-Gas Drive (p<pb)

Properties: Bo, o, co
Dry Gas (p>pd)
Properties: Bg, g, cg
Summary of Fluid Properties and Sources

Pressure - Volume Behaviour

Single Component System
Pressure
Liquid

Bubble
point

FIRST BUBBLE
OF GAS

Dew
point

LAST DROP
OF LIQUID

Gas

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Volume

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Pressure vs Temperature
Single Component System

3D Phase Diagram
Single Component System

Pressure

Liquid

Critical
point

Gas
Liquid

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Gas
Vo

lum
e

re
tu
ra
e
p
em

Pressure - Volume Behaviour

Two Component System
Pressure
Liquid

Bubble
point

FIRST BUBBLE
OF GAS

Dew
point

LAST DROP
OF LIQUID

Gas

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Volume

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P - T Behaviour
2 Component System

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Diagram for a
Multi-Component System

Note the "Bubble Point" and "Dew Point" lines.

Location of critical point determines fluid type.

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Reservoir Fluids

Hydrocarbon Reservoir Fluids types

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Reservoir Fluids
Black Oil p-T Diagram

Black Oil :
o>40o API, (GOR)i < 2000 scf/STB, Boi < 2.0 RB/STB, C7+ > 20 %.

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Reservoir Fluids
Volatile Oil p-T Diagram

Volatile Oil:
o<45o API, 2000 < (GOR)i < 3300 scf/STB, Boi > 2.0 RB/STB,
12.5 < C7+ < 20 %.

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Reservoir Fluids
Retrograde Gas p-T Diagram

Retrograde Gas :
45<o<60o API, 3300 < (GOR)i < 150,000 scf/STB, C7+ < 12.5 %.

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Reservoir Fluids
Wet Gas p-T Diagram

Wet Gas: (GOR)i > 50,000 scf/STB.

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Reservoir Fluids
Dry Gas p-T Diagram

Dry Gas

Reservoir Fluids
Formation Volume Factor: Bo,g,w
Fluid volume at reservoir conditions
Bo,g,w =

Fluid volume at standard conditions

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The Formation Volume Factor "converts" surface

volumes to downhole conditions.
Typical values:
Oil:
1.2
Gas: 0.003
100

to
to

2.4 RB/STB
0.01 rcf/scf

to

333 scf/rcf (=expansion factor)

Formation Volume factors

Solution
gas
Solution
gas
Surface conditions

Oil

Bo

Rs

Rsw

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Bg

Reservoir conditions

Oil

Water

Gas

Bw

Water
Gas

Retrograde Gas Condensate

Condensate

Surface conditions

Gas
GLR

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Bg
Reservoir conditions

Gas

Reservoir Fluids
Viscosity: o,g,w
Is a measure of a fluid's internal resistance to flow,
- the proportionality of shear rate to shear stress
- a sort of internal friction.
Fluid viscosity depends on pressure, temperature and fluid
composition.

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Typical values:
Oil:
Gas:

0.2
0.01

to
to

30 cp
0.05 cp

Compressibility
Important reservoir parameters:

drained area
permeability
reservoir thickness
porosity
compressibility

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Of importance is the TOTAL system compressibility:

ct = chc.Shc + cw.Sw + cf
HC: hydrocarbon, w: water, f: formation

Compressibility
Hydrocarbon Compressibility: co,g

co =

Oil
Typical values p > pb
p < pb

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Gas
Typical values

1 dBo Bg dRso
+
Bo dp Bo dp

to 20

30 to 200

cg =

x10-6 psi-1
x10-6 psi-1

1 dBg
Bg dp

50 to 1000 x10-6 psi-1

Compressibility
cw =

Water
Typical values

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to 5

cf =

Formation
Typical values:

1 dBw Bg dRsw
+
Bw dp Bw dp

2
10

x10-6 psi-1

1 d
dp

to 10 x10-6 psi-1 normal

to 100 x10-6 psi-1 very high

Fluid Correlations

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Oil PVT Correlations used in Topaze or Saphir

Rs/pb

Bo

co

Standing

Lasater

Vasquez and Beggs

Glaso

Lasater- Standing

Petrosky and Farshad

Beggs and Robinson

Beal

; generally used as default)

Gas Correlations
Gas PVT Correlations used in Topaze or Saphir

z-factor

Dranchuk, et al.

Beggs and Brill

Hall and Yarborough

Lee, et al.

Carr, et al.

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; generally used as default

Gas compressibility (cg) is computed from the z-factor using:

1 dBg 1 1 dz
=
cg =
Bg dp
p z dp

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General Oil Properties

Black Oil PVT Properties: (general behavior, pb=5000 psia)

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Oil Reservoir below Bubble Point:

"Solution-Gas Drive"
1.

Pressure above Bubble Point. Wells

produce oil and associated gas.

2.

Pressure drops below Bubble Point.

Bubbles of solution gas form in
reservoir.

3.

Critical gas saturation reached.

Gas is now mobile.

4.

Gas flows towards producing wells.

Wells now produce oil, associated gas
and solution gas.

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Oil Reservoir below Bubble Point:

"Solution-Gas Drive"

1.

As fluid is produced, the reservoir pressure drops towards abandonment.

2.

The Oil production is high at first, rapidly dropping off as more gas is produced.

3.

At critical gas saturation, the Gas-Oil ratio rises rapidly to a maximum, then
falls as the lower gas compressibility offsets the increased gas mobility.

Dry Gas

In terms of equations solutions the main difference between

the oil and gas case is that the gas properties are highly
pressure dependent.

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Viscosity g and Compressibility ct are function of the

pressure

Dry gas
In order to keep the liquid flow equations linear, the variations
in gas properties are accounted for by the real gas pseudopressure function

m( p) =

p0

2 p. dp
( p). z( p)

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Pseudo-pressure function is then substituted for

pressure in the analysis.
To take into account the varying mgcg a pseudo- time can be
used in the analysis.

References
1. Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering Calhoun (1953).

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2. Properties of Petroleum Fluids McCain (1990).