Basic PVT (Fluid behaviour as a

function of Pressure, Volume and

Temperature)

Statoil module – Field development

Magnus Nordsveen

Status: Draft
Content

• Phase envelops
Gas field
• Hydrates
• Characterisations of fluids Comp Mole%
N2 0.95
• Equation of states (EOS) CO2
H20
0.6
0.35
C1 95
C2 2.86
C3 0.15
iC4 0.22
nC4 0.04
iC5 0.1
nC5 0.03
C6 0.07
C7 0.1
C8 0.08
C9 0.03
C10+ 0.13

Status: Draft
Phase diagram for a single component

Dense phase
P
Critical point

Solid Liquid

Gas

Trippel point

Status: Draft
Phase envelope of an oil reservoir

2 phase
mixture

Status: Draft
Phase envelope of a gas condensate reservoir
Tres, Pres

Liquid Gas

2 phase
mixture

Status: Draft
Phase envelops for 3 reservoir types
Gas Condensate
C

C
Oil
Pressure

Heavy oil

C = Critical point

Temperature

Status: Draft
Water-hydrocarbon phase behaviour

• Liquid water and hydrocarbons are essentially immiscible in each other

• Water vapour in the gas will be governed by gas composition and the vapour
pressure of the liquid phase
• With water, oil and gas present, there will be two liquid fields and one gas field

• A gas reservoir is often saturated with water vapour

• When gas is produced through a well and flowline, temperature drops and water
condenses
• Condensed water amounts to some m3 per MSm3 produced gas

Status: Draft
 Hydrate formation
400 Hydrate domain
350 Access to small molecules

Access to free water

Pressure (bara)

Right pressure

300

250

200

150
Right temperature
100
No hydrates can
50 exist in this region

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Temperature (°C)
Status: Draft
Effect of thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors:
Methanol, Ethanol, MEG, salt

400

350
Chemicals move
300
the hydrate curve
(bar)
(bara)

250
Hydrate
200 domain
Trykk
Pressure

150 No hydrates
Normal
100 operational
domain
50

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Temperature (°C)
Temperatur (°C)

Status: Draft
Characterisation of fluids

• Based on fluid properties (old)

• Based on composition

Definitions:
Standard conditions [STP] for temperature and pressure: 15 oC, 1 atm
GOR = Volume of gas/ Volume of oil [Sm3/Sm3]
WC = Volume rate of water/ Volume rate of liquid [-]
o = o/w at STP (oil density / water density) - specific gravity of oil
g = g/a at STP (gas density / air density) - specific gravity of gas
API = 141.5/ o – 131.5 (American Petroleum Institute measure of oil density)

Status: Draft
‘Old’ type characterization

• Useful when no composition exists

• The fluid is characterized by:

– API gravity / o
– g
– GOR
• Fluid properties as: Bubble point Pressure (Pb), gas-oil ratio (RSGO), densities,
viscosities, etc are functions (correlations) of the above parameters

Status: Draft
Reservoir fluid types (GOR)

Fluid type Physical behaviour Typical GOR

[Sm3/Sm3]
Dry gas No hydrocarbon liquid condensation during production > 100 000 (at least))
Wet gas Hydrocarbon liquid condensation in reservoir is > 10 000
negligible during production. Condensation in wells,
flowlines and separators.
Gas Condensation of hydrocarbons in reservoir is 500 < > 10 000
Condensate significant during production. Condensation in wells,
flowlines and separators.
Oil Gas bubbles is formed in reservoir during production < 500

Status: Draft
Reservoir fluid types (API)

Oil type Typical API [-]

Light oil > 30
Oil 22 < > 30
Heavy oil 10 < > 22
Extra heavy oil < 10

Comment: Arguably the most important fluid property for production of

heavy oils is viscosity which is very dependent on pressure and
temperature. Viscosity could thus be used as classification of reservoir
types. However, during production the temperature and pressure (and thus
viscosity) can change considerably along the well/flowline to the
processing facility.

Viscosity typically increases with decreasing API

Status: Draft
Characterisation of fluids based on
composition

• Thousands of components from methane to large

polycyclic compounds
• Carbon numbers from 1 to at least 100 (for heavy oils Comp Mole%
N2 0.95
probably about 200) CO2 0.6
• Molecular weights range from 16 g/mole to several H20
C1
0.35
95
thousands g/mole C2 2.86
C3 0.15
iC4 0.22
nC4 0.04
iC5 0.1
nC5 0.03
C6 0.07
C7 0.1
C8 0.08
C9 0.03
C10+ 0.13

Status: Draft
 Gas chromatography
Fingerprint analysis
Waxy oil
’Normal’, paraffinic oil

Biodegraded oil

Status: Draft
Characterization challenge
Comp Mole%

• Low carbon number components:

N2 0.95
CO2 0.6

–Possible to measure with reasonable accuracy

H20 0.35
C1 95
C2 2.86
–Known properties C3 0.15
iC4 0.22
• Higher carbon number components: nC4 0.04
iC5 0.1
– consists of many variations with different properties nC5 0.03
C6 0.07
– cannot measure individual components C7 0.1
C8 0.08
• Characterization: Lump C10 and higher into C10+ C9
C10+
0.03
0.13

Status: Draft
Fluid properties based on composition

 mix   xi  i

Status: Draft
Equations of state (EOS)

• Any equation correlating P (pressure), V (volume) and T (temperature) is called

an equation of state

RT
• Ideal gas law: PV = nRT <=> P (good approx. for P < 4 bar)
v
– n: moles, R: gas constant,  : molar volume

RT a
• Van der Waals cubic EOS: P   2
vb v

– a: is a measure for the attraction between the particles

– b: is the volume excluded from  by the particles

Status: Draft
Equations of state (EOS) & Phase envelope

Family of PV isotherms for a pure component Family of PV isotherms for a cubic EOS

Status: Draft
PVTSim

• In the oil industry we typically use software packages to characterize the fluid
based on a measured composition
• In Statoil we use PVTSim from Calsep

• Ref: Phase Behavior of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids (Book),

Karen Schou Pedersen and Peter L. Christensen, 2006.

Status: Draft
 Thank you

Status: Draft