1.

2 Reservoir Fluid Properties

Phase: A chemically homogeneous region of fluid which is separated from another
phase by an interface e.g. oleic (oil) phase, aqueous phase (mainly water), gas phase,
solid phase (rock). There is no particular symbol but frequently subscripted o, w, g;
phases are immiscible.
Inter Facial Tension (IFT): The IFT between two phases is a measure of energy
required to create a certain area of the interface. Indeed, the IFT is given in dimensions
which are energy per unit area. The symbol for IFT is  and units are dyne/cm in
c.g.s. units and N/m (newtons per m) in S.I. units. For example, if both gas and oil are
present in a reservoir then the gas/oil IFT may be in the range, go ~ 0.1-10 mN/m;
likewise. The oil/water value may be in the range, 0w ~ 15 - 40 mN/m. Note that
numerically 1mN/m = 1dyne/cm.
Component: A single chemical species that may be present in a phase; e.g. in the
aqueous phase there are many components - water (H2O), sodium chloride (NaCl),
dissolved oxygen (O2) etc.; in the oil phase there can be hundreds or even thousands
of components - hydrocarbons based on C1, C2, C3, etc. Some of these oil components
are shown in Table 2.
Viscosity: The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of the (frictional) energy dissipated
when it is in motion resisting an applied shearing force; dimensions [force/area.time]
and units are Pa.s (SI) or poise (metric). The most common unit in oilfield applications
is centiPoise (cP or cp). Typical example are:- water viscosity at standard conditions,
w ~ 1 cP; typical light North Sea oils have o ~ 0.3 - 0.6 cP at reservoir conditions
(T ~ 200oF ; P ~ 4000 - 6000 psi); at reservoir conditions, medium viscosity oils have
o ~ 1 - 6 cP; moderately viscous oils have o ~ 6 - 50 cP; very viscous oils may have
o ~ 50 - 1000s cP and tars may have o ~ up to 10000 cP.
Formation Volume Factor: The factor describing the ratio of volume of a phase
(e.g. oil, water) in the “formation” (i.e. reservoir at high temperature and pressure)
to that at the surface; symbols Bw, Bo etc. For oil, a typical range for Bo is ~1.1 - 1.3
since, at reservoir conditions, it often contains large amounts of dissolved gas which
is released at surface as the pressure drops and the oil shrinks; oilfield units [reservoir
barrels/stock tank barrel (RB/STB)].