Reservoir Petrophysics

PTE 470

Department of Petroleum Engineering

Assistant Professor

Zisis Vryzas

6-Phase Behavior
 PHASE BEHAVIOR OF HC SYSTEMS
DEFINITIONS
• System - amount of substances within given boundaries
under specific conditions composed of a number of
components.
• Components - those pure substances which produce
the system under all conditions.
• Phases - This term describes separate, physically
homogenous parts which are separated by definite
boundaries. Example water three phases: ice, liquid
water and water vapour.
• Equilibrium - When a system is in equilibrium then no
changes take place with respect to time in the
measurable physical properties of the separate phases.
 PHASE BEHAVIOR OF PURE
SUBSTANCES
• Phase diagrams are useful ways of presenting the
behaviour of systems. They are generally plots of
pressure versus temperature and show the phases
that exist under these varying conditions.

Pressure temperature diagram for a single component system

 SINGLE COMPONENT SYSTEM
Vapour Pressure Line
The vapour pressure line divides regions where the
substance is a liquid, 2, from regions where it is a gas,
3. Above the line indicates conditions for which a
substance is a liquid, whereas below the line represent
conditions under which it is a gas. Conditions on the line
indicate where both liquid and gas phases coexist.
Critical Point
The critical point C. is the limit of the vapour pressure
line and defines the critical temperature, Tc and
critical pressure, Pc of the pure substance. For a pure
substance the critical temperature and critical pressure
represents the limiting state for liquid and gas to
coexist.
 SINGLE COMPONENT SYSTEM
Triple Point
The triple point represents the pressure and
temperature at which solid, liquid and vapour co-exist
under equilibrium conditions.
Sublimitation-Pressure Line
The extension of the vapour-pressure line below the
triple point represents the conditions which divides the
area where solid exists from the area where vapour
exists and is also called the sublimation - pressure line.
Melting Point Line
The melting line divides solid from liquid.
PRESSURE VOLUME (PV) DIAGRAM
 PRESSURE VOLUME (PV) DIAGRAM
• As the pressure is reduced from 1, a large
change in pressure occurs with small change in
volume due to the relatively low compressibility
of the liquid. When the vapour pressure is
reached gas begins to form. This point is
called the bubble point, ie the point at which
the first few molecules leave the liquid and
form small bubbles of gas. As the system
expands more liquid is vaporised at constant
pressure. The point at which only a minute
drop of liquid remains is called the dew point.
TWO COMPONENT SYSTEMS (BINARY)
- PV

Pressure-Volume Line for a Two-Component System at Constant Temperature

 TWO COMPONENT SYSTEMS
(BINARY)-PV
• The isotherm is very similar to the pure component but
the pressure increases as the system passes from the
dew point to the bubble point. This is because the
composition of the liquid and vapour changes as it
passes through the two-phase region. At the bubble
point the composition of the liquid is essentially equal to
the composition of the mixture but the infinitesimal
amount of gas is richer in the more volatile component.
At the dew point the composition of vapour is essentially
the mixture composition whereas the infinitesimal
amount of liquid is richer in the less volatile component.
Breaks in the line are not as sharp as for pure
substances.
TWO COMPONENT SYSTEMS (BINARY)
- PT

Pressure-Temperature Diagram for a Two Component System

 TWO COMPONENT SYSTEMS
(BINARY)-PT
• The two-phase region of the diagram is bounded by the
bubble point line and the dew point line, and the two
lines meet at the critical point. Points within a loop
represent two-phase systems.
• At 1 the substance is liquid and as pressure is reduced
liquid expands until the bubble point is reached. The
pressure at which the first bubbles of gas appear is termed
the bubble point pressure. As pressure is decreased
liquid and gas co-exist until a minute amount of liquid
remains at the dew point pressure. Further reduction of
pressure causes expansion of the gas.
• By carrying out a series of constant temperature
expansions the phase envelope is defined and within the
envelope contours of liquid to gas ratios obtained.
 TWO COMPONENT SYSTEMS (BINARY)

Figure demonstrates that for binary mixture e.g. Methane and n-decane two phases can
coexist at conditions of pressure considerably greater than the two phase limit, critical
conditions for the separate pure components. Methane is a significant component of
reservoir fluids.
MULTI-COMPONENT HC SYSTEMS

Phase Diagrams for Multicomponent Systems

PHASE DIAGRAM FOR RESERVOIR
FLUIDS
Black Oil: Fluid is typically dark — black,
brown, or dark green. γo>40o API.
Volatile Oil: Fluid is typically dark —
brown, orange or green. γo<45o API.
Volatile Oil: Fluid is typically dark —
brown, orange or green. γo<45o API.
Retrogade Gas: Fluid is typically light —
brown, orange, green, or water-white.
45o<γo<60o API.
Wet Gas: Fluid is typically very light —
water-white.
Dry Gas: No fluid is produced at surface or
in the reservoir.
PHASE DIAGRAM FOR RESERVOIR
FLUIDS
Questions?