Assignment 1 – PETR 5350/6350 – Natural Gas Engineering – Fall 2021

Natural Gas Properties, Reserves

(Thursday, Sep 8, 2021 – Due on Thursday, Sep 16, 2021)

1. Calculate the pressure at which the volume of 1 lb of ethane will be 0.1 ft3, at a temperature of
150 F. The critical pressure of ethane is 708 psia and critical temperature is 90 F. Calculate the Z-
factor from Papay's equation
0.274 p 2R❑ 3.52 p❑R ❑
Z=1+ 0.8157T − 0.9813T
10 R
10 R

2. A one lb mixture of ethane and methane contains 30% by volume of methane. Mixture pressure
is 500 psia and temperature is 300 F. Calculate the mixture volume. Use Papay's equation to
calculate the Z-factor. The critical pressure of ethane is 708 psia and critical temperature is 90 F,
and the critical pressure of methane is 673 psia and critical temperature is -116 F.

3. A natural gas has a molecular weight of 16, critical pressure of 673 psia, and critical temperature
of 344 R. Reservoir pressure is 3500 psia, temperature is 270 F. Calculate the gas formation
volume factor, Bg, in reservoir ft3/scf and in reservoir barrels/scf. Also calculate the density and
compressibility of the gas.

4. Calculate the pressure at the bottom of a shut-in gas well using Papay’s equation inside the
integral. The surface pressure is 3000 psia, depth is 5000 ft, reservoir temperature is 180 F, M=16,
critical pressure of the gas is 673 psia and critical temperature is -116 F.

5. The following pressure-cumulative gas production data is for a gas reservoir (M=16, critical
pressure of the gas is 673 psia and critical temperature is -116 F). Reservoir temperature is 120 F.
Determine the initial gas in place. Comment on the plot.

Pressure, psia Cumulative gas production, 109 scf

4600 0
4000 0.5
3100 1.5
2000 2.9
1000 4.9
400 6.0

6. A gas reservoir is 35 ft thick, with a porosity of 23% and water saturation of 32%. The base of
the reservoir is 5 miles x 3 miles, and the top is 4 miles x 2 miles. The natural gas has a molecular
weight of 16, critical pressure of 673 psia, and critical temperature of 344 R. Reservoir pressure is
3500 psia, temperature is 270 F. Abandonment pressure is 500 psia. Calculate the volume of the
recoverable gas in scf, and its value for a gas price of $2.80/Mcf, and also the value of the gas left
in the reservoir at abandonment.