AL-AYEN UNIVRSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING I
Reservoir Fluid Properties
Properties of crude oil

2021-2022
AIED CHWAIED
NASIR ATALLAH
Outlines
 Black oil model parameters

 Gas Solubility

 Oil formation volume factor

 Specific Gravity of the Solution Gas

 Empirical correlations for estimating the gas solubility
 Standing’s Correlation
 Marhoun’s Correlation

 Bubble-Point Pressure
 Empirical correlations for estimating the bubble-point pressure
 Standing’s Correlation
 Marhoun’s Correlation 2
 Black Oil Model
•Petroleum engineers require a compositional description tool to use as a basis for
predicting reservoir and well fluid behavior
. Two approaches used
• Black oil model & Compositional model.
•The black oil model is a simplistic approach and used for many years to describe
composition and behavior of reservoir fluids
•Considers fluid made up of two components
 Gas dissolved in oil. solution gas , Stock Tank Oil

• Associated Black Oil parameters.

Gas solubility and Formation Volume Factors

•Using black oil model
•Prediction of solution gas-oil ratio , gas solubility
•Prediction of oil formation volume factor
•Prediction of reservoir fluid density
•Largely empirical correlations
 Black Oil Model Solution Gas
2 components Stock Tank Oil

Reservoir Fluid
Solution
Gas

Rs - Solution
Gas to Oil Ratio

Stock
Tank Oil
Bo - Oil Formation Volume Factor
 Gas Solubility
• Although the gas, like the oil is a multi-component fluid the black oil model
treats it as if we are dealing with a two component system.
• Black oil model treats the amount of gas in solution in terms of the gas
produced Solution Gas
Rsi scf/stb

+
Stock Tank Oil

1 stb. oil

1. Undersaturated
Bo res. Bbl. oil

Oil Reservoir
Gas Solubility
• The gas solubility Rs is defined as the number of cubic feet of gas measured at standard conditions
which that will dissolve in one stock-tank barrel of crude oil at certain pressure and temperature.

• The solubility of a natural gas in a crude oil is a strong function of the pressure, temperature, API
gravity, and gas gravity.

• As the pressure is reduced from the initial reservoir pressure pi,

to the bubble-point pressure pb, no gas evolves from the oil and
consequently the gas solubility remains constant at its maximum
value of Rsb.

• Below the bubble-point pressure, the solution gas is liberated

and the value of Rs decreases with pressure.

6
Gas Solubility Above bubble point
pressure.

Oil is undersaturated

Solution GOR is
constant

At and below bubble

point pressure two
phases produced in the
reservoir as gas comes
out of solution.

Solution GOR reduces

 Gas Solubility
Above bubble point
All gas in solution

At bubble point
All gas in solution

Below bubble point

Free gas and solution gas

At surface conditions
No gas in solution
9
 Gas Solubility
• Below bubble point gas released and mobility effected by relative permeability
considerations.
• Two basic liberation mechanisms.
 Flash liberation
 Differential liberation
• Flash Liberation
The gas is evolved during a definite reduction in pressure and the gas is kept in
contact with the liquid until equilibrium has been established.
• Differential Liberation
The gas being evolved is being continuously removed from contact with the
liquid and the liquid is in equilibrium with the gas being evolved over a finite
pressure range.
 These processes considered in more detail in PVT section.
Oil Formation Volume Factor
• The oil formation volume factor, Bo, is defined as the ratio of the volume of oil (plus the gas in solution) at the
prevailing reservoir temperature and pressure to the volume of oil at standard conditions.

• The oil formation volume factor can be expressed mathematically as:

• As the pressure is reduced below the initial reservoir pressure pi,

the oil volume increases due to the oil expansion. This behavior
results in an increase in the oil formation volume factor and will
continue until the bubble-point pressure is reached.

• At pb, the oil reaches its maximum expansion and consequently attains
a maximum value of Bob for the oil formation volume factor.

• As the pressure is reduced below pb, volume of the oil and Bo are decreased as the solution gas is liberated. When
the pressure is reduced to atmospheric pressure and the temperature to 60°F, the value of Bo is equal to one.
• Most of the published empirical Bo correlations utilize the following generalized relationship:

11
 Oil Formation Volume Factor, Bo

• A unit volume of stock tank oil at surface with its associated gas will occupy at
reservoir conditions a volume greater than unity. Above bubble point as
pressure reduces oil expands
due to compressibility.

Below bubble point oil

shrinks as a result of
gas coming out of
solution.
Oil Formation Volume Factor, Bo
Above bubble point as
pressure reduces oil
expands due to
compressibility.

Below bubble point oil

shrinks as a result of
gas coming out of
solution.
Oil Formation Volume Factor, Bo
Above bubble point
oil expands as
pressure reduced

At bubble point
All gas in solution

Below bubble point

oil shrinks

At surface conditions
Oil at stock tank
conditions
Oil Formation Volume Factor, Bo
• Reciprocal of the oil formation volume factor is
called the shrinkage factor, bo.
• bo=1/Bo
• The formation volume factor ,Bo multiplied by
volume of stock tank oil gives the reservoir
volume.
• Shrinkage factor multiplied by reservoir volume
gives stock tank oil volume
Oil Formation Volume Factor, Bo
• Important to appreciate that processing of oil & gas will
effect the amount of gas produced.
• This will effect values of oil formation volume factor and
solution gas to oil ratio.

The amount of gas and oil

produced depends on the
processing conditions

The black oil model is an ‘after

the event’ description of the
reservoir fluids.
 Oil Compressibility
• Volume changes of oil above the bubble point are very significant in
recovering undersaturated oil.
• Oil formation volume factor reflects these changes
• More fundamentally in the coefficient of compressibility of the oil.
• or oil compressibility

1  V 
co     Pb
V  P T
In terms of Bo
1  Bo 
co    
Bo  P T
Assuming
compressibility does
V2
not change with
pressure, between
co  P2  P1    ln
V1
conditions 1 & 2.
Black Oil Correlations
• Over the years many correlations developed based
on the black oil model.
• Based on measured data on oils of interest.
• Empirical correlations relate black oil parameters,
Bo & Rs
 to reservoir temperature
 reservoir pressure
 oil & gas surface density.
Black Oil Correlations
• Important to appreciate that these correlations are
empirical
• apply to a particular set of oils using a best fit
approach.
• Using correlation for fluids whose properties not
similar to the correlation can lead to errors.
Bubble-Point Pressure
• The bubble-point pressure Pb of a hydrocarbon system is defined as the highest pressure at which a
bubble of gas is first liberated from the oil.

• This important property can be measured experimentally.

• In the absence of the experimentally measured bubble-point pressure, it is necessary for the engineer
to estimate this crude oil property using one of empirical or mathematical correlations with available
measured producing parameters.
• The correlations are essentially based on the assumption that the bubble-point pressure is a strong
function of gas solubility Rs, gas specific gravity, oil gravity API, and temperature T, or:

20
Black Oil Correlations
• Based on crude across various oil provinces
• Most common, Standing, Lasater & others

Pb= f ( Rs, gg, ro,T )

Pb  f

Where Pb=bubble point

Rs=solution gas-oil ratio
gg=gravity of dissolved gas
ro=density of stock tank oil
t= temperature
Standing’s Correlation
For calculation of bubble point pressure

 R  0.00091T 0.0125(0 API 1.4 

Pb  18.2  s 10 
  
 g  
For calculation of oil formation volume factor
1.2
  g  0.5

Bo  0.9759  0.000120  R s    1.25T 
  o  
 Standing’s Correlation
Oil formation volume factor

GOR=300scf/stb

Gas gravity = 0.6

Oil gravity =0.3

Temperature =120oF
 Gas Solubility
Standing’s Correlation
Black Oil Correlations
• Correlations and ranges
Prediction of Fluid Density
• The estimation of the density of a reservoir liquid
is important to the petroleum engineer.
• Specific Gravity of a Liquid
Specific gravity is the density ratio
o between liquid and water at the same
o  T&P.
w Usually 60o/60o
Both liquid and water are measured at
60o and 1 atoms. pressure

141.5
API Gravity Degrees. API  o
 131.5
SpecificGravity @ 60 F

Specific gravity relative to water @ 60oF

 Oil Properties
Crude oil is a complex mixture consisting predominantly of hydrocarbons and impurities such as sulphur,
nitrogen, oxygen, and helium as minor constituents.

The physical and chemical properties of crude oils depend on the concentration of the various types of
hydrocarbons and minor constituents present

Oil Properties include:

Oil density
API gravity
Oil viscosity.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 27

 Crude Oil Density

The crude oil density is defined as the mass of a

unit volume of the crude at a specified pressure
and temperature.
𝒎
𝝆𝒐 =
𝑽
Oil density usually is expressed in pounds per
cubic foot.

Oil density varies from 30 lb/ft3 for light

volatile oil to 60 lb/ft3 for heavy crude oil

Oil density is measured in the laboratory as part

of routine PVT tests.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 28

 Crude Oil Density
The crude oil density is defined as the mass of a unit volume of the crude at a specified pressure and
temperature.

Density of Saturated Oils (P ≤ Pb)

Depending on the available data, density of saturated oils (P ≤ Pb) can be calculated from one of the
following equations:

……………………………(1)

……………………………(2)

29
 Crude Oil Density

Density of Undersaturated Oils (P > Pb)

Density of the oil at pressures above the bubble-point pressure can be calculated with:

Note: The isothermal compressibility coefficient (Co) can be calculated by any of the methods that
can be used for undersaturated oils.

30
 Oil specific gravity

The specific gravity of a crude oil is the ratio of the density of the oil to that of water at 60°F and
atmospheric pressure.

𝝆𝒐
𝜸 𝒐=
𝝆𝒘

= specific gravity of the oil

= density of the crude oil, lb/cubic ft
= density of the water, lb/cubic ft

Density of pure water at 60°F and atmospheric pressure is 62.4 lb/ft3 = 1 gm/cc

Reservoir Fluid Properties 31

 API gravity
API gravity is a commonly used index of the density of a crude oil.

API stands for the American Petroleum Institute (The industry organization that created this
measure.

API is calculated from a hydrocarbon's specific gravity: API

The API gravities of crude oils usually range from 47° API for the lighter crude oils to 10°API for the
heavier asphaltic crude oils.

Lighter (high API) crudes are more valuable because they yield more high-value light products when run
through a refinery.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 32

 API gravity

Light crude is typically in the 35-45 API range,

A medium crude is in the 25-35 API range

Heavy crude is in the 15-25 API range

Crudes lighter than 45 are typically considered extra-light crude or condensates and are
valued lower than light crude because they contain a lot of light ends such as propane
 and butane

Anything below 15 API would be considered an extra-heavy crude.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 33

 Oil Properties
Crude oil is a complex mixture consisting predominantly of hydrocarbons and impurities such as sulphur,
nitrogen, oxygen, and helium as minor constituents.

The physical and chemical properties of crude oils depend on the concentration of the various types of
hydrocarbons and minor constituents present

Oil Properties include:

Oil density
Specific gravity.
API gravity
Oil formation volume factor.
Gas solubility.
Isothermal compressibility coefficient
Oil viscosity.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 34

 Crude Oil Density

The crude oil density is defined as the mass of a

unit volume of the crude at a specified pressure
and temperature.
𝒎
𝝆𝒐 =
𝑽
Oil density usually is expressed in pounds per
cubic foot.

Oil density varies from 30 lb/ft3 for light

volatile oil to 60 lb/ft3 for heavy crude oil

Oil density is measured in the laboratory as part

of routine PVT tests.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 35

 Crude Oil Density
The crude oil density is defined as the mass of a unit volume of the crude at a specified pressure and
temperature.

Density of Saturated Oils (P ≤ Pb)

Depending on the available data, density of saturated oils (P ≤ Pb) can be calculated from one of the
following equations:

……………………………(1)

……………………………(2)

36
 Crude Oil Density

Density of Undersaturated Oils (P > Pb)

Density of the oil at pressures above the bubble-point pressure can be calculated with:

Note: The isothermal compressibility coefficient (Co) can be calculated by any of the methods that
can be used for undersaturated oils.

37
 Oil specific gravity

The specific gravity of a crude oil is the ratio of the density of the oil to that of water at 60°F and
atmospheric pressure.

𝝆𝒐
𝜸 𝒐=
𝝆𝒘

= specific gravity of the oil

= density of the crude oil, lb/cubic ft
= density of the water, lb/cubic ft

Density of pure water at 60°F and atmospheric pressure is 62.4 lb/ft3 = 1 gm/cc

Reservoir Fluid Properties 38

 API gravity
API gravity is a commonly used index of the density of a crude oil.

API stands for the American Petroleum Institute (The industry organization that created this
measure.

API is calculated from a hydrocarbon's specific gravity: API

The API gravities of crude oils usually range from 47° API for the lighter crude oils to 10°API for the
heavier asphaltic crude oils.

Lighter (high API) crudes are more valuable because they yield more high-value light products when run
through a refinery.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 39

 API gravity

Light crude is typically in the 35-45 API range,

A medium crude is in the 25-35 API range

Heavy crude is in the 15-25 API range

Crudes lighter than 45 are typically considered extra-light crude or condensates and are
valued lower than light crude because they contain a lot of light ends such as propane
 and butane

Anything below 15 API would be considered an extra-heavy crude.

Reservoir Fluid Properties 40

Comparison of Reservoir Fluid Models
 Black Oil Model  Compositional Models

• 2 components - • N components based

solution gas and stock on paraffin series
tank oil • Equation of state based
• Bo,& Rs etc calculations
• Empirical correlations • Feed forward
• After the event calculation of fluid
properties
description of fluid
properties.