Yangon Technological University

Department of Petroleum Engineering

STUDY ON FLOW BEHAVIOR IN

RETROGRADE GAS-CONDENSATE
RESERVOIRS

SUPERVISED BY PRESENTED BY
DR.NAING LIN MYAT NOE WAI
VPE-12
Seminar 1
Presentation Outline
• Aim & Objectives
• Introduction
• Flow Behavior in Retrograde Gas-condensate Reservoirs
• Equations of State(EOSs)
• Conclusion
• Table of Contents
• References

2
Aim & Objectives
Aim
Better understanding of physical behaviors of retrograde gas
condensate reservoir
Objectives
• To understand the phase behavior of the retrograde gas condensate
reservoir
• To understand the flow behavior of retrograde gas condensate reservoir
• To understand the equations of state (Van der Waals, Soave-Redlich-
Kwong, and Peng-Robinson)

3
Introduction
• Hydrocarbon reservoir fluids contains methane and a wide variety
of intermediate and large molecules.
• The physical state of a hydrocarbon reservoir fluid depends on
its composition , reservoir pressure and temperature.
• The deeper the reservoir , the higher proportion of light
hydrocarbons due to degradation of complex organic molecules.

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 Introduction
Five Main Groups of Reservoir fluids
• Black oil
• Volatile oil
• Retrograde condensate
• Wet gas
• Dry gas

Most known retrograde gas-condensate reserrvoirs are

• In the range of 5000 to10000 ft deep
• At 3000 psi to 8000 psi
• A temperature from 200˚F to 400˚F
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Gas-Condensate Fluid Properties

GOR -3000 to 150000 scf/STB

OGR – 350 to 5 STB/MMscf

Liquid gravities – between 40 and 60 ˚API

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Phase Envelope of Gas-Condensate Reservoir

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Rich Gas Condensate & Lean Gas
Condensate Reservoir

8
Phase Behavior
Retrograde Condensation

The anomalous behavior of a mixture that form a

liquid by isothermal decrease in pressure or by an
isobaric increase in temperature.

Constant Composition analysis

Retrograde condensation occurs until it reached

maximum saturation and after that revaporization
occurs. Overall
composition of reservoir mixture remain constant.

9
Phase Behavior
The heavier components in the
original mixture constitute most of
the immobile condensate saturation ,
the overall molecular weight of the
remaining reservoir fluid increases
during depletion.

The phase envelope shift to the right.

10
Drawdown Behavior

An accurate yet simple model of a gas-condensate well

undergoing depletion consists of three flow regions.

• Region 1: An inner near-wellbore region where both

gas and liquid flow simultaneously(at different
velocities)
• Region 2: A region of condensate buildup where
only gas is flowing.
• Region 3: A region containing single-
phase(original) reservoir gas. This region is the
farthest away from the well.

Schematic gas-condensate flow behavior

(Roussennac,2001)

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Region 3

• The region farthest away from the

well
• Pr>Pdew
• Single phase gas

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Region 2

• Condensate build up region

• Sc<Scc
• Oil mobility is zero(or very small)
• Size decreases with time
• P< Pdew
• Flowing gas phase becomes
leaner.

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 Region 1

• Inner near-well region where Sc>Scc

• Both gas and condensate flow
• Flowing composition is constant
• The main source of deliverability loss
in a gas-condensate well
• Gas permeability is reduced.

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 Coexistence of Flow Regions
•
Region 1 Region 2 Region 3
pwf > pdew X

Pr< pdew X (X)

Pwf<pdew & Pr > pdew X (X) X

X exists
(X) May exist

Table Coexistence of Flow Regions from Fevang(1995)

Region 2
-may disappear or have negligible effect
for highly undersaturated reservoirs
-negligible or very small for rich gas-
condensate reservoirs
Region 1
-may exist throughout the drainage area( in the
absence of Regions 2&3) after Pr<pdew
For a very rich(near-critical) gas-condensate
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Equation of State(EOS)
• EOS - an analytical expression that relates the thermodynamic variables including
temperature T, the Pressure P, and the volume V of the system.
• Most EOSs only need the acentric factor and the critical properties of pure substances.
• Major benefit - a similar equation can be employed to demonstrate the phase behavior
of the other phases, thus confirming reliability when implementing phase-equilibrium
computations.
• Simplest form of an EOS

• P=
• V=gas volume, /mol

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Van der Waals’s Equation of State
Two Assumption

1. There is no repulsive or attractive forces between the molecules or the walls of the
cell.

2. The volume of the gas molecules is unimportant in comparison with both the distance
between the molecules and the volume of the cell.

A more generalized form of the Van der Waals or any other EOSs can be written as
follows:

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Van der Waals’s Equation of State
Van der Waals’s EOS can be written as

In which, b= the covolume(reflects the molecules’ volume )

v= molar volume (/mol)

= attractive forces between the gas molecules

) b=)

In which,the critical pressure (psi)

R=the gas constant,10.73(psi /lbmol˚R)

=the critical temperature( ˚R)

0.421875 =0.12At the critical point,

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Van der Waals’s Equation of State
-(1+B)

A= and B=

P=the pressure of the system

Z=the compressibility factor

T= the temperature of the system

• One-phase system
One real root and two imaginary roots
• Two-phase system
The smallest positive root 𝑍𝐿
The largest positive root 𝑍𝑔

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Drawbacks
• Experimental investigations reveal that the value of the covolume parameter b, may
vary from 0.24 to 0.28 of the critical volume in pure substances ; however the Van der
Waals EOS suggest that b is about 0.333 of the critical volume of the component.
• may also vary from 0.23 to 0.31 while the Van der Waals EOS produces =0.375.
• Hence at least qualitatively, it is not adequately precise for use in design of the
thermodynamic cycles

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Soave-Redlich-Kwong EOS

In which

T=temperature of the system

= the acentric factor of the component

=reduced temperature(T/)

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Peng-Robinson EOS

In which =0..45724 =007780

for <0.49

for >0.49

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Conclusion
• The phase behavior and flow behavior of retrograde gas condensate reservoir is
complex .
• Two equations of states: Peng-Robinson (PR) or Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) can be
used to predict the phase envelope.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Physical Behavior of Gas-Condensates
2.1Phase Behavior
2.2 Flow Behavior
2.2.1 Drawdown Behavior
Chapter 3. Equations of State(EOSs)
3.1 Van der Waals’s Equation of State
3.2 Soave-Redlich-Kwong’s Equation of State

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Table of Contents
Chapter 3 3.3 Peng-Robinson Equation of State
3.4 Mixing Rule
Chapter 4 Gas Properties
4.1 Viscosity
4.2 Z Factor
4.3 Density
4.4 Equilibrium Ratio
4.5 Formation Volume Factor

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Table of Contents
Chapter 4 4.6 Dew-Point Pressure
Chapter 5 Depletion Strategies
5.1 Lean Gas Cycling
5.2 Use of Nitrogen
5.3 Remobilizing Stranded Condensate
Chapter 6 Conclusion

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References
• Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering (Third Edition) by Ronald E. Terry and J. Brandon
Rogers ,2015
• Reservoir Engineering Book (Fourth Edition) by Tarek Ahmed,2010

• Understanding Gas Condensate Reservoirs (Paper) by Li Fan, Billy W. Harris, A. (Jamal)

Jamaluddin , Jairam Kamath, Robert Mott, Gary A. Pope, Alexander Shandraggin , Curtis Hays
Witson
• Petroleum Engineering Handbook, Volume 5 by Larry W. Lake , Edward D. Holstein, 2007
• Fluid Phase Behavior for Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs, by Alireza
Bahadori, 2017
• Well Testing in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs(Report) by Rajeev R. Lal ,June 2003
• Composition Variation During Flow of Gas-Condensate Wells(Report) by Hai Xuan Vo, September
2010
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