Reservoir Engineering for Technicians

RESR1003

3. Gas Laws
Real Gases

1
 Real Gas
• The Ideal Gas Law cannot be applied to natural
gas in a reservoir as reservoir pressure and
temperature are much higher than atmospheric
conditions. 
• A correction factor called the gas
compressibility factor or gas deviation factor
or z-factor, is introduced to account for the
discrepancies between experimental
observations and predictions from
the ideal model.
2
 Real Gas Equation of State

pV = znRT
Where
• p = pressure, psia
• V = volume, ft3
• z = z factor, dimensionless
• n = number of moles in the gas, lb-mol
• R = the universal gas constant = 10.732 psia-ft3/(lb-mol-oR)
• T = absolute temperature, oR

3
 z-factor
The ratio of the actual volume of n-moles of gas at
T and p to the ideal volume of the same number of
moles at the same T and p:

Note: At very low pressures z ≈ 1, thus gases behave as if

they are ideal gases.

4
Determining z-Factor Based on
Pseudo-Properties
1. Calculate pseudo-critical properties of the gas
mixture (ppc, Tpc)
2. Calculate pseudo-reduced properties (ppr, Tpr)
3. Read the compressibility factor from the
Standing and Katz (1941) chart

5
 Pseudo-Critical Properties
• Pseudo-critical properties, ppc and Tpc, are used
as correlating parameters in generating gas
properties
• They do not represent the actual critical
properties of the gas mixture.

6
 Pseudo-Critical Properties
When gas composition is known:

Where
• ppc, Tpc = pseudo-critical pressure and temperature
• yi = mole fraction of component i in the mixture
• ppi, Tpi = critical pressure and temperature of component

7
 Example 1
a) For the gas composition Mole Fraction
given, determine: yi
Constituent
i. apparent molecular
weight of the gas CO2 0.0040
ii. pseudocritical pressure C1 0.9432
and temperature of the
C2 0.0390
gas
C3 0.0117
CO2 does not belong to the HC family;
hence, corrections should be made to the
i-C4 0.0080
above estimates of Tc and Pc. In this case, n-C4 0.0013
the corrections are assumed to be
negligible. 1.0
8
Component yi MWi yiMi Tci yiTci pci yipci
(°R) (°R) (psia) (psia)

**CO2 0.0040 44.01 0.17 547.7 2.2 1073 4.3

C1 0.9432 16.04 15.09 343.3 323.5 673.1 634.8

C2 0.0390 30.07 1.17 549.8 21.4 708.3 27.6

C3 0.0117 44.09 0.51 666 7.8 617.4 7.2

i-C4 0.0080 58.12 0.46 734.7 5.9 529.1 4.2

n-C4 0.0013 58.12 0.07 765.3 1.0 550.7 0.7

= 1.0 Ma Tpc Ppc

= ΣyiMi = ΣyiTci = ΣyiPci
= 17.5 = 362.1 = 678.8
°R psia
Pseudo-Critical Properties:
Gas Composition Unknown

Use specific gravity

of gas (called γg
here) in Standing
(1977) Equations.

10
 Pseudo-critical
Properties:
Gas Composition
Unknown
This chart presents a
graphical method for
a convenient
approximation of the
pseudo-critical
properties using
specific gravity of gas
11
 Example 1
Mole
b) Rework part 1a by Fraction
calculating the pseudo- Constituent yi
critical properties CO2 0.0040
i. from Standing (1977) C1 0.9432
Equations C2 0.0390
ii. From Pseudo-critical C3 0.0117
Properties of Natural
i-C4 0.0080
Gas Chart
n-C4 0.0013
1.0
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 Question 1
For natural gas with the following
Component yi gas composition shown, determine:
1. apparent molecular weight of the
C1 0.900 gas
C2 0.080 2. pseudocritical pressure and
temperature of the gas
C3 0.020 3. rework part 2 by calculating the
Total 1.0
pseudocritical properties using
Standing (1977) Equations
and/or the Pseudocritical
Properties of Natural Gas
Chart 13
 Question 2
Component yi For natural gas with the
CO2 0.02 following gas, create a
N2 spreadsheet to
0.01
calculate the
C1 0.85
pseudocritical pressure
C2 0.04 and temperature of the
C3 0.03 gas.
i-C4 0.03
n-C4 0.02

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 Pseudo-Reduced p & T
z-factors for natural gases of various compositions
are expressed in terms of the following two
dimensionless properties:
1. pseudo-reduced pressure, ppr
2. pseudo-reduced temperature, Tpr

15
Pseudo-Reduced p & T

16
 Example 1
Mole
c) The initial reservoir pressure Fraction
and temperature are 3485.7 Constituent yi
psig and 180°F. Calculate the CO2 0.0040
pseudo-reduced pressure and C1 0.9432
temperature of the gas. C2 0.0390
C3 0.0117
i-C4 0.0080
n-C4 0.0013
1.0
17
 Solution
Reservoir conditions:
p = 3485.7 psig = 3485.3 + 14.7 = 3500 psia
T = 180 ⁰F = 180 + 460 = 640 ⁰R

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Standing and Katz (1941) Chart
• Represents compressibility
factors of natural gas as a
function of pseudo-reduced p
& T.
• Chart is reliable for natural
gas with minor amounts of
nonHCs.
• It is one of the most widely
accepted correlations in the
oil and gas industry.
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Standing and
Katz Chart

x-axes = ppr
curves = Tpr
y-axes = z-factors

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 Example 1
Mole
d) Calculate the gas Fraction
compressibility factor under Constituent yi
initial reservoir conditions. CO2 0.0040
C1 0.9432
C2 0.0390
C3 0.0117
i-C4 0.0080
n-C4 0.0013
1.0
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 Example 2
A gas reservoir has initial reservoir pressure and
temperature of 3000 psia and 180°F, respectively.
Calculate the gas compressibility factor under
initial reservoir conditions if the pseudo-critical
pressure is 666.18 and the pseudo-critical
temperature is 383.38.

22
 Considering Non-HC
Components
If H2S and CO2 content in gas mixtures are ≥ 5%
by volume, corrections must be applied to pseudo-
critical properties.
To find the corrected pseudo-critical properties:
1. Calculate uncorrected ppc, Tpc of the gas mixture
2. Find ɛ, temperature adjustment factor
3. Calculate p’pc, T’pc

Then use p’pc, T’pc to find ppr, Tpr and z-factor

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 ɛ, Temperature Adjustment
Factor
Wichert and Aziz correction (1972):

Where:

(sum of the mole fraction H2S

and CO2 in the gas mixture)


  120 yCO2  y H 2 S   yCO2  y H 2 S 
0.9 1. 6
 15y 0. 5
H2S  y H4 2 S 
OR
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 Or use
Temperature
Adjustment
Factor Chart

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 Corrected Pseudo-critical
Properties
Wichert and Aziz correction (1972)

p pc 

p *pc Tpc*   
Where:

Tpc*  y H 2 S 1  y H 2 S 

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 Example 3
A sour natural gas has a specific gravity of 0.7.
The compositional analysis of the gas shows that it
contains 5% CO2 and 10% H2S.
Calculate the z-factor at 3500 psia and 160°F.

1. Calculate uncorrected ppc, Tpc of the gas mixture

2. Find ɛ, temperature adjustment factor
3. Calculate p’pc, T’pc
4. Use p’pc, T’pc to find ppr, Tpr and z-factor

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 by using equations on slide 10:

equation on slide 24:

equation on slide 26.

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 equation on
slide 26.

z-factor chart on slide 20.

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 Considering C7+ Component
For heptanes and
heavier hydrocarbons
(C7+) the Psuedo-
critical Properties of
Hydrocarbon Liquids
chart is be used to
determine the
pseudocritical
properties.
MW and sg of C7+
component must be
are known.
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Psuedo-critical Properties of Hydrocarbon Liquids
E.g. 4: A natural gas system has the following
composition. The C7+ fraction has a MW of
161 and sg of 0.81. Complete the table:

31
Example 5:
A reservoir has an initial
pressure of 3485.3 psig and
temperature of 140 ⁰F
contains a wet gas having
the composition shown.
MWC7+ =128
sg C7+ = 0.8195
Determine z-factor.

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 Solution

p = 3485.3 psig = 3500 psia

T = 140 ⁰F = 600 ⁰R

From Psuedo-critical
Properties of
Hydrocarbon Liquids
chart,
Tc = 1118 ⁰R
Pc = 415 psia

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34
 Solution
• Use ppc, Tpc to find ppr, Tpr
• Find z-factor

35
 Real Gases: Density

pM a
ρ g=
z RT

36
 Real Gases: Bg & Eg

• In Natural Gas Reservoir Engineering, the main

use of the real gas equation of state is to relate
surface volumes to reservoir volumes of
hydrocarbons.

• This is accomplished by the use of gas

formation volume factor, Bg and its reciprocal
gas expansion factor, Eg.

37
 Gas FVF, Bg
• The gas formation volume factor (FVF) is the
volume occupied in the reservoir by 1 scf of gas.
• It is defined as the volume occupied by a gas at
reservoir conditions divided by the volume at
standard condition:

38
 Gas FVF, Bg
Applying the real gas equation-of-state and substituting
for the volume V, gives:

39
 Gas FVF, Bg
• Assuming that the standard conditions are represented by
psc =14.7 psia and Tsc = 520°R gives:

 0.0282 in ft3/scf

zT
Bg  0.0282 in res.bbl/scf
p
NB: Bg < 1

40
 Gas Expansion Factor, Eg
• The reciprocal of the gas formation volume
factor is called the gas expansion factor and is
designated by the symbol Eg

in scf/res.bbl
Eg = 1/Bg

41
 Example 6
A dry gas has a specific gravity of 0.818 at
reservoir temperature of 220°F and reservoir
pressure of 2114.7 psia.
a) Calculate the formation volume factor in res
bbl/scf
b) Calculate gas density

42
 zT
Bg  0.00502
p
𝑀𝑎
𝛾𝑔 =
28.96

pM 𝑎
ρ g=
z RT

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 Question 3
Calculate the gas gravity (specific gravity) and gas
formation volume factor in cuft/scf for a gas field
with a bottomhole pressure of 3000 psia, a
temperature of 200°F.
Composition of gas: 94.63% methane, 2.54%
ethane, 1.46% propane, 0.46% isobutane, 0.38%
n-butane, 0.36% pentane and 0.17% hexane.

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 Real Gases: Gas Viscosity, μg
• Viscosity is a function of
pressure, temperature,
and composition.
• Most gas viscosities
range from 0.01 to 0.03
cp, making them difficult
to measure accurately.
Instead, values are
normally determined
from correlations.
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 Finding Gas Viscosity at 1 atm,
μ1
From Carr’s Atmospheric Gas Viscosity Correlation
chart:
1. Use sg and reservoir T to find uncorrected gas viscosity
at 1 atm, μ1(uncorrected)
2. Use chart inserts to find each correction added to
viscosity for non-HCs
Carr’s Atmospheric Gas Viscosity Correlation At 1 Atm
47
 Finding Viscosity Ratio (μg/μ1)
From Carr’s Viscosity Ratio Correlation chart:
3. Use ppr and Tpr to find viscosity ratio (μg/μ1)

NB: if non-HC gases > 5%, then corrected p’pc, T’pc

must first be used to calculate ppr and Tpr

4. Solve for natural gas viscosity using

48
Carr’s Viscosity Ratio Correlation
 Example 7
Determine the gas viscosity at 1 atm and 360oF for
a gas with specific gravity/gas gravity of 1.5.
Impurities present: 10% N2 and 12% H2S. 
Pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature were
found to be 4.5 and 1.5.

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51
52
Carr’s viscosity ratio correlation

Enter at Tpr = 1.5,

meet ppr = 4.5 curve
 Solution
From Carr’s Atmospheric Gas Viscosity Correlation:
Uncorrected μ1 = 0.0122 cp (using the main chart)
(Δμ)N2 = 0.0009 cp (using the chart inserts)
(Δμ)H2S = 0.0006 cp (using the chart inserts)
 μ1 = 0.0122 + 0.0009 + 0.0006 = 0.0137 cp

From Carr’s Viscosity Ratio Correlation: μg/μ1= 1.95

Thus, gas viscosity,

μg = 0.0137 x 1.95 = 0.0267 cp

  54
 Question 4
Determine the gas viscosity for a natural gas
of specific gravity 0.72 and with an average
reservoir pressure of 2,000 psia and
temperature of 120°F.

(ans = 0.01695 cp)

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56
 Real Gases: Gas
Compressibility, cg
• Liquid compressibility is small and usually assumed to be
constant. However, gas compressibility is neither small
nor constant.
• The change in volume with pressure for gases under
isothermal (constant temp) conditions:
1 1 dz
cg  
p z dp
• Typical value: x 10-6 psi-1
• For gases at low pressures, isothermal compressibility
can be approximated by cg ≈ 1/p

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