This document provides an overview of a course in reservoir engineering. The key points are:
- By the end of the course, students will understand reservoir phase behavior, fluid flow in reservoirs, well performance analysis, secondary recovery calculations, and how to estimate oil and gas reserves.
- Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies principles of physics to predict the movement of fluids like oil and gas underground. It requires knowledge of the reservoir properties and fluid properties.
- Understanding phase behavior of reservoir fluids is important because as oil and gas are produced, changes in pressure and temperature impact fluid volumes and properties, which affect reservoir performance calculations.
This document provides an overview of a course in reservoir engineering. The key points are:
- By the end of the course, students will understand reservoir phase behavior, fluid flow in reservoirs, well performance analysis, secondary recovery calculations, and how to estimate oil and gas reserves.
- Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies principles of physics to predict the movement of fluids like oil and gas underground. It requires knowledge of the reservoir properties and fluid properties.
- Understanding phase behavior of reservoir fluids is important because as oil and gas are produced, changes in pressure and temperature impact fluid volumes and properties, which affect reservoir performance calculations.
This document provides an overview of a course in reservoir engineering. The key points are:
- By the end of the course, students will understand reservoir phase behavior, fluid flow in reservoirs, well performance analysis, secondary recovery calculations, and how to estimate oil and gas reserves.
- Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies principles of physics to predict the movement of fluids like oil and gas underground. It requires knowledge of the reservoir properties and fluid properties.
- Understanding phase behavior of reservoir fluids is important because as oil and gas are produced, changes in pressure and temperature impact fluid volumes and properties, which affect reservoir performance calculations.
This document provides an overview of a course in reservoir engineering. The key points are:
- By the end of the course, students will understand reservoir phase behavior, fluid flow in reservoirs, well performance analysis, secondary recovery calculations, and how to estimate oil and gas reserves.
- Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies principles of physics to predict the movement of fluids like oil and gas underground. It requires knowledge of the reservoir properties and fluid properties.
- Understanding phase behavior of reservoir fluids is important because as oil and gas are produced, changes in pressure and temperature impact fluid volumes and properties, which affect reservoir performance calculations.
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At the end of this course you will be able to:
Know the importance of reservoir engineering in the context of
petroleum and natural gas extraction activities, Represent reservoir phase behavior through phase diagrams and estimate oil and gas properties, Understand the fundamentals of fluid flow in reservoirs and reservoir drive mechanisms, Apply the fundamentals of oil and gas well performance and understand their role in reservoir engineering analysis, Perform oil displacement computations and understand their application to secondary recovery calculations,
PENG 331 RER Overview of Petroleum Engineering At the end of this course you will be able to:
Estimate oil-in place and gas-in-place using reservoir volumetrics, Estimate oil-in place and gas-in-place using Material balance, Applied Reservoir Engineering Overview of Petroleum Engineering Introduction Question: What is the principal goal of ANY science?
Physics, Political studies, Chemistry, Financial analysis, etc., etc., etc. Introduction ANSWER: Given current conditions, predict conditions at later time and how do we get there, i.e. predict MOTION
Physics (a body is subjected to several forces, how and where will it move?) Political studies (given current political and economic conditions, how the society will develop?) Chemistry (given components, P, T; what chemical reactions will occur?) Financial analysis (given current economic conditions, how the markets will behave?) What is Engineering? It is, essentially, applied physics (useful science).
A few branches of engineering: Mechanical (machines, engines, instruments) Chemical (materials with predefined characteristics) Electrical (computers, integrated circuits) Civil (construction, transportation) Nuclear (nuclear reactors, power plants) Petroleum Examples of application Mechanical (aircraft engines, robotics) Chemical (liquid crystals, fiber optics, pharmaceuticals) Electrical (processor chips, GPS, space exploration) Civil (Tokyos Sky City, Bostons Big Dig, Hong Kong Airport) Nuclear (MRI, 20% of US electricity)
What about Petroleum Engineering ? Petroleum Engineering can sometimes be compared to space exploration in its technical complexity (deepwater, HPHT wells)
has highest degree of uncertainty of all Engineering disciplines
uses all other Engineering disciplines Reservoir Engineering Is a branch of Petroleum Engineering, i.e. of an engineering discipline, therefore, of physics;
As such, its principal goal is to describe and to predict motion;
In Reservoir Engineering, we consider underground movement of fluid (liquid or gas). We want to predict how and where fluid will flow based on the knowledge of properties of reservoir and fluid. Analogies Similarly, in Reservoir Engineering we need to know Geometry of the system in which flow takes place; Rock properties; and Fluid properties, (as the latter two determine the resistance to flow friction losses);
We also need to have Physical models that are able to adequately describe the flow; Mathematics, both analytical and numerical methods Fundamentals of Reservoir Fluid Behavior OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this section, you will be able to: Understand the importance of fluid phase behavior on reservoir engineering calculations. Understand pure component phase behavior as a function of pressure, temperature, and type and sketch and carefully label phase diagrams, pressure temperature and pressure volume (with several isotherms above and below the critical temperature), for a pure substance. Understand the behavior of binary and multicomponent mixtures and sketch and carefully label phase diagrams, pressure temperature and pressure volume (with several isotherms above and below the critical temperature), for a mixture. Define the terms vapor pressure, critical point (critical temperature, critical pressure, critical volume), bubblepoint, dew point, cricondenbar, cricondentherm, and retrograde condensate. List the five types of reservoir fluids.
Understanding Phase Behavior Naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures found in petroleum reservoirs are mixtures of organic compounds and few non- hydrocarbons that may exist in gaseous or liquid states. State of reservoir fluids (gas, liquid, very rarely solid) is controlled not only by pressure and temperature, but also by the composition of the in-situ fluid. The reservoir engineer needs to understand the phase behavior of petroleum reservoirs in order to understand the depletion performance of each reservoir and determine the best course for future development and production. Why study Phase Behavior? As oil and gas are produced from the reservoir, they are subjected to a series of pressure, temperature, and compositional changes. Such changes affect the volumetric and transport behavior of these reservoir fluids and, consequently, the produced oil and gas volumes. All reservoir performance equations (e.g., Darcys law, material balances) require the knowledge of fluid properties. It is impossible to correctly evaluate well productivity and reservoir performance if fluid properties are not known.
Phase Behavior - Pure Substance Liquid Solid Gas C T Temperature T c
p c
P r e s s u r e
Phase Behavior - Pure Substance The figure above shows the typical P-T diagram of a pure component, with all the relevant transitions (solid liquid, liquid vapor, solid vapor). vapor pressure line is of special interest to us, since it defines the boundary for liquid-vapor transitions. Liquid and vapors are the two phases that we most commonly encounter in petroleum operations. The vapor pressure curve represents the region of co-existence of L+V states in EQUILIBRIUM for a pure substance. The vapor pressure provides a measure of the ability of molecules to escape from the surface of a solid or liquid; i.e., provides a measure of the volatility of the substance.
Liquid Solid Gas C T Temperature T c
p c
P r e s s u r e
Critical Point Triple Point Phase Behavior - Pure Substance There is a minimum and maximum temperatures and pressures below and above which liquid and vapor cannot longer co-exist together in equilibrium. These are known as the triple and critical points. 1. The Triple Point represents the lower bound of the L+V co- existence region and the only condition at which all three phases of a pure substance (S+L+V) can co-exist in equilibrium. 2. The Critical Point is the condition where vapor and liquid are in equilibrium without any interface to differentiate them (i.e., liquid and vapor are no longer distinguishable in terms of their properties
Phase Behavior - Pure Substance This figure gives us an idea of the relative location of the vapor pressure curve for hydrocarbons Phase Behavior - Pure Substance 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 P r e s s u r e ,
p s i a
Specific volume, cu ft/lb Two-phase region 60F 70F 80F 85F C Phase Behavior - Pure Substance Critical point 400 300 200 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 P r e s s u r e ,
p s i a
Volume, cu ft/lb Phase Behavior - Mixtures Phase Behavior - Mixtures Hydrocarbon systems are never single-component. They are found naturally occurring with a variety of components and therefore they are multi-component mixtures. Hydrocarbon systems are never single-component. They are found naturally occurring with a variety of components and therefore they are multi-component mixtures. The figure above shows a typical p-v diagram for a mixture.
Petroleum reservoirs are broadly classified as oil or gas reservoirs. These classifications are further subdivided depending on: The composition of the reservoir hydrocarbon mixture Initial reservoir pressure and temperature Pressure and temperature of the surface production Phase Behavior - Mixtures Phase Behavior - Mixtures Typical P T for a multi component system Pressure-Temperature Diagram Previous figure Shows a typical pressure-temperature diagram of a multicomponent system with a specific overall composition. These multicomponent pressure-temperature diagrams are essentially used to: Classify reservoirs Classify the naturally occurring hydrocarbon systems Describe the phase behavior of the reservoir fluid Phase Behavior - Mixtures To understand the significance of the pressure-temperature diagrams, it is necessary to identify and define the following key points on these diagrams: 1. Bubble-point curve: The bubble-point curve (line BC) is defined as the line separating the liquid-phase region from the two-phase region. 2. Dew-point curve: The dew-point curve (line AC) is defined as the line separating the vapor-phase region from the two-phase region. Phase Behavior - Mixtures 3. Quality lines: The dashed lines within the phase diagram are called quality lines. They describe the pressure and temperature conditions for equal volumes of liquids. Note that the quality lines converge at the critical point (point C). 4. Critical point: The critical point for a multicomponent mixture is referred to as the state of pressure and temperature at which all intensive properties of the gas and liquid phases are equal (point C). At the critical point, the corresponding pressure and temperature are called the critical pressure pc and critical temperature T c of the mixture. Phase Behavior - Mixtures 5. Cricondentherm (T ct ): The Cricondentherm is defined as the maximum temperature above which liquid cannot be formed regardless of pressure (point E). The corresponding pressure is termed the Cricondentherm pressure p ct . 6. Cricondenbar (p cb ): The Cricondenbar is the maximum pressure above which no gas can be formed regardless of temperature (point D). The corresponding temperature is called the Cricondenbar temperature T cb . Phase Behavior - Mixtures 7. Phase envelope (two-phase region): The region enclosed by the bubble-point curve and the dew-point curve (line BCA), wherein gas and liquid coexist in equilibrium, is identified as the phase envelope of the hydrocarbon system. Phase Behavior - Mixtures Reservoirs are conveniently classified on the basis of the location of the point representing the initial reservoir pressure P i and temperature T with respect to the pressure-temperature diagram of the reservoir fluid. Phase Diagram of a Reservoir Fluid Temperature, F -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 P r e s s u r e ,
p s i a
Critical point A Typical Reservoir Fluid Phase Envelope A typical reservoir fluid phase envelope has a very distinctly defined dew point and bubble point lines, both of which meeting at the critical point. For mixtures, critical pressure and temperatures are no longer the maximum possible pressure and temperature found within liquid and vapor co-existence region. These points are known as the cricondenbar and cricondentherm, respectively. The size of the L+V region is a function of mixture complexity and composition. The Five Reservoir Fluids Black Oil Critical point P r e s s u r e ,
p s i a
Separator Pressure path in reservoir Dewpoint line % Liquid Temperature, F P r e s s u r e
Temperature Separator % Liquid Volatile oil Pressure path in reservoir 3 2 1 Critical point 3 Separator % Liquid Pressure path in reservoir 1 2 Retrograde gas Critical point P r e s s u r e
Temperature P r e s s u r e
Temperature % Liquid 2 1 Pressure path in reservoir Wet gas Critical point Separator P r e s s u r e
Temperature % Liquid 2 1 Pressure path in reservoir Dry gas Separator Retrograde Gas Wet Gas Dry Gas Black Oil Volatile Oil The Five Reservoir Fluids The Five Reservoir Fluids One of the most meaningful classification of reservoir fluids is based on the location of the initial reservoir temperature (T r ) with respect to the pressure-temperature phase diagram (phase envelope) of the reservoir fluid. It is important to compare the location of T r with respect to the location of the fluids critical point. On the basis of this, a reservoir is classified as an oil reservoir is the reservoir temperature is less than the critical temperature Tc and as a gas reservoir if the reservoir temperature is greater than the critical temperature of the hydrocarbon fluid.
Oil reservoirs: If the reservoir temperature T is less than the critical temperature T c of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is classified as an oil reservoir. Depending upon initial reservoir pressure pi, oil reservoirs can be subclassified into the following categories: 1. Undersaturated oil reservoir 2. Saturated oil The Five Reservoir Fluids 1. Undersaturated oil reservoir: If the initial reservoir pressure p i is greater than the bubble-point pressure p b of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is labeled an undersaturated oil reservoir. 2. Saturated oil: When the initial reservoir pressure is equal or below to the bubble-point pressure of the reservoir fluid the reservoir is called a saturated oil reservoir. The Five Reservoir Fluids Oil reservoirs can be further classified as: 1. Black Oil Reservoirs 2. Volatile Oil Reservoirs (also referred to as near-critical crude oil) The Five Reservoir Fluids Phase Diagram of a Typical Black Oil Black Oil Critical point P r e s s u r e ,
p s i a
Separator Pressure path in reservoir Dewpoint line % Liquid Temperature, F Phase Diagram of a Typical Black Oil Black oils are the most common type of oil reserves and are typically composed of a large quantity of heavy hydrocarbons (C7+ fraction). Phase envelopes are wide, covering a wide temperature range in the P-T plane. In these reservoirs, the critical point is found far to the right of the prevailing reservoir temperature.
Oil reservoirs are also classified as undersaturated if the initial reservoir pressure (p i ) is greater than the bubble point pressure (p b ) of the reservoir fluid. Saturated oil reservoirs are those whose initial reservoir pressure (p i ) is equal to the fluids bubble point. In gas-cap reservoirs, reservoir pressure is well below fluids bubble point pressure. In such situation, the oil leg is said to be saturated with gas.
Phase Diagram of a Typical Volatile Oil P r e s s u r e
Temperature, F Separator % Liquid Volatile oil Pressure path in reservoir 3 2 1 Critical point Phase Diagram of a Typical Volatile Oil Volatile Oils contain fewer heavy hydrocarbons components and more intermediate components (C2 through C7) and the temperature coverage of their phase envelope is smaller than black oils. These types of oil are known as near-critical because their critical point lies in close proximity to reservoir temperature and typically have high bubble point pressures. This type of oil is volatile due to this proximity to critical conditions, i.e., the reservoir depletion path (line 1-2-3) is able to cross a great number of isovolumetric lines upon a small reduction of reservoir pressure. This type of oils may vaporize up to 50 % of the in-site fluid at reservoir conditions at only few hundred psi below bubble point conditions, and are thus categorized as high-shrinkage oils.
Gas reservoirs: If the reservoir temperature is greater than the critical temperature of the hydrocarbon fluid, the reservoir is considered a gas reservoir Gas reservoirs can be further classified as: 1. Retrograde Gas Reservoirs (also referred to as near-critical gas) 2. Wet Gas Reservoirs 3. Dry Gas Reservoir The Five Reservoir Fluids Phase Diagram of a Typical Retrograde Gas 3 Separator % Liquid Pressure path in reservoir 1 2 Retrograde gas Critical point P r e s s u r e
Temperature Retrograde gases or gas condensates are gas reservoirs because reservoir temperature is higher than fluids critical temperature. They are also known as near-critical gas reservoirs because of the close proximity of the critical point to reservoir temperature. This type of gas reservoirs are able to form retrograde condensate upon pressure depletion, and hence their name.
Retrograde condensation is an important feature that dominates the production characteristics of these reservoirs. Typical production schemes include pressure maintenance and/or gas cycling operations that can reduce or eliminate the occurrence of the retrograde condensation phenomenon.
Phase Diagram of a Typical Retrograde Gas P r e s s u r e
Temperature % Liquid 2 1 Pressure path in reservoir Wet gas Critical point Separator Phase Diagram of a Typical Wet Gas Wet gases are primarily composed of light molecular weight hydrocarbons and exhibit very narrow phase envelopes. Phase envelopes of wet gases are entirely located at temperatures below reservoir temperature. It is clear from the figure above that reservoir temperature > cricondentherm temperature. The reservoir pressure path is free of liquids (no retrograde condensation) but surface separator conditions lie within the phase envelope, causing some liquid dropout at the surface facilities. Phase Diagram of a Typical Wet Gas P r e s s u r e
Temperature % Liquid 2 1 Pressure path in reservoir Dry gas Separator Phase Diagram of a Typical Dry Gas Dry gases are primarily composed of methane and does not produce hydrocarbon liquids even at surface conditions. Dry gas envelopes are smaller than those of wet gases and the reservoir gas remains single phase in the reservoir and on the surface.
Phase Diagram of a Typical Dry Gas 1. The gas that comes out of the solution from black oils usually a dry gas because the large and heavy molecules in the oil attract the intermediate sized molecules to stay in the oil phase. However, the gas that comes out of solution from volatile oil is typically a retrograde gas. Volatile oils dont contain the large molecules that enable black oils to hold most of the intermediate components in the oil phase. Differences Between Black-Oils and Volatile Oils 1. Dry gas gas at surface is same as gas in reservoir. 2. Wet gas recombined surface gas and condensate represents gas in reservoir. 3. Retrograde gas recombined surface gas and condensate represents the gas in the reservoir, but not the total reservoir fluid(retrograde condensate stays in reservoir) Differences Between the Three Gases Field Identification of Reservoir Fluids Gas res bbl Oil S e p a r a t o r
Stock tank scf STB GOR = STB scf scf res bbl As previously discussed, reservoir fluids are classified based on the location of initial reservoir conditions with respect to the phase envelope of the fluid. This identification is a key factor in many decisions related to field development plan and reservoir management. In addition, field data available from production information can also serve to some extent as indicators of fluid type. Some of the production observations that can be used for this identification include: 1. Initial production gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) or gas-to-liquids (GLR). 2. Stock Tank Oil density (API gravity). 3. Color of stock tank oil.
Field Identification of Reservoir Fluids Components of Naturally Occurring Petroleum Fluids Component Composition, mole percent Hydrogen sulfide 4.91 Carbon dioxide 11.01 Nitrogen 0.51 Methane 57.70 Ethane 7.22 Propane 4.45 i-Butane 0.96 n-Butane 1.95 i-Pentane 0.78 n-Pentane 0.71 Hexanes 1.45 Heptanes plus 8.35 100.00 Properties of heptanes plus Specific Gravity 0.807 Molecular Weight 142 lb/lb mole
Petroleum fluids are typically composed of a great number of components belonging to different chemical species. Most of the light and intermediate components can be clearly identified as individual entities (C1 through C6), but most of the heavy molecules are typically lumped and grouped as a plus fraction (C7+). In some instances, this plus fraction can be further characterized for compositional studies. The C7+ fraction has been found to be a good indicator of fluid type, as it correlates very well to observed field production data.
Components of Naturally Occurring Petroleum Fluids Field Identification Black Oil Volatile Oil Retrograde Gas Wet Gas Dry Gas Initial Producing Gas/Liquid Ratio, scf/STB <1750 1750 to 3200 > 3200 > 15,000* 100,000* Initial Stock- Tank Liquid Gravity, API < 45 > 40 > 40 Up to 70 No Liquid Color of Stock- Tank Liquid Dark Colored Lightly Colored Water White No Liquid
*For Engineering Purposes This table summarizes McCains guidelines for fluid type identification. McCain also included some additional guidance in terms of API and color to further verify the selection of fluid type. In this table, the 1,750 scf/STB break between black oils and volatile oils is not sharp - could be 250 scf/STB. In general, initial stock-tank oil gravity and color are not as important to the identification of fluid type -- except in the black oil - volatile oil overlap
Field Identification Laboratory Analysis Black Oil Volatile Oil Retrograde Gas Wet Gas Dry Gas Phase Change in Reservoir Bubblepoint Bubblepoint Dewpoint No Phase Change No Phase Change Heptanes Plus, Mole Percent > 20% 20 to 12.5 < 12.5 < 4* < 0.8* Oil Formation Volume Factor at Bubblepoint < 2.0 > 2.0 - - -
Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society Volume 69 issue 3 1971 [doi 10.1017_s0305004100046880] Packham_ B. A._ Shall_ R. -- Stratified laminar flow of two immiscible fluids.pdf