Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S.

Kadhim 1

References

• Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, by B. C. Craft and M. F. Hawkins,

Second Edition, 1991.

• Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Practice, by Nnaemeka Ezekwe, 2011.

• Reservoir Engineering Handbook, by Tarek Ahmed, 2010.

• Determination of Oil and Gas Reserves, Petroleum Society Monograph No.1, 1994.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 2

Syllabus

• Introduction

• Reservoir fluid properties.

• General material balance equation: derivation, uses and limitations.

• Under-saturated Oil Reservoir: calculation of initial oil in place by volumetric

and material balance equation.

• Saturated Oil Reservoir: material balance equation, flash and differential,

volatile oil reservoir, maximum efficient rate.

• Oil reservoirs under Simultaneous Drives.

• Water Influx: water influx from solutions of the diffusivity equation, steady-state
model, unsteady-state model, pseudo-steady state model.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 3

INTRODUCTION

Crude oil, natural gas, and water are the substances that are of chief concern to
petroleum engineers.

The division of the well and reservoir fluids between the liquid and vapor phases
depends mainly on the temperature and pressure.

The state or phase of a fluid in the reservoir usually changes with pressure, the
temperature remaining substantially constant.

In many cases the state or phase in the reservoir is quite unrelated to the state of the
fluid when it is produced at the surface. The knowledge of the behaviour of crude oil,
natural gas, and water, singly or in combination, under static conditions or in motion in
the reservoir rock and in pipes and under changing temperature and pressure. is the
main concern of petroleum engineers.
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 4

• As early as 1928 petroleum engineers were giving serious consideration to gas-energy

relationships and recognized the need for more information concerning physical
conditions in wells and underground reservoirs.

• Fancher, Lewis, and Barnes made one of the earliest petrophysical studies of reservoir
rocks in 1933. In1934, Wycoff, Botset, Muskat, and Reed developed a method for
measuring the permeability of reservoir rock samples based on the fluid flow equation
discovered by Darcy in 1856.

• In 1940 Leverctt and Lewis reported research on the three-phase flow of oil, gas, and water.
•
• During the I960s, the terms reservoir simulation and reservoir mathematical modelling
became popular. These terms arc refer to the ability to use mathematical formulas to predict
the performance of an oil or gas reservoir.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 5

The working tools of the reservoir engineer are subsurface geology, applied
mathematics, and the basic laws of physics and chemistry governing the behaviour
of liquid and vapor phases of crude oil, natural gas, and water in reservoir rocks.
Because reservoir engineering is the science of producing oil and gas, it includes a
study of all the factors affecting their recovery.

Clark and Wessely urge a joint application of geological and engineering data to
arrive for field development programs. Ultimately reservoir engineering concerns
all petroleum engineers, from the drilling engineer who is planning the mud
program to the corrosion engineer who must design the tubing string for the
producing life of the well.

Reserves are estimated volumes of crude oil, condensate, natural gas, natural gas
liquids, and associated marketable substances anticipated (estimated) to be
commercially recoverable and marketable from a given date forward, under
existing economic conditions, by established operating practices, and under
current government regulation.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 6

RESERVOIR FLUID PROPERTIES

A. GAS PROPERTIES
Knowledge of pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) relationships and other physical and
chemical properties of gases is essential for solving problems in natural gas reservoir
engineering. These properties include:
1.Specific gravity, γg., 2.Gas Density, ρg 3. Apparent Molecular weight of gas, Mg.,
4. Compressibility factor, z. 5. Isothermal gas compressibility coefficient, cg.
6. Gas formation volume factor, Bg., 7. Gas expansion factor, Eg,. 8. Gas Viscosity, μg.

The above gas properties may be obtained from direct laboratory measurements or by
prediction from generalized mathematical expressions. This section reviews laws that describe
the volumetric behaviour of gases in terms of pressure and temperature and also documents
the mathematical correlations that are widely used in determining the physical properties of
natural gases.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 7

RESERVOIR FLUID PROPERTIES

1. Ideal Gas Law

Relationships that describe the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) behaviour of
gases arc called equations of state. The simplest equation of state is called the ideal
gas law and is given by:

PV= n.R.T

Where; p is absolute pressure, V is total volume, n is moles, T is absolute temperature,

R is the gas constant.

When R = 10.732 (psia. ft^3)/(lbmol .°R), p must be in pounds per square inch absolute
(psia), V in cubic feet, n in pound-moles (lb-moles), and T in degrees Rankine. The
ideal gas law was developed from Boyle's and Charles's laws, which were formed from
experimental observations.
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 8

2. Specific Gravity and Density

The specific gravity of gas, known simply as gas gravity, is defined with reference to air. It
is defined as the ratio of the density of the gas to the density of air at the same
temperature and pressure:

γg is gas gravity,ρg is gas density, and ρair is density of air. Most of the petroleum
industry has adopted the temperature of 60°F and the pressure of 14.7 psia as
standard conditions.
Density is defined as mass per unit volume. Hence, gas density is defined as:

mg is the mass of the gas, and Vg is the volume of the gas. mg = nMg , where n is moles of gas
and Mg is its molecular weight.
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 9

If we assume ideal gas behaviour at standard conditions (Tsc = 60°F and psc = 14.7 psia),
then we can apply the following equation:

Similarly, the density of air is given by:

Mair is the molecular weight of air, which is equal to 28.9586, Assuming that the behaviour of
both the gas mixture and the air is described by the ideal gas equation, the specific gravity can
then be expressed as:

• psc = standard pressure, psia

• Tsc = standard temperature
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 10

Example: Three pounds of n-butane are placed in a vessel at 120°F and 60 psia.
Calculate the volume and density of the gas assuming an ideal gas behaviour.(M=58.123)
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 11

3. Apparent Molecular Weight

One of the main gas properties that is frequently of interest to engineers is the apparent
molecular weight. If yi represents the mole fraction of the ith component in a gas mixture, the
apparent molecular weight is defined mathematically by the following equation:

Where:
Ma = apparent molecular weight of a gas mixture
Mi = molecular weight of the ith component in the mixture
yi = mole fraction of component i in the mixture
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 12

4. Standard Volume
In many natural gas engineering calculations, it is convenient to measure the volume
occupied by l lb-mole of gas at a reference pressure and temperature. These reference
conditions are usually 14.7 psia and 60°F, and are commonly referred to as standard
conditions. The standard volume is then defined as the volume of gas occupied by 1 lb-
mol of gas at standard conditions.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 13

5. Behaviour of Real Gases

In dealing with gases at a very low pressure, the ideal gas relationship is a convenient
and generally satisfactory tool. At higher pressures, the use of the ideal gas equation-of-
state may lead to errors as great as 500%, as compared to errors of 2–3% at
atmospheric pressure. Basically, the magnitude of deviations of real gases from the
conditions of the ideal gas law increases with increasing pressure and temperature and
varies widely with the composition of the gas.
Numerous equations-of-state have been developed in the attempt to correlate the
pressure-volume-temperature variables for real gases with experimental data. In order to
express a more exact relationship between the variables p, V, and T, a correction factor
called the gas compressibility factor, gas deviation factor, or simply the z-factor, The
equation of ideal conditions had been modified to the following form:

where the gas compressibility factor z is a dimensionless quantity and is defined as 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:
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 14

Studies of the gas compressibility factors for natural gases of various compositions have
shown that compressibility factors can be generalized with sufficient accuracies for most
engineering purposes when they are expressed in terms of the following two
dimensionless properties:
• Pseudo-reduced pressure
• Pseudo-reduced temperature
These dimensionless terms are defined by the following expressions:

Where: p = system pressure, psia, ppr = pseudo-reduced pressure, dimensionless

T = system temperature, °R, Tpr = pseudo-reduced temperature, dimensionless,
Ppc and Tpc = pseudo-critical pressure and temperature, respectively, and defined by the
following relationships:
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 15

It should be pointed out that these pseudo-critical properties, i.e., ppc and Tpc, do not
represent the actual critical properties of the gas mixture. These pseudo properties are used
as correlating parameters in generating gas properties.

Based on the concept of pseudo-reduced properties, Standing and Katz (1942) presented a
generalized gas compressibility factor chart as shown in the following Figure. The chart
represents compressibility factors of sweet natural gas as a function of ppr and Tpr. This
chart is generally reliable for natural gas with minor amount of nonhydrocarbons. It is one
of the most widely accepted correlations in the oil and gas industry.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 16
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Example: A gas reservoir has the following gas composition: the initial reservoir pressure
and temperature are 3,000 psia and 180°F, respectively.

Calculate the gas compressibility factor under initial reservoir conditions:

Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 19

1. Determine the pseudo-critical pressure from the following equation:

ppc = 666.18

2. Calculate the pseudo-critical temperature from the following Equation:

Tpc = 383.38
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 20

3. Calculate the pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature by applying the following

Equations:

4. Determine the z-factor from Chart, to give:

Z=0.85
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 21

Example: Using the data in the previous example and assuming real gas behaviour,
calculate the density of the gas phase under initial reservoir conditions. Compare the
results with that of ideal gas behaviour.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 22

1. Calculate the apparent molecular weight from the following equation :

Ma = 20.23

2. Determine the pseudo-critical pressure:

ppc = 666.18

3. Calculate the pseudo-critical temperature :

Tpc = 383.38

4. Calculate the pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature:

 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 23

5. Determine the z-factor from chart:

z = 0.85
6. Calculate the density from the following Equation (the initial reservoir
pressure and temperature are 3,000 psia and 180°F, respectively):

7. Calculate the density of the gas assuming an ideal gas behaviour:

Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 24

The results of the above example show that the ideal gas equation estimated the gas
density with an absolute error of 15% when compared with the density value as
predicted with the real gas equation.
pseudo-critical properties (ppc and Tpc) can be predicted from the specific gravity of the
gas. Brown et al. (1948) presented a graphical method for a convenient approximation
of the pseudo-critical pressure and pseudo-critical temperature of gases when only the
specific gravity of the gas is available. The correlation is presented in the following
Figure. Standing (1977) expressed this graphical correlation in the following
mathematical forms:
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 25
 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 26

6. Compressibility of Natural Gases

Knowledge of the variability of fluid compressibility with pressure and temperature is
essential in performing many reservoir engineering calculations. For a liquid phase, the
compressibility is small and usually assumed to be constant. For a gas phase, the
compressibility is neither small nor constant.
By definition, the isothermal gas compressibility is the change in volume per unit volume
for a unit change in pressure or, in equation form:

Where: cg = isothermal gas compressibility, 1/psi.

Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 27

From the real gas equation-of-state:

Differentiating the above equation with respect to pressure at constant temperature T gives:

Substituting into cg Equation produces the following generalized relationship:

Cg= 1/p
It should be pointed out that this Equation is useful in determining the expected order of
magnitude of the isothermal gas compressibility.
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 28

Class Work : Prove that

Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 29

The gas compressibility Equation(cg) can be conveniently expressed in terms of the

pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature by simply replacing p with (ppc ppr), as
follows:

The term cpr is called the isothermal pseudo-reduced compressibility and is defined by the
relationship:
cpr = cg . ppc
Where:
cpr = isothermal pseudo-reduced compressibility
cg = isothermal gas compressibility, psi−1
ppc = pseudo-reduced pressure, psi
Values of (∂z/∂ppr)Tpr can be calculated from the slope of the Tpr isotherm on the
Standing and Katz z-factor chart.
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Example: A hydrocarbon gas mixture has a specific gravity of 0.72 and the slope . is
(-0.22). Calculate the isothermal gas compressibility coefficient at 2,000 psia and 140°F by
assuming:
a. An ideal gas behavior
b. A real gas behavior
Solution
a. Assuming an ideal gas behavior, determine cg by applying the following Equation:
Cg=1/P

b. Assuming a real gas behavior

1. Calculate Tpc and ppc by applying the following Equations
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 33

2. Compute ppr and Tpr from the following Equations (T=460+F)

3. Determine the z-factor from chart of z-factor:

z = 0.78
4. Solve for cpr by applying the following Equation:

5. Calculate cg from the following Equation

 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 34

7. Gas Formation Volume Factor

The gas formation volume factor is used to relate the volume of gas, as measured at reservoir
conditions, to the volume of the gas as measured at standard conditions, i.e., 60°F and 14.7
psia. This gas property is then defined as the actual volume occupied by a certain amount of
gas at a specified pressure and temperature, divided by the volume occupied by the same
amount of gas at standard conditions. In an equation form, the relationship is expressed as:
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 35

Assuming that the standard conditions are represented by psc =14.7 psia and
Tsc = 520, the above expression can be reduced to the following relationship:

Above Equation can be expressed in terms of the gas density ρg if combined

with density Equation ( ) to give:
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 36

In other field units, the gas formation volume factor can be expressed in bbl/scf to give:

Similarly, above Equation can be expressed in terms of the gas density ρg by:

The reciprocal of the gas formation volume factor is called the gas expansion factor and
is designated by the symbol Eg, or:

In other field units, the gas expansion factor can be expressed in scf/bbl to give:

or
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 37

Example: A gas well is producing at a rate of 15,000 ft^3/day from a gas reservoir at an
average pressure of 2,000 psia and a temperature of 120°F. The specific gravity is 0.72.
Calculate the gas flow rate in scf/day.

Solution
1. Calculate the pseudo-critical properties from the following Equations to give:
TPc = 395.5 °R,
ppc = 668.4 psia

2. Calculate the ppr and Tpr:

3. Determine the z-factor from chart: z = 0.78

4. Calculate the gas expansion factor from the following equation:
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 38

5. Calculate the gas flow rate in scf/day by multiplying the gas flow rate (in ft^3/day) by
the gas expansion factor Eg as expressed in scf/ft3:

Gas flow rate = (151.15).(15,000) = 2.267 MMscf/day

Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 39

8. Gas Viscosity
The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of the internal fluid friction (resistance) to flow. If
the friction between layers of the fluid is small, i.e., low viscosity, an applied shearing
force will result in a large velocity gradient. As the viscosity increases, each fluid layer
exerts a larger frictional drag on the adjacent layers and velocity gradient decreases.

The viscosity of a fluid is generally defined as the ratio of the shear force per unit area to
the local velocity gradient. Viscosities are expressed in terms of poises, centi-poise, or
micro-poises.

One poise equals a viscosity of 1 dyne-sec/cm^2 and can be converted to other

field units by the following relationships:
1 poise = 100 centi-poises
= 1 × 10^6 micro-poises
= 6.72 × 10^−2 lb mass/ft-sec
= 2.09 × 10^−3 lb-sec/ft^2
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering Lectures Prepared by Dr. Fadhil S. Kadhim 40

The gas viscosity is not commonly measured in the laboratory because it can be
estimated precisely from empirical correlations. Like all intensive properties, viscosity
of a natural gas is completely described by the following function:

μg = (p,T,yi)

Where: μg = the viscosity of the gas phase.

The above relationship simply states that the viscosity is a function of pressure,
temperature, and composition. Many of the widely used gas viscosity correlations may
be viewed as modifications of that expression.

Two popular methods that are commonly used in the petroleum industry are the:
1. Carr-Kobayashi-Burrows Correlation Method
2. Lee-Gonzalez-Eakin Method