Properties of crude oil

Introduction
 Introduction
Petroleum (an equivalent term is a crude oil) is a complex mixture consisting predominantly of
hydrocarbons and containing sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and helium as minor constituents. The
physical and chemical properties of crude oils vary considerably and depend on the
concentration of the various types of hydro carbons and minor constituents present.
Oil Viscosity
 Oil Viscosity
The viscosity, in general, is defined as the internal resistance of the fluid to
flow , and is given in units of centipoises (CP). For oil, the viscosity
decreases with increasing temperature and pressure (up to the bubble
point). Above the bubble point pressure, oil viscosity increases minimally
with increasing pressure-oil viscosity should be determined by laboratory
measurements at reservoir temperature and pressure. The viscosity is
usually reported in standard PVT analyses.
 Oil Viscosity
According to the pressure, the viscosity of crude oils can be classified into three categories:

• Dead-Oil Viscosity
The dead-oil viscosity is defined as the viscosity of crude oil at atmospheric pressure (no
gas in solution) and system temperature.
 Oil Viscosity

• Saturated-Oil Viscosity
The saturated (bubble-point)-oil viscosity is defined as the viscosity of the crude oil at the
bubble-point pressure and reservoir temperature.

Undersaturated-Oil Viscosity
The undersaturated-oil viscosity is defined as the viscosity of the crude oil at a pressure
above the bubble-point and reservoir temperature.
Oil API Gravity
Pressure,Mpa
API Gravity
API Gravity
The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or
light a petroleum liquid .
A crude oil will typically have an API between 15 and 45 degrees. Higher API indicates a
lighter (lower density) crude. Lower API indicates a heavier (more dense) crude.
The crude oil can be classified according to API as follows :
Calculation of API gravity

Hydrometer method

This method determines the °API of petroleum and petroleum

products. The sample is poured into a jacketed glass cylinder and
brought to the test temperature(60° F)or(15°c). A hydrometer is
placed in the sample, gently spun to dislodge any adhering air
bubbles, given time to equilibrate and the scale is read.

but in case of unavailability of experimental facilities, we resort

to empirically derived correlation by the following expression:

141.5
API°= - 131.5
𝛄°
Hydrometer
Pressure-Temperature
Diagram
 Pressure-Temperature
Diagram
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
Diagram
Bubble
Point
Pressure
 Bubble Point Pressure

Introduction
BUBBLE POINT PRESSURE (pb):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.

HOW TO MEASSURE THE BUBBLE POINT?

EXPERIMENTALLY :This important property can be measured experimentally

for a crude oil system by conducting a constant-composition expansion test.
 Bubble Point Pressure
MATHMATICALLY:

1. Standing 2. The Vasquez-Beggs Correlation

0.83 𝐶2
𝑅 𝐶1 𝑅𝑠 𝑎
𝑝𝑏 = 18.2 10 𝑎 − 1.4 𝑝𝑏 = 10
𝛾𝑔 𝛾𝑔𝑠

𝑎 = 0.00091 𝑇 − 460 − 0.0125(𝐴𝑃𝐼) 𝐴𝑃𝐼

𝑎 = −𝐶3
𝑇
 Bubble Point Pressure
3. Glaso’s Correlation 4. Marhoun’s Correlation

log 𝑝𝑏 = 1.7669 + 1.7447 log 𝑝𝑏∗ − 0.30218 [log 𝑝𝑏∗ ]2 𝑝𝑏 = 𝑎𝑅𝑠𝑏 𝛾𝑔𝑐 𝛾𝑜𝑑 𝑇 𝑒
𝑎
𝑅𝑠
𝑝𝑏∗ = 𝑡 𝑏
𝐴𝑃𝐼 𝑐
𝛾𝑔
a=5.38088×10-3 ,b=0.715082,

c=-1.32657,d=3.1437,e=1.32657
a=0.816, b=0.172 ,c=-0.989
 Bubble Point Pressure

5. The Petrosky-Farshad Correlation

112.727𝑅𝑠0.577421
𝑝𝑏 = 0.8439 𝑥
− 1391.051
𝛾𝑔 10

𝑥 = 7.916 10−4 𝐴𝑃𝐼 1.5410

− 4.56 10−5 𝑇 − 460 1.3911
The crude oil density
and sulpher content
 The 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. It is usually expressed in pounds per cubic
foot.
Equation may be used to calculate the density of the oil at pressure below or equal
to the bubble-point pressure. Solving Equation for the oil density gives:

62.4 𝑦𝑛 +0.0136𝑅𝑠 𝑅𝑔
ρo=
𝐵𝑜

where go = specific gravity of the stock-tank oil

Rs = gas solubility, scf/STB
ρo = oil density, lb/f𝑏3
 The crude oil density

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

𝜌𝑜 =𝜌𝑜𝑏 𝑒𝑥𝑝[𝐶𝑜 (P-𝑃𝑏 )]

where Po = density of the oil at pressure p, lb/𝑓𝑡 3

ρob = density of the oil at the bubble-point pressure, lb/𝑓𝑡 3
co = isothermal compressibility coefficient at average pressure, 𝑝𝑠𝑖 −1
 The crude oil density

the density of a crude oil at a specified pressure and temperature can be calculated from the
following expression:

62.4 𝑦𝑛 +0.0136𝑅𝑠 𝑦𝑔
ρo= 1.175
𝑦𝑔 5
𝑅𝑠 𝑦 +1.25 𝑇−460 0.972+0.000147
𝑢

T = system temperature, ° R
𝑦𝑜 = specific gravity of the stock-tank oil
 Sulphur contnent
Sulfur content and API gravity are two properties which have had the greatest
influence on the value of crude oil, although nitrogen and metals contents are
increasing in importance. The sulfur content is expressed as percent sulfur by
weight and varies from less than 0.1% to greater than 5%.

The Sulphur content of crude oils varies from less than 0.05 to more than 10 wt%
but generally falls in the range 1–4 wt%. Crude oil with less than 1 wt% sulphur is
referred to as low sulphur or sweet, and that with more than 1 wt% sulphur is
referred to as high sulphur or soue
Specific gravity
 Specific gravity

Data on most of these fluid properties are usually determined by laboratory

experiments performed on samples of actual reservoir fluids. In the
absence of experimentally measured properties of crude oils, it is
necessary for the petroleum engineer to determine the properties from
empirically derived correlations.
 Crude Oil Gravity

The specific gravity of a crude oil is defined as the ratio of the density of the oil to that
of water. Both densities are measured at 60°F and atmospheric pressure:

𝑝𝑜
𝑌𝑜 =
𝑝𝑤

Where 𝑌𝑜 = specific gravity of the oil

𝑝𝑜 = density of the crude oil , Ib/𝑓𝑡 3
𝑝𝑤 = density of the water , Ib/𝑓𝑡 3
 Crude Oil Gravity

It should be pointed out that the liquid specific gravity is dimension

less, but traditionally is given the units 60°/60° to emphasize the fact
that
both densities are measured at standard conditions. The density of
the
water is approximately 62.4 lb/𝑓𝑡 3
Example
Example : Calculate the specific gravity and the API gravity of a crude oil
system with a measured density of 53 lb/ft3 at standard conditions

Solution:

Step(1): Calculate the specific gravity from Equation

53
𝑦𝑜 = = 0.849
62.4

Step(2): Solve for the API gravity:

141.5
API = - 131.5 = 35.2𝑜 API
0.849
Oil Formation Volume
Factor
 Oil Formation Volume
Factor
The oil formation volume factor, Bo, is defined as the ratio of the vol-
ume of oil (plus the gas in solution) at the prevailing reservoir tempera-
ture and pressure to the volume of oil at standard conditions. Bo is always
greater than or equal to unity. The oil formation volume factor can be
expressed mathematically as:

(𝑉𝑜)
𝑃.𝑇
𝐵𝑜 =
(𝑉0 )𝑠𝑐

where Bo = oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB

(Vo)p,T= volume of oil under reservoir pressure p and temperature T, bbl
(Vo)sc = volume of oil is measured under standard conditions, STB
 Oil Formation Volume
Factor
A typical oil formation factor curve, as a function of pressure for an
undersaturated crude oil (pi > pb), is shown in Figure 2-8. 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 for-
mation 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
Oil formation volume
factor versus pressure.
Solution gas oil ratio
(GOR)
 Solution gas oil ratio
(GOR)
The solution gas-oil ratio is the amount of gas dissolved in the oil at any pressure. It
increases approximately linearly with pressure and is a function of the oil and gas
composition. A heavy oil contains less dissolved gas than a light oil. In general, the solution
gas-oil ratio varies from 0 (dead oil) to approximately 2000 scf/bbl (very light oil). The
solution gas-oil ratio increases with pressure until the bubble point pressure is reached,
after which it is a constant, and the oil is said to be under-saturated.
 Total Formation Volume Factor

This property defines the total volume of a system regardless of the number of phases present. The
total formation volume factor, denoted Bt, is defined as the ratio of the total volume of the
hydrocarbon mixture (i.e., oil and gas, if present), at the prevailing pressure and temperature per unit
volume of the stock-tank oil[3]. Mathematically, Bt is defined by the following relationship:

(𝑉𝑜 )𝑝,𝑇 + (𝑉𝑔)𝑝,𝑇

𝐵𝑡 =
(𝑉𝑜 )𝑠𝑐
Where 𝐵𝑡 = totsl formation volume factor , bbl/STP
(𝑉𝑜 )𝑝,𝑇 = volume of the oil at P and T , bbl
(𝑉𝑔 )𝑝,𝑇 = volume of the liberated gas at P and T , bbl
(𝑉𝑜 )𝑠𝑐 = volume of the oil at standard condition STP
 Total Formation Volume Factor

Notice that above the bubble point pressure, no free gas exists and the expression is
reduced to the equation that describes the oil formation volume factor, that is:

(𝑉𝑜 )𝑝,𝑇 +0 (𝑉𝑜)

𝑃.𝑇
𝐵𝑡 = = = 𝐵𝑜
(𝑉𝑜 )𝑠𝑐 (𝑉𝑜)
𝑠𝑐

Bo and Bt are identical at pressures above or equal to the bubble-point pressure because
only one phase, the oil phase, exists at these pressures. It should also be noted that at
pressures below the bubble-point pressure, the difference in the values of the two oil
properties represents the volume of the evolved solution gas as measured at system
conditions per stock-tank barrel of oil
Bt and Bo vs. Pressure
Thanks you for watching