Fluid properties

Reservoir fluid sampling is usually done early in the field life in order to use the results in the evaluation of the field and in the process facilities design. Once the field has been produced and the reservoir pressure changes, the fluid properties will change as described in the previous section. Early sampling is therefore an opportunity to collect unaltered fluid samples. 

Below is a typical oil PVT table which is the result of PVT analysis, and which would be used by the reservoir engineer in calculation of reservoir fluid properties with pressure. The initial reservoir pressure is 6000 psia, and the bubble point pressure of the oil Is 980 psia. 

In Section 5.2.8 we shall look at pressure-depth relationships, and will see that the relationship is a linear function of the density of the fluid. Since water is the one fluid which is always associated with a petroleum reservoir, an understanding of what controls formation water density is required. Additionally, reservoir engineers need to know the fluid properties of the formation water to predict its expansion and movement, which can contribute significantly to the drive mechanism in a reservoir, especially if the volume of water surrounding the hydrocarbon accumulation is large. 

The fluid properties of formation water may be looked up on correlation charts, as may most of the properties of oil and gas so far discussed. Many of these correlations are also available as computer programmes. It is always worth checking the range of applicability of the correlations, which are often based on empirical measurements and are grouped into fluid types (e.g. California light gases). 

Reservoir engineers describe the relationship between the volume of fluids produced, the compressibility of the fluids and the reservoir pressure using material balance techniques. This approach treats the reservoir system like a tank, filled with oil, water, gas, and reservoir rock in the appropriate volumes, but without regard to the distribution of the fluids (i.e. the detailed movement of fluids inside the system). Material balance uses the PVT properties of the fluids described in Section 5.2.6, and accounts for the variations of fluid properties with pressure. The technique is firstly useful in predicting how reservoir pressure will respond to production. Secondly, material balance can be used to reduce uncertainty in volumetries by measuring reservoir pressure and cumulative production during the producing phase of the field life. An example of the simplest material balance equation for an oil reservoir above the bubble point will be shown In the next section. 

Permeability (k) is a rock property, while viscosity (fi) is a fluid property. A typical oil viscosity is 0.5 cP, while a typical gas viscosity is 0.01 cP, water being around 0.3 cP. For a given reservoir, gas is therefore around two orders of magnitude more mobile than oil or water. In a gas reservoir underlain by an aquifer, the gas is highly mobile compared to the water and flows readily to the producers, provided that the permeability in the reservoir is continuous. For this reason, production of gas with zero water cut is common, at least in the early stages of development when the perforations are distant from the gas-water contact. 

Reservoir simulation is a technique in which a computer-based mathematical representation of the reservoir is constructed and then used to predict its dynamic behaviour. The reservoir is gridded up into a number of grid blocks. The reservoir rock properties (porosity, saturation, and permeability), and the fluid properties (viscosity and the PVT properties) are specified for each grid block. 

Composition - which describes the proportion of hydrocarbon components (C, - Cj+) (which determine the fluid properties), and how many non-hydrocarbon substances (e.g. nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide) are present. 

In addition to fluid properties it is important to know how volumes and rates w change at the wellhead over the life of the well or field. Production profiles are required for oil, water and gas in order to size facilities, and estimates of wellhead temperatures and pressures (over time) are used to determine how the character of the production stream will change. If reservoir pressure support is planned, details of injected water or gas which may ultimately appear in the well stream are required. 

Fluid samples will be taken using downhole sample bombs or the MDT tool in selected development wells to confirm the PVT properties assumed in the development plan, and to check for areal and vertical variations in the reservoir. In long hydrocarbon columns (say 1000 ft) it is common to observe vertical variation of fluid properties due to gravity segregation. 

Eactors that could potentiaHy affect microbial retention include filter type, eg, stmcture, base polymer, surface modification chemistry, pore size distribution, and thickness fluid components, eg, formulation, surfactants, and additives sterilization conditions, eg, temperature, pressure, and time fluid properties, eg, pH, viscosity, osmolarity, and ionic strength and process conditions, eg, temperature, pressure differential, flow rate, and time. 

A number of considerations should be evaluated before a flow measurement method can be selected for any appHcation. These considerations can be divided into four general classifications fluid properties ambient environment measurement requirements and economics. 

The flow velocity is thus proportional to the difference in transit time between the upstream and downstream directions and to the square of the speed of sound in the fluid. Because sonic velocity varies with fluid properties, some designs derive compensation signals from the sum of the transit times which can also be shown to be proportional to C. 

Although numerous mud additives aid in obtaining the desired drilling fluid properties, water-based muds have three basic components water, reactive soHds, and inert soHds. The water forming the continuous phase may be fresh water, seawater, or salt water. The reactive soHds are composed of commercial clays, incorporated hydratable clays and shales from drilled formations, and polymeric materials, which may be suspended or dissolved in the water phase. SoHds, such as barite and hematite, are chemically inactive in most mud systems. Oil and synthetic muds contain, in addition, an organic Hquid as the continuous phase plus water as the discontinuous phase. 

Procedures for determining drilling fluid properties ate available (21,22,166). Tests and test methods ate constantly reviewed by API committees to ensure acceptable accuracy when performed under field conditions as well as in the laboratory. API pubHcations ate tepubUshed as new tests ate added or existing tests ate modified. 

An alternative to the use of generalized charts is an analytical equation of state. Equations of state which are expressed as a function of reduced properties and nondimensional variables are said to be generalized. The term generalization is in reference to the wide appHcabiHty to the estimation of fluid properties for many substances. 

K. Lucas, Phase Equilibrium and Fluid Properties in the Chemical Industry, Dechema, Erankfurt, 1980. 

Simplified Dimensional Equations Equation (5-32) is a dimensionless equation, and any consistent set of units may be used. Simphfied dimensional equations have been derived for air, water, and organic hquids by rearranging Eq. (5-32) into the following form by collecting the fluid properties into a single factor ... 

Mass-Transfer Coefficient Denoted by /c, K, and so on, the mass-transfer coefficient is the ratio of the flux to a concentration (or composition) difference. These coefficients generally represent rates of transfer that are much greater than those that occur by diffusion alone, as a result of convection or turbulence at the interface where mass transfer occurs. There exist several principles that relate that coefficient to the diffusivity and other fluid properties and to the intensity of motion and geometry. Examples that are outlined later are the film theoiy, the surface renewal theoiy, and the penetration the-oiy, all of which pertain to ideahzed cases. For many situations of practical interest like investigating the flow inside tubes and over flat surfaces as well as measuring external flowthrough banks of tubes, in fixed beds of particles, and the like, correlations have been developed that follow the same forms as the above theories. Examples of these are provided in the subsequent section on mass-transfer coefficient correlations. 

In all of these configurations, maintaining longitudinal flow on both the shellside and tubeside allows the decision for placement of a fluid stream on either one side or the other to be based upon design efficiency (mass flow rates, fluid properties, pressure drops, and veloci-... 

The heat requirements in batch evaporation are the same as those in continuous evaporation except that the temperature (and sometimes pressure) of the vapor changes during the course of the cycle. Since the enthalpy of water vapor changes but little relative to temperature, the difference between continuous and batch heat requirements is almost always negligible. More important usually is the effect of variation of fluid properties, such as viscosity and boiling-point rise, on heat transfer. These can only be estimated by a step-by-step calculation. 

It is seldom possible to specify an initial mixer design requirement for an absolute bubble size prediction, particularly if coalescence and dispersion are involved. However, if data are available on the actual system, then many of these correlations could be used to predict relative changes in drop size conditions with changes in fluid properties or impeller variables. 

Note in Eq. (18-112) that Vg is the settling rate under Ig, and it is a function of the particle size and density and fluid properties. The ratio ( /2Vg is then related only to the operating speed and geometry of the centrifuge, as well as to the size recoveiy. It measures the required... 

Moisture may create poor discharge conditions because of material sticking to the belt and to chutes, or it may even reduce capacity if it is present in enough quantity to give the material fluid properties. Even though abrasion may create problems with belt conveyors, these are easier to solve with properly designed belt systems than with most other conveyors. 

Provide adequate heat transfer surface area or temperature gradient (keeping in mind that fluid properties and temperature change as the reaction progresses)... 

These mixers are specified when one liquid must be dissolved in another, a solid and a liquid must be mixed, a high viscosity liquid must be reacted, a light liquid must be extracted from a mixture of heavy and light liquids, or when gas must be absorbed in a liquid. To select the proper mixer, certain fluid properties must be know n ... 

Predicting the appropriate level of duetile fraeture resistance involves an analysis of fluid properties, operating conditions, and material properties. For natural gas pipelines containing mostly methane with very... 

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