PgDip/MSc The Energy Programme PVT Data

PVT Data

Review

This topic introduces the concept of pressure, volume and pressure (PVT)
data. It includes a description of how this data is obtained, and its utilisation
within the reservoir performance model. Laboratory techniques and
empirical correlations will also be discussed.

Content
Two-Phase Flow Overview

As oil flows from a reservoir, into a wellbore and up the production tubing to surface
there is a reduction in pressure. As the pressure reduces gas within the oil expands and
comes out of solution. Depending on the properties of the oil, and the pressure and
temperature within the reservoir, the point at which the oil reaches its saturated state,
(and gas begins to come out of solution) can occur anywhere within the reservoir,
production tubing or surface facilities. Gas liberated from the oil along the flow path may
be:
• collected in a pipeline;
• vented to atmosphere;
• processed to extract natural gas liquids;
• burned as fuel for natural gas liquids;
• stored in an underground storage system;
• re-injected into the producing reservoir.

Any one or a combination of these may be carried out.

The amount of gas dissolved in oil at reservoir conditions is dependant on the overall
composition of the fluid, and the amount of gas remaining in solution at any other
condition depends on the prevailing temperature and pressure. The amount and rate of
gas liberation therefore depends on the pressure and temperature profile along the flow
path. As the gas evolves, the oil decreases in volume until it stabilises in the stock tank
at standard conditions of pressure and temperature. The ratio of the volume of oil at
reservoir conditions (VR) to the volume of oil resulting in the stock tank (VSTO) is called
the formation volume factor (FVF).
To facilitate the calculation of the pressure drop in pipe, it is useful to define the
volumetric fractions occupied by the liquid and gas phases at a given cross section.
These are expressed in Equations 1 and 2 below:
Equation 1 (
EL = A L A L + A g )
Where:
EL Fraction of total area occupied by liquid
AL Cross sectional area occupied by liquid
Ag cross sectional area occupied by gas

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Equation 2 (
E g = 1 − EL = A g A L + A g )
Where:
Eg Fraction of the total area occupied by gas
The term EL is often referred to as liquid hold up, and is utilised in estimating the flow
regime.

Another parameter important to two-phase flow calculations is the apparent density of

the mixtures. It can be approximated using the no-slip assumption. Here, the velocities
of both phases (oil and gas) are assumed to be equal along the flow path. The density is
thus defined as the total mass produced (oil and gas) divided by the total volume of all
three phases. Since the total mass is constant, and only the proportions of the phases
change with pressure and temperature, the mixture density can be expressed as shown
in Equation 3 below:
Equation 3 ρ m = ρ L EL + ρ g (1 − EL )

Where:
ρm Mixture density
ρL Liquid phase density
ρg Gas phase density

This mixture density can be used to calculate the pressure drop due to gravity in vertical
or inclined pipes, and in some correlations it is used to define the Reynolds number (Re)
which is related to the pressure loss due to friction.

Pressure –Temperature Diagrams

To calculate the densities and no-slip hold up it is necessary to determine the volumes
of liquid and gas at the prevailing pressure and temperature at the cross section of the
flow path under consideration. Pressure Volume and Temperature (PVT) correlations
are usually used in volumetric calculations (although more complicated equations of
state may be required for gas condensate fluids).
The pressure – temperature (p-T) diagram is a useful tool for describing the phase
behaviour of oil and gas mixtures as they flow in a production system. The p-T diagram
outlines the regions where the mixture behaves as a single phase, and where it
separates into two phases (gas and oil).
The bubble-point line defines the conditions when a mixture acts as a liquid, and if
pressure is reduced, gas is liberated from a two-phase system. The dew-point line
defines the conditions when a mixture acts as a gas and, if the pressure changes, liquid
is condensed to form a two-phase system.
The point joining the bubble-point and the dew-point is the critical-point, and it
represents a unique thermodynamic condition. A mixture at pressure and temperature
lying outside the two-phase envelope is considered in an undersaturated state.

Figure 1 on the following page shows a typical p-T diagram for a hydrocarbon.

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PgDip/MSc The Energy Programme PVT Data

Figure 1. Typical p-T Diagram.

The red dotted line on the diagram in Figure 1 above represents the change in pressure
and temperature as fluid flows from the reservoir into the wellbore and then through the
production tubing and surface flowlines to the separator. Note that the first stage, from
the reservoir to the wellbore is considered an isothermal process, with only a change
(reduction) in pressure taking place. As the fluid then flows from the wellbore to surface,
pressure and temperature losses occur resulting in an increase of liberated gas from the
fluid. This means that the composition of equilibrium gas and oil phases changes
continuously even though the p-T diagram is unchanged.

PVT Data

The PVT properties of most interest to well performance calculations are volume factors,
solution gas/oil ratio and bubble point pressure. A brief description of each is given
below:
• Gas Volume Factor, Bg, having units of ft3/scf, it is the volume in cubic feet that
one standard cubic foot will occupy at a specific state of temperature and
pressure;
• Oil Volume Factor, Bo, is the volume in barrels occupied by one stock tank barrel
of oil and its associated solution gas when recombined to a single phase liquid at
a specific state of temperature and pressure;
• Water Volume Factor, Bw, is the volume in barrels occupied by one stock tank
barrel of water and possibly some solution gas when recombined to a single
phase liquid at a specific state of temperature and pressure;
• Solution Gas/Oil Ratio, Rs, having units of scf/STB, is the volume of gas in
standard cubic feet that will dissolve (go into solution) in one stock tank barrel of
oil at a given temperature and pressure;
• Bubble Point Pressure, Pb, is the pressure in pounds per square inch at which
gas starts to come out of solution from an oil phase.

In order to obtain this information, a number of laboratory tests are carried out as part of
a reservoir fluid study. The various tests are discussed in the following section.

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Laboratory Testing

In order to obtain PVT data for a given hydrocarbon, it is necessary to conduct a series
of laboratory experiments, also referred to as a reservoir fluid study. There are five main
procedures which must be carried out during the fluid study, and these are conducted on
samples of the reservoir fluid. The following physical properties can be determined from
the analysis:
• bubble-point pressure;
• Formation volume factor of oil;
• Solution gas-oil ratio;
• Total formation volume factor;
• oil viscosity;
• coefficient of isothermal compressibility of oil.

A sample which is representative of the liquid originally in the reservoir must be obtained
for the laboratory work. Obtaining a representative sample of the reservoir liquid
requires great care both in conditioning of the well and in the sampling technique.
Samples can be obtained in one of two ways:
• bottom-hole or subsurface sample;
• separator or surface samples.

For sub-surface sampling, the well is shut-in, and the liquid at the bottom of the well is
sampled. For surface samples, the production rate is carefully controlled while gas and
separator liquid are sampled. These are recombined at the producing ratio in order to
obtain a sample representative of the reservoir liquid.
An oil reservoir must be sampled before the reservoir pressure drops below the bubble
point pressure of the reservoir liquid. At reservoir pressures below the bubble point, no
sampling method will give a sample representative of the original reservoir mixture.
In order to determine these values for the reservoir fluid, the following procedures
must be carried out:
• composition measurement;
• flash vaporisation;
• differential vaporisation;
• separator tests;
• oil viscosity measurements.

These procedures are discussed in the following sections.

Compositions

Hydrocarbons as discussed here are composed of organic chemicals. When the

chemical mixture is composed of small molecules, it is a gas at normal pressures and
temperatures. When larger molecules are present, it is a liquid at normal pressures and
temperatures. Table 1 below lists the gases and crude liquid forms which may be
produced from a reservoir:

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Table 1. Components of Petroleum Fluids.

Fluid Type Approx. Chemical Uses
Composition
Methane CH4
Ethane C2H6
Propane C3H8
Fuel Gas, Bottled
Gas Butanes C4
Fuel Gas,Solvents
Pentanes C5
Hexanes C6
Heptanes C7
Gasolene C5 – C10 Motor Fuel
Kerosene C11 – C12 Jet Fuel
Light Gas Oil C13 – C17 Diesel Fuel
Heavy Gas Oil C18 – C25 Lubricating Oil
Liquid Lubricants & C26 – C38 Paraffin Wax,
Waxes Petroleum Jelly
Residuum > C38 Tars, Roofing
Compounds,
Wood
Preservatives

Determining the composition of every one of the hundreds of different chemical types
present in an oil samples impossible – even determining the composition of a major
fraction of the crude is difficult. In every case, the compositions of all the light
components are determined and all of the heavier components are grouped together in
a plus component.
The usual analysis gives compositions, in mole fraction or mole percent, of the light
hydrocarbons from methane, through hexanes. The fraction reported as hexanes
contains various isomers of hexane as well as some of the lighter naphthenes. The
remaining components are referred to as heptanes plus. The apparent molecular weight
and specific gravity of the heptanes plus fraction is measured in an attempt to
characterise its properties.

Flash Vaporisation

For the flash vaporisation test, a sample of the reservoir liquid is placed in a laboratory
cell. The pressure in the cell is then adjusted so that it is equal to (or greater than) the
initial reservoir pressure. The pressure is then decreased in increments and at each step
the pressure and volume of the reservoir fluid is measured. During the process the cell
is agitated to ensure that all the components are in equilibrium. A typical test cell is
shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. PVT Test Cell.

Once the test is completed, the pressure is plotted against total volume, and a typical
example is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Pressure Volume Plot.

5000
Pressure (psig)

4000

3000

2000
60 62 64 66 68 70
Volume (cc)

From the above graph, the pressure at which the slope of the plot changes is the bubble
point and is often referred to as Vsat.

Differential Vaporisation

In this test, the sample of the reservoir liquid in the laboratory cell is brought to bubble-
point pressure (as derived from the Flash Vaporisation test), and the temperature is set
at reservoir temperature. The pressure is then reduced by increasing the cell volume,
while the cell is agitated to ensure that equilibrium is maintained. The gas is then
expelled from the cell, and the volume (Vo) of the liquid remaining is measured.
This process is repeated in steps until atmospheric pressure is reached. The
temperature is then reduced to 60 deg F and the volume of the remaining liquid is
measured. This final volume is referred to as the residual oil.
Each of the values Vo is then divided by the residual oil value and the result is referred
to as the relative oil volume (BoD).

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The volume of gas removed during each step is measured both at cell conditions and
at standard conditions, and from this the z-factor can be calculated using Equation 4
shown below:

VR ⋅ pR ⋅ Tsc
Equation 3 z=
Vsc ⋅ p sc ⋅ TR

Where:
VR Volume of gas in the cell
pR Test cell pressure
Tsc Standard temperature
Vsc Volume of gas at standard conditions
psc Pressure at standard conditions
TR Test cell temperature

Once the z-factor has been calculated, the formation volume factor of the gas can be
determined, using Equation 4 below:

z ⋅ T ⎡ cu ⋅ ft ⎤
Equation 4 B g = 0.0282 ⋅
p ⎢⎣ scf ⎥⎦

The total amount of gas removed during the entire process is the amount of gas in
solution at the bubble point. This total volume is divided by the volume of residual oil and
the units are converted to standard cubic feet per barrel of residual oil (scf / residual bbl)
and referred to as RsDb.
Therefore, to calculate the gas remaining in solution at any pressure below the bubble
point, the sum of the gas removed (down to and including the pressure of intrest) is
subtracted from the total volume of gas removed, referred to as RsD. The relative total
volume at any pressure can therefore be calculated using Equation 5 below:

Equation 5 B tD = B oD + B g (R sDb − R sD )

Separator Tests

For this test, a sample of the reservoir liquid is placed in the test cell and brought to
reservoir temperature and bubble point pressure.The liquid is then expelled from the cell
in two stages of separation. Pressure in the test cell is maintained at bubble point
pressure by reducing the cell volume as the liquid is expelled..
The temperatures outside the cell (ie, in the separator and stock tank) are set to
represent average conditions in the field. The stock tank is always at atmospheric
pressure. The formation volume factor of oil can therefore be calculated from Equation 6
below:

volume ⋅ of ⋅ liquid ⋅ from ⋅ the ⋅ cell

Equation 6 BoSb =
volume ⋅ of ⋅ liquid ⋅ arriving ⋅ in ⋅ the ⋅ stock tan k

Here the subscript S is used to identify that this is a Separator test, while b indicates that
the test is carried out at bubble point conditions in the reservoir.
The specific gravities of the separator gas and stock-tank gas are measured, and
often the composition of the separator gas is determined. The separator volume factor is
calculated by dividing the volume of separator liquid measured at separator conditions
by the volume of stock-tank oil at standard conditions.

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Viscosity Measurements

Oil viscosity is measured in a rolling or falling ball or capillary viscosimeter or

viscometer. Measurements are made at several values of pressure. The liquid used in
each measurement is the liquid remaining after gas has been removed for that pressure.
The falling-ball viscometer measures the time taken by a solid sphere to travel the
reference distance through an inclined tube filled with the sample. The test results are
given as dynamic viscosity. A typical falling ball viscometer is shown in Figure 4 below.
Figure 4. Falling Ball Viscosimeter.

In capillary methods the test fluid is made to flow through a narrow tube as a result of
hydrostatic or applied pressure. Capillary measurements are considered the most
precise way of determining the viscosity of Newtonian and some non-Newtonian viscous
fluids, and are generally simpler in design and less expensive relative to rotational
instruments. Poiseuille's Law, which relates the rate of flow through a capillary to the
viscosity of the liquid, is the basis for the capillary method. A typical capillary
viscosimeter is show in Figure 5.
Figure 5. A Capillary Viscosimeter.

Obtaining accurate gas viscosity measurements is difficult, and thus gas viscosity is
estimated from correlations using the values of gas specific gravities measured in the
differential liberation.

PVT Correlations

Two limitations of experimental PVT data are cost, and that the measurements are only
made at reservoir temperature. Generalised PVT correlation can also be used to
estimate Bo and Rs, when lacking better information. Standing’s correlations are detailed

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in this section, but it is important to note that there are several other correlations
available for specific oil types from different areas of the world. The procedure for using
the generalised PVT correlation is as follows:

Record the stock tank oil gravity γo, and its equivalent API gravity γAPI, average gas
gravity gg, and producing gas/oil ratio R. The API gravity is calculated from the stock
tank oil gravity using Equation 7 below:

141.5
Equation 7 γ API =
γ o − 131.5

The next stage is to calculate the bubble point pressure at the temperature being
considered. This will determine whether the pressure under consideration is above or
below the bubble point, and therefore whether the oil is saturated or undersaturated.
Standing’s bubble point correlation (1981) is shown in Equation 8:

Equation 8 pb = 18.2 ⋅ (W − 1.4 )

Where W is calculated from Equation 9:

0.83
⎛R ⎞
Equation 9 W =⎜ s ⎟ ⋅ 10 (0.00091⋅T −0.0125⋅γ API )
⎜ γg ⎟
⎝ ⎠

If the pressure, p, under consideration is less than the bubble point pressure pb, then it
is necessary to calculate the amount of gas in solution, Rs, using equation 10:
1.205
⎛ p ⎞
Equation 10 R s = γ g ⋅ ⎜1.4 + ⎟ ⋅ 10 (0.0151⋅γ API −0.0011⋅T )
⎝ 18.2 ⎠

However, if the pressure under consideration is higher than the bubble point pressure,
the solution gas/oil ratio will be equal to the producing gas/oil ratio, and the
undersaturated compressibility, co, must be calculated. The Vazquez (1977) correlation
for co is shown in Equation 11:

co =
(
10 −5 ⋅ − 1433.0 + 5.0 ⋅ R s + 17.2 ⋅ T − 1180.0 ⋅ γ g + 12.61⋅ γ API )
Equation 11
p

Finally the oil formation volume factor Bo can be calculated. For a saturated oil, the
formation volume factor can be determined using Standing’s correlation shown in
Equation 12, however, for undersaturated oil, the formation volume factor is determined
using Equation 14.

Equation 12 Bob = 0.9759 + 12 ⋅ 10 −5 ⋅ Y1.2

Where Y is calculated from Equation 13:

1
⎛ γg ⎞ 2
Equation 13 Y = 1.25 ⋅ T + R s ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
⎝ γo ⎠

For undersaturated oil:

Equation 14 Bo = Bob exp[c o (pb − p )]

In the above equations, temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit, pressure in psi and gas to
oil ratios in scf/STB. All other units are standard oil field units.

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In this topic, we have had a brief look at two-phase flow, the PVT data and its
determination both in the laboratory and using correlations. The utilisation of this data
will be highlighted later.

References

‘Well Performance’, M Golan & CH Whitson, Prentice Hall 1991.

‘The Properties of Petroleum Fluids’, WD McCain Jr, Penwell Publishing 1990.

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