Naturally occurring hydrocarbon systems found in petroleum reservoirs are mixtures of organic

compounds that exhibit multiphase behavior over wide ranges of pressures and temperatures.
These hydrocarbon accumulations may occur in the gaseous state, the liquid state, the solid state,
or in various combinations of gas, liquid, and solid.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESERVOIRS AND RESERVOIR FLUIDS
Petroleum reservoirs are broadly classified as oil or gas reservoirs. These broad 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
The conditions under which these phases exist are a matter of considerable practical importance.
The experimental or the mathematical determinations of these conditions are conveniently
expressed in different types of diagrams commonly called phase diagrams. One such diagram is
called the pressure-temperature diagram.
Pressure-Temperature Diagram
Phase behavior describes the complex
interaction between physically distinct,
separable portions of matter called phases that
are in contact with each other. Typical phases
are solids, liquids and vapors. Phase behavior
plays a vital role in many petroleum
applications, such as:

Enhanced oil recovery

Compositional simulation

Geochemical behavior

Wellbore stability

Geothermal energy

Environmental cleanup

Multiphase flow in wellbores and pipes

Surface facilities
Each hydrocarbon system would have a different phase diagram, the general configuration is
similar. 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
To fully understand the significance of the pressure-temperature diagrams, it is necessary to
identify and define the following key points on these diagrams:
Cricondentherm (Tct)The Cricondentherm is defined as the maximum temperature above
which liquid cannot be formed. The corresponding pressure is termed the Cricondentherm
pressure pct.
Cricondenbar (pcb)The Cricondenbar is the maximum pressure above which no gas can be
formed. The corresponding temperature is called the Cricondenbar temperature Tcb.
Critical pointThe 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.
At the critical point, the corresponding pressure and temperature are called the critical pressure
pc and critical temperature Tc of the mixture.
Phase envelope (two-phase region)The region enclosed by the bubble-point curve and the
dew-point curve, wherein gas and liquid coexist in equilibrium, is identified as the phase
envelope of the hydrocarbon system.
Quality linesThe 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).
Bubble-point curveThe bubble-point curve is defined as the line separating the liquid-phase
region from the two-phase region.
Dew-point curveThe dew-point curve is defined as the line separating the vapor-phase
region from the two-phase region.
Pure-component Systems
Let us start with a well-known single component system: water the most plentiful substance
on earth. What is the behavior of water under different conditions of pressure and temperature?
Or even more specific, is there a single answer to the question: what is the boiling point of
water? Most people would say, of course, 100 C, but a more accurate response would pose a
clarifying question: At what pressure? It is common knowledge that water boils at 100 C (212
F) at atmospheric pressure. By requiring a pressure specification in order to uniquely define the
boiling point of water, we are acknowledging that the boiling temperature of a pure substance
is pressure-dependent. In reality, we are also implicitly applying a very useful thermodynamic
principle, the Gibbs Rule
Phase diagrams for a single component
Fig. 1 summarizes the phase behavior of a single component. The saturation curves shown
in Fig. 1 indicate the temperatures and pressures at which phase changes occur. At temperatures
below the triple point, the component forms a vapor phase if the pressure is below that indicated
by the sublimation curve and forms a solid phase at pressures above the curve. At pressures and
temperatures lying on the sublimation curve, solid and vapor can coexist. At pressures and
temperatures on the melting curve, solid and liquid are in equilibrium. At higher temperatures,
liquid and vapor can coexist along the vaporization or vapor-pressure curve. If the pressure is
greater than the vapor pressure, a liquid forms; if the pressure is lower than the vapor pressure, a
vapor forms. The vapor-pressure curve terminates at the critical point. At temperatures above the
critical temperature, Tc, a single phase forms over the entire range of pressures. For a single
component, the critical temperature is the maximum temperature at which two phases can exist.
Critical temperatures of hydrocarbons vary widely. Small hydrocarbon molecules have low
critical temperatures, while large hydrocarbon molecules have much higher critical temperatures.
Critical pressures generally decline as the molecular size increases. For instance, the critical
temperature and pressure of C1 are 117F and 668 psia; for decane, the values are 652F and 304
psia.

For many reservoir engineering applications, liquid/vapor equilibrium is of greatest interest,

although liquid/liquid equilibria are important in some EOR processes. Solid/liquid phase
changes, such as asphaltene or paraffin precipitation (see Oil emulsions), occasionally occur in
petroleum production operations.

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Fig. 2 shows typical volumetric behavior of a single component in the range of temperatures and
pressures near the vapor-pressure curve in Fig. 1. If the substance under consideration is placed
in a pressure cell at constant temperature, T1, below Tcand at a low pressure (point A, for
instance), it forms a vapor phase of high volume (low density). If the volume of the sample is
decreased with the temperature held constant, the pressure rises. When the pressure
reaches pv(T1) , the sample begins to condense. The pressure remains constant at the vapor
pressure until the sample volume is reduced from the saturated vapor volume (VV) to that of the
saturated liquid (VL). With further reductions in volume, the pressure rises again as the liquid
phase is compressed. Small decreases in volume give rise to large pressure increases in the liquid
phase because of the low compressibility of liquids. At a fixed temperature, T2, above the critical
temperature, no phase change is observed over the full range of volumes and pressures. Instead,
the sample can be compressed from high volume (low density) and low pressure to low volume
(high density) and high pressure with only one phase present.

In general, reservoirs are conveniently classified on the basis of the location of the point
representing the initial reservoir pressure pi and temperature T with respect to the pressure-
temperature diagram of the reservoir fluid. Accordingly, reservoirs can be classified into
basically two types. These are:

Oil reservoirsIf the reservoir temperature T is less than the critical temperature Tc of the
reservoir fluid, the reservoir is classified as an oil reservoir.
Gas reservoirsIf the reservoir temperature is greater than the critical temperature of the
hydrocarbon fluid, the reservoir is considered a gas reservoir.
Oil Reservoirs
Depending upon initial reservoir pressure pi, oil reservoirs can be sub- classified into the
following categories:
1. Undersaturated oil reservoir. If the initial reservoir pressure pi is greater than the bubble-
point pressure pb of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is labeled an undersaturated oil reservoir.
2. Saturated oil reservoir. When the initial reservoir pressure is equal to the bubble-point
pressure of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is called a saturated oil reservoir.
3. Gas-cap reservoir. If the initial reservoir pressure is below the bubble- point pressure of the
reservoir fluid, the reservoir is termed a gas-cap or two-phase reservoir, in which the gas or
vapor phase is underlain by an oil phase. The appropriate quality line gives the ratio of the gas-
cap volume to reservoir oil volume.
Crude oils cover a wide range in physical properties and chemical compositions, and it is often
important to be able to group them into broad categories of related oils. In general, crude oils are
commonly classified into the following types:
Ordinary black oil
Low-shrinkage crude oil
High-shrinkage (volatile) crude oil
Near-critical crude oil
Gas Reservoirs
In general, if the reservoir temperature is above the critical temperature of the hydrocarbon
system, the reservoir is classified as a natural gas reservoir. On the basis of their phase diagrams
and the prevailing reservoir conditions, natural gases can be classified into four categories:
Retrograde gas-condensate
Near-critical gas-condensate
Wet gas
Dry gas
Retrograde gas-condensate reservoir. If the reservoir temperature T lies between the critical
temperature Tc and cricondentherm Tct of the reservoir fluid, the reservoir is classified as a
retrograde gas- condensate reservoir.
Near-critical gas-condensate reservoir. If the reservoir temperature is near the critical
temperature, the hydrocarbon mixture is classified as a near-critical gas-condensate.
Wet-gas reservoir. When reservoir temperature is above the cricondentherm of the hydrocarbon
mixture. Because the reservoir temperature exceeds the cricondentherm of the hydrocarbon
system, the reservoir fluid will always remain in the vapor phase region as the reservoir is
depleted isothermally.
Dry-gas reservoir. The hydrocarbon mixture exists as a gas both in the reservoir and in the
surface facilities. The only liquid associated with the gas from a dry-gas reservoir is water.
PROPERTIES OF NATURAL GASES
A gas is defined as a homogeneous fluid of low viscosity and density that has no definite volume
but expands to completely fill the vessel in which it is placed. Generally, the natural gas is a
mixture of hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon gases. The hydrocarbon gases that are normally
found in a natural gas are methanes, ethanes, propanes, butanes, pentanes, and small amounts of
hexanes and heavier. The nonhydrocarbon gases (i.e., impurities) include carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, and nitrogen.
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:
Apparent molecular weight, Ma
Specific gravity, g
Compressibility factor, z
Density, g
Specific volume, v
Isothermal gas compressibility coefficient, cg
Gas formation volume factor, Bg
Gas expansion factor, Eg
Viscosity, g
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
Standard Volume
The volume occupied by 1 lb-mole of gas at a reference pressure and temperature. These
reference conditions are usually 14.7 psia and 60F, 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.
Density
The density of an ideal gas mixture is calculated by simply replacing the molecular weight of the
pure component in Equation 2-4 with the apparent molecular weight of the gas mixture to give:
where g= density of the gas mixture, lb/ft3 Ma= apparent molecular weight
Specific Volume
The specific volume is defined as the volume occupied by a unit mass of the gas.
Specific Gravity
The specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the gas density to that of the air.