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Crude Oil Characterisation
Crude Oil Characterisation
Contents
◾ 1 Regional trends in crude oil composition
◾ 1.1 Classification of hydrocarbons based on structure
◾ 1.2 Resins and asphaltenes
◾ 1.3 Full component characterization
◾ 2 API gravity
◾ 3 Characterization factor
◾ 4 Use of characterization factor
◾ 5 Relationship between crude oil gravity and characterization parameter
◾ 6 Nomenclature
◾ 7 References
◾ 8 Noteworthy papers in OnePetro
◾ 9 External links
◾ 10 See also
◾ Paraffinic
◾ Napthenic
◾ Aromatic
Because of the differences in composition, correlations developed from regional samples, predominantly of one
chemical base, may not provide satisfactory results when applied to crude oils from other regions.
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Classification of hydrocarbons based on structure
Hydrocarbons are classified according to the structure of the molecule.[1] Paraffin hydrocarbons are characterized by
open or straight chains joined by single bonds. Examples are:
◾ Methane
◾ Ethane
◾ Propane
◾ Decane
Isomers of these compounds, which contain branched chains, are also included as paraffins. The first four members of
the series are gaseous at room temperature and pressure. Compounds ranging from pentane (C5H12) through
heptadecane (C17H36) are liquids, while the heavier members are colorless, wax-like solids. Unsaturated hydrocarbons,
which consist of olefins, diolefins, and acetylenes, have double and triple bonds in the molecule. These compounds are
highly reactive and are not normally present to any great extent in crude oil. Naphthene hydrocarbons are ringed
molecules and are also called cycloparaffins. These compounds, like the paraffins, are saturated and very stable. They
make up a second primary constituent of crude oil. Aromatic hydrocarbons are also cyclic but are derivatives of
benzene. The rings are characterized by alternating double bonds and, in contrast to olefins, are quite stable, though not
as stable as paraffins. Crude oils are complex mixtures of these hydrocarbons. Oils containing primarily paraffin
hydrocarbons are called paraffin-based or paraffinic. Traditional examples are Pennsylvania grade crude oils.
Naphthenic-based crudes contain a large percentage of cycloparaffins in the heavy components. Examples of this type of
crude come from the US midcontinent region. Highly aromatic crudes are less common but are still found around the
world.[2] Crude oils tend to be a mixture of paraffins-naphthenes-aromatics, with paraffins and naphthenes the
predominant species. Fig. 1, although not complete, shows a distribution of crude oil samples obtained worldwide.
Geochemical analyses provided the crude’s chemical nature.
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[3][4]
Resins and asphaltenes may also be present in crude oil. Resins and asphaltenes are the colored and black
components found in oil and are made up of relatively high-molecular-weight, polar, polycyclic, aromatic ring
compounds. Pure asphaltenes are nonvolatile, dry, solid, black powders, while resins are heavy liquids or sticky solids
with the same volatility as similarly sized hydrocarbons. High-molecular-weight resins tend to be red in color, while
lighter resins are less colored. Asphaltenes do not dissolve in crude oil but exist as a colloidal suspension. They are
soluble in aromatic compounds such as xylene, but will precipitate in the presence of light paraffinic compounds such as
pentane. Resins, on the other hand, are readily soluble in oil.
No crude oil has ever been completely separated into its individual components, although many components can be
identified. Table 2 lists the more important compounds in a sample of Oklahoma crude. A total of 141 compounds were
identified in this oil sample that account for 44% of the total crude volume. Despite this complexity, several properties
relevant to petroleum engineers can be determined from black oil PVT correlations.
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Table 2
API gravity
The petroleum industry uses API gravity as the preferred gravity scale, which is related to specific gravity as
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Characterization factor
Whitson[5] has suggested use of the Watson[6][7] characterization factor as a means of further characterizing crude oils
and components. In 1933, Watson and Nelson introduced a ratio between the mean average boiling point and specific
gravity that could be used to indicate the chemical nature of hydrocarbon fractions and, therefore, could be used as a
correlative factor. Characterization factors are calculated with
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Table 1 provides values of Watson characterization factors for selected pure components classified as paraffins,
naphthenes, or aromatics. The characterization factor values provide insight into their use.
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Table 1
Crude oils typically have characterization factors ranging from 11 to 12.5. Table 2 was derived from assay data
available in the public domain. It samples crudes from around the world and can be used to provide insight into PVT
behavior on a regional basis.
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Table 2 Table 2
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Table 2
The properties of the heptanes-plus fraction in the stock tank crude oil are an additional source that can provide insight
into the Watson characterization factor. It is important to account for the lighter paraffin components found in the oil to
arrive at the characterization factor for the entire crude.
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Nomenclature
γo = oil specific gravity
γAPI = oil API gravity
Kw = Watson characterization factor, °R1/3
Tb = mean average boiling point temperature, T, °R
Mo = oil molecular weight, m, lbm/lbm mol
References
1. ↑ Burcik, E.J. 1957. Properties of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids, Chap. 1. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
2. ↑ Pirson, S.J. 1977. Oil Reservoir Engineering, 303–304. Huntington, New York: Robert E. Krieger Publishing.
3. ↑ Allen, T.O. and Roberts, A.P. 1982. Production Operations: Well Completions, Workover, and Stimulation,
second edition, Vol. 2. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Oil and Gas Consultants International.
4. ↑ McCain, W.D. Jr. 1990. The Properties of Petroleum Fluids, second edition. Tulsa, Oklahoma: PennWell
Publishing Company.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Whitson, C.H. 1983. Characterizing Hydrocarbon Plus Fractions. SPE J. 23 (4): 683-694. SPE-12233-PA.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/12233-PA (http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/12233-PA)
6. ↑ Watson, K.M. and Nelson, E.F. 1933. Improved Methods for Approximating Critical and Thermal Properties of
Petroleum. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 25 (1933): 880.
7. ↑ Watson, K.M., Nelson, E.F., and Murphy, G.B. 1935. Characterization of Petroleum Fractions. Industrial and
Engineering Chemistry 7 (1935): 1460–1464.
8. ↑ Riazi, M.R. and Daubert, T.E. 1980. Simplify Property Predictions. Hydrocarb. Process. 59 (3): 115–116.
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External links
Use this section to provide links to relevant material on websites other than PetroWiki and OnePetro
See also
Oil fluid characteristics (/Oil_fluid_characteristics)
PEH:Oil_System_Correlations (/PEH%3AOil_System_Correlations)
(http://wiki.seg.org/index.php?title=Special%
3ASearch&redirs=1&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns4=1&ns500=1&redirs=1&title=Special%
(http://wiki.aapg.org/index.php?title=Special%
3ASearch&profile=advanced&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns4=1&ns102=1&ns104=1&ns106=1&ns108=1&ns420=1&ns828=1&redirs=1&profile=advanced&search=Cr
oil characterization)
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