People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

University of Kasdi Merbah – Ouargla

Faculty of Hydrocarbons, Renewable Energies, Earth Sciences and

the Universe.
Production Department

RESERVOIR FLUID VOLUMETRIC

PROPERTIES

Prepared by:

 CHEBOUKI Sawsen
 RAHMANI Abdelmonaim
 CHERFAOUI Safa
 Reservoir Fluid Volumetric Properties

Introduction
The importance of PVT analysis was stressed for relating observed volumes of gas
production at the surface to the corresponding underground withdrawal. For gas this
relationship could be obtained merely by determining the single or two phase Z−factor, and
using it in the equation of state. The basic PVT analysis required to relate surface production to
underground withdrawal for an oil reservoir is necessarily more complex due to the presence,
below the bubble point pressure, of both a liquid oil and free gas phase in the reservoir.

In this report we concentrate on defining the three main formation volume factors
required to relate surface to reservoir volumes, for an oil reservoir.

I. Formation Volume Factor

In petroleum industry, the term “formation volume factor” is widely used. It expresses
which volume is taken up by one cubic meter (at standard state conditions, P and V at a pressure
p and a temperature T.

1. Gas formation volume factor.

The gas formation volume factor is used to relate the volume of gas, as measured at
reservoir conditions, to the volume of the gas as measured at standard conditions, i.e., 60°F and
14.7 psia. This gas property is then defined as the actual volume occupied by a certain amount
of gas at a specified pressure and temperature, divided by the volume occupied by the same
amount of gas at standard conditions. In an equation form, the relationship is expressed as:

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 Reservoir Fluid Volumetric Properties

𝐯𝐨𝐥. 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Vres

𝐁𝐠 = =
𝐯𝐨𝐥. 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 V std

The real gas equation of state is : 𝐩𝐯 = 𝐳𝐑𝐓

𝑝 : gas absolute pressure (psia)
𝑣 : Gas volume (cu.ft)
𝑅 : Gas constant
𝑧 : Gas compressibility
𝑇 : Absolute gas temperature
Writing the equation for the same gas at two conditions: reservoir and standard conditions
gives:
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠 × 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 𝑍𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑅 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑃𝑠𝑡𝑑 × 𝑉𝑠𝑡𝑑 = 𝑍𝑠𝑡𝑑 𝑅 𝑇𝑠𝑡𝑑
At low pressure, real gases behave like ideal gas. So Zstd =1
The Bg definition becomes:
Vres P std Tres
𝑩g = = 𝐙
V std T std Pres

Where the standard conditions p° and T° are generally defined in Europe:

P:14.7 Psia
T: 520°R
The typical shape of the gas FVF as a function of pressure is shown below:

Bg

0.0
Reservoir pressure

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 Reservoir Fluid Volumetric Properties

The figure above shows that the FVF is inversely proportional to the pressure. This makes
sense because as reservoir pressure declines, the gas will expand to occupy more volume in the
reservoir. As we can see Bg increases as reservoir pressure decreases.

2. Oil Formation Volume Factor

The oil formation volume factor, Bo is defined as the ratio of the volume of oil (plus the gas in
solution) at the prevailing reservoir temperature and pressure to the volume of oil at standard
conditions, This change in volume has three main sources:

• The most important factor is the gas liberation below bubble point pressure Pob.

• The difference between reservoir pressure and atmospheric pressure causes slight
expansion of the remaining oil phase.

• The increase in volume because of expansion is more or less compensated by the shrinkage
of the oil resulting from the transfer from reservoir to surface temperature.

The oil FVF can be defined as:

𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Bo =
𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Solution gas oil ratio

Figure: Typical graph of formation-volume factor of oil against pressure

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 Reservoir Fluid Volumetric Properties

This figure shows the initial reservoir pressure to be above the bubble-point pressure of
the oil. As reservoir pressure is decreased from initial pressure to bubble-point pressure, the
FVF increases slightly because of the expansion of the liquid in the reservoir.

A reduction in reservoir pressure below bubble-point pressure results in the evolution of

gas in the pore spaces of the reservoir, the liquid remaining in the reservoir has less gas in
solution and consequently smaller FVF.

3. Solution Gas/Oil Ratio:

An oil reservoir typically contains a liquid phase with a certain quantity of gas dissolved
in it. When the reservoir pressure declines due to production, lighter hydrocarbons begin to
evolve out of solution and form a gas phase.

The solution gas/oil ratio is an important parameter indicating the volatility of crude. It
is a measure of evolved gas volume per unit volume of oil and is reported in scf/stb. This ratio
indicates the volume of gas that would dissolve into 1 stb of oil when both oil and gas are
subjected to the elevated pressure and temperature conditions encountered in the subsurface
formation. The solution gas/oil ratio is defined as in the following:

𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐟

𝐑𝐬 =
𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐛
Where
Rs= The solution gas/oil ratio, scf/stb.

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The figure above shows how the solution gas oil ratio changes as a function of pressure at
constant reservoir temperature. The process can be described in steps:

1-2: As the reservoir pressure is decreased from initial reservoir pressure P i to bubble point
pressure Pb, the dissolved gas oil ratio is constant. This is because, above the bubble point
there is no free gas in the reservoir. So the amount of gas that comes out at the surface will be
dissolved gas only and the solution gas oil ratio will remain constant.

2-3: As the reservoir pressure falls below bubble point pressure, free gas will continuously
evolve in the reservoir. This leaves less gas dissolved in the oil, therefore the solution gas oil
ratio steadily declines below the bubble point pressure.

It is clear now that there is a transition period where we see a change in solution gas oil
ratio. It occurs at the bubble point pressure. We can take advantage of the solution gas oil ratio
behavior to identify the bubble point pressure of producing wells that started out producing
above the bubble point pressure. Further, the solution gas oil ratio is used in material balance
calculations to help identify drive mechanisms.

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References:

- Practical Enhanced Reservoir Engineering: Assisted with Simulation Software

De Abdus Satter, Ghulam M. Iqbal, James L.

- Gas formation Volume factor – Petrowiki

- Petroleum Reservoir Fluid Property Correlations
De William D. McCain, John Paul Spivey,

- Fundamentals of reservoir engineering

L.P.Dake