Experimental Determination of
Relative Permeabilities for a Rich
Gas/Condensate System Using Live Fluid
J.F. App, SPE, and J.E. Burger, SPE, Chevron Energy Technology Company
Summary
Measurement of gas and condensate relative permeabilities typi-
cally is performed through steady-state linear coreflood experi-
ments using model fluids. This study addresses experimental
measurement of relative permeabilities for a rich gas/condensate
reservoir using a live, single-phase reservoir fluid. Using a live,
single-phase reservoir fluid eliminates the difficulties in designing
a relatively simple model fluid that replicates the complicated
thermodynamic and transport properties of a near-critical fluid.
Two-phase-flow tests were performed across a range of pressures
and flow rates to simulate reservoir conditions from initial
production through depletion. A single-phase multirate experi-
ment was also performed to assess inertial, or non-Darcy, effects.
Correlations were developed to represent both the gas and con-
densate relative permeabilities as a function of capillary number.
A nearly 20-fold increase in gas relative permeability was ob-
served from the low- to high-capillary-number flow regime. Com-
positional simulations were performed to assess the impact of the
experimental results for vertical- and horizontal-well geometries.
Introduction
Well deliverability estimates for gas/condensate systems require
accurate prediction of both gas and condensate effective
permeability. This is particularly important within the near-
wellbore region where the pressures often fall below dewpoint
causing retrograde condensation. Within this region, pressure gra-
dients in both flowing phases are large and the interfacial tension
between the gas and condensate is low. This results in relative
permeabilities that are rate sensitive. Under these conditions, both
capillary number and non-Darcy effects must be considered in
modeling of gas/condensate flows. The relative permeabilities
increase with increasing capillary number and are reduced by
inertial, or non-Darcy, flow effects.
Gas and condensate relative permeabilities are typically deter-
mined by steady-state linear coreflood experiments. Numerous
experimental studies have been performed demonstrating an
improvement in both gas and condensate relative permeability at
high velocities and at low interfacial tension (Henderson et al.
1998; Henderson et al. 1997; Ali et al. 1997). These studies
used model fluids to represent the reservoir fluid, which
generally represented leaner gas/condensate systems. Chen et al.
(1995) performed similar experiments using a recombined gas/
condensate system from a North Sea field. Proper recombination
with surface gas and condensate samples, however, assumes that
the correct condensate/gas ratio is known. Using single-phase
downhole samples obtained at pressures above the dewpoint elimi-
nates this uncertainty.
Fevang and Whitson (1996) have shown that krg for a steady
state process is a function of the krg/kro ratio, where the krg/kro
ratio is a function of pressure. The dependency of krg on both the
capillary number (Nc) and the krg/kro ratio for a pseudosteady-state
process has been demonstrated experimentally by Whitson et al.
(1999) and Mott et al. (1999). These studies used either model
Copyright ã 2009 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 109810) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, California, USA, 11–14 November 2007, and revised
for publication. Original manuscript received for review 2 August 2007. Revised manuscript
received for review 14 October 2008. Paper peer approved 24 October 2008.
April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
fluids or recombined reservoir fluids with krg/kro ratios primarily
within the range of 1 to 90. The lower krg/kro ratios represent
richer fluids, while the higher krg/kro ratios represent leaner fluids.
The fluids studied in this paper, however, are significantly richer,
with krg/kro ratios in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 on the basis of fluid
compositions at initial reservoir conditions.
Non-Darcy, or inertial, effects reduce relative permeabilities.
This has been demonstrated through linear coreflood experiments
by several investigators (Lombard et al. 2000; Henderson et al.
2000; Mott et al. 2000). Multirate non-Darcy single-phase
experiments were performed as part of this study because of the
anticipated high flow rates from this reservoir.
The objectives of this study were (1) to experimentally mea-
sure gas and condensate relative permeabilities for a rich gas/
condensate system using a live, single-phase reservoir fluid;
(2) assess the magnitude of inertial effects through the measure-
ment of the non-Darcy coefficient; and (3) evaluate the impact of
the capillary-number-dependent relative permeabilities and non-
Darcy effects on the performance of vertical and horizontal wells.
Coreflood Experiments
Three pseudosteady-state linear coreflood experiments were con-
ducted using a live, single-phase reservoir fluid to estimate the
effective gas and condensate permeabilities for a rich gas/
condensate system. A single-phase multirate test was performed
to evaluate inertial effects. Core and fluid properties in addition to
the experimental technique employed will be discussed in the
following.
Core. Core plugs located approximately 15 ft apart in depth were
taken from a conventional core. Core properties are given in
Table 1. Absolute permeability values were relatively high, with
an average value of 217 md. The effective permeability to gas at
the irreducible water saturation ranges between 115 and 130 md.
The connate-water saturation was established by the porous-plate
method.
Fluids. The fluids used in the core experiments were live, single-
phase-fluid samples obtained with a wireline sampling tool. The
samples were obtained within 25 ft total vertical depth (TVD) of
each other. The sampling pressures for both fluid samples were
within the single-phase region of the fluid phase envelope
corresponding to a near-critical fluid. Recombination of conden-
sate and gas was not required since single-phase samples were
obtained.
Two fluid samples were used in the coreflood tests. On the
basis of the results of constant-composition-expansion (CCE)
tests, one was characterized as a volatile oil, while the other was
characterized as a near-critical gas condensate. The CCE results
for both samples are shown in Fig. 1. These results were repli-
cated by multiple CCE tests performed on each fluid sample. The
volatile-oil sample is the upper curve in Fig. 1, with a bubblepoint
pressure of 5,705 psia. The lower curve represents the gas/
condensate sample with a dewpoint pressure of 6,220 psia. The
richness of both fluids is apparent from the high liquid saturations.
For the gas/condensate fluid, the maximum condensate dropout is
62% occurring approximately 700 psia below the dewpoint.
A multistage separator test of the gas/condensate fluid yielded
a condensate/gas ratio of 350 STB/MMscf, corresponding to a
263

gas/oil ratio (GOR) of 2,857 scf/STB. A GOR of 2,857 scf/STB is
considered low for a gas condensate; however, the fluid characteri-
zation was based on the CCE liquid-volume vs. pressure behavior
and not the GOR.
There is no evidence to support a compositional change to
cause one fluid to be characterized as a volatile oil and the other
fluid to be characterized as a near-critical gas condensate. The
difference in the fluid characterization is believed to be caused
by the degree of oil-based-mud contamination. The contamination
level of the volatile oil sample was 4.6% compared to less than
0.5% for the near-critical gas/condensate sample. The sample with
the higher contamination level may have had more intermediates
introduced from the drilling mud, causing the initial position on
the phase envelope to fall to the left of the critical point on a
pressure-vs.-temperature diagram. To substantiate this hypothesis,
a sample of the low-contaminated near-critical gas/condensate
fluid was spiked with drilling mud to increase the contamination
level to 4.6%. A CCE test performed on this spiked sample con-
firmed that this degree of contamination was sufficient to trans-
form the fluid from a near-critical gas/condensate to a volatile oil.
The initial coreflood-test program involved developing a rela-
tively simple model fluid (four or five components) to provide
sufficient fluid quantity. The desired characteristics of the model
fluid were: (1) krg/kro ratios similar to those of the reservoir fluids
for the range of pressures considered; (2) saturation pressures
similar to those of the reservoir fluids; and (3) low interfacial
tension between the gas and condensate. Attempts to develop an
appropriate model fluid meeting the above specifications were
unsuccessful because of the extremely rich nature of the subject
fluids. The krg/kro ratio of the two fluid systems is in the range of
0.05–0.15 on the basis of fluid compositions at initial reservoir
conditions. These values are substantially lower than typical krg/
kro ratios for moderately rich and lean gas condensate systems.
For lean fluids, the krg/kro ratios range from 10–100, and for richer
fluids, the krg/kro ratios vary from 1–10.
Fig. 1—CCE test for gas/condensate and volatile-oil downhole-
fluid samples performed at 170 F.
264
As Whitson et al. (1999) illustrated, the krg/kro ratios for a gas/
condensate fluid increase with decreasing reservoir pressure as the
composition of the reservoir fluid changes. The gas becomes
leaner, which generally translates into higher krg estimates. Given
the low krg/kro values for the fluids in this study, however, it was
deemed acceptable to use only the initial reservoir-fluid composi-
tion in the experimental studies. This was justified given that at
low krg/kro ratios, the variation in krg with capillary number is not
as large as at higher krg/kro ratios.
Fluid Properties. Interfacial tension has a strong impact on the
effective permeabilities of both gas and condensate. Interfacial
tension vs. pressure can be determined either from an equation of
state (EOS) or from laboratory measurements. Without experi-
mental measurements, however, the EOS derived values can be
in error. Laboratory measurements were performed for this exper-
imental set to reduce the uncertainty in the interfacial-tension
values. Table 2 lists the three interfacial-tension measurements
obtained for the near-critical gas/condensate fluid. These mea-
surements were determined by the pendant drop method per-
formed at reservoir temperature. For the purposes of calculating
a capillary number, the same interfacial-tension-vs.-pressure
relationship was used for both the volatile oil and the gas/condensate
fluid. The capillary-number definition used in this study is
given by
mv
Nc ¼ ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
fð1  Swi Þs
where s is the interfacial tension, m is the gas viscosity, and v is
the gas superficial velocity. This is the definition of the capillary
number used in the graphical illustration of the dependence
of both gas and condensate relative permeabilities on capillary
number.
Gas- and condensate-viscosity values within the two-phase
region are required to estimate the effective permeability of each
phase. Often two-phase viscosity values are estimated from corre-
lations. This is generally acceptable for gas but can be proble-
matic for condensates unless the correlations have been tuned to
experimental data. For this reason, the condensate-viscosity
values were measured experimentally across a range of pressures
for both fluid samples. The volatile-oil- and gas/condensate-
viscosity values, both single-phase and two-phase, are listed in
Table 3.
Experimental Equipment. The experimental apparatus used to
perform the coreflood experiments is shown in Fig. 2. The proce-
dure involved injecting the single-phase fluid through the first
backpressure regulator (BPR1), located immediately upstream of
the core inlet. This regulator was required to maintain the injected
fluid at single-phase conditions in the feed tank. Once it has
passed through BPR1, the two-phase mixture flows through the
core and then into a pressurized-piston storage vessel. A back-
pressure regulator (BPR2) is located downstream of the pressur-
ized storage vessel to regulate the vessel and core static pressures.
This also enabled the reuse of the downhole samples. Water was
used as the second fluid in the piston storage vessel and also to
flow through the BPR2 to minimize multiphase pressure effects
through BPR2. Both the fluid and core temperature were main-
tained at 170 F for all tests. The orientation of the core was
vertical. Differential pressure across the core was measured using
dual-pressure transducers. The pressure was measured at the inlet
April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
and outlet face of the sample. A constant-flow-rate high-pressure
syringe pump was used to pump the single-phase fluid.
Experimental Procedure. The two-phase experiments involved
multirate injection tests performed at four core static pressures for
each fluid sample and core pair. Table 4 lists the test number with
the core and fluid pair. The static pressures were selected to cover
the range of reservoir pressures during field development. For
Test 1, the volatile-oil-fluid test, the static pressures were 5,500,
5,000, 4,000, and 2,000 psia. The static pressures selected for
Tests 2 and 3, which used the gas/condensate fluid, were 5,500,
4,500, 3,500, and 2,000 psia. The injection rates at each static
pressure were selected to span a range of capillary numbers from
approximately 110-8 to 110-3 corresponding to the expected
capillary numbers at field conditions throughout the life of the
development. The injection rates through BPR1 ranged from a
minimum of 0.2 cm3/min to a maximum of 18 cm3/min. Seven
injection rates were performed at each static pressure. For each
test, which consisted of multirate injection at the four previously
stated static pressures, approximately 1 L of fluid was required.
Injection rates of each phase into the core were determined
from the constant composition expansion experiments. The post-
BPR1 inlet rate to the core was assumed to be equal to the core
outlet rate since the maximum pressure drop across the core in any
of the flow experiments was 25 psi.
At the conclusion of two-phase Test 3, the core was repressur-
ized to above the fluid-saturation pressure and a single-phase
multirate injection test was performed to evaluate the single-phase
non-Darcy coefficient, b. The effective permeability at connate-
water saturation for each core was determined with both methane
and single-phase hydrocarbon before commencing the two-phase
tests.
Fig. 2—Experimental apparatus for coreflood experiments.
April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
Experimental Results
Volatile-Oil Fluid. Gas and condensate relative permeabilities
plotted against capillary number for the volatile-oil fluid (Test 1)
are shown in Fig. 3. Clearly, the relative permeability of both
phases increases with capillary number. It is also apparent that
the condensate relative permeability (denoted in this paper as krc
instead of kro) is many times greater than the gas relative perme-
ability, particularly at high capillary numbers. At the maximum
capillary number of 2.110-4, the condensate relative perme-
ability is nearly 20 times greater than the gas relative perme-
ability. The threshold capillary number for the condensate phase,
defined as the capillary number at which the relative permeabil-
ities start to increase above the immiscible relative permeability
level, is on the order of 510-7. At a capillary number of 110-5,
a sharp increase in the condensate relative permeabilities occurs.
The gas relative permeability as a function of capillary number
is plotted on a reduced scale in Fig. 4. The pressure values denote
the core static pressure. As expected, the measured gas relative
permeability values are higher at the higher static pressures be-
cause of the reduced interfacial tension between the gas and con-
densate. The threshold capillary number for the gas phase appears
to be on the order of 310-7; however, a dramatic increase in the
gas relative permeability occurs at a capillary number of 110-5.
Gas/Condensate Fluid. The gas and condensate relative perme-
abilities plotted against capillary number for the near-critical gas/
condensate fluid from Tests 2 and 3 are shown in Fig. 5. Similar
to that of the volatile-oil fluid, the condensate relative perme-
ability is many times greater than the gas relative permeability.
At the maximum measured capillary number of 3.610-4, the
condensate relative permeability is six times greater than the gas
relative permeability. The threshold capillary number for the
condensate appears to be 110-6.
The gas relative permeability as a function of capillary number
is shown in Fig. 6 on a reduced scale. The threshold capillary
number also appears to be 110-6 with a sharp increase in relative
permeability at a capillary number of 110-5. Similar to those of
the volatile-oil fluid, the gas relative permeability values of the
are low.
Comparison. Comparing the measured gas relative permeability
values between the volatile-oil and gas/condensate fluids indicates
that the maximum gas relative permeability for the gas/condensate
fluid is nearly twice that for the volatile-oil fluid. The condensate
265

Fig. 3—Test 1, krg and krc vs. capillary number, volatile-oil fluid.
relative permeabilities compare more favorably, the condensate
relative permeability values for the volatile-oil fluid being only
slightly higher than the condensate relative permeability values
for the gas/condensate fluid.
However, the measured condensate relative permeabilities are
significantly greater than the gas relative permeabilities for both
the volatile-oil and gas/condensate fluids. This is because of the
low krg/krc ratios that are characteristic of rich gas/condensate
fluids. For krg/krc ratios less than unity, the condensate relative
permeability is greater than the gas relative permeability. As the
krg/krc ratio falls well below unity, which is the case for the fluids
in this study, the condensate relative permeability can be many
times greater than the gas relative permeability. Furthermore, this
rationale also explains the low measured values for gas relative
permeability observed for both the volatile-oil and gas/condensate
fluids.
Gas and condensate relative permeabilities are functions of
both the krg/kro ratio (krg/krc) and the capillary number, as Whitson
et al. (1999) have suggested. They showed that for a given capil-
lary number, the relative permeabilities vary with the krg/krc ratio.
Hence, gas relative permeabilities will decrease as the krg/krc ratio
decreases. Figs. 7 and 8 represent, respectively, the gas and con-
densate relative permeabilities plotted against capillary number
for the range of krg/krc evaluated. Because of the rich nature of
these fluids, the range of krg/krc is limited and extremely low;
varying from 0.05 to 0.15. For comparison purposes, measured
krg values from Whitson et al. (1999) at low capillary numbers
and krg/krc ratios between 0.4 and 0.9 are plotted. These krg values
are several times higher than the krg values measured for either the
volatile-oil or gas/condensate fluid in this study. An explanation
Fig. 5—Test 2 and 3, krg and krc vs. capillary number, near-
critical gas/condensate fluid.
266
Fig. 4—Test 1, krg vs. capillary number, volatile-oil fluid.
for this is that the krg/krc ratios of the fluids used in this study are
significantly lower than the krg/krc ratios of the fluids in the com-
parison study.
The impact of varying krg/krc on the measured relative perme-
abilities is primarily apparent only in the high-capillary-number
range. In the high-capillary-number range, the gas relative perme-
abilities (Fig. 7) increase by more than two-fold between the krg/
krc ratio of 0.05 and 0.15. The impact of the krg/krc ratio on the
condensate relative permeabilities in the high-capillary-number
range (Fig. 8) is less pronounced than for the gas relative perme-
abilities.
It should be noted that phase saturations were not required to
estimate the gas and condensate relative permeabilities according
to the model of Whitson et al. (1999). Furthermore, given the low
pressure drop across the core (maximum of 25 psi), variations in
phase saturations and interfacial tension values would be minimal.
Non-Darcy Experiments. The experimental data from the single-
phase non-Darcy test are shown in Fig. 9. This test was performed
at the conclusion of two-phase Test 3. Fig. 9 plots the pressure
drop across the core against the mass flow rate. The injected fluid
was the gas/condensate fluid with Core 2. The departure from the
straight line indicates the onset of non-Darcy effects. The non-
Darcy coefficient, b, was determined on the basis of a pressure
analysis of the Forchheimer equation (Forchheimer 1914) and not
a p2 analysis. This is based on minimal variations in the fluid
density, deviation factor, and viscosity given an average core
static pressure of 6,500 psia and a maximum pressure drop across
the core of 12 psi. A non-Darcy coefficient, b, of 5.6105 cm-1
was estimated from this test.
Fig. 6—Test 2 and 3, krg vs. capillary number, near-critical gas/
condensate fluid.
April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
Fig. 7—krg as a function of capillary number for a range of krg/
krc ratios; for volatile-oil and gas/condensate fluids.
Fig. 10 illustrates a range of non-Darcy coefficients obtained
from literature vs. value determined in Fig. 9. The b value deter-
mined from our experiment, 5.6105 cm-1, is consistent with the
published data.
Relative Permeability Correlation. The correlation proposed by
Whitson et al. (1999) was used to fit both the gas and condensate
relative permeability data. In this correlation, the phase relative
permeability is dependent upon both the capillary number and the
krg/krc ratio. For a given krg/krc ratio, therefore, the phase relative
permeability is expressed as
kra ¼ fkimm þ ð1  f Þkrm ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
where krimm is the immiscible, or low capillary number, relative
permeability; krm is the miscible, or high capillary number, rela-
tive permeability; and f is an interpolation function. The interpo-
lation function is given by
1 densate relative permeabilities and the experimentally determined
f ¼ ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
ðbNc Þn þ1
where b and n are empirical parameters. The value of f
varies between 1 at low capillary numbers and 0 at high capillary
numbers.
A match to the experimental data for the gas/condensate fluid
(Tests 2 and 3) was obtained with values for b and n of 800 and
0.75, respectively. Fig. 11 represents a match to the gas relative
permeability experimental data using Eq. 2. The match is excel-
lent throughout the low- and mid-capillary number range but
deteriorates in the high-capillary number range. The model slight-
ly overpredicts the gas relative permeability in the high capillary
Fig. 9—Analysis of single-phase multirate experiment to deter-
mine the non-Darcy coefficient, b.
April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
Fig. 8—krc vs. capillary number for a range of krg/krc ratios; for
volatile-oil and gas/condensate fluids.
range. The characteristic flattening of the predicted gas relative
permeabilities at high capillary numbers was not achieved with
Eq. 2. This was probably caused by the limited range of the
measured gas relative permeabilities.
A match to the condensate relative permeability experimental
data using Eq. 2 is shown in Fig. 12. The parameter values used in
this match were b=30,000 and n=1.4. The characteristic flattening
of the relative permeabilities at high capillary number was
achieved for the condensate because of the extended range of the
measured condensate relative permeabilities. Because of the mini-
mal variation in the krg/krc ratios observed in the experimental
data, the correlations for both the gas and condensate relative
permeabilities were developed on the basis of one krg/krc ratio.
Compositional Simulation
A compositional, single-well radial model was developed to as-
sess the impact of the capillary-number-dependent gas and con-
non-Darcy coefficient, b. The radial grid was logarithmically gen-
erated with an outer radius of 7,000 ft, and the producing interval
was divided into five layers of equal thickness. The producing
constraints were a maximum gas rate of 30 MMscf/D and a mini-
mum flowing bottomhole pressure of 2,000 psia.
Fig. 13 compares the gas- and condensate-production profiles
for a vertical well between immiscible relative permeabilities
and capillary-number-dependent relative permeabilities. Non-
Darcy effects were not included in this simulation. The impact of
capillary-number-dependent relative permeabilities is to extend
the production plateau by 6 months. The production profiles were
impacted marginally when non-Darcy effects, based on the
Fig. 10—Comparison of non-Darcy coefficients from literature
with the value determined in Fig. 9.
267
Fig. 11—krg correlation match to experimental data using gas/
condensate fluid.
experimentally determined non-Darcy coefficient, b, were
incorporated in the simulations.
A compositional full-field model was developed to simulate a
horizontal well with a drainhole length of 2,000 ft. The producing
constraints were the same as for the vertical well; a maximum gas
rate of 30 MMscf/D and a minimum flowing bottomhole pressure
of 2,000 psia. A higher gas rate could not be modeled because of
pipeline constraints. The impact of capillary-number-dependent
relative permeabilities on the production profiles from a horizon-
tal well with this drainhole length and production constraints was
minimal. This is because the capillary numbers near the horizontal
drainhole are low because of the reduced velocities based on the
increased surface area provided by the horizontal-well drainhole.
Conclusions
Relative permeability tests for a near-critical fluid were performed
successfully using two live, single-phase reservoir-fluid samples.
Significant findings from this study are as follows:
• A dramatic increase in both the gas and condensate relative
permeabilities with increasing capillary numbers was observed.
• The measured condensate relative permeabilities for both fluid
systems were significantly greater than the measured gas rela-
tive permeabilities.
• The measured gas relative permeabilities are low compared
with most gas/condensate systems. This is reflective of the
richness of the fluid samples.
• The use of live, single-phase reservoir fluids removed the ma-
jority of the uncertainties associated with using model or analog
fluids to represent the reservoir fluid.
Fig. 13—Gas and condensate production profiles for a vertical
well.
268
Fig. 12—krc correlation match to experimental data using gas/
condensate fluid.
Nomenclature
b = parameter in interpolation function
f = interpolation function for relative permeability
kr = relative permeability
n = parameter in interpolation function
Nc = capillary number
Swi = irreducible water saturation, fraction
v = superficial velocity, cm/sec
VL = liquid volume
VT = total volume, liquid and gas
b = non-Darcy coefficient, cm-1
m = viscosity, cp
s = interfacial tension, dyne/cm
f = porosity, fraction
Subscripts
c = condensate
g = gas
o = oil
a = phase index
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April 2009 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering
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SI Metric Conversion Factors
bbl  1.589 873 E – 01 = m3
cp  1.0* E – 03 = Pas
dyne  1.0* E – 02 = mN
ft  3.048* E – 01 = m
ft3  2.831 685 E – 02 = m3

F ( F – 32)/1.8 = C
psi  6.894 757 E + 00 = kPa
*Conversion factor is exact.
J. App has more than 30 years of experience in the upstream
E&P business in both operational and research activities. He is
currently a senior engineering advisor at Chevron Energy
Technology Company in Houston. Email: jeff.app@chevron.
com. App has a BS in civil engineering from Rice U. and MS
and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from the U. of Hous-
ton. J. Burger has a BS in petroleum engineering from West
Virginia U. and a PhD in chemical engineering from the U. of
Houston. He is currently a team leader of a core analysis group
with Chevron in Houston.
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