SPE 144023

Experimental PVT Data Needed to Develop EOS Model for EOR Projects
Jawad Azeem Shaikh, Calsep FZ-LLC, and Pashupati Sah, Calsep Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd

Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Enhanced Oil Recovery Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1921 July 2011.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.


Abstract
Compositional reservoir simulations for fields undergoing gas injection are dependent on an Equation-Of-State (EOS)
model that will correctly simulate the reservoir fluid phase behavior independent of concentration of injection gas. Such an
EOS model will require extensive Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) PVT Experiments. It is important at the start of an EOR
PVT project to define what experiments need to be undertaken. Only then will it be possible to define the sample volume
needed to carry out all the EOR PVT experiments. The reservoir type will determine whether the samples can be taken from
bottom hole or from the separator. Fluid samples at atmospheric conditions also need to be taken to carry out Carbon Number
(True Boiling Point) distillation test. Different samples will generally have to be comingled to avoid compositional variations
between samples used for different experiments.
Gas injection is most efficient if the reservoir pressure is higher than the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP).
Miscibility develops through a critical point and therefore in addition to routine PVT data it is also important to measure EOR
PVT data that will provide information about MMP and near critical phase behavior. The MMP is measured in a Slim Tube
test while a Solubility Swelling Experiment will give the Px-diagram including the critical conditions and composition. It is
also recommended to perform the Equilibrium Contact Mix and Multi Contact Studies to measure properties inside the phase
envelope at near critical conditions. These two experiments need to be carefully designed to ensure to get the most out of them
in the EOS modeling work.
The paper will outline design of EOR experiments, details to be aware of when carrying out the experiments and key
data to be matched by the final EOS model.

Introduction
A miscible drive develops after numerous (several thousands) contacts between gas and the in-situ reservoir fluid.
Such contacts result in a multitude of phase transitions and the intermittent existence of widely varying oil-gas mixture
compositions. Reservoir engineers carry out compositional reservoir simulations to somehow recreate such phase behavior in
order to study its effect on the ultimate recoveries. Compositional simulators require EOS models tuned to data representing
the individual miscible processes.
EOR PVT experiments need to provide data points that can ensure the validity of the EOS models for the particular
gas-oil fluid interactions. While the validity of the EOS models depends on the quality of the experimental data, the PVT data
itself will be valid if and only if the fluid samples are representative of the in-situ reservoir fluid and the injected gas
respectively.
A variety of factors come into play during the fluid sampling process including, but not limited to, sampling
locations, sample volumes and the specific applicability of the sampling method used.
Fluid samples taken to the PVT laboratory need to be validated prior to initiating the full experimental program to
ensure the samples received are consistent with those sent out from the field and hence still representative.
Finally, the samples are analyzed for their compositions as well as for their behavior under various pressure and
temperature conditions. In EOR PVT experiments, the sample fluid phase behavior is additionally studied post mixing with the
proposed injection gas composition through a variety of tests as described in this paper.

Flow Chart for EOR PVT Experiments
It is important to clearly define the work flow for the EOR experiments in advance to get the best out of the fluid
analysis project and that there is sufficient sample to conduct all the experiments needed to develop an EOS model. Hence
2 SPE 144023
tasks like defining the sampling method to be used, the sample volume required and the type of PVT/EOR experiments needed
to complete the project may be discussed and dealt with accordingly. Figure 1 shows the typical work flow that needs to be
followed.

Sampling Techniques
The properties of the reservoir fluid and the overall quality of the study depend upon the quality of the samples
collected from the field. Hence the objective of the fluid sampling should be to collect samples that are representative of the
down-hole conditions. This means that the samples are to be collected when the well is flowing in single phase conditions i.e.
when original saturation pressure is less than the reservoir pressure. If observed bottom hole flowing pressures (BHFPs) are
less than the reservoir pressure, then the sample is considered to have been collected in single phase conditions if the original
saturation pressure is less than the BHFP.
Depending on the reservoir and fluid type sampling can either take place at sub-surface, wellhead or surface. Each of
these sampling techniques is shown schematically in Figure 2. For undersaturated oil reservoirs it may be an idea to carry out
sub-surface sampling using single phase sampler. In this method the sampler is lowered into the well using wire line
technology and the samples are captured at the desired depth. The sub-surface sampling is good for black oil, volatile oil and
dry gas fluid types. However sub-surface sampling may not result in a representative sample if the reservoir is depleted or the
fluid type is a gas condensate.
For gas condensate fluids it is advisable to carry out surface sampling. In this method of sampling the reservoir fluid
is made to flow through a separator, which is stable at particular temperature (separator temperature) and pressure (separator
pressure). A separator oil and separator gas are sampled at the same time. This pair of separator samples is then recombined to
the producing GOR to give a representative reservoir fluid composition. This method of sampling is applicable for black oils,
volatile oils, gas condensates, wet gases and dry gases.
Wellhead sampling is good for any fluid that is flowing in single phase at the wellhead conditions. Under these
conditions the wellhead sampling is a very reliable and cost effective method of sampling.

Sample Validation
Once the samples are collected in the field, it is important to carry out the validation of the samples to check whether
they really represent the reservoir fluid. The quality of the PVT study and of a possible EOS model developed for the reservoir
fluid depends on the quality of the samples. Hence it is very important to carry out the validation of the samples before
performing the reservoir fluid study. The validation process depends on the type of samples collected, i.e. whether they are
bottom hole, wellhead or separator samples. In this section we present an appropriate validation procedure.
Prior to any sample removal, the sample chamber (received by the laboratory from the field) should be heated to
approximately 200 F to redissolve any wax that may have precipitated during sampling or shipping. Thereafter the validation
procedure varies depending on the sample collection type.

Bottom Hole/Wellhead Samples Validation Procedure
When the sample arrives at the PVT laboratory to carry out the PVT study the following procedure is to be followed:
Record the opening pressure of the sampler at ambient temperature.
Determine the chamber content from the top and bottom of the chamber by removing sample approximately 5 ml
from each side. Take out approx 10 ml of sample (if oil) and determine its density. The density of the fluid is
compared with the density of the reservoir fluid (if known). A too high density may signal the fluid is mixed with
water.
Carry out gas chromatography (finger printing) analysis. Compare it with a fingerprint analysis of the drilling
fluid. A resemblance may indicate that the sample is contaminated.
Determine the saturation pressure of the fluid at reservoir temperature.
Separator Samples Validation Procedure
The separator gas and separator liquid samples should be taken at the same time and be in equilibrium when sampling
is performed. To have the separator gas and liquid samples in equilibrium it is important that
Minimum choke size is used so as to ensure stable flow.
Gas and liquid flow rates are accurately measured.
The retention time in the separator is adequate for the gas and liquid to reach equilibrium.

Separator Gas Samples Validation Procedure
The separator gas should ideally be at its dew point at separator temperature. To make sure there is not a significant
liquid carry over the gas cylinder is heated to a temperature at least 20 F above the separator temperature. It the cylinder
contains any liquid at these conditions, it suggests either liquid carry over, that the sampling temperature was incorrect or the
cylinder was contaminated. Such sample should be discarded. Otherwise the opening pressure of the cylinder and composition
of the separator gas are to be measured. Flash carried out using a PVT simulator can be used to check consistency between
separator pressure and opening pressure.
SPE 144023 3
Separator Liquid Samples Validation Procedure
For a good separator sample the separator liquid is at its bubble point at separator temperature. A partial Constant
Composition Expansion test is performed at separator temperature to check the bubble point pressure of the sample. The
composition of the separator oil is measured and a Karl Fischer (ASTM D6869) test is performed to measure the concentration
of entrained water.

Sample Blending
Once the samples are validated the selected samples, which will come from the same reservoir, depth and location,
are comingled into one large cylinder. This is to avoid any compositional variation that might arise had the samples been used
separately.

Compositional Analyses
Before carrying out a compositional analysis a bottom hole sample is flashed to atmospheric pressure. To ensure a
good separation it can be convenient to flash it to a temperature higher than the ambient temperature (say 120 F). The gas and
the liquid from this flash are analyzed separately using gas chromatography (GC) to obtain the composition in weight% and
are recombined on a weight basis to produce a C36+ weight% reservoir fluid composition. The mole% data is calculated using
either the default molecular weights and densities from Katz and Firoozabadi (1978) data or the molecular weights and
densities of the True Boiling Point (TBP) distillation cuts.
For separator samples, the gas is injected directly into the gas chromatograph and the composition measured. The
separator liquid is flashed at the same conditions and analyzed in the same way as a bottom hole sample. The composition of
the separator oil is then calculated using the compositions of the liquid and gas and recombining them mathematically using
the measured GOR (Pedersen and Christensen, 2006).

Injection Gas
The injection gas will often be either a CO
2
, N
2
, a lean hydrocarbon gas or a rich hydrocarbon gas, which could be the
gas obtained from the field. A gas obtained from the field is readily available whereas CO
2
, N
2
or a light hydrocarbon gas
mixture has to be prepared in the laboratory. In either case, the gas must be available in sufficient quantity to complete the
entire project.

Carbon Number Distillation
It is recommended to carry out the Carbon Number Distillation also known as the True Boiling Point Distillation
(ASTM D2892) on a sample of stock tank oil to provide measured molecular weights and densities for (at least) the individual
carbon number fractions from C11 to C19 and for the C20 plus fraction. A carbon number fraction of a high density is rich in
aromatics while a carbon number fraction of a low density is rich in paraffins. An aromatic fraction should have different EOS
model parameters assigned than a paraffinic one. Measured densities therefore help building a robust EOS model. The TBP
distillation procedure is schematically illustrated in Figure 3.


EOR PVT Data
Procedures for measuring routine PVT data like Constant Mass Expansion, Differential Liberation, Constant Volume
Depletion, Separator Tests and Viscosity Tests are well established and that type of experimental PVT data will be sufficient
to develop an EOS model for a reservoir fluid to be produced by natural depletion.
For reservoir fluids undergoing gas injection specialized EOR PVT experiments are required in addition to the routine
PVT experiment. For Black Oil type of reservoir fluids the relevant type of laboratory experiments are solubility swelling
studies, equilibrium contact (also known as equiphase) studies, multi contact (either forward or backward) and minimum
miscibility pressure studies. If the reservoir fluid is a gas condensate. a gas revaporization study may be carried out in addition
to the routine PVT studies. The EOR studies are performed to define the phase behavior and fluid composition in a reservoir
with gas injection.

Solubility Swelling
A solubility swelling test is performed on oil mixtures (Figure 4) in a long window cell. A known volume of reservoir
fluid is charged into the cell at working pressure and reservoir temperature. A constant composition expansion (CCE) is
performed to determine the saturation pressure, relative volume, liquid density and liquid shrinkage data. The CCE is carried
out in a number of steps in the single and two phase regions. In the two phase region the liquid shrinks due to the release of
lighter components in the gas phase region. This is measured in a number of steps and is important to determine the fluid type.
The liquid will shrink more if the fluid type is a volatile oil than if the fluid is black oil.
Once the experiment is complete for the first gas-oil mixture, the sample is brought back to the working pressure
(typically 1,000 psig above the reservoir pressure) and a predetermined volume of injection gas is added to the fluid and the
sample is got back to the working pressure. The total sample volume is measured and the increased (swelled) volume is
determined. The newly created mixture is subject to a new CCE experiment and the saturation pressure and liquid shrinkage
4 SPE 144023
are determined. This is continued for a number of steps. The liquid, which was originally a black oil, changes its properties to
first, become a volatile oil, then a critical fluid and finally a gas condensate. At this point the experiment is stopped. The
identification of the appearance of the critical fluid mixture needs to be made visually by the laboratory personnel carrying out
the experiment. This needs to be carefully carried out as the slightest variation in pressure could either lead to major deviations
in volume measurements as the liquid either develops from the bottom of the cell (which will be the case for a dew point) or
shrinks from the top (which will be the case for abubble point).
The asphaltene content of the initial and final fluid is measured to determine whether asphaltene flocculation could be
a concern. The viscosities of the swelled oil mixtures are also determined.

Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP)
The Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP) is measured in a slim tube apparatus as sketched in Figure 5. A slim tube
miscibility test is generally carried out using a OD diameter, 60 foot long (dimensions may vary depending on the
laboratory) stainless steel tube, which is filled with sand or glass beads. The porosity and permeability of this coil are then
evaluated. This coil is cleaned, evacuated and weighed before the test commences. To begin with, the coil is precharged with
toluene at the first test pressure and the pore volume determined. The coil is then heated in an oven to the reservoir
temperature and stabilized at the run pressure. The equipment is now precharged and stable at test conditions. Reservoir fluid
is injected into the coil and toluene is displaced out at the other end by controlling the column end pressure using a back
pressure regulator. Once all the toluene is displaced a quick atmospheric test is performed on the reservoir fluid. The
atmospheric test determines the GOR, stock tank density and formation volume factor of the reservoir fluid. This is to check if
the data is of the reservoir fluid and that all toluene is displaced. The miscibility test can then be started.
The test gas is injected at a fixed rate (a few ml per hour) and the evolved products are continuously collected. The
evolved gas volume, weight and liquid density are measured every hour. This injection rate is continued for the first few hours
and then increased to another few ml per hour for the rest of the test. At a certain point of time gas breakthrough will happen.
It will be observed by a significant increase in GOR, decrease in liquid density and change in gas density. The recovery is
reported for 1.2 pore volume of test gas injected, but the test is allowed to continue until slightly more (say 1.4) pore volume
of gas has been injected into the coil. After this the test is stopped and the remainder of the gas in the coil is allowed to flow to
atmospheric pressure (blow down). Any residual oil produced during the blow down is collected and weighed and is added
to the recovery volume. The coil is then disconnected and weighed to determine the weight of the residual oil remaining at the
end of the test. This is used for the material balance. This test is normally run at 4 to 6 different test pressures. A plot of
recovery at 1.2 pore volume versus the test pressure will indicate the MMP. which is taken to be the intersection of the two
straight lines, one joining the high recoveries (typically beyond 90%) and the other joining the low recoveries (Figure 6).

Equilibrium Contact (Equiphase)
A swelling study gives information about saturation pressure versus cumulative amount of gas injected. This reveals
how the fluid behaves after a single contact with gas. It also provides information about the amount of injection gas to be
added to the reservoir fluid to get into the critical zone. This information is needed when performing the equilibrium contact
study, also referred to as an equiphase study, which in turn provides data essential to validate that the EOS model simulates the
near-critical conditions correctly.
In this study, a portion of reservoir fluid is charged into a PVT cell and stabilized at reservoir temperature and
working pressure. A measured portion of injection gas is then added to the cell. The quantity of injection gas is expressed as
mole fraction of injection gas per total moles in place at the start. The cell content is mixed thoroughly and stabilized in a
single phase at working pressure. The mixture is then brought to the selected equilibrium test pressure. At this pressure the
fluid is in two phases and is allowed to stabilize for 24 hours. The volume of the gas and liquid equilibrium phases formed and
the total volume of the sample are measured. The composition, volume and the density of the equilibrium gas are determined.
The gas phase viscosity is rarely measured, but estimated from the composition of the gas phase using e.g. the Lee, Gonzalez
and Eakin correlations (1966). The remaining gas is displaced from the PVT cell. The total volume of gas is now the total
volume pumped out from the cell. The liquid volume equals the total volume minus the gas volume. A partial CCE is
performed on the liquid phase to confirm the saturation pressure used for the equilibrium contact phase separation. The
density, viscosity and the composition of the liquid are also determined. Typical experimental compositions and pressures are
graphically illustrated in Figure 7.

Multi Contact (Forward and Backward)
The equilibrium contact experiment allows the fluid phase behavior to be studied for a fixed gas-oil mixture thereby
simulating the conditions when the gas contacts the oil once. The multi contact experiment simulates the more realistic
scenario of the gas contacting oil multiple times. A multi contact experiment can either be forward or backward. Forward and
backward multi contact studies are schematically illustrated in Figure 8.
In the forward multi contact study, a portion of reservoir fluid is charged into the PVT cell and stabilized at reservoir
temperature and working pressure. A measured portion of injection gas is then added to the cell. The quantity of injection gas
is expressed as mole fraction of injection gas per total moles in place at the start. The cell content is mixed thoroughly and
stabilized in a single phase at working pressure. The mixture is then brought to the selected multi contact test pressure. At this
SPE 144023 5
pressure the fluid is in two phases and is allowed to stabilize for 24 hours. The volume of the gas and liquid equilibrium
phases formed and the total volume of the sample are measured. The equilibrium gas phase composition, volume and the
density are determined. As in the equiphase experiment the gas phase viscosity is determined from correlations. The remaining
equilibrium gas is displaced from the PVT cell to a second PVT cell and is stored at working pressure and reservoir
temperature. The total volume of gas is now the total volume pumped out from the cell. The liquid volume is equal to the total
volume minus the gas volume. A partial CCE is performed on the liquid phase to confirm the saturation pressure used for the
multi contact phase separation. The density, viscosity and the composition of the liquid are also determined.
The next contact (usually referred to as the first contact) is between the recovered original equilibrium gas from the
previous stage and original reservoir fluid. A known amount of reservoir fluid is charged to the second cell where the
equilibrium gas is stored and brought to single phase at reservoir temperature and working pressure. The mixture is brought to
the selected multi contact test pressure. At this pressure the fluid is in two phases and is allowed to stabilize for 24 hours. The
volumes, compositions and densities of each phase and the viscosity of the liquid phase are measured as described previously.
The above procedure is continued with up to 4 contacts (dependent on sufficient volume of equilibrium gas) between the
equilibrium gas recovered from the previous stage and the original reservoir fluid. For a backward (reverse) multi contact
study, a portion of reservoir fluid is charged into the PVT cell and stabilized at reservoir temperature and working pressure. A
measured portion of injection gas is added to the cell. The quantity of injection gas is expressed as mole fraction of injection
gas per total moles in place at the start. The cell content is mixed thoroughly and stabilized in a single phase at working
pressure. The mixture is brought to the selected multi contact test pressure. At this pressure the fluid is in two phases and is
allowed to stabilize for 24 hours. The volume of the gas and liquid equilibrium phases formed and the total volume of the
sample are measured. The equilibrium gas phase compositions, volumes and densities are determined. The remaining
equilibrium gas is displaced from the PVT cell. The total volume of gas is now the total volume pumped out from the cell. The
liquid volume equals the total volume minus the gas volume. A partial CCE is performed on the liquid phase to confirm the
saturation pressure used for the multi contact phase separation. The density, viscosity and the composition of the liquid are
determined.
The next contact (usually referred to as the first contact) is between the equilibrium liquid phase and the injection gas.
The above procedure is usually followed for 4 steps or until the equilibrium liquid phase is insufficient to continue the test.
The forward multi contact experiment basically follows the injected gas during the first few contacts with the fresh
oil, thereby simulating (in a very simplistic manner) conditions near the injection gas front. A forward multi contact test is
normally performed when the process is thought to be a predominantly vaporizing drive. A lean gas is mostly preferred for the
forward multi contact test.
A backward contact experiment measures phase changes taking place with the oil near the injection well during the
first few contacts with fresh injection gas. When a rich gas (e.g. a separator gas) is used as the injection gas, a backward multi
contact test may be preferable.

Gas Revaporization
A gas revaporization study is designed for gas condensates undergoing gas injection. A portion of reservoir fluid is
charged into the gas condensate PVT cell and stabilized at reservoir temperature and working pressure. A constant
composition expansion test is performed on this reservoir fluid to determine the dew point pressure and the volume at the dew
point. The test is continued until the fluid is expanded to the gas revaporization pressure. A known portion of gas is pumped
off from the cell till the volume returns to the volume at dew point pressure. The composition of the pumped off gas phase is
measured.
A known volume of injection gas is charged to the cell and the content in the cell is then mixed to get a new mixture
at the test conditions. At these conditions the sample is allowed to stabilize to have the gas and liquid phases in equilibrium.
Once equilibrium is attained the total sample volume and the volumes of the gas and liquid phases are determined. The excess
volume of the gas phase is pumped off to return the cell volume to the constant volume at the dew point pressure. The
composition of the pumped off phase is measured. The test is repeated for (typically) 4 more steps and the change in fluid
properties, composition and liquid volume as a function of gas revaporization process is determined. The experiment is
sketched in Figure 9.

Conclusion
Gas injection studies are performed to evaluate the interaction of the injection gas with the reservoir fluid at reservoir
temperature. The reservoir fluid can bean oil or a gas condensate. The data obtained from such studies gives an idea about the
increase in production by injecting gas. The three types of injection gas processes commonly covered in EOR PVT
experiments are solubility swelling, miscibility and multi contact processes.
A solubility swelling study is carried out to get to know the effect on saturation pressure and reservoir fluid volume of
adding the injection gas to the reservoir fluid. As miscibility between injection gas and reservoir oil is developed through a
critical point, one of the most important results of a swelling study is the amount of injection gas required to produce a critical
fluid. Hence the swelling study should be designed in such a way that it shows all aspects of fluid behavior. If the fluid is
black oil, the swelling study should, as illustrated in Figure 10,include injection gas concentrations for which the fluid is a
volatile oil, a near critical fluid, and finally a gas condensate. One can use PVT simulation data to design the swelling study.
6 SPE 144023
A slim tube (miscibility) study usually consists of 4 to 6 runs. The design of a miscibility study is to be carried out in
such a way that equal numbers of runs are measured in the miscible and immiscible zones from which the minimum
miscibility pressure can be interpolated. A miscible run can, for design purposes, be assumed one which yields a recovery of
more than 90% at 1.2 pore volume of gas injected. PVT simulations can give an approximate minimum miscibility pressure
and help in the design of the experiment to ensure that the number of miscible and immiscible runs is equal. It is recommended
to carry out the maximum and the minimum pressure runs first. The data measured can then help re-design the study to
depict the real situation. A guideline for the minimum pressure is 100 psig above the saturation pressure.
An EOS model is only suited for gas injection reservoir simulation studies if it accurately simulates the properties
inside the phase envelope and near the critical phase area. The design of an Equilibrium Contact study should include at least
two points of the critical composition at the critical temperature and pressures lower than the critical pressure and one point for
the volatile oil phase. This will also help to define what happens near the injector and producer zone as gas comes in contact
with the reservoir fluid and moves through the reservoir.
The multi contact studies are interesting as they provide information on what happens after multiple contacts between
gas and oil. For an oil mixture the multi contact experiment may give experimental evidence of the first few stages towards
developing a miscible drive. With black oil samples, it is appropriate to start a forward multi contact study at the oil zone but
near the critical zone area. Since miscibility develops through a critical point it is advantageous that the next gas addition
brings the fluid into the near critical zone. After this the next two additions are performed in the gas condensate region. For
the backward multi contact study the design should be made such that the original oil is vaporized to the maximum (about 80%
of the initial oil in place).
With gas condensate samples; the design is made such that the injection gas vaporizes as much heavier end present in
the reservoir as possible as the heavier end otherwise would have been unrecoverable.
The importance of carrying out high quality EOR PVT experiments cannot be over-stated as operators have a very
high investment in miscible gas injection projects. Fluid phase behavior plays a key role in such processes and good
experimental data leading to a strong EOS model can result in a successful case study.

Nomenclature

CCE Constant composition expansion
CND Carbon number distillation
ECM Equilibrium contact mix
EOR Enhanced oil recovery
EOS Equation of state
GC Gas chromatography
GOR Gas/oil ratio
MMP Minimum miscibility pressure
TBP True boiling point

References


Katz, D.L. and Firoozabadi, A., Predicting phase behavior of condensate/crude-oil systems using methane interaction coefficients, J.
Petroleum Technol. 20, 1978, pp. 1649-1655.
Lee, A., Gonzalez, M., Eakin, B., The Viscosity of Natural Gases, SPE Paper 1340, Journal of Petroleum Technology, 18,
1966, pp. 997-1000.
Pedersen, K.S. and Christensen, P.L., Phase behavior of petroleum reservoir fluids, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, 2006.







SPE 144023 7


Figure 1 Workflow for EOR PVT experiments









Bottom Hole Sampling Separator Sampling Wellhead Sampling

Figure 2 Sampling methods






8 SPE 144023
C
7
C
19
asdistillation
cuts
C
20+
asresidue
C
7
C
20
molwgts


Figure 3 Schematic illustration of Carbon Number Distillation (CND), which is also called True Boiling Point (TBP) distillation.





Figure 4 Swelling experiment in a Px diagram
O i l
O i l O i l
O i l
G a s
G a s
G a s
M o l % G a s
P
s a t





Figure 5 Slim tube apparatus
Gas
Hg
Hg
Oil Gas
Slim tube
Back pressure
valve
Separator
Oil

SPE 144023 9
Pressure
% Recovery
90-

Figure 6 Slim tube recovery 3 miscible and 3 immiscible runs.





Figure 7 Equiphase mixing ratios and pressures




O i l
O i l
O i l O i l
G a s
G a s
G a s G a s
F o r w a r d c o n t a c t
R e v e r s e c o n t a c t

Figure 8 Forward and backward (reverse) multi contact studies
10 SPE 144023


H O
2
Oil
H O
2
H O
2
H O
2
H O
2
Gas Gas Gas Gas Gas
P =P P <P P <P P = P
4 5
P = P
3 4
P = P
4 6
P = P
4 7 3 2 1 sat sat
V
=
V
1
V
>
V
2
V
<
V
<
V
3
s
a
t
V
=
V
4
V
>
V
5
sat
Oil
Gas off
Oil
s
a
t
s
a
t
2
H O
2
Gas
V
<
V
<
V
6
s
a
t
Oil
Gas off
Inj. Gas
5 s
a
t
H O
2
Gas
V
=
V
7
s
a
t
s
a
t
Figure 9 Gas revaporization study





Vol frac 1.000 Vol frac 0.900 Vol frac 0.800 Vol frac 0.700
Vol frac 0.600 Vol frac 0.500 Tres
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
-100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
,

p
s
i
a
Oil Near Crit Gas cond Oil Near Crit Gas cond
Temperature, F
Figure 10 Fluid types to be covered in swelling study