PgDip/MSc Energy Programme / Subsurface

PVT Properties of Crude Oils

Fluid Properties: PVT Properties of Crude

Oils
1.

Oil formation volume factor, Bo

Bo

the volume of oil measured at reservoir conditions required to give

unit volume of oil at stock-tank conditions (assuming steady-state
production conditions).

Strictly, Bo is a dimensionless ratio, but it is always quoted with units rb/stb

(or bbls/STB) i.e. reservoir barrels per stock-tank barrel.

2.

Gas formation volume factor, Bg

Bg

the volume of gas measured at reservoir conditions (rb) which

occupies 1 scf at stock-tank conditions. The units of Bg are then
rb/scf (or bbls/SCF). (In some older books the units rcf/scf i.e.
reservoir cubic feet per standard cubic foot - are used. The factor
5.615 is then necessary in the material balance equations to convert
rcf to rb).

3.

Solution gas-oil ratio (or dissolved gas-oil ratio, or

gas solubility) Rs
Rs

the amount of gas which is held in solution in the oil under reservoir
conditions, and which comes out of solution as the oil is produced and
flows through the separators at the surface. The amount of this gas is
measured in scf per barrel of stock-tank oil produced, and therefore
Rs is given in units of scf/stb. If Rs scf of this separated gas are
recombined with 1 stb of oil from the stock-tank and returned to the
reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure, the resulting oil will
have a volume of Bo bbl and will be identical with the reservoir oil.

Hence Bg refers to gas which is free gas (i.e. not in solution with the oil) at
reservoir conditions, and therefore has no meaning for an undersaturated
reservoir, while Rs refers to gas which is in solution at reservoir conditions.
In these notes it will be assumed that stock-tank conditions are taken as 60F
and 14.7psia, and that gas volumes in standard cubic feet are also measured at
these conditions. This is the generally accepted convention, although these
values of temperature and pressure are not universally standardised; some
states in the US, for example, adopt slightly different values of pressure as
standard.
Values of Bo, Rs and Bg (where applicable) for a sample of oil from the reservoir
will be determined for a range of pressure values by laboratory measurements at
an early stage in the appraisal of any newly discovered reservoir. This
information is referred to as PVT data or PVT properties, and is essential for the
prediction of reservoir performance.

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PVT Properties of Crude Oils

Consider a sample of oil having a volume Vr at the reservoir conditions (pressure

Pr and temperature Tr). Assume that the reservoir is undersaturated i.e. no
free gas will be present. Consider the changes in volume which take place as the
pressure is gradually reduced. (Assume that the temperature is kept constant).
At first, the volume of the oil sample will increase slightly as a result of its
compressibility. When the pressure drops to the bubble-point value, free gas
begins to separate and the volume of the liquid shrinks, causing Bo to decrease
as shown in the Fig. 1 sketch, which represents a typical case.
Pressure
pr, Tr

Bo

Critical
Point

Temperature

(rb/stb)

Saturated

Undersaturated

1.0
Atmospheric
value

Pressure
Bubble-point
pressure
Fig. 1

If the volume of the oil is Vst at stock-tank conditions, then for the original
reservoir conditions

Boi =

Vr
rb/stb
Vst

The second subscript, i, shows that the value of Bo refers to initial conditions.
During production operations the reservoir pressure will eventually decrease
(although this decrease may be postponed by pressure maintenance operations),
while the reservoir temperature will remain essentially constant. Hence if the
reservoir is initially undersaturated Bo will increase until the bubble-point is
reached.

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PVT Properties of Crude Oils

If the volume of gas which has separated in the separators and the stock-tank
during the processing of the original oil sample is Vg scf, then

Rs =

Vg
Vst

scf / stb

Since there was no free gas in the reservoir initially, all the gas separated has
come out of solution in the oil produced.
The initial value of Bo is given the symbol Boi. If Boi for a reservoir fluid is high
(greater than about 1.8 to 2.0 rb/stb), the fluid will be a volatile oil or a nearcritical oil. This oil will hold in solution large amounts of gas which are released
from solution during production and separation. As a result, Rsi is high, and the
shrinkage of the oil due to gas coming out of solution is high; e.g. for the
Statfjord field Boi is typically around 2.7 rb/stb and Rsi has the relatively high
value of around 3000 scf/stb. (Volatile oils are sometimes called high-shrinkage
oils). If Boi for a reservoir fluid is less than about 1.8 rb/stb, the fluid will be a
black oil, and the value of Rsi will be less than about 2000 scf/stb. E.g. for a
black oil where Boi has a value of around 1.25, Rsi will typically be about 500
scf/stb. In some cases where the oil contains very little dissolved gas Rsi may be
as low as 20 scf/stb in which case Boi may be no higher than 1.05 rb/stb.
For an undersaturated reservoir we may therefore represent the balance by the
diagram in Fig. 2.
gas
Rs scf
gas
Separators
oil
Well fluids

1 stb

OIL

Stock tank

Reservoir

Bo rb

OIL +
DISSOLVED GAS
Fig. 2

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PVT Properties of Crude Oils

Note that the values of Bo and Rs for a given reservoir will depend to some
extent on the separator layout adopted. Most of the gas will come out of solution
in the separators but some may be liberated in the stock-tank and this is also
included in the total gas volume when Rsi is calculated.
If the reservoir pressure is initially below the bubble-point pressure, free gas will
be present in the reservoir and the gas produced will be partly free gas and
partly gas which has come out of solution. The velocity of the gas flowing in the
pores of the reservoir rock is much greater than the velocity of the oil; as a
result, the producing (or instantaneous) gas-oil ratio R may considerably exceed
the initial solution gas-oil ratio Rsi.
R = scf of gas produced per stock-tank barrel of oil produced i.e. the
instantaneous or producing gas-oil ratio (GOR). This is usually
calculated on a daily basis.
Consider the case of an initially undersaturated oil reservoir, with an initial
dissolved gas-oil ratio Rsi. When the reservoir pressure drops to the bubble-point
pressure gas will start to come out of solution in the reservoir, and a free gas
saturation develops.
Initially, when only small amounts of free gas are present, the gas is immobile
it remains trapped in the individual pores of the formation and will not flow, even
when the surrounding oil is flowing. As more gas comes out of solution, the free
gas saturation (Sg) rises until it reaches a critical value at which the gas becomes
mobile, and will flow under an applied pressure gradient. Since the gas has a
much lower viscosity than the oil, the gas will then travel to the producing wells
faster than the oil from which it has been liberated, and the producing gas-oil
ratio R will increase to a value much greater than Rsi as shown in the Fig. 3
sketch. (The critical gas saturation at which the gas becomes mobile is typically
around 5% although in some cases it may be as high as 15% or 20%.)
R
(scf/stb)

GOR

RS

Initial
Reservoir
pressure

Bubble-point
pressure

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Reservoir
Pressure

Fig. 3

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PVT Properties of Crude Oils

Note that the value of Rs will remain constant while the reservoir pressure is
above the bubble-point.
Rs
(scf/stb)

0
Atmospheric
value

Pressure
Bubble-point
pressure

Fig. 4
For a saturated reservoir (i.e. one in which the pressure is below the bubblepoint) the balance may be represented as follows:

gas

R scf
gas

Separators

1 stb OIL

oil
Well fluids

Stock tank

Reservoir

Bo rb

(R - Rs)

OIL +
DISSOLVED GAS

FREE GAS
Fig. 5

The R scf of gas produced per stb of oil is made up of:

a)

Rs scf of gas from solution

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b)

PVT Properties of Crude Oils

(R-Rs) scf of gas from the free gas in the reservoir which at
reservoir conditions will have a volume of (R-Rs)Bg rb.

Hence the total volume of hydrocarbons withdrawn from the reservoir (measured
at reservoir conditions) to produce 1 stb of oil + R scf of gas is [Bo+(R-Rs)Bg]rb.
The gas formation volume factor Bg may also be expressed in terms of the gas
expansion factor E, commonly used in gas reservoir engineering.

E=

volume of 1 mole of gas at standard conditions

volume of 1 mole of gas at reservoir conditions

For standard conditions of 60F and 14.7 psia then

E=

35.37p
zT

Where z is the compressibility factor for the gas at the reservoir conditions of
pressure p and temperature T, and it has been assumed that the compressibility
factor for standard conditions is 1.0 (normally a good approximation).
Then

Bg =

1
rb / scf
5.615E
=

0.00504zT
rb / scf
p
3

(since 1 bbl = 5.615 ft )

Bg and E values are normally not given for pressures above the bubble-point
pressure, since no free gas is expected to be present in the reservoir under these
conditions.

WEM
03:03:2010

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