PROPERTIES OF

CRUDE OIL
SYSTEMS
PROPERTIES OF CRUDE OIL
SYSTEMS
 Petroleum (an equivalent term is crude oil) is a
complex mixture consisting predominantly of
hydrocarbons and containing sulfur, nitrogen,
oxygen, and helium as minor constituents.
 The physical and chemical properties of crude oils
vary considerably and are dependent on the
concentration of the various types of
hydrocarbons and minor constituents present.
 An accurate description of physical properties of
crude oils is of a considerable importance in the
fields of both applied and theoretical science and
especially in the solution of petroleum reservoir
engineering problems.
Physical properties of primary interest in petroleum
engineering studies include:

 Fluid gravity
 Specific gravity of the solution gas
 Gas solubility
 Bubble-point pressure
 Oil formation volume factor
 Isothermal compressibility coefficient of
undersaturated crude oils
 Oil density
 Total formation volume factor
 Crude oil viscosity
 Surface tension
Crude Oil Gravity

The specific gravity of a crude oil is defined as the

ratio of the density of the oil to that of water. Both
densities are measured at 60°F and atmospheric
pressure:
(2-67)
The liquid specific gravity is dimensionless, but
traditionally is given the units 60°/60°to emphasize
the fact that both densities are measured at
standard conditions. The density of the water is
approximately 62.4 lb/ft3, or:

Although the density and specific gravity are used

extensively in the petroleum industry, the API
gravity is the preferred gravity scale.

(2-68)
The API gravities of crude oils usually range from
47°API for the lighter crude oils to 10°API for the
heavier asphaltic crude oils.

Example 2-15
Calculate the specific gravity and the API gravity of
a crude oil system with a measured density of 53
lb/ft3 at standard conditions.
Solution
Step 1. Calculate the specific gravity from Equation 2-67:
Step 2. Solve for the API gravity:

Specific Gravity of the Solution Gas

The specific gravity of the solution gas gg is described by
the weighted average of the specific gravities of the
separated gas from each separator.

This weighted-average approach is based on the separator

gas-oil ratio, or:

(2-69)
Example 2-16
Separator tests were conducted on a crude oil sample.
Results of the test in terms of the separator gas-oil ration and
specific gravity of the separated gas are given below:

Calculate the specific gravity of the separated gas.

Solution
Estimate the specific gravity of the solution by using
Equation 2-69:

Gas Solubility

The gas solubility Rs is defined as the number of standard

cubic feet of gas which will dissolve in one stock-tank
barrel of crude oil at certain pressure and temperature.
The solubility of a natural gas in a crude oil is a strong
function of the pressure, temperature, API gravity, and gas
gravity.
The following five empirical correlations for estimating the gas
solubility are given below:

 Standing’s correlation
 The Vasquez-Beggs correlation
 Glaso’s correlation
 Marhoun’s correlation
 The Petrosky-Farshad correlation

Standing’s Correlation
Standing (1981) expressed his proposed
graphical correlation in the following more
convenient mathematical form:

(2-70)
with

It should be noted that Standing’s equation is valid for

applications at and below the bubble-point pressure of the
crude oil.
Example 2-17

The following experimental PVT data on six different crude

oil systems are available. Results are based on two-stage
surface separation.
Using Standing’s correlation, estimate the gas
solubility at the bubble-point pressure and compare
with the experimental value in terms of the absolute
average error (AAE).

Solution
Apply Equation 2-70 to determine the gas solubility.
Results of the calculations are given in the following
tabulated form:
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.
 Bo is always greater than or equal to unity.
 The oil formation volume factor can be
expressed mathematically as:

(2-84)
Where Bo = oil formation volume factor, bbl/STB
(Vo)p,T = volume of oil under reservoir pressure p
and temperature T, bbl
(Vo)sc = volume of oil is measured under standard
conditions, STB

 At pb, the oil reaches its maximum expansion and

consequently attains a maximum value of Bob for the oil
formation volume factor.
 As the pressure is reduced below pb, volume of the oil
and Bo are decreased as the solution gas is liberated.
 When the pressure is reduced to atmospheric pressure
and the temperature to 60°F, the value of Bo is equal to one.
 Most of the published empirical Bo correlations utilize the
following generalized relationship:
Six different methods of predicting the oil formation
volume factor are presented below:

 Standing’s correlation
 The Vasquez-Beggs correlation
 Glaso’s correlation
 Marhoun’s correlation
 The Petrosky-Farshad correlation
 Other correlations

It should be noted that all the correlations could be

used for any pressure equal to or below the bubble-
point pressure.
Standing’s correlation
Standing (1981) showed that the oil formation
volume factor can be expressed more conveniently
in a mathematical form by the following equation:
Crude Oil Density
The crude oil density is defined as the mass of a
unit volume of the crude at a specified pressure
and temperature.
(2-112)
 Standing (1981) proposed an empirical
correlation for estimating the oil formation
volume factor as a function of:
 the gas solubility Rs,
 the specific gravity of stock-tank oil go,
 the specific gravity of solution gas gg,
 and the system temperature T.

(2-113)
Crude Oil Viscosity

 Crude oil viscosity is an important physical

property that controls and influences the flow of
oil through porous media and pipes.
 The viscosity, in general, is defined as the
internal resistance of the fluid to flow.
 The oil viscosity is a strong function of the
temperature, pressure, oil gravity, gas gravity,
and gas solubility.
According to the pressure, the viscosity of crude
oils can be classified into three categories:
 Dead-Oil Viscosity
 The dead-oil viscosity is defined as the viscosity of
crude oil at atmospheric pressure (no gas in solution)
and system temperature.
 Saturated-Oil Viscosity
 The saturated (bubble-point)-oil viscosity is defined as
the viscosity of the crude oil at the bubble-point
pressure and reservoir temperature.
 Undersaturated-Oil Viscosity
 The undersaturated-oil viscosity is defined as the
viscosity of the crude oil at a pressure above the
bubble-point and reservoir temperature.
Estimation of the oil viscosity at pressures
equal to or below the bubble-point pressure is
a two-step procedure:
 Step 1. Calculate the viscosity of the oil without
dissolved gas (dead oil), mob, at the reservoir
temperature.
 Step 2. Adjust the dead-oil viscosity to account for the
effect of the gas solubility at the pressure of interest.

At pressures greater than the bubble-point pressure of the

crude oil, another adjustment step, i.e. Step 3, should be
made to the bubble-point oil viscosity, mob, to account for the
compression and the degree of under-saturation in the
reservoir.
METHODS OF CALCULATING VISCOSITY
OF THE DEAD OIL

Several empirical methods are proposed

to estimate the viscosity of the dead oil,
including:
 Beal’s correlation
 The Beggs-Robinson correlation
 Glaso’s correlation
Beal’s Correlation
Standing (1981) expressed in a mathematical relationship
as follows:

(2-117)

where:
mod = viscosity of the dead oil as measured at 14.7
psia and reservoir temperature, cp,
T = temperature, °R
 PROPERTIES OF RESERVOIR WATER

Water Formation Volume Factor

(2-127)

where the coefficients A1 - A3 are given by the

following expression:

Where T is in °R.
with a1–a3 given for gas-free and gas-saturated
water:
Water Viscosity

Meehan (1980) proposed a water viscosity

correlation that accounts for both the effects of
pressure and salinity:

(2-128)

with
Brill and Beggs (1978) presented a simpler
equation, which considers only temperature
effects:
(2-129)
Gas Solubility in Water

The following correlation can be used to

determine the gas solubility in water:
(2-130)

The temperature T in above equations is expressed in °F.

Water Isothermal Compressibility
Brill and Beggs (1978) proposed the following
equation for estimating water isothermal
compressibility, ignoring the corrections for
dissolved gas and solids:
(2-131)