Introduction Knowledge of petroleum fluids physical properties is required by petroleum engineers for both reservoir and production system

calculations. These properties must be evaluated at reservoir temperature and various pressures for reservoir performance studies, and at conditions of both changing pressure and temperature for wellbore hydraulics calculations. If reservoir fluid samples are available, the fluid properties of interest can be measured with a pressure-volumetemperature (PVT) analysis. However, these analyses usually are conducted at reservoir temperature only and the variation of the properties with temperature is not available for production system calculations. Also, in many cases a PVT analysis may not be available early in the life of the reservoir or may never be available because of economic reasons. To overcome these obstacles, empirical correlations have been developed for predicting various fluid physical properties from limited data. The development and application of several of these empirical correlations are presented in this chapter. Methods for estimating physical properties for both saturated and undersaturated oils as functions of pressure, temperature, stock-tank oil gravity, and separator gas gravity are given. Fluid properties are calculated here only for oil systems with and without fluid composition known. Methods for calculating physical properties of gas-condensate systems are presented in Chaps. 2 I, 23, and 30. Therefore, no correlations for dewpoint pressure are presented, as the dewpoint pressure can be calculated with the procedures outlined in Chap. 2 1 if the composition of the fluid is known. Many of the older correlations were presented in graphical form only and are therefore not suitable for use in computers or programmable calculators. These graphs are converted to equation form where possible. The generally accepted definitions of the fluid properties correlated in this chapter are as follows.* Oil density, p,, , is the ratio of the mass of the oil plus its dissolved or solution gas per unit volume, which varies with temperature and pressure. Bubblepointpressure, P/), is the pressure at which the first bubble of gas evolves as the pressure on the oil is decreased. It also is frequently called saturation pressure, as the oil will absorb no more gas below that pressure. Solution gas/oil ratio (GOR), R,, , is the amount of gas that will evolve from the oil as the pressure is reduced to atmospheric from some higher pressure. It is usually expressed in units of scf/STB. The gas is frequently referred to as dissolved gas. Oilformation volume factor (FVF), B,, , is the volume occupied by 1 STB oil plus its solution gas at some elevated pressure and temperature. It is usually expressed as bbl/STB. It is a measure of the shrinkage of the oil as it is brought to stock-tank conditions. Total FW, B,, means the volume occupied at some elevated pressure and temperature by 1 STB oil, its remaining solution gas, and the free gas (R,i -R,) that has evolved from the oil. It is also expressed as bbl/STB. Oil viscosi@, po. measures the oils resistance to flow, defined as the ratio of the shearing stress to the rate of shear induced in the oil by the stress. It is usually measured in centipoise and is required for both reservoir and piping system calculations. Inferfacial tension (IFT), co, is the force per unit length existing at the interface between two immiscible fluids. This property is not required in most reservoir calculations but is a parameter in some correlations for piping system calculations. It is usually expressed in units of dyne/cm.

Oil Density Determination Oil density is required at various pressures and at reservoir temperature for reservoir engineering calculations. The variation with temperature must be calculated for production system design calculations. An equation for oil density is

If the pressure and temperature conditions are such that all of the available gas is in solution-i.e., the pressure is above the bubblepoint at the temperature of interestincreased pressure will merely compress the liquid and increase its density. For the case of p> p,, . the oil density is calculated from

Correlations for calculating R,T, B,, c, and ~b at various conditions are presented later. In the petroleum industry, it is common to express gravity in terms of the API gravity of the oil, or:

where y. is oil specific gravity, and YAPI is oil gravity, API.