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F.B. THOMAS
Hycal Energy Research Laboratories Ltd.
G. ANDERSEN
Chevron/Texaco
D.B. BENNION
Hycal Energy Research Laboratories Ltd.
0.014
parameters, if well understood, will lead to more accurate evalu-
0.012
ation of the amount of hydrocarbon in place, the rate at which the 0.01 2 Months 4 Months 7 Months
resource can be produced and the optimization strategies as the 0.008
reservoir matures. 0.006
0.004
0.002
0
Introduction C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23
Component
In this paper, retrograde condensate characterization and proper-
ties measurement, explicit relative permeability and two-phase dy-
FIGURE 1: Heavy-end compositional changes.
namic steady-state measurements are discussed. Notwithstanding
Peer Reviewed Paper (Review and Publication Process can be found on our Website)
NAPHTHENES
120.0 Cyclopentane C5H10 0.0003 0.0007 0.90
0.50
AROMATICS 0.40
C30+
N2
CO2
H2S
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
C11
C12
C13
C14
C15
C16
C17
C18
C19
C20
C21
C22
C23
C24
C25
C26
C27
C28
C29
Total 1.0000 1.0000
Note: Physical properties are calculated based on GPA 2145-00 physical constants. ID.: 433-174
is that this scenario (PBHF > PDEW) is unusual, however. Typically, Properties Measurements and
sufficient production to induce two-phase near-wellbore flow is
encountered before sampling is considered; the earlier the sam-
Equilibrium Fluid Characterization
pling occurs, and the lower the drawdown during the sampling, Once the fluids have been sampled and appropriately charac-
the better. terized, then fluid properties need to be measured. Standard vis-
cosity and density measurements need to be done along with liquid
When some bottomhole samplers are opened, particularly in
separation characteristics. Oft times more specialized parameters
low-permeability rock, two-phase separation can be induced, de-
also need to be measured, including interfacial tension (IFT) and
pending on the degree of under-saturation. Bottomhole sampling
plus-fraction properties. Moreover, if phase interference tests are
is not a panacea for problematic fluid characterization. The one to be performed, quantities of the fluids large enough to run core
reason for which the authors always recommend BHS along with floods are required; depending upon the nature of the fluids this
multi-rate surface sampling however, is due to the fact that there can present serious challenges.
may be solid-liquid separation (waxes). Inclusion of these com- This section reports some parameters that were measured on a
ponents in the characterization can impact the dew point pressure high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) reservoir where the sur-
significantly. The authors often see differences in the plus fraction face liquid possessed an API gravity of 39.7 degrees. Reservoir
comparing bottomhole samples and surface liquids due to solid pressure was 82,909 kPa at 119C (12,025 psi at a temperature
separation on the trip up the wellbore. A recent example showed of 246F). The composition of the fluid is shown in Table 1 and
a flashed liquid-phase MW at the separator of 206 and the flashed Figure 2 presents the liquid drop-out characteristics of the fluid at
liquid MW from a BHS at 216 (a 4.6% difference). 119C (246F).
July 2009, Volume 48, No. 7 19
16 MW API Gravity Linear (API Gravity) Linear (MW)
45
Retrograde Liquid
300
Accumulation (%)
14
40
12 250
35
10 V/Vtot V/Vdp
Liquid MW
200 30
8 API Gravity
MOLECULAR MASS 25
6 150 y = -0.0001477x + 39.6578907
R2 = 0.9932095 20
4
100 y = 0.001573x + 164.171257 15
2 R2 = 0.996099
10
0 50
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 5
0 0
Pressure (kPa) 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000
Pressure (kPa)
FIGURE 2: Constant composition expansion at 119C.
FIGURE 4: Lower phase MW and API gravity.
MW low Flashed
300 259.7 228.08
Table 2: Properties of fluids measured.
250 199.13
200 163.61 165.01
MW Liquid Gas
150 113.3 Pressure
100 82.2 74.0 Viscosity Viscosity IFT
48.6 57.8
50 Psia kPa (mPas) (mPas) (mN/m)
0
61.4 40.7 20 Syn 40.7 Sep Liq
2,900 19,995 0.620 0.031 3.40
5,900 40,679 0.400 0.050 0.95
Fluid Type (Equilibrium Pressure)
8,900 61,363 0.350 0.066 0.25
10,600 73,084 0.076 0.076 0.00
FIGURE 3: Summary of lower phases.
12,000 82,737 0.083
13,000 89,632 0.087
Two discrete levels of pressure were used in subsequent flow
quantification (61,363 and 19,995 kPa 8,900 and 2,900 psi) and, times this volume or, in other words, 430 sequential recombina-
consequently, enough of each phase had to be produced at these tions of 700 cc and 43 l of separator liquid would be required.
pressures for measurement. With retrograde condensation of 2.2 As seen from Figure 3, the separator liquid possesses an MW
volume% at 61,363 kPa, it was difficult to create sufficient liquid of 165 and, as shown, simply adding gas to the separator con-
volume for analysis. The high pressures required to reach dew densate in order to increase the bubblepoint of the condensate
point (73,084 kPa) necessitated the use of smaller HPHT cylin- phase to 40,679 kPa results in a MW of 164 instead of 228; essen-
ders, and yet 2.2% drop-out yielded only about 13 cc of live liquid tially no significant selection has occurred in the components that
at 61,363 kPa from the 700 cc HPHT recombination cylinder. Mul- drop out. If one approaches the creation of the equilibrium lower
tiple recombinations had to be done to yield sufficient liquid at phase by trying to synthesize directly from the separator liquid
61,363 kPa for analysis. without complete vapourization and selective condensation, then
For HPHT fluids, it is usually not possible to synthesize the the lower phase will not be representative. The synthetic liquid at
equilibrium liquid phase directly. Figure 3 shows the MW data 40,679 kPa and 119C exhibited an IFT 25% lower than the actual
of the liquid that is vapourized in the gas phase (after flashing to value, and the synthetic liquid had a GOR of 491 m3/m3 instead of
STP) as a function of pressure at reservoir temperature, as well as 249 m3/m3.
the overall MW of the lower phase. Table 2 reports the properties that were measured for the phases
generated from the appropriate recombination and subsequent de-
The MW of the equilibrium liquid at the highest pressure can pletion path.
be approximated by the trend line in Figure 4. The linear trend in-
dicates that, at a pressure just below the dew point pressure (73
MPa), the liquid that would first leave the vapour phase would
have an MW of 279.1 an MW very close to that of C20. Gas Condensate Relative Permeability
The correlation of API gravity indicates that the API of the first Testing
liquids to drop out of the vapour phase, just below dew point pres- Is retrograde condensation going to severely impact gas produc-
sure, would be 28.9 degrees (density of 0.882 g/cc). Remember tion? To answer this question, experimental testing was done using
that the API of the flashed separator liquid was about 40 degrees. It two separate core stacks, each comprised of four core plugs of 3.81
is therefore impossible to create representative equilibrium lower cm in diameter. The properties of the stacks are shown in Table 3.
phase, at the higher pressures, simply by using the separator liquid The stacks were prepared with the relevant water saturations
and synthetic gases for direct recombination. The amount of liquid and then a baseline permeability to humidified methane was mea-
that would drop out of solution with this character would be less sured. The methane permeabilities for the two stacks at Swi were
than 0.10 volume%. To measure the properties and flow charac- 122.1 and 28.4 mD, respectively, at a pore pressure of 62,053 kPag
teristics at high pressure would require a minimum of 30 ml of at 119C (9,000 psi at 246F). Compared to the single-phase gas
equilibrium liquid. With 0.10% liquid drop-out and the HPHT dew permeabilities of 136.1 and 36.0 mD, this decrease in gas permea-
point condition, it could require as many as 43 sequential recombi- bility in the presence of water would be expected since it is thought
nations in a 700 cc HPHT cylinder and would necessitate as much that most of the water would be associated with the smaller pores
as 4,300 cc of separator liquid in the recombinations. The path fol- which contribute little to the overall permeability of the samples.
lowed to prepare the representative lower phase includes recom- The core stack was then mounted in an oven at reservoir tempera-
bining 100 cc of separator liquid with the corresponding gas phase ture with two pressure control valves (PCV): one on the injection
volume, equilibrating at or above dew point pressure and reser- end and one on the production end. With the PCV in place, the
voir temperature and then subsequent equilibration at a pressure pressure of the injection fluid could be maintained above dew point
below dew point, followed by collection of the lower phase. The pressure and the pore pressure of the core could be maintained at
separator liquid is vapourized and then the equilibration step below specific pressures in the two-phase region. Thus, single phase
dew point causes the heavier compounds to condense; the heaviest fluid would enter the first valve, flash into two phases and then
components can not exist as a vapour at pressures just below the liquid and gas flow into the stack. The liquid drop-out characteris-
dew point. This is the path that must be followed to create the rep- tics were previously measured, and a pore pressure corresponding
resentative liquid phase. If phase interference testing were to be to 5.9% liquid drop-out of 20,684 kPag (3,000 psi) was chosen;
performed then the fluid volumes would have to be at least 10 condensate saturation is dictated by the volume of dew point fluid
20 Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology
Table 3: Routine permeability and porosity results.
Stack 1
Provided After Cleaning Target Swi Length
Plug# , % K, mD , % K, mD (%) (cm) Order*
203A 18.4 151 18.9 169 15.0 6.31 2
209A 17.9 101 18.6 116 15.0 6.33 1
210AH 18.5 120 19.4 118 15.0 6.50 4
212AH 18.5 166 19.2 157 15.0 6.44 3
Khavg
25.58 136.06
Stack 2
Provided After Cleaning Target Swi Length
Plug# , % K, mD , % K, mD (%) (cm) Order*
216A 17.3 32.2 18.0 39.9 25.0 6.49 3
224B 17.0 25.0 17.6 34.4 25.0 6.23 4
225 17.1 31.0 17.8 40.7 25.0 6.34 1
225AH 16.3 25.3 17.7 32.7 25.0 6.35 2
Khavg
25.41 36.63
* Huppler Ordering - 1 at injection and 4 at production end.
injected into the core. The pressure of 20,684 kPag (3,000 psi) kPag (9,000 psi). Very little change was observed from the per-
was thought to be conservative from a bottomhole flowing pres- spective of gas permeability reduction. For the higher pressure
sure over the first years of the field project. It was also thought regime, however, with only 2.2% liquid drop out, insufficient sep-
that phase interference effects would not be expected to be this se- arator liquid was available and so a synthetic liquid was prepared.
rious for many years [reservoir pressure of 82,909 kPag (12,025 It had properties that were not representative (GOR too high, IFT
psi)]. Although there would be an initial distribution of condensate too low). This synthetic liquid resulted, when flooded into the core
along the stack, eventually the condensate would reach a critical stack, in a high mass transfer displacement and was not deemed as
saturation above which it would start to flow. It was considered representative of hydrocarbon liquid imbibition.
that, due to the relatively homogeneous stack, the average critical Similar testing was done for the higher permeability stack. The
condensate saturation (CCS) measured would be representative of results from this testing are summarized as follows:
the overall stack. Once the specific volume of dew point fluid was 1. The high and low permeability stacks exhibited Scc values
injected, with its corresponding volume of condensate, equilibrium of 14 and 19% respectively. Critical condensate saturation
gas was injected and the end-point permeability to equilibrium gas changed very little as a function of IFT change from 3.4 to
was measured. Figure 5 shows the relative permeability relation- 0.25 mN/m (20,684 and 62,053 kPag 3,000 and 9,000 psi).
ship for the second stack. It shows a critical condensate saturation This is not unexpected since the larger porous features are
of about 19% at which point the gas permeability had decreased to thought to govern the first condensate mobilized and is not
17% of its original value. This Scc was considered high, but some expected to be a strong function of IFT. Residual conden-
porous media has been reported with Scc values well in excess of sate saturation is considered to be a strong function of IFT,
this(1). although the data measured herein were insufficient to judge
Once the Scc had been attained, the stack was then flooded conclusively (lack of available low IFT condensate phase).
with equilibrium condensate at 3,000 psi and the displacement
2. The gas phase permeability at critical condensate saturation
history-matched with a two-phase compressible relative permea-
(Scc) decreased by 60 and 84% for the high and low perme-
bility model. The trapped gas saturation was 12.6% of the pore
ability stacks, respectively.
volume or 16.6% of the initial hydrocarbon in place. Following
the condensate saturation the equilibrium gas was then injected at 3. Trapped gas saturations were 13.5% PV for the high perme-
increasing rates up to a rate corresponding to field rates of 1274 ability stack at 20,684 kPag (3,000 psi) and 12.6% PV for the
E3M3 STP [45 MMscfD; wellbore of 21.6 cm (8.5 inches) and a low permeability stack. This may appear to be counterintui-
completion interval of 61 m (200 feet) 309 m3/ m2-day (1,013 tive, but if the condensate phase is more wetting than the gas,
scf/ft2-day)]. The residual condensate saturation to this high rate then the smaller porous features might exhibit a degree of
was 43.3% of the trapped gas end-point condensate saturation. The spontaneous imbibition that could reduce trapped gas more
high-rate gas permeability was Forchheimer corrected to provide than a more permeable core. The higher pressure trapped
a value of 24.8 mD or a regain permeability of 87.5% of the ini- gas saturations were not measured since the synthetic liquid
tial Kg value. Figure 6 shows the same relationship, but at 62,053
Gas Permeability 1-Swi Liq. Perm Hyst. Kg
40
Gas Permeability 1-Swi Hysteresis Gas Liquid Perm
Gas Permeability (mD)
35
40
Gas Permeability (mD)
35 30
30 25
Scr
25
20
20
15
15 Scc = 19.3%
Scc = 19.4% 10
10
5 5
0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Gas Saturation Gas Saturation
FIGURE 5: Results of condensate interference testing; Stack #2 - FIGURE 6: Results of condensate interference testing; Stack #2 -
Temperature = 246F and Pressure = 20,684 kPa. Temperature = 246F and Pressure = 62,053 kPa.
Time (s) 0
0.00E+00 1.00E-05 2.00E-05 3.00E-05 4.00E-05 5.00E-05
Table 4: Calculations for two-phase injection at 20,684 kpa (3,000 psi) back pressure.
4 6
Permeability (mD)
3.5
3 5
2.5 4
2
3
1.5
1 2
0.5 GAS - 3000 PSI LIQUID - 3000 PSI
1
0 GAS - 6000 PSI LIQUID - 6000 PSI
0.000E+00 5.000E-06 1.000E-05 1.500E-05 2.000E-05 2.500E-05 3.000E-05 0
00
06
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
Capillary Number
E+
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
E-
00
00
50
00
50
00
50
00
50
00
00
5.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
0.