Oil and Gas

Oil and Gas | Reservoir Engineering

Petroleum Reservoir Fluids

Course Code: N980
Instructors:  Mark McClure
Course Outline:  Download
Format and Duration:
3 days

Summary

This course provides advanced training in the properties and behavior of black and volatile oils, dry and wet gases, retrograde gases, and water. Ideal and real gases, phase equilibrium, flash separation, laboratory PVT studies, and liquid-gas separation are discussed. Included are properties of volatile oils and liquid-rich fluids, which are especially important in unconventional plays. Fluid models using both the black oil model and compositional simulation are covered.

Feedback

Great course. I would recommend it for anyone without much petroleum or chemical engineering background.

Duration and Training Method

This is a three-day classroom course consisting of lectures with worked exercises and discussion.

Course Overview

Participants will learn to:

  1. Assess the components and types of reservoir fluids and how these relate to physical properties.
  2. Develop intuitive and practical understanding of the phase behavior of reservoir fluids.
  3. Perform calculations involving mixtures and phase behavior with compositional and black oil models.
  4. Estimate the properties of reservoir fluids, including: compressibility, viscosity, Z-factor, and formation volume factor.
  5. Understand the black oil model: assumptions and limitations, how it is built, and how it is used.
  6. Understand compositional fluid models: assumptions and limitations, how they are built, how they work, and how they are used.
  7. Understand and apply results from a PVT report.
  8. Perform practical engineering calculations with any type of reservoir fluid: black oil, volatile oil, retrograde gas, wet gas, or dry gas.

1. Naming and general classification of hydrocarbons
2. Phase behavior and reading charts of thermodynamic data
3. Mixtures
a. Mixture calculations
b. Ternary diagrams
4. Practically applying the real gas law
5. Theoretical background for flash calculations and differential vaporization experiments
6. Classification and properties of different petroleum fluids
7. Calculating reservoir properties of dry gases
8. Calculating reservoir properties of wet gases (gas condensates)
9. The black oil model
a. Assumptions and limitations
b. How black oil properties are derived from laboratory experiments
c. Mass balance calculations with the black oil model
10. Laboratory experiments specific for characterizing wet gases and volatile oils
11. Calculating reservoir properties of black oils
12. Calculating compressibility of different reservoir mixtures
13. Calculating reservoir properties of reservoir waters
14. Compositional fluid simulation
a. Fluid sampling methods
b. Compositional analysis techniques
c. Compositional lumping
d. Regression for EOS tuning
e. Applications to flow assurance

This course is designed for engineers of all levels of experience who apply properties of reservoir fluids in production optimization, reserve estimation, and reservoir development studies.

Mark McClure

Background
Dr. McClure leads the Fracturing, Deformation, and Fluid Flow research group, which has nine graduate students working on a variety of topics involving computational modeling, hydraulic fracturing, and reservoir characterization.  He teaches PGE 312, Physical and Chemical Behavior of Fluids, and PGE 382K, Theory and Application of Reservoir Transients.  In 2012, Mark received the Hank Ramey Award for Outstanding Research and Service to the Department from the Department of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University.  In 2011, he received the award for Best Paper in Geophysics from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.  Dr. McClure has authored or coauthored 15 journal or conference papers since 2010.

Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
MS Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
BS Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Courses Taught
N980: Petroleum Reservoir Fluids

CEU: 2.1 Continuing Education Units
PDH: 21 Professional Development Hours
Certificate: Certificate Issued Upon Completion
RPS is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. We comply with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognised internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices.
We issue a Certificate of Attendance which verifies the number of training hours attended. Our courses are generally accepted by most professional licensing boards/associations towards continuing education credits. Please check with your licensing board to determine if the courses and certificate of attendance meet their specific criteria.