PgDip/MSc Energy Programme /Facilities

Fluid Properties

Fluid Properties
Introduction
The oil found in oil reservoirs (and in some gas reservoirs) is generally a highly complex
mixture. It consists mostly of hydrocarbons (compounds containing carbon and hydrogen
atoms only), accompanied by a variety of non-hydrocarbon materials, some of which
have exceedingly complex structures (e.g. asphaltenes and resins).
Each pool of oil has its own unique composition and characteristics, and oils vary widely
in their composition and properties, from pale-coloured volatile liquids with low boiling
points to highly viscous semi-solid dark-coloured materials. It is not practicable to analyse
each of these oils in detail, nor to determine experimentally their main physical properties.
Engineers dealing with the design of oil and gas facilities have therefore developed over
the years a variety of empirical methods for predicting these properties, and these
methods find expression in various correlations, nomograms, charts, etc which, although
not capable of high accuracy, can be used to predict the required data with sufficient
precision for design purposes.
The book by McCain (reference 1 at the end of these notes) is a very useful reference
which describes most of these methods. A more comprehensive collection of data and
charts can be found in the Engineering Data Book (reference 2) together with basic
discussions of sources, methods, etc.

Oil and Gas Gravities

One basic property widely used to describe oils and gases is the specific gravity. The
specific gravity of oil, measured relative to (fresh) water and given the symbol or d, is
defined by the following expression, using a standard temperature of 60F:-

density of crude at 60F

density of water at 60F

(It is assumed that both the oil and the water are at atmospheric pressure).
In the oil industry it has long been standard practice to use the API gravity (API =
American Petroleum Institute) to specify the densities of crudes and of liquid petroleum.
The API gravity (in degrees) is defined by:-

API =

141.5

131.5

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There is thus an inverse relationship between the API gravity and the specific gravity, and
to avoid confusion it is essential to make clear which gravity is being referred to. Crudes
with low specific gravities have high API gravities (up to 50 API); these are referred to as
light crudes and will contain high proportions of hydrocarbons with low molecular weights
and relatively low boiling points. Condensate liquids may have API gravities up to 70.
Heavy crudes have high specific gravities corresponding to low API gravities between 20
and 10 (often with high viscosities). Very heavy crudes (often called bitumens or tars)
have API gravities less than 10 and will consist mostly of very high molecular weight
compounds, giving 40% or more of residuum on distillation.
The gravity of a natural gas is expressed relative to air by the following relation:-

specific gravity

density of gas
density of air

where both densities are measured under the same conditions of temperature and
pressure. The temperature and pressure conditions are usually taken as the standard
values used in the gas industry, i.e. 60F and 14.7 psia. At these conditions the gas and
air will both approximate to ideal behaviour and therefore:-

specific gravity

molar mass of gas

molar mass of air

Pure methane has a molar mass of 16.04, while air has a molar mass of 28.96, therefore
the specific gravity of pure methane is 0.554. As the content of higher hydrocarbons
(ethane, propane, butanes, etc) in the gas is increased, its gravity will increase. Many
natural gases will have gravities well over 0.6 at wellhead conditions before processing.
Note that the term relative density is now often used instead of gas gravity - these terms
are identical in meaning.
If a compositional analysis of the gas is available, this may be used to obtain its average
molar mass, and from this the gravity may be calculated using the above relation. Many
correlations have been developed for use in the natural gas industry which give gas
properties in terms of the gas gravity. These correlations are approximate and must be
used with caution, as the exact composition of a gas of given gravity can obviously vary
significantly in terms of the amounts and nature of the higher hydrocarbons present, but
they usually give sufficient accuracy for engineering purposes, provided that only small
amounts of non-hydrocarbons are present in the mixture. An example of such a
correlation is given in the form of a plot in Fig. 1.

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Figure 1. Approximate Compressibility Factor Chart for Sweet Natural

Gases with relative densities (specific gravities) in the range 0.65 to
0.75
This gives approximate values of the compressibility factor, z, for natural gases with
gravities (or relative densities) between 0.65 and 0.75 over a wide range of temperatures
and pressures. This gravity range includes most of the natural gases commonly met with
in production and processing operations. The compressibility factor values obtained from
this chart may be used in conjunction with the real gas relation:pV = znRT
to determine the densities of natural gases at elevated pressures.
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PVT Properties
The PVT properties of oil and gas are normally determined by laboratory measurements
for any new oilfield discovery as soon as reliable reservoir fluid samples can be obtained.
These properties, given the symbols Bo, Bg and Rs , are defined as follows:Oil formation volume factor (or FVF), 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). Bo
has the units of rb/stb (or bbls/STB), i.e. reservoir barrels per stock-tank barrel.

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).

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

It is normally assumed that stock- tank conditions are 60F and 14.7 psia. Sometimes
slightly different values are used, e.g., in some US states.

Reservoir Fluid Types

Reservoir fluids are conveniently classified into the following types on the basis of their
phase behaviour (which will be discussed in Module ENM200 Subsurface):

Black Oil

Volatile oil

Gas condensate

Wet Gas

Dry Gas

The properties of black oils and volatile oils can be summarised as follows. (The other
fluids will be treated in more detail in the Subsurface module ENM200).

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Black Oil
This is the familiar type of crude oil, black in colour (or very dark green or brown),
sometimes called low-shrinkage oil. At the bubble-point conditions the value of Bo for
these oils will be less than 2.0 rb/stb, and the value of Rs less than 1750 scf/stb. The API
of the stock-tank oil obtained is typically less than 45, and may be as low as 20. Light
crude has API values greater than 36 while heavy crudes are those with API gravities
less than about 20.

Volatile Oil
Volatile oils are much less common than black oils. Examples of large volatile oil
reservoirs are Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and Statfjord in the Norwegian sector of the North
Sea. At initial reservoir conditions they have Bo values greater than 2.0 rb/stb and Rs
values in the range 1750 scf/stb to 3300 scf/stb. The API gravity of the stock-tank oil is
usually greater than 40. On account of the high Bo values, they are sometimes called
high-shrinkage oils.

Sulphur Content of Crude Oils

Sulphur is one of the most significant contaminants present in crude oils on account of
the problems it can cause during transport and refining, and this is reflected in the
terminology. Sweet crude is crude with a low sulphur content - examples are Brent Blend
and Nigerian Bonny Light, both of which contain less than 0.5% sulphur by weight. Sour
crude is crude with a high sulphur content, which may be up to 5% or more in some
cases - e.g. some Arabian crudes. There is, however, no generally accepted value for the
sulphur content above which a crude is classified as sour - values such as 0.5% or 1%
sulphur are used by some bodies but others adopt different values. Most of the sulphur
tends to be present in the higher-boiling fractions of the crude (i.e. the larger molecules),
but in some cases significant amounts of hydrogen sulphide and lower-boiling sulphur
compounds are present. When this is the case, the strong smell with the toxic and
corrosive properties of these compounds will cause the crude to be classed as sour even
when the weight content of sulphur is relatively low. Sweet crudes attract a premium
price, as sour crudes require heavy additional expenditure in refining operations in order
to reduce the sulphur content of the product streams to acceptable levels.

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Terminology for Hydrocarbon Gases and Light Liquids

The terminology of the lighter hydrocarbon mixtures is a common source of confusion,
and the following definitions should be noted carefully.

LNG
LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. This consists very largely of methane (over 90%),
but incorporates small amounts of ethane. It is transported and stored under atmospheric
pressure in insulated tanks; under these conditions its boiling point is about -160C (or
113 K).

NGL
NGL stands for natural gas liquids - i.e. for those light hydrocarbon liquids which
condense out of natural gas streams during production and processing, and consist of the
hydrocarbons

ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes, hexanes and smaller amount of

higher hydrocarbons in varying proportions. Note that it does not include methane.
(Originally NGL did not include ethane, but since ethane became an essential
petrochemical feedstock it has increasingly been included as an NGL). Most oil and gas
production operations will produce some NGL in modest amounts during routine
processing and this may be referred to as condensate.

This condensate may be

exported by 'spiking' it into the crude oil export pipeline. Many gas processing plants
include an NGL extraction unit which extracts additional NGL from the gas stream and
stabilises it for sale or processes it further into individual saleable products. These are
ethane (sold as a feedstock for petrochemical production), propane (sold as a fuel in
liquid form in pressurised cylinders), LPG (liquefied petroleum gas - a mixture of propane
and butane also sold in pressurised cylinders as domestic fuel) and natural gasoline (a
mixture of pentanes and some higher hydrocarbons sold to petroleum refineries where it
may be used for gasoline production).

Condensate
As already noted, this term is applied to any liquid mixture of light hydrocarbons which
condenses out of gas streams during processing and production operations, so it may be
used interchangeably with NGL. On offshore production platforms condensate is usually
exported to shore by feeding (spiking) it into the export crude oil line. Condensate may
have API values up to 70 and will usually be unstable since it contains considerable
amounts of dissolved light gases - methane, ethane, propane, etc.; if stored at
atmospheric pressure its volume will shrink due to loss of these gases to atmosphere. It
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is therefore usually stabilised by distillation in one or more fractionating columns to

remove these light gases.
It is common practice to quote oil and gas production data on a basis of BOE - i.e. barrels
of oil equivalent. Such data will include the production of oil, gas and condensate, with
the values for gas and condensate being converted to an equivalent quantity of oil on the
basis of their heating values. The conversion factors used are necessarily approximate
and different publications may use slightly different values, but in approximate terms we
have:1 tonne of oil = 7.33 bbl of oil = 5,555 scf of gas

Gas Viscosity
One important property of gases that is frequently needed in facilities engineering - e.g.
for pipeline design - is the viscosity. At low and moderate pressures - up to several barg the dynamic viscosity of a gas is independent of pressure. However, at the high
pressures found in reservoirs, pipelines and gas processing systems gas viscosity
increases considerably with pressure and it becomes necessary to take this into account,
see Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Effect of Pressure on Viscosity of Natural Gas (0.6 gravity)

This is done by first determining the viscosity of the gas at the required temperature
under low pressure conditions, and then applying a correction to take account of the
effect of pressure. Several different approaches are available, all relying on the principle
of corresponding states. McCain (ref. 1) provides charts in terms of pseudo-reduced
pressure and pseudo-reduced temperature which can be used to determine the
appropriate correction factor. Katz et al (ref. 3) give direct reading charts for the
viscosities of natural gases of several different gravities for a range of pressure and
temperature values.
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Flammability and Explosion Hazards

Hydrocarbon gases can present serious hazards as a result of their flammability - when
mixed with air in certain proportions, they can be ignited by quite a small ignition source e.g. a spark - causing a flame to spread through the mixture. If the mixture is in a
confined space, the pressure will rise rapidly, the speed with which the flame spreads will
increase, and an explosion may develop causing destruction of equipment and buildings
and possible loss of life.
The table below gives examples of the explosive limits or flammability limits of some
hydrocarbon gases and vapours, that is the limits of composition of mixtures with air
within which they will burn (i.e. are flammable) and could give rise to an explosion. The
LEL is the lower explosive limit - the percentage of hydrocarbon in mixtures with air below
which the mixture will not burn. The UEL is the upper explosive limit - the percentage of
hydrocarbon in mixtures with air above which the mixture will not burn.
Table 1. Explosive Limits of some Hydrocarbons in mixtures with air
Hydrocarbon

LEL(%)

UEL(%)

Methane

5.00

15.00

Ethane

3.22

12.45

Propane

2.37

9.50

n-Butane

1.86

8.41

n-Pentane

1.40

7.80

n-Hexane

1.25

6.90

(Note: It is assumed that the mixture is initially at atmospheric temperature)

It should be noted that both the lower and upper explosive limits decrease as the molar
mass of the hydrocarbon increases.
The Institute of Petroleum (now the Energy Institute) Area Classification Code defines
various categories of fluid for the purpose of assessing hazards due to flammability.
These are:-

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Fluid Category A
A flammable fluid that, on release, would vaporise rapidly and substantially including:Any liquid petroleum gases or lighter flammable liquid whether under
pressure or refrigerated, when applying the point source method of release;
Any flammable liquid at a temperature sufficient to produce, on release,
than about 40% vaporisation with no heat input other than from the

more

surroundings.

Fluid Category B
A fluid not in Category A, but at a temperature sufficient for boiling to occur on release.

Fluid Category C
A flammable liquid, not in Categories A or B, but which can, on release, be at a
temperature above its flashpoint or form a flammable mist.

Fluid Category G
A flammable gas or vapour.
Note that while categories A, B and C apply to liquids, Category G applies to gases and
vapours. The extent of vaporisation that will occur on release to atmosphere reduces in
progressing from A to C, so C is category for the least volatile liquids.
The flashpoint is the lowest temperature at which a sample of liquid gives off sufficient
vapour to flash momentarily on application of a small flame. The sample may be heated
in a Cleveland cup (open test) or a Pensky-Martens apparatus (closed cup). The
flashpoint is an important indication of the degree of hazard presented by a flammable
liquid. Fuel oil, which has had almost all its lower hydrocarbons removed during refining,
has a high flashpoint, and is therefore much less hazardous to store and handle than
crude oil, which typically has a low flashpoint.
The density of hydrocarbon gases and vapours is a vital factor in considering safety
issues in processing and storage facilities. Most natural gases at atmospheric
temperature are much less dense than air; if released to atmosphere they will therefore
rise, and tend to be diluted and dispersed in the surrounding air quite rapidly once the
source of the release is closed off. However, fuel gases such as propane, LPG, butane
and some streams of heavier hydrocarbons occurring in processing operations have
densities greater than air, and if released will sink and can accumulate in hollows, pits,
low-lying spaces, the hulls of vessels, etc. after displacing the air originally present.
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These dense gases can remain in such locations for long periods if undisturbed,
presenting very serious dangers long after the original release has been closed off. Such
accumulations have been the cause of numerous injuries and fatalities due to fire,
explosion (and asphyxiation) in places such as basements, cellars, bunded areas
surrounding storage tanks, boats and floating vessels, etc.
It should also be remembered that gases released from pressurised vessels, pipelines,
etc. will undergo Joule-Thomson cooling, causing their densities to increase. Methane
gas boiled off from stored LNG will have a density greater than air owing to its very low
temperature, and can therefore give rise to the same type of hazard as just described,
although on a more short-term basis

References
1.

McCain, W D (Jr) The Properties of Petroleum Fluids (2nd edition). PennWell,

Tulsa, OK, U.S.A. 1990.

2.

Engineering Data Book. (12th edition) Gas Processors Suppliers Association

(GPSA), Tulsa, OK, U.S.A. 2004.

3.

Katz, D. L. et. al., Handbook of Natural Gas Engineering. McGraw-Hill, N.Y.,

USA. 1959.

WEM
14:04:10.

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