Fundamental PVT Calculations for Associated and Gas/Condensate Natural-Gas Systems

Abstract

Summary Problems with existing procedures used to estimate gas pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) properties are identified. The situation is reviewed, and methods are proposed to alleviate these problems. Natural gases are derived from two basic sources: associated gas, which is liberated from oil, and gas condensates, where hydrocarbon liquid, if present, is vaporized in the gas phase. The two gases are fundamentally different in that a high-gravity associated gas is typically rich in ethane through pentane, while gas condensates are rich in heptanes-plus. Additionally, either type of gas may contain nonhydrocarbon impurities such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Failure to distinguish properly between the two types of gases can result in calculation errors in excess of those allowable for technical work. Sutton (1985) investigated high-gravity gas/condensate gases and developed methods for estimating pseudocritical properties that resulted in more-accurate Z factors. The method is suitable for all light natural gases and the heavier gas/condensate gases. It should not be used for high-gravity hydrocarbon gases that do not contain a significant heptanes-plus component. The original Sutton database of gas/condensate PVT properties has been expanded to 2,264 gas compositions with more than 10,000 gas-compressibility-factor measurements. A database of associated-gas compositions containing more than 3,200 compositions has been created to evaluate suitable methods for estimating PVT properties for this category of gas. Pure-component data for methane (CH4), methane-propane, methane-n-butane, methane-n-decane, and methane-propane-n-decane have been compiled to determine the suitability of the derived methods. The Wichert (1970) database of sour-gas-compressibility factors has been supplemented with additional field and pure-component data to investigate suitable adjustments to pseudocritical properties that ensure accurate estimates of compressibility factors. Mathematical representations of compressibility-factor charts commonly used by the engineering community and methods used by the geophysics community are investigated. Generally, these representations/methods are robust and have been found suitable for ranges beyond those recommended originally. Natural-gas viscosity, typically estimated through correlation, has been found to be inadequate for high-gravity gas condensates, requiring revised procedures for accurate calculations.