Understanding gas-condensate reservoirs

Oilfield Review

Volumn 17, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 14-27

  Fan, Li ^a   Harris, Billy W ^b   Jamaluddin, A ^a   Kamath, Jairam ^c   Mott, Robert ^d   Pope, Gary A ^e   Shandrygin, Alexander ^a   Whitson, Curtis Hays ^f  

^a Wagner and Brown Ltd ^*

^b Chevron Energy Technology Company   (United States)

^c CHEVRON ENERGY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY   (United States)

^d Independent Consultant   (United Kingdom)

^e UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

^f NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (Norway)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CONDENSATE BLOCKAGE; CONDENSATE DROPOUT; FLUID THERMODYNAMICS; GAS-CONDENSATE RESERVOIRS;

FLUID DYNAMICS; GAS DYNAMICS; METHANE; ROCKS;

PETROLEUM RESERVOIRS;

EID: 33645665102     PISSN: 09231730     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (40)

1. Afidick D, Kaczorowski NJ and Bette S: "Production Performance of a Retrograde Gas Reservoir: A Case Study of the Arun Field," paper SPE 28749, presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference, Melbourne, Australia, November 7-10, 1984.
2. For a case study of the Karachaganak field: Elliott S, Hsu HH, O'Hearn T, Sylvester IF and Vercesi R: "The Giant Karachaganak Field, Unlocking Its Potential," Oilfield Review 10, no. 3 (Autumn 1998): 16-25.
3. Gas-condensate fluids are termed retrograde because their behavior can be the reverse of fluids comprising pure components. As reservoir pressure declines and passes through the dewpoint, liquid forms and the amount of the liquid phase increases with pressure drop. The system reaches a point in a retrograde condensate where, as pressure continues to decline, the liquid revaporizes.
4. Injection of cold or hot fluids can change reservoir temperature, but this rarely occurs near production wells. The dominant factor for fluid behavior in the reservoir is the pressure change. As will be discussed later, this is no longer the case once the fluid is produced into the wellbore.
5. Gas volumes in this article are given at the conditions that are considered standard at the measurement location, which is not the same around the world. Conversions between metric and oilfield units are volumetric.
6. For more on artificial lift: Fleshman R, Harryson and Lekic O: "Artificial Lift for High-Volume Production," Oilfield Review 11, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 48-63.
7. Afidick et al, reference 1.
8. Barnum RS, Brinkman FP, Richardson TW and Spillette AG: "Gas Condensate Reservoir Behaviour: Productivity and Recovery Reduction Due to Condensation," paper SPE 30767, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, October 22-25, 1995.
9. Smits RMM, van der Post N and al Shaidi SM: "Accurate Prediction of Well Requirements in Gas Condensate Fields," paper SPE 68173, presented at the SPE Middle East Oil Show, Bahrain, March 17-20, 2001.
10. El-Banbi AH, McCain WD Jr and Semmelbeck ME: "Investigation of Well Productivity in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs," paper SPE 59773, presented at the SPE/CERI Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, April 3-5, 2000.
11. Fevang Ø and Whitson CH: "Modeling Gas-Condensate Well Deliverability," SPE Reservoir Engineering 11, no. 4 (November 1996): 221-230.
12. In a constant-composition expansion condition, the fluid expands with pressure decline and two phases may form, but no components are removed. This contrasts with the second region, which is considered a constant-volume depletion region, because the liquid phase that forms drops out from the gas phase and becomes trapped.
13. Henderson GD, Danesh A, Tehrani DH and Al-Kharusi B: "The Relative Significance of Positive Coupling and Inertial Effects on Gas Condensate Relative Permeabilities at High Velocity," paper SPE 62933, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, October 1-4, 2000.
14. Whitson CH, Fevang Ø and Sævareid A: "Gas Condensate Relative Permeability for Well Calculations," paper SPE 56476, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, October 3-6, 1999.
15. Forchheimer PH: "Wasserbewegung durch Boden," Zeitschrift ver Deutsch Ingenieur 45 (1901): 1782-1788.
16. Barree RD and Conway MW: "Beyond Beta Factors: A Complete Model for Darcy, Forchheimer, and Trans-Forchheimer Flow in Porous Media," paper SPE 89325, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, September 26-29, 2004.
17. Al-Anazi HA, Walker JG, Pope GA, Sharma MM and Hackney DF: "A Successful Methanol Treatment in a Gas-Condensate Reservoir: Field Application," paper SPE 80901, presented at the SPE Production and Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, March 22-25, 2003.
18. In a miscible displacement, a solvent allows fluids to mix freely in a homogeneous mixture. Multiple-contact miscibility requires sufficient mass transfer between the solvent and hydrocarbons to achieve miscibility.
19. Al-Anazi et al, reference 16.
20. Zhabrev IP (ed): Gas and Gas-Condensate Fields - Reference Book. Moscow: Nedra, 1983 (in Russian).
21. Ter-Sarkisov RM: The Development of Natural Gas Fields. Moscow: Nedra, 1999 (in Russian). Conversion from mass to volume is based on condensate density of 8.55 bbl/ton.
22. Vyakhirev RO, Gritsenko AI and Ter-Sarkisov RM: The Development and Operation of Gas Fields. Moscow: Nedra, 2002 (in Russian).
23. Ter-Sarkisov RM, Gritsenko AI and Shandrygin AN: Development of Gas Condensate Fields Using Stimulation of Formation. Moscow: Nedra, 1996 (in Russian). Vyakhirev et al, reference 20.
24. For more on the role of propane in lowering the dewpoint of a gas-condensate field: Jamaluddin AKM, Ye S, Thomas J, D'Cruz D and Nighswander J: "Experimental and Theoretical Assessment of Using Propane to Remediate Liquid Buildup in Condensate Reservoirs," paper SPE 71526, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, September 30-October 3, 2001.
25. Ter-Sarkisov RM, Zakharov FF, Gurlenov YM, Levitskii KO and Shirokov AN: Monitoring the Development of Gas-Condensate Fields Subjected to Dry Gas Injection. Geophysical and Flow-Test Methods. Moscow: Nedra, 2001 (in Russian).
26. Dolgushin NV (ed): Scientific Problems and Prospects of the Petroleum Industry in Northwest Russia, Part 2: The Development and Operation of Fields, Comprehensive Formation and Well Tests and Logs, A Scientific and Technical Collection. Ukhta: SeverNIPIgaz, 2005 (in Russian).
27. Vyakhirev et al, reference 20.
28. Ter-Sarkisov et al, reference 21.
29. Ter-Sarkisov, reference 19.
30. For a laboratory study of methane injection into cores with condensate saturation: Al-Anazi HA, Sharma MM and Pope G: "Revaporization of Condensate with Methane Flood," paper SPE 90860, presented at the SPE International Petroleum Conference, Puebla, Mexico, November 8-9, 2004.
31. Dolgushin, reference 23.
32. Vyakhirev et al, reference 20.
33. Dolgushin, reference 23.
34. 3.
35. Fevang and Whitson, reference 11.
36. Mott R: "Engineering Calculations of Gas-Condensate-Well Productivity," SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 6, no. 5 (October 2003): 298-306.
37. Chowdhury N, Sharma R, Pope GA and Sepehrnoori K: "A Semi-Analytical Method to Predict Well Deliverability in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs," paper SPE 90320, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, September 26-29, 2004.
38. Ayyalasomayajula P, Silpngarmlers N and Kamath J: "Well Deliverability Predictions for a Low Permeability Gas Condensate Reservoir," paper SPE 95529, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, October 9-12, 2005.
39. Fahes M and Firoozabadi A: "Wettability Alteration to Intermediate Gas-Wetting in Gas/Condensate Reservoirs at High Temperatures," paper SPE 96184, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, October 9-12, 2005.
40. Kumar V, Pope G and Sharma M: "Improving Gas and Condensate Relative Permeability Using Chemical Treatments," paper SPE 100529, to be presented at the SPE Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, May 15-18, 2006.