T

Technology
Today Series

Heavy Components Control

Reservoir Fluid Behavior
William D. McCain Jr., SPE, SA Holditch & Assocs. Inc.
The five reservoir fluids (black oils, volatile oils, retrograde gascondensates, wet gases, and dry gases) are defined because production of each fluid requires different engineering techniques. 1,2 The
fluid type must be determined very early in the life of a reservoir
(often before sampling or initial production) because fluid type is
the critical factor in many of the decisions that must be made about
producing the fluid from the reservoir. 1
Introduction

Reservoir fluid type can be confirmed only by observing a representative fluid sample in the laboratory. However, "rules of thumb"
based on initial producing GOR, stock-tank liquid gravity, and
stock-tank liquid color usually will indicate fluid type. Initial producing GOR is the most important of these indicators; nevertheless,
both stock-tank liquid gravity and color are useful in validating the
fluid type inferred from the GOR. 2,3 Darker colors are associated
with the largest, heaviest molecules in the petroleum mixtures.
Black oils are mixtures of thousands of different chemical species
ranging from methane to large, heavy, virtually nonvolatile molecules. Volatile oils contain fewer of the heavier molecules. Retrograde gases have even fewer of the heavy ends, wet gases still fewer,
and dry gases are essentially pure methane. These differences in
composition cause the five fluids to have different phase diagrams,
which cause differences in behavior in the reservoir and at surface
conditions. 1
The heavy components in the petroleum mixtures have the strongest effect on fluid characteristics. Normally, laboratory tests combine the heavy components as a "heptanes-plus" fraction. Fig. 1 illustrates the effect of this heavy fraction on the most important of
the fluid-type indicators: the initial producing GOR.4 Black oils,
represented at the lower right end of the graph, have the lowest initial GOR's and the highest concentrations of heavy components.
Dry gases are located at the upper left of the graph. The other fluids
exist in a continuum between these two. The GOR's in Fig. 1 are not
normalized to any standard surface facilities or standard operating
conditions; nonetheless, the graph is an aid in understanding the differences among the five fluids.
Black Oils and Volatile Oils

Black oils and volatile oils both are liquids in the reservoir, both exhibit bubblepoints as reservoir pressure is decreased during production, and both release gas in the reservoir pore space at pressures
below the bubblepoint. 1,5,6 However, there is a good reason for classifying them separately. The "oil material-balance equations,"
Copyright 1994 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper is SPE 28214. Technology Today Series articles provide useful summary in
formation on both classic and emerging concepts in petroleum engineering. Purpose: To
prOVIde the general reader wtth a basic understanding of a significant concept, technique. or
development within a specific area of technology.

746

which are used for black oils, will give incorrect results for volatile
oils; the behavior of volatile oils does not fit the assumptions inherent in derivation of these equations. 7
The gas that comes out of solution in the reservoir from a black
oil below its bubblepoint is usually a dry gas. 5 As this free gas is produced, it remains a gas as pressure and temperature are reduced to
separator conditions. As reservoir pressure decreases, the gas leaving solution becomes richer in intermediate components, and the
gas could become a wet gas. However, this occurs late in the life of
the reservoir and has little effect on ultimate production.
The gas that comes out of solution in the reservoir from a volatile
oil is normally a retrograde gas. 5 This free gas will exhibit retrograde behavior in the reservoir and when produced will release a
large amount of condensate at surface conditions. The quantity of
condensate released from the free gas associated with a volatile oil
is significant; often more than one-half the stock-tank liquid produced during the life of a volatile oil reservoir left the reservoir as
free gas.
Thus, the important difference between black oils and volatile
oils is that the solution gases from black oils remain solely in the gas
phase as they move through the reservoir, the tubulars, and the separator; the solution gases from volatile oils are rich and lose condensate in the separator. 5 One assumption inherent in the derivation of
classic material-balance equations is that the free gas in the reservoir
remains as gas through the separator'?
The material-balance equations treat a multicomponent black-oil
mixture as a two-component mixture: gas and oil. Reservoir engineering calculations for volatile oils must treat the mixture as a multicomponent mixture so that the total composition of the production
stream is known and separator calculations (which require knowledge of composition) can be performed to determine the amounts of
liquid and gas at the surface. 5 S
Special laboratory procedures can predict the recovery of volatile
oils under depletion drive; however, these are somewhat difficult to
analyze. 9 Above the bubblepoint, the undersaturated-black-oil material-balance equation can be used for volatile oils. Below the bubblepoint, compositional material-balance calculations normally are
required, either with K factors or equations-of-state (EOS). The speciallaboratory procedures mentioned above help in deriving the K
factors or "tuning" the EOS.l.9,1O
Examination of hundreds of laboratory studies indicates that one
should suspect the presence of a volatile oil whenever the initial producing GOR exceeds about 1,750 scf/STB, especially if the stocktank oil gravity is high. Another indicator of volatile oil is a stocktank oil gravity exceeding 40 API with some color: brown, reddish,
orange, even green. 1,2 If the oil FVF at the bubblepoint is measured
in the laboratory, a value of 2.0 RB/STB or greater is expected for
a volatile oil. 2
The data in Fig. 2 (a subset of the data in Fig. 1) illustrate the differences in composition between volatile oils and black oils. An

September 1994 JPI'

100.000

80.000

~w
~"

..... .....

60,000

.............

is

40.000

.If

:j

:s

20.000

~~ ......

.............

..............

10

20

SO

30

HeptaDet Plus In Retervoir Fluid. mole %

Fig. 1-Relationship between initial producing GOR and heptanes-plus concentration. 4

gradually decreases during most of the life of the reservoir. Late in

the life of the reservoir, when the gas leaving solution is rich enough
to be a wet gas, the stock-tank oil gravity will increase because of
mixing with the condensate from the produced wet gas. These
changes in the gravity of the stock-tank liquids during production
often help in differentiating between black oils and volatile oils.
Of course, black oils are not necessarily black. These are very
dark, often black, sometimes with a greenish cast, or brown, indicating the presence of heavy hydrocarbons. 2 The stock-tank oil gravities of black oils are expected to be less than 45 0 API. 2
Producing GOR's are constant for oils as long as reservoir pressures are above bubblepoint pressure. Both oils exhibit increasing
producing GOR's when two phases exist in the reservoir. This increase results from the existence of free gas in the reservoir that has
a much lower viscosity than the oil and, therefore, moves more easily to the wellbore. Of course, as reservoir pressure declines further,
the amount of gas in the reservoir increases; this causes an increase
in the effective permeability to gas and a decrease in the effective
permeability to oil. As a result, the ratio of gas to oil in the reservoir
flow stream increases (see Fig. 3). Black oils typically have higher
surface GOR's than volatile oils during most of the producing time
because the gases produced with volatile oils are diminished in volume owing to the loss of condensate in the separators. 5 Notice the
decrease in producing GOR's for both oils late at the end of the production period. This turndown results primarily from the severe increase in gas FVF at low reservoir pressures.

6000

Volatile Oil and Retrograde Gases

o ~ auc. (dcwpoints)

. . . . _. _ _ . . . t ..................................................~..t.~.ilS

~
sooo I5L-_ ...~a:.o 00
o

(bubble points)

00

o o~oo

~----~~~-~~o~------------~------------00

0
CD

OJ'

3000

0.

;0

. ~o

f-..............................................0.. ........ ........

~

2000

.... \ ................... "!, .....

:~~

.... , .

..-..

~-----------+-!------.------~.--~~-~---
i

1
1000
7.5

12.5

n.s

22.5

HeplaneS Plu.)n Reservoir Fluid. mole %

Fig. 2-Relationship between initial producing GOR, phase in

reservoir, and heptanes-plus concentration. 11

initial producing GOR of 1,750 scffSTB corresponds to values of

heptanes-plus concentration between about 18 and 22 mol%. So we
take 20 mol% as a reasonable, but not necessarily sharply defined,
transition point between volatile oils and black oils.
As reservoir pressure decreases in a volatile oil reservoir, the flow
stream in the reservoir becomes virtually all gas. 4 However, this gas
is a retrograde gas and is rich enough to release large quantities of
condensate at surface conditions. Thus, early in the life of a volatile
oil reservoir, the stock-tank liquid comes from the oil phase in the
reservoir, and late in the life of the reservoir, the stock-tank liquid
is condensate from the reservoir gas. The increasing amount of condensate in the production stream causes the stock-tank oil gravity to
increase steadily during the life of the reservoir (see Fig. 3).
The stock-tank oil gravity of a black oil changes in the opposite
way. The large amount of dry gas produced with the black oil apparently strips some of the lighter components from the oil during the
trip to the surface. Thus, the stock-tank oil gravity of a black oil

748

At reservoir conditions volatile oils exhibit bubble points and retrograde gases exhibit dewpoints. Fig. 2 is a portion of Fig. I with the
data points indicating that the fluid had either a dewpoint or a bubblepoint at reservoir conditions. The scatter in the data reflects both
the compositional differences among the fluids and the differences
in surface separation facilities and conditions. Differences in the
molecular weight of the heptanes plus are a major contribution to the
scatter.
Notice in Fig. 2 that only two fluids indicate dewpoints at initial
producing GOR's less than 3,200 scffSTB and that only one fluid
indicates a bubblepoint above this value. Thus, a value of 3,200 scff
STB appears to be a fairly distinct transition point between volatile
oils and retrograde gases.
Also notice that only two fluids with heptanes-plus compositions
less than 12.5 mol% exhibit bubblepoints and only three with concentrations above this value exhibit dewpoints. Thus, 12.5 mol%
heptanes plus appears to be a useful dividing line between volatile
oils and retrograde gases. Actually, volatile oils have been observed
with heptanes-plus contents as low as 10 mol% and retrograde gases
as high as 15 mol%.2 These cases are very rare and typically have
unusually high stock-tank oil gravities (i.e., high molecular weights
and specific gravities of the heptanes-plus fraction).
The retrograde liquid formed in a retrograde-gas reservoir at pressures below the dewpoint pressure of the gas is virtually immobile. 11 Thus, this liquid is lost to production, and the condensate saturation increases as pressure declines. This causes a rapid decrease
in effective permeability to gas as total liquid saturation increases.
Many operators notice a sharp decrease in gas production rate soon
after a retrograde gas reservoir passes through the dewpoint.
Although the flow stream from the retrograde-gas reservoir is
virtually all gas, the surface producing GOR will increase after the
reservoir pressure declines below the dewpoint (see Fig. 3). This results from the loss of condensate in the reservoir, condensate that
would otherwise have ended up in the stock tank. The stock-tank liquid gravity increases as reservoir pressure decreases because the retrograde behavior in the reservoir removes some of the heaviest components from the gas; these components do not get to the stock tank,
and the stock tank liquid is lighter (has higher API gravity).
Special laboratory procedures for retrograde gases provide data
suitable for predicting future performance of retrograde-gas reservoirs.2 Compositional material-balance calculations, either with K
factors or with EOS, also can be used for future perforSeptember 1994 JPI'

Black

Volatile

Retrograde

Wet

Dry

Oil

Oil

Gas

Gas

Gas

TIME

TIME

TIME

TIME

TIME

~ o~L- -I
O~I~ o~1t:::= o~ 1~
~:~
.No

TIME

TIME

TIME

TIME

TIME

Fig. 3-Production trends for the five reservoir fluids. 17

mance prediction. The results of the laboratory procedures are necessary to derive the K factors or to "tune" the EOS for these calculations. IO ,11 An interesting correlation is available for estimating the
composition of the reservoir gas at pressures below the dewpoint. I 2
Retrograde Gases and Wet Gases

Retrograde behavior has been observed in laboratory studies of retrograde gases with initial GOR's exceeding 150,000 scf/STB, although the amount of retrograde liquid is very small (less than about
1% of the reservoir pore space). It appears that nearly all gases that
release condensate at the surface probably release some condensate
in the reservoir. That is, there are probably very few true wet gases
(liquid at the surface but no liquid in reservoir). However, wet gas
theory can be applied to retrograde gases that release small amounts
of liquid in the reservoir.
The concept of a wet gas is very useful for engineering purposes.
The gas material-balance equation can be applied to a wet gas by
simply (1) combining the surface gas and condensate by calculation
to determine the properties of the reservoir gas and (2) adding the
gaseous equivalent of the surface condensate to the surface gas production.13 Remember, though, ifthere is a stock-tank gas, its specific gravity (which will be relatively high) must be included with the
specific gravity ofthe separator gas or gases (weighted by gas production rates) to get an estimate of surface gas specific gravity. If the
gas production rate and specific gravity of the stock tank vent gas
are not known, correlations are available. 13
If the concentration of heptanes plus is less than 4 mol%, the gas
can be treated as if it were a wet gas even though some retrograde
liquid forms in the reservoir. 14 Fig. 2 shows that an initial producing
GOR of 15,000 scf/STB and greater corresponds to heptanes-plus
concentrations of less than 4 mol%. Thus, if the initial producing
GOR is greater than 15,000 scf/STB, the fluid can be treated, for engineering purposes, as a wet gas (although there surely will be some
retrograde liquid formed in the reservoir).
The producing GOR of a true wet gas remains constant throughout the life of the reservoir. Remember, though, that the guidelines
for identifying a wet gas for engineering purposes cut fairly deeply
into the range of fluids that exhibit some retrograde behavior. Thus,
an increase in GOR later in the production period of a wet gas (as
defined for engineering purposes) might be expected.
JPI' September 1994

Wet and Dry Gases

True wet and dry gases remain gaseous in the reservoir throughout
depletion; i.e., neither has a dewpoint and neither releases condensate in the reservoir. The difference between the two is that wet gases
release condensate as pressure and temperature are reduced to separator conditions, while dry gases remain entirely gaseous at the surface. Note that the words "wet" and "dry" as used in this classification system do not refer to the presence or absence of water or water
vapor. Water is always present in petroleum reservoirs, and all gases
normally are saturated with water vapor; however, water is excluded
from this discussion.
The "gas material-balance equation" was derived originally for
dry gases. 15 But it can be used for wet gases if the equivalent gaseous volume of the condensate is included in the cumulative gas
production and the quantity and properties of the condensate are
added to the surface gas to determine the properties of the reservoir
gas. 13 Further, the equation is valid for a retrograde gas if the reservoir is volumetric and if two-phase gas compressibility factors are
used. 14,15
The effects of condensate volume on reservoir gas specific gravity and on cumulative gas production are insignificant when the
yield of condensate is 10 bbl/MMscf or less (i.e., when the initial
producing GOR is 100,000 scf/STB or more). 16 Even though some
condensate is produced to the surface and possibly some retrograde
condensate is formed in the reservoir, reservoir fluids with initial
producing GOR's this high can be treated as dry gases. The surface
gas specific gravity can be used to represent the specific gravity of
the reservoir gas, and the surface gas production rates can be
equated to reservoir production rates. Fig. 1 shows that gases with
less than 0.7 mol% heptanes plus have producing GOR's this high;
i.e., if the heptanes-plus concentration is less than this, the fluid can
be treated as a dry gas.
Review

Table 1 summarizes the guidelines for determining fluid type from

field data. 17 If any of these three properties fails to meet the criteria
of Table 1, the test fails and a representative sample of the reservoir
fluid must be examined in a laboratory to establish fluid type.
Table 2 shows the expected results of laboratory analysis of the
fluids. 17 Fig. 3 summarizes schematically the trends of producing
GOR and stock-tank liquid gravityJ7 These fluid types are

749

TABLE 1-SUMMARY OF GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING FLUID TYPE FROM FIELD DATA17

Initial producing gas/liquid

ratio, scf/STB
Initial stock-tank liquid gravity,
API
Color of stock-tank liquid

Black Oil

Volatile Oil

Retrograde
Gas

Wet Gas

Dry Gas

':1,750

1,750 to 3,200

>3,200

>15,000"

100,000"

<45

>40

>40

Up 10 70

No liquid

Dark

Colored

Lightly colored

Water white

No liquid

"For engineering purposes.

TABLE 2-EXPECTED RESULTS OF LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF THE FIVE FLUID TYPES17

Phase change in reservoir

Heptanes plus, mol%
Oil FVF at bubblepoint

Black Oil

Volatile Oil

Bubblepoint
>20%
<2.0

Bubblepoint
20 to 12.5
>2.0

Retrograde
Gas

Wet Gas

Dry Gas

Dewpoint
<12.5

No phase change
<4"

No phase change
<0.7"

"For engineering purposes.

defined for engineering purposes. They should not be confused with
reservoir fluid descriptions defined by legal agencies that regulate
the petroleum industry. Regulatory definitions of oil, crude oil, condensate, gas, natural gas, casing-head gas, etc., are not related to
these engineering definitions and, in fact, often contradict them.

References
1. McCain, W.D. Jr.: The Properties of Petroleum Fluids, second edition,
PennWell Books, Tulsa (1990) 148-58,409-11.
2. Moses, P.L.: "Engineering Applications of Phase Behavior of Crude Oil
and Condensate Systems," JPT (July 1986) 715.
3. McCain, W.D. Jr.: "Reservoir-Fluid Property Correlations-State of the
Art," SPERE (May 1991) 266.
4. McCain, W.D. Jr.: "Chemical Composition Determines Behavior of
Reservoir Fluids," Pet. Eng. Inti. (Oct. 1993) 18.
5. McCain, W.D. Jr.: "Black Oils and Volatile Oils-What's the Difference?," Pet. Eng, Inti. (Nov. 1993) 24.
6. Jacoby, R.H. and Berry, V.J. Jr.: "A Method for Predicting Depletion
Performance of a Reservoir Producing Volatile Crude Oil," Trans.,
AIME (1957) 210, 27.
7. Schilthuis, R.J.: "Active Oil and Reservoir Energy," Trans., AIME
(1936) 118, 33.
8. Cordell, J.e. and Ebert, C.K.: "A Case History-Comparison of Predicted and Actual Performance of a Reservoir Producing Volatile Crude
Oil," JPT (Nov. 1965) 1291.
9. Reudelhuber, EO. and Hinds, R.E: "Compositional Material Balance
Method for Prediction of Recovery for Volatile Oil Depletion Drive
Reservoirs," Trans., AIME (1957) 210,19.
10. Coats, K.H. and Smart, G.T.: "Application of a Regression Based EOS
PVT Program to Laboratory Data," SPERE (May 1986) 277.
11. McCain, W.D. Jr. and Bridges, 8.: "Volatile Oils and Retrograde
Gases-What's the Difference?," Pet. Eng. IntI. (Jan. 1994) 35.
12. Niemstschik, G.E., Poetmann, EH., and Thompson, R.S.: "Correlation
for Determining Gas Condensate Composition," paper SPE 26183 pres-

750

ented at the 1993 SPE Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, June

28-30.
13. Gold, D.K., McCain, W.D. Jr., and Jennings, J.W.: "An Improved Method for the Determination of the Reservoir-Gas Specific Gravity for Retrograde Gases," JPT(July 1989) 747, Trans., AIME, 287.
14. Rayes, D.G. et al.: ''Two-Phase Compressibility Factors for Retrograde
Gases," SPEFE (March 1992) 87, Trans., AIME, 293.
15. Craft, B.C. and Hawkins, M.E: Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (1959) 39-44, 82.
16. McCain, W.D. Jr. and Piper, L.D.: "Reservoir Gases Exhibit Subtle Differences," Pet. Eng. IntI., (March 1994) 45.
17. McCain, W.D. Jr.: "Revised Gas-Oil Ratio Criteria-Key Indicator of
Reservoir Fluid Type," Pet. Eng. IntI. (April 1994) 57.

William D. McCain Jr. is a senior executive with SA Holditch &

Assocs. Inc. in College Station, TX, and a part-time visiting professor of petroleum engineering atTexas A&M U. He has written two
editions of Properties of Petroleum Fluids. He holds a BS degree
from Mississippi State U. and MS and PhD degrees from Georgia
Inst. of Technology. McCain teaches the SPE short course "Review for the Principles and Practice Examination" and taught the
short course on reservoir fluid properties. He is a member of the
Editorial Review Committee and was a member of the 1986-89
Career Guidance, 1972-75 Textbook, and 1967-71 Education
and Accreditation (1970 chairperson) committees.

September 1994 JPT