See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/335125284

Natural Gas Engineering

Presentation · August 2019

CITATIONS READS

0 5,755

1 author:

Osama Rahil Shaltami

University of Benghazi
477 PUBLICATIONS 13,690 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Medical Geology in Libya View project

Environmental geochemistry of the beach sands from Gargar Uma to Al Hamama, Cyrenaica Basin, NE Libya View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Osama Rahil Shaltami on 12 August 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 LECTURES FOR
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

NATURAL GAS ENGINEERING

Dr. Osama Shaltami

Department of Earth Sciences
Faculty of Science, Benghazi University, Libya
 INTRODUCTION

Petroleum is a Latin word of

Petra = Rock Oleum = Oil

Petroleum (or crude oil) is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other chemicals. The
composition varies widely depending where and how the petroleum was formed.

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon.

Hydrocarbons can be solid, semisolid, liquid or gas.

Source rock refers to rocks from which hydrocarbons have been generated or are capable of
being generated. It contains high total organic carbon (TOC). It has very low permeability. Four
types of source rocks can be found in terms of petroleum generation potentiality. Effective,
active, inactive and spent source rocks. Firstly, a potential source rock can be any rock that
contains sufficient organic matter to generate petroleum. An effective source rock is a potential
source rock which has reached an adequate thermal maturity to generate petroleum. When a
source rock is generating and expelling hydrocarbons either biological or by temperature at the
critical moment, it is called active. An inactive source rock might show petroleum potential but it
stopped generating oil and gas. Finally, a spent source rock reached postmaturity stage and might
generate wet or dry gas, but it cannot generate any oil. Physical, biochemical and geological
processes are behind the creation of a source rock, resulting in the formation of a fine-grained
sedimentary rock rich in organic matter, manly carbon and hydrogen elements. A few phases
need to be taken into account when a source rock is formed such as production, accumulation
and preservation of the organic matter. Thus, the amount and type of organic matter found in a
source rock are subjected to environmental and depositional conditions. Biological activities take
part in the production and transformation of organic matter. On the other hand, depositional

1
conditions develop the concentration of the organic matter and finally the post-depositional
conditions preserve it.

Reservoir rock is a rock that has sufficient porosity and permeability to contain accumulations
of oil or gas. It is a place that oil migrates to and is held underground.

Caprock, also known as seal, is any nonpermeable or low permeable formation that may trap oil,
gas or water, preventing it from migrating to the surface. Typical caprocks are compacted shales,
evaporites and tightly cemented sandstones and carbonate rocks.

Petroleum trap is an underground rock formation that blocks the movement of petroleum and
causes it to accumulate in a reservoir that can be exploited.

Petroleum system involves the elements and processes needed so that hydrocarbons can be
generated and accumulated. Thus, a clear definition of it is fundamental in order to comprehend,
locate and analyze a source rock. A petroleum system is composed basically of a source rock,
where hydrocarbons are generated and eventually are expelled and migrate to a reservoir rock,
where oil and gas are accumulated, a seal rock, an impermeable rock which does not allow oil
and gas to go up to the surface, and an overburden rock.

Shale gas is a natural gas (predominantly methane) found in shale rock. Natural gas produced
from shale is often referred to as ‘unconventional’ and this refers to the type of rock type in
which it is found. ‘Conventional’ oil and gas refers to hydrocarbons which have previously
sought in sandstone or limestone, instead of shale or coal which are now the focus of
unconventional exploration. However, the techniques used to extract hydrocarbons are
essentially the same. What have changed are advancements in technology over the last decade
which have made shale gas development economically viable.

Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis,
hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the
rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or

2
upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities
such as sulfur and nitrogen. The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those
derived from crude oil.

Oil sands, also known as bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil
sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring
mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum
technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially as tar due to its superficially similar
appearance).

Coal-bed methane (CBM), also known as coal-seam gas (CSG) or coal-mine methane (CMM)
is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds.

Inspissated deposits, are heavy hydrocarbons from which the light fraction has been removed.
This situation can occur where an accumulation of liquid oil has been brought to the surface of
the earth by a combination of migration, coupled with uplift and erosion.

Migration of petroleum refers to the movement of hydrocarbons from source rock into
reservoir rock. There two types of migration:
1) Primary migration: Expulsion of hydrocarbons from the source rock. This process is called
expulsion.
2) Secondary migration: It is any movement in carrier rocks or reservoir rocks outside the
source rock or movement through fractures within the source rock.

3
Fig. 1: Evolution of organic matter in source rocks during burial.

Fig. 2: A simplified model for the petroleum system.

4
Classification of Hydrocarbons
On the basis of structure, hydrocarbons can be broadly classified into two classes:
1. Open chain hydrocarbons (Aliphatic compounds).
2. Closed chain hydrocarbons (Cyclic compounds).

Hydrocarbons

Open chain compounds Closed chain compounds

Saturated Unsaturated Homocyclic Heterocyclic

(Paraffin or
Alkane)
Alkene Alkyne Aromatic Alicyclic

Composition of Crude Oils

* Average producible crude oils contain 57% aliphatic hydrocarbons (with a slight dominance of
acyclic over cyclic), 29% aromatic hydrocarbons, and 14% resins and asphaltenes.

* The elemental composition of petroleum is carbon from 83 to 87%, hydrogen from 10 to 14%,
nitrogen from 0.1 to 2%, oxygen from 0.05 to 1.5%, sulfur from 0.05 to 6.0% and metals < 0.1%.
The most common metals are iron, nickel, copper and vanadium.

Kerogen and Bitumen

Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. Consisting of an estimated 10 16
tons of carbon, it is the most abundant source of organic compounds on Earth. There are four
types of kerogen (Fig. 3).

Bitumen is semisolid, soluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks.

5
 Fig. 3: Classification of kerogen.

Formation of Kerogen
There are three major phases: 1) Diagenesis, 2) Catagenesis, and 3) Metagenesis.

Fig. 4: Formation of kerogen.

6
Biological activity at the early stage, following by temperature and pressure are responsible for
the physiochemical transformation of organic matter in a sedimentary basin. Higher temperatures
and long period of geological time are involved in the transformation of kerogen into oil and gas.
Thus, increments in burial depth increase temperature and pressure, which along with geological
time play an important role in the organic matter transformation. It should be mentioned that the
amount of hydrocarbons that might be generated in a source rock is exposed to kerogen
composition and concentration, as well as the geothermal gradient evolution during burial
history.

The thermal maturation process, by which organic matter is altered changing its chemical
composition and creating hydrocarbons, can be divided into three consecutively stages,
diagenesis, catagenesis and metagenesis. Diagenesis is the first stage of thermal maturation
process of organic matter. It comprises the natural changes occurring from the moment of
sediment depositions until the first signal of thermal alteration process. Thus, this alteration starts
in the water column, being microbial activity the first process taking place. The temperature, at
which the alteration of organic matter in source rocks takes place, is ranged below 50oC. With
reference to the depth interval, this phase is extended from one hundred to one thousand meters.
In this stage, oxidation along with other chemical process decomposes the material. On the one
hand, anoxic deposition conditions might convert the material from biogenic gas into dry gas.
The term biogenic gas is referred to the gas generated during the degradation of organic matter in
anaerobic conditions by bacterial microorganisms. On the other hand, the increase of temperature
and pH promote the transformation of organic matter into kerogen and bitumen.

Increasing burial depth due to successive sediment depositions, causes increment in pressure and
temperature and the source rock undergoes catagenesis. During this phase, hydrocarbons are
generated at temperatures range from 50 to 150oC and at several kilometers beneath the surface.
As a consequence, a thermal decomposition causes chemical bonds of kerogen brakes down,
creating mostly oil but also gas. A secondary cracking of oil molecules takes place during this
phase due to the increment in temperature, generating wet gas such as methane, ethane, propane
and heavier hydrocarbons.

7
The last step in the thermal transformation of kerogen is called metagenesis. Temperature ranges
from 150 to 200oC. In addition, higher burial depth might cause source rock be influenced by
magma and hydrothermal effects. Thus, at this stage, the increment in heat causes chemical
changes within the kerogen, transforming it into methane and a carbon residue. Furthermore, late
methane, or dry gas along with non-hydrocarbons gases such as CO2, N2 and H2S might be
generated as the source rock moves further down.

Source rocks are said to be thermally immature, or potential source rocks, as the rocks have to be
exposed to more heat in order to generate petroleum. Source rocks, which are found at the oil
window, are said to be thermally mature or effective source rocks, as the rocks have been
generating petroleum, or are actively generating it. The last but not the least, source rocks are
said to be thermally postmature, or spent source rocks, as the rocks have entered at the gas
window and have already generated petroleum. Thus, they have consumed all the hydrogen
necessary for further oil and gas generation. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that
maturation process can be also altered due to the influence of heat arising from the crustal
tectonics or igneous bodies.

In order to evaluate a source rock properly, a differentiation between kerogen types must be
performed. As different types of organic matter have different chemical structures, the
hydrocarbon potential varies. Thus, four types of kerogen are distinguished based on its origin.
Furthermore, the hydrogen, carbon and oxygen content can be used for such classification. Each
type of kerogen can produce or generate different types of petroleum. In earlier times, kerogen
classification used to be made based on its elemental composition. As soon as Rock-eval
pyrolysis was developed, it was found that HI and OI parameters are directly proportional to H/C
and O/C ratios, thus HI and OI replaced them on the Van Krevelen diagram, respectively.

Type I kerogen originates mainly from lacustrine environments, although it can also be
originated from marine environments. It is composed of algae, plankton and other matter which
were reworked by bacteria and microorganisms. It shows high H/C atomic ratio and low O/C
atomic ratio. It is oil-prone, but depending on the thermal maturation phase can also generate

8
gas. Type I kerogen is not usual and represents less than 3% of oil and gas reserves in the world,
although it presents high hydrocarbon potential.

Type II kerogen originates in reducing environments from deep marine settings. Remains of
plankton, among others, reworked by bacteria compose this kind of kerogen. It shows high H/C
and low O/C ratios. Type II kerogen can generate mainly oil, but also gas, providing enough
heating and maturation.

Type III kerogen derives from continental plants and contains vegetal debris. It has been
deposited in shallow to deep marine or non-marine environments. It shows low initial H/C ratio
and high initial O/C ratio. This sort of kerogen usually generates dry gas.

Type IV kerogen derives from residual organic matter which might have been altered by
weathering, combustion or biologic oxidation in swamps or soils. It shows very low H/C ratio
and a relatively high O/C ratio. This kind of kerogen is referred as a dead carbon, having no
potential for petroleum generation.

Equally important is the degree of hydrogen content in kerogens. Hydrogen-rich kerogens

generate both oil and gas, nevertheless, hydrogen-poor kerogens generates mainly gas.
Additionally, when hydrogen is depleted from kerogen, petroleum generation ceases, despite the
amount of available carbon.

Origin of Petroleum
The origin of petroleum still has uncertainties despite the tremendous researches and studies
devoted to it rather than any other natural substance. There are two different theories for the
origin of petroleum:
1) Inorganic or abiotic theory
2) Organic origin.

9
1) Inorganic theory
States that hydrogen and carbon came together under great temperature and pressure, far below
the earth’s surface and formed oil and gas where chemical reactions have occurred. There are
some different theories that describe the inorganic origin of petroleum which include:
a) Metal carbide theory
b) Volcanic theory
c) Earthquake theory
d) Serpentinization theory

Overwhelming evidences for inorganic origin of petroleum

Petroleum is a fossil fuel, and there has never been a real fossil found below 16000 feet.
Nowadays, there is drilling for oil reservoirs at 28000 feet or 30000 feet where there is no a
fossil remains.

2) Organic origin
It is the most widely accepted. The oil and gas are formed from remains of prehistoric plants and
animals. Remains of plants have been transformed to coal and animals to oil and gas. These
remains were settled into seas and accumulated at the ocean floor and buried under several
kilometers of sediments. Over a few million years, the layers of the organic material were
compressed under the weight of the sediments above them. The increase in pressure and
temperature with the absence of oxygen changed the mud, sand, slit or sediments into rock and
organic matter into kerogen. After further burial and heating, the kerogen transformed via
cracking into petroleum and natural gas.

Overwhelming evidences for organic origin of petroleum

a) Presence of brine (sea water) with petroleum.
b) Petroleum is mainly found in association with sedimentary rocks. There is no petroleum
associated with igneous or metamorphic rocks.
c) Polarized light passing through all petroleum resources undergoes a rotation that is similar to
all organic oils.
d) Molecules in hydrocarbons are thought to be similar to that of the organic matter.

10
 HYDROCARBON WELL

Oil well: An oil well is a boring in the Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons
to the surface.

Gas well: A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.

* Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil.

Types of Wells
* There are classifications of hydrocarbon wells
Classification I: It depends on the well production:
1) Wildcat well: The first test petroleum well in a new field.

Well location Drilling well

2) Discovery well: The first successful petroleum well in a new field.

Oil well Gas well

3) Dry well: The unsuccessful petroleum well that produces no petroleum.

Dry well

11
4) Show well: A well found to be incapable of producing either oil or gas in sufficient quantities
to justify completion as an oil or gas well.

Show oil Show gas

5) Development well: A well drilled in a proven producing area for the production of oil or gas.

Classification II: It depends on the method of drilling. There are a number of different types of
wells that can be drilled, and these are described below:
1) Conventional wells: A well location is chosen at top reservoir, and the well is drilled directly
to the target as a vertical well.

Fig. 5: Conventional well.

2) Sidetrack wells: A sidetrack may be required if there is an object stuck in the original hole,
which cannot be fished out.

12
 Fig. 6: Sidetrack well.

3) Horizontal wells: Horizontal wells are wells where the reservoir section is drilled at a high
angle. In a strict sense, these wells are rarely perfectly horizontal, but they tend to be near
horizontal mostly, generally at an angle greater than 80° from vertical.

Fig. 7: Horizontal wells.

4) Designer wells: Designer wells are types of high-angle or horizontal wells that have more
than one intended target.

13
 Fig. 8: Designer wells.

5) Multilateral wells: Multilateral wells are wells that have more than one branch radiating from
the main borehole.

Fig. 9: Multilateral well.

14
 NATURAL GAS

Natural gas (or fossil gas) is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily
of methane. The most common and greatest number of hydrocarbon compounds making up
natural gas deposit is those of paraffin series.

Natural gas engineering is the application of petroleum engineering know-how to the

development of natural gas resources. Natural gas engineering research includes topics such as
how to extract gas and natural gas liquids efficiently from reservoirs taking into account geology,
well locations, well type, well performance, injection and production strategies, production
history, reservoir characteristics, fluid characteristics, economics and many other factors.

Classification of Natural Gas

There are two different classifications of natural gas:
First classification: This classification divides natural gas into two types:
1) Hydrocarbon gases (methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), pentane
(C5H12) and hexane (C6H14)).
2) Non-hydrocarbon gases (hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) and inert gases (helium (He), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr) and radon (Rn)).

Table 3.1: Hydrocarbon gases

Name Symbol Molecular formula
Methane C1 CH4
Ethane C2 C2H6
Propane C3 C3H8
Butane C4 C4H10
Pentane C5 C5H12
Hexane C6 C6H14

15
Second classification: This classification depends on the origin and therefore the natural gases
are divided into three types (Fig. 10).

Natural gases

1) Inorganic source 2) Organic source 3) Mixed source

a) Nitrogen (N) a) Hydrogen (H) a) Carbon dioxide
b) Inert gases b) Hydrocarbons (CO2)
(helium (He), argon -Dry gas (methane (CH4) b) Hydrogen sulfide
(Ar), krypton (Kr) -Wet gas (ethane (C2H6) (H2S)
and radon (Rn)) propane (C3H8) and butane
(C4H10))

Fig. 10: Classification of natural gas.

Classification of Hydrocarbon Gases

Hydrocarbon gases are common in marine sediments. Such gases originate from decomposition
of organic matter by biochemical and chemical processes. There are three main stages of natural
gas formation. The earliest stage is biological C1 formation, which occurs at low temperatures
(<50oC) under certain environmental conditions. The next stage is early thermogenic
(nonbiological) gas formation, in which the whole series of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons are
formed at rates that become geologically significant when burial temperatures are in the range of
80-120oC. Late thermogenic C1-rich gas is produced during the last stage of gas formation, at
temperatures higher than about 150oC at which previously formed heavier hydrocarbons are
converted to C1. Natural gas formed during each of these stages has a characteristic chemical and
isotopic composition.

Based on the methane content, there are two general types of hydrocarbon gases:
1) Biogenic gas (≥95% methane), or dry gas, which was formed by bacterial decay at shallow
depth.

16
2) Thermogenic gas (<95% methane), or wet gas, which is a lower quality gas formed at high
temperatures. Wet gas on the other hand contains compounds such as ethane and butane, in
addition to methane.

Natural Gas Utilization

Natural gas provided about 23% of the total world energy supply. Natural gas uses include
transportation, industry, residential, commercial and electric utility.

Natural Gas Maturity

The origin and maturity of natural gases is usually explained by molecular and isotopes data.

-70
Biogenic gas
Wetness (%)
Mixing
-60 Low maturity 10-15
M 30-45
To
-50
δ13C1 (‰)

Most oils
-40 TT (m)
Tc
High maturity
-30
M = Mixed TT (h)
To = Thermal oil Humic gas
-20
TT (m) = Thermal marine or mixed
Tc = Thermal condensate
TT (h) = Thermal humic
-10
50 60 70 80 90 100

C1 (%)
Fig. 11: Plot of C1 concentration vs. δ13C1 showing the maturity of natural gas.

17
 δ13C1
3
C1/C2 C2/C3
2

0
δ13C2- δ13C1 iC4/nC4
-1
-2

-3

δ13-nC4- δ13-iC4 δ13C2

δ13C3- δ13C2 δ13C3

δ13-nC4 δ13-iC4
Fig. 12: Gastar diagram.

Natural Gas Processing

Natural-gas processing is a done with process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating
impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as
pipeline quality dry natural gas. Fig (13) is a schematic block flow diagram of a typical natural
gas processing plant.

18
 Fig. 13: Schematic flow diagram of a typical natural gas processing plant.

Storage and Transport

Because of its low density, it is not easy to store natural gas or to transport it by vehicle. Natural
gas pipelines are impractical across oceans, since the gas needs to be cooled down and
compressed, as the friction in the pipeline causes the gas to heat up. Whenever gas is bought or
sold at custody transfer points, rules and agreements are made regarding the gas quality. These
may include the maximum allowable concentration of CO2, H2S and H2O. Usually sales quality
gas that has been treated to remove contamination is traded on a "dry gas" basis and is required
to be commercially free from objectionable odours, materials, and dust or other solid or liquid
matter, waxes, gums and gum forming constituents, which might damage or adversely affect
operation of equipment downstream of the custody transfer point.

19
 Fig. 14: Natural gas production and delivery.

Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG)

Floating liquefied natural gas is an innovative technology designed to enable the development of
offshore gas resources that would otherwise remain untapped due to environmental or economic
factors it is nonviable to develop them via a land-based LNG operation.

Fig. 15: Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG).

20
 HYDROCARBON FLUID CHARACTERISTICS

* Because of reservoir hydrocarbons blend into one another, there are no distinct dividing lines
between the types into which may be divided.

* Hydrocarbon molecular in the reservoir system governing by four physical factors:

1) Pressure.
2) Temperature.
3) Molecular attraction.
4) Kinetic energy.

* At high pressure and low temperature, the molecules are attracted more and therefore the crude
oil is formed.
* At low pressure and high temperature, the molecular attraction decreases and the natural gas is
formed.
* There is a positive correlation between temperature and kinetic energy.

Critical pressure (Pc)

Liquid phase Critical point (C)

Pressure

Critical temperature (Tc)

Gas phase
Temperature
Fig. 16: Phase diagram of natural gas.

21
 GAS RESERVOIR

* In general, if the reservoir temperature is above the critical temperature (Tc) the reservoir is
classified a natural gas reservoir.

Types of Gas Reservoirs

There are three types of gas reservoirs:

1) Dry gas reservoir: All mixture stays in vapor state.

2) Wet gas reservoir: All mixture stays in vapor state with a small amount of liquid.

3) Gas condensate reservoir: It is also called natural gas liquids. It is a low-density mixture of
hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas.

Associated and Non-Associated Gases

1) Associated gases: They are gases produced as a byproduct of the production of crude oil.

2) Non-associated gas: They are gases produced as a primary production of natural gas.

22
Fig. 17: Associated and non-associated gases.

23
 PROPERTIES OF NATURAL GAS

* The gas has no definite volume, but affected by pressure and temperature and expands to
completely fill the vacant in which it is placed.
* Knowledge of properties of gases is essential for solving problems in natural gas engineering.
* There are six main properties of natural gas:
1) Apparent molecular weight (Mg).
2) Density (ρg).
3) Specific gravity (γg).
4) Specific volume (Vs).
5) Gas formation volume factor (Bg).
6) Compressibility factor (Z).

Fig. 18: Pressure vs. compressibility factor.

24
 IMPURITIES

* Natural gases contain impurities in varying amounts. This constitutes serious problems.
Therefore, gas treatment required to reduce the impurities to minimum level.

Types of Impurities
1) Carbon dioxide (CO2).
2) Oxygen (O2).
3) Nitrogen (N2).
4) Hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
5) Sulfur compounds.
6) Water (H2O).
7) Helium (He).
8) Mercury (Hg).
9) Dust.

Effect of Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

* The hydrogen sulfide is present in all gas reservoirs.
* The presence of H2S will combine with water to produce corrosive acids.
* The flare of natural gas containing H2S will result in sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is very toxic
(health and environment).

Effect of Carbon dioxide (CO2)

* The carbon dioxide is present in all gas reservoirs.
* The main production problem is the corrosive acids performed in the presence of water.
* Another problem would be the lowering of the heat content of natural gas.

Effect of Water (H2O)

* Every gas reservoir has certain initial liquid water saturation.
* The presence of H2O will combine with CO2 and/or H2S to produce corrosive acids.

25
* The presence of H2O will reduce the area available for gas flow.
* When the temperature of the natural gas falls below a certain limit allows the water and gas
molecules and form a solid phase know as hydrates.

Hydrate Formation Conditions

* Hydrates are ice-like solids that form when free water and natural gas combine at high pressure
and low temperature.
* The structure of hydrates consists of several water molecules associated with each hydrocarbon
molecules.
* Duo to this reason the water should be removed from the natural gas and the gas stream must
be dehydrated to certain minimum limits.

Fig. 19: Natural gas hydrates.

26
 GAS RESERVE

* The gas reserve applied to the prospect gas in the reservoir. Generally, means the future
production of gas which can be expected from the reservoir.
* Often the word reserve is used to denote ultimate recovery.

Classification of Gas Reserve

1) Proved Reserve (Developed Reserve): Proved reserves are those quantities of gas which, by
analysis of geological and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be
commercially recoverable, from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under current
economic conditions, operating methods, and government regulations. Proved reserves can be
categorized as developed or undeveloped.
2) Probable Reserve (Undeveloped Reserve): Probable reserves are those unproved reserves
which analysis of geological and engineering data suggests are more likely than not to be
recoverable. In this context, when probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 50%
probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of estimated
proved plus probable reserves.
3) Possible Reserve (Undeveloped Reserve): Possible reserves are those unproved reserves
which analysis of geological and engineering data suggests are less likely to be recoverable than
probable reserves. In this context, when probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a
10% probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of estimated
proved plus probable plus possible reserves.

Gas Volumetrics
* Gas volumetrics is a static measurement based on a geologic model that uses geometry to
describe the volume of gas in the reservoir.
* Two main techniques are commonly employed in gas volumetrics, namely:

27
1) The volumetric method: The gas volume is calculated using the following equation:

Gi = 43.56 x Vs x Φ x (1-Swi) x (1/Bg)

Where:
Gi = initial gas in place
Vs = sand volume
Φ =Porosity
Swi = water saturation
Bg = gas formation volume factor

2) The material balance method: The gas volume is calculated using the following equation:

Gi = GP + GR

Where:
Gi = initial gas in place
GP = produced gas
GR = remaining gas

Recovery Estimates During Reservoir Life

* There are three periods:
Period I: This period is before drilling the well, the existence of gas is determined based on
geological data.
Period II: This period is after drilling the well, depending on the well data, the gas volume is
determined in the reservoir using the volumetric method.
Period III: This period depends on the production data. Production is done and future recovery
estimated using the material balance method.

28
 GAS METERING

* The common method of measuring the gas produced is by metering the volume of the stream
of gas flowing in the pipeline.
* Since the volume of gas is a function of pressure and temperature, then normally measured at
international standard conditions (14.7 psia and 520 oR).

Gas Meter Types

1) Venturi tube: The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid
flows through a constricted section of a pipe.

Fig. 20: Venturi tube.

2) Elbow meter: A device used to measure the flow rate of a gas through a pipe. An elbow
meter is a pipe with a right-angle bend, and flow rate is gauged by sensors that measure the
difference in pressure between the inner and outer angle of the bend.

Fig. 21: Elbow meter.

29
3) Sonic meter: A Sonic Meter, also known as an ultrasonic flow meter, is a type of flow
measurement equipment that measures the velocity of a fluid flowing inside a pipeline by
transmitting ultrasonic sound waves across the pipeline.

Fig. 22: Sonic meter.

4) Rotameter: A rotameter is a device that measures the volumetric flow rate of gas in a closed
tube. It belongs to a class of meters called variable area meters, which measure flow rate by
allowing the cross-sectional area the gas travels through to vary, causing a measurable effect.

Fig. 23: Rotameter.

30
5) Orifice meter: An orifice meter is basically a type of flow meter used to measure the rate of
flow of gas, using the differential pressure measurement principle. It is the most common
technique of gas measurements in pipeline. The gas flow rate is calculated using the following
equation:

Q = K(D*Pf)0.5

Where:
Q = gas flow rate
K = orifice constant
D = the differential pressure across the orifice
Pf = flowing pressure

Fig. 24: Orifice meter.

31
 DETERMINING THE STATIC AND FLOWING PRESSURES OF A GAS
WELL

* The ability of the reservoir to deliver a certain quantity of gas depends both on the inflow
performance relationship and the flowing-bottom-hole pressure. The flowing bottom-hole
pressure on its part depends on the separator pressure and the configuration of the piping system.

* In order to determine the deliverability of the total well system, it is necessary to calculate all
the parameters and pressure drops. Static and flowing pressures are what I’m really concerned
about, and methods for determining pressure drops in tubing for single-phase gas flow and for
multiphase gas-liquid flow. Inflow and outflow performance curves must be determined. Well,
the static and flowing pressure at the formation must be known in order to predict the
productivity or absolute open flow potential of gas wells. The preferred method is to measure the
pressure with a bottom-hole pressure gauge. It is often impractical or too expensive to measure
static or flowing bottom-hole pressures with bottom-hole gauges. However, for many problems,
a sufficiently pressure and temperature, formation temperature, and well depth. The static
pressure is equal to the weight of the column of gas. In the case of flowing wells, the gas column
weight and friction effects must be evaluated and summed up.

Fig. 25: Pressure drop due to fluid flows.

32
 * There are several ways to determine the pressure either static or flowing.

1) Static Bottom-Hole Pressure (SBHP)

* The estimation of static bottom-hole pressure from surface measurement only involves
calculating the additive pressure exerted by the weight of the static fluid column. There are three
well known techniques to calculate the pressure:
a) Average temperature and deviation factor method: This is the simplest method most
people use, and the only thing to consider is that pressure and temperature must be the average.
This equation comes from the equation of state of real gases.
b) Sukkar and Cornell method: One of the easiest methods to use for estimating bottom-hole
pressure is that of Sukkar and Cornell, whose work has the advantage of improved accuracy and
also permits calculations of bottom-hole pressures with out a trial-and-error procedure. Knowing
the speudoreduced temperature and pressure must be compulsory in order to determine the Z
factor.
c) Cullender and Smith method: Starting with a more realistic approach that gas deviation
factor is a function of both temperature and pressure.

2) Flowing Bottom-Hole Pressure

* The flowing bottom-hole pressure of a gas well is the sum of the flowing wellhead pressure,
the pressure exerted by the weight of the gas column, the kinetic energy change, and the energy
losses resulting from friction. This leaves the general mechanical energy equatin in a simple
form, for the situation of no heat loss from gas to surroundings and no work performed by the
system.

3) Annular Flow
* In most instances, gas wells are produced through tubing. Occasionally, however, a well may
be produced through the casing-tubing annulus. The tubing flow equations may be used for
annular flow, provided proper account is taken of the flow diameter variable.

33

View publication stats