Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Committee Chair

Kashy Aminian

Committee Co-Chair

Sam Ameri

Committee Member

Mehrdad Zamirian

Abstract

In gas condensate reservoirs, when reservoir pressure drops below dew point pressure as production takes place at the surface, hydrocarbon liquids begin to form. The volume of the liquid formed in the reservoir increases as the reservoir pressure declines below dew point pressure. In most gas condensate reservoirs, the liquid saturation in the formation does not reach to the critical level for liquid flow to occur. Therefore, the liquid formed as result of the pressure decline becomes trapped in the formation. The formation of the liquid in the reservoir causes the produced gas composition to change continuously leading to lower liquid recovery at the surface facilities. The formation permeability directly impacts the pressure in the reservoir and as consequence the amount of liquid that is trapped in a gas condensate reservoir. In this study, a gas condensate reservoir model was developed to investigate the impact of permeability and heterogeneity of the gas condensate reservoir on the liquid recovery. The constant compositional changes in the gas condensate reservoir require rigorous evaluation of the fluid system to determine the hydrocarbon recovery accurately.

A generic gas condensate reservoir model was constructed to simulate the liquid recovery and investigate the impact of permeability heterogeneity on the natural gas liquid recovery. Phase behavior model based on Peng-Robinson EoS equation of state (EoS) was developed by matching the results of a constant volume depletion (CVD) experiment obtained from a gas condensate reservoir in the Appalachian Basin. The phase behavior model was then incorporated into the reservoir model. The results of the investigation with the generic gas condensate reservoir model indicated that the permeability heterogeneity has a negative impact on the liquid recovery from a gas condensate reservoir.

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Engineering Commons

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