Crude oil is a complex mixture of many different chemical components, mainly organic compounds (hydrocarbons) which usually make up about 95% of it. The remaining compounds of crude oil are made up of small amounts of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and small amount of metals such as iron, vanadium, nickel and chromium. The composition of crude oil depends on the origin and conditions of formation. Physical properties and chemical composition vary from one reservoir to another and even between different depths in the same well.
The identification of the physical properties of a particular crude oil is essential to provide a basis for exploration, transportation and refinement process. These are widely used in crude oil processing such as refining operations, optimization of equipment design and in-situ reservoir simulation. Producers and refiners depend on the basic physical parameters like density, ultrasonic velocity, acoustic impedance, elastic modulii and the equation of state. The resulting equation of state characterizes the fluid correctly and reproduces properties such as saturation pressure and the liquid phase density. Such information is useful in enhanced recovery of crude oil from deep well.
Last date updated on April, 2024
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