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Reservoir Evaluation by DFA Measurements and Thermodynamic Analysis

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Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology

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Abstract

Downhole fluid analysis (GlossaryTerm

DFA

) has enabled the cost-effective measurement in oil wells of a variety of chemical properties of reservoir crude oils. An immediate benefit of DFA is the improvement of the sample quality of the reservoir fluid in the subsurface environment. In addition, this early feedback on the nature of the reservoir fluid aids in understanding key reservoir challenges. DFA also enables the accurate determination of fluid gradients in the reservoir in both vertical and lateral directions. These gradients can then be analyzed in a thermodynamic equation of state (GlossaryTerm

EoS

) context; the gas-liquid properties can be modeled with the cubic EoS and the asphaltene gradients equilibrium can be modeled with the Flory–Huggins–Zuo (GlossaryTerm

FHZ

) EoS with its reliance on the Yen–Mullins model of asphaltenes. Time-dependent processes in geologic time can be modeled by adding appropriate dynamic terms to the EoS. Simple thermodynamic models can then be used to understand distributions of key fluid properties for reservoir crude oils and aid in simulating production. This thermodynamic analysis of the geodynamics of reservoir fluids fills a gap in the industry's modeling of reservoir fluids. Traditional basin modeling predicts what fluids enter the reservoir. This new geodynamic modeling coupled with DFA measurements determines what transpired in geologic time in regards to fluid distributions within the reservoir. The output of this fluid geodynamic modeling can then be used as input for traditional reservoir simulation for production. This new understanding of reservoir fluid geodynamics is made possible by new DFA measurements coupled with new FHZ EoS with the Yen–Mullins model.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schlumberger Gould Research, High Cross, Madingley Rd., CB3 0EL, Cambridge, UK

    Go Fujisawa

  2. Schlumberger-Doll Research, 1 Hampshire St., MA 02139, Cambridge, USA

    Oliver C. Mullins

Authors
  1. Go Fujisawa
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  2. Oliver C. Mullins
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Go Fujisawa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Florida A&M University/Florida State University, 2525 Pottsdamer St., FL 32310, Tallahassee, USA

    Chang Samuel Hsu   (許強)

  2. China University of Petroleum - Beijing College of Chemical Engineering, Changping, China

    Chang Samuel Hsu   (許強)

  3. Petro Bio Consulting LLC, Tallahassee, USA

    Chang Samuel Hsu   (許強)

  4. Katy Institute for Sustainable Energy, 3418 Clear Water Park Dr., TX 77450, Katy, USA

    Paul R. Robinson

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Fujisawa, G., Mullins, O.C. (2017). Reservoir Evaluation by DFA Measurements and Thermodynamic Analysis. In: Hsu, C.S., Robinson, P.R. (eds) Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49347-3_7

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