GAS FIELD ENGINEERING

PROPERTIES OF NATURAL GAS

CONTENTS

Introduction
Composition of Natural Gas
Ideal Gas Law
Properties of Gaseous Mixtures
Real Gas Equation of State
Determination of Compressibility Factor
Gas Conversion Equations

Lesson Learning Outcome

At the end of the session, students should be able to:

Explain the governing laws of gas behavior.
Calculate basic parameters for determination of Gas flow
performance, volume measurement and Gas reserves .

2.1 Introduction
Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases and impurities.
Hydrocarbon gases normally found in natural gas are methane,
ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes, and small amounts of
hexanes, heptanes, octane, and the heavier gases.
The impurities found in natural gas include carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, water vapor, and heavier
hydrocarbons.
Usually, the propane and heavier hydrocarbon fractions are
removed for additional processing because of their high market
value as gasoline-blending stock and chemical-plant raw
feedstock.
What usually reaches the transmission line for sale as natural
gas is mostly a mixture of methane and ethane with some small
percentage of propane.
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2.1 Introduction
Physical properties of natural gases are important in solving
gas well performance, gas production, and gas transmission
problems.
The properties of a natural gas may be determined either
directly from (1) laboratory tests or predictions from (2) known
chemical composition of the gas.
In case(2), the calculations are based on the physical
properties of individual components of the gas and on
physical laws, often referred to as mixing rules, relating the
properties of the components to those of the mixture.

Composition of Natural Gas

There is no one composition or mixture that can be referred
to as the natural gas.
Each gas stream produced has its own composition.
Same reservoir may have different compositions.
Each gas stream produced from a natural gas reservoir can
change composition as the reservoir is depleted.
Samples of the well stream should be analyzed periodically,
since it may be necessary to change the production
equipment to satisfy the new gas composition.

Composition of Natural Gas

Table 2.1 shows some typical natural gas streams.

Well stream 1 is typical of an associated gas, that is, gas
produced with crude oil.
Well stream 2 and 3 are typical non-associated low-pressure
and high-pressure gases, respectively.
Figure 2.1 shows the structures of some.

Composition of Natural Gas

Table 2.1 Typical Natural Gas Analyses

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Composition of Natural Gas

Paraffin Compounds (saturated straight chain)

Fig (2.1) Hydrocarbon Gas Molecule Structures

The Ideal Gas

Boyles Law
If the temperature of a given gas is constant, volume of gas
varies inversely with the absolute pressure.
This relation is
OR

OR

( 2.1 )

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Example (1)
A quantity of gas at a pressure of 50 psig has a volume of 1000 cu
ft. If the gas is compressed to 100 psig, what volume would it
occupy? Assume the barometric pressure is 14.73 psia and the
temperature of the gas remains constant.
Solution

Substituting in Eqn 2.1 would give

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The Ideal Gas

Charles Law
1. If the pressure on a particular quantity of gas is held constant,
the volume will vary directly as the absolute temperature.
OR

OR

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The Ideal Gas

2. If the volume of a particular quantity of gas is held constant, the
absolute pressure will vary directly as the absolute temperature:
OR

OR

13

Boyles and Charles Laws

Separate relations of Boyles and Charles laws may be combined
to give
( 2.2 )
It is one of the most widely used relations in gas measurement
work.

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Example(2)
(a) How many cubic feet of an ideal gas, measured at standard
conditions of 60oF and 14.73 psia, are required to fill a 100-cu
ft tank to a pressure of 40 psia when the temperature of the
gas in the tank is 90oF? Atmospheric pressure is 14.4 psia.
(b) What would be the reading on the pressure gauge if the tank in
the above example is cooled to 60oF after being filled with the
ideal gas?
Solution
(a)

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Using Eqn 2.2

(b)

Using Eq. 2.2 again

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Avogadros Law

Under the same conditions of temperature and pressure,

equal volumes of all ideal gases contain the same number of
molecules.
It has been shown that there are 2.733 x 1026 molecules in 1
pound-mole of any gas.
A pound-mole of an ideal gas occupies 378.6 cu ft at 60oF
and 14.73 psia.

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The Ideal Gas Law

(2.3)

Eqn 2.3 is only applicable at pressures close to atmospheric.

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The Ideal Gas Law

Since the number of pound-moles of a gas is equal to the mass
of the gas divided by the molecular weight of the gas, ideal gas
law can be expressed as
n=m/M,

(2.4)

Eqn 2.4 may be rearranged to give the mass and density, , of

the gas:

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Example (3)
Using the fact that 1 pound-mole of an ideal gas occupies 378.6
scf, calculate the value of the universal gas constant, R.
Solution

Using Eqn 2.4,

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Properties of Gaseous Mixtures

Physical properties that are most useful in natural gas

processing are molecular weight, boiling point, freezing point,
density, critical temperature, critical pressure, heat of
vaporization and specific heat.
Table 2.2 is a tabulation of physical constants of a number of
hydrocarbon compounds, other chemicals, and some common
gases.

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Table 2.2 Physical Properties of Gases at Standard Pressure and Temperature

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Assignment (1)
Assignment(1)
(1) Find boiling point, freezing point, density, critical
temperature, critical pressure, heat of vaporization and specific
heat of different hydrocarbons and some of the common
gases.
(2) Explain the followings:
Boiling point
Freezing Point
Density
Critical Temperature
Critical Pressure
Heat of Vaporization
Specific heat
To be submitted individually by 16 February 2011 not later
than 5:00 pm into pigeon hole.
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Composition
Composition of a natural gas mixture may be expressed as
either the mole fraction, volume fraction, or weight fraction
of its components.
Mole fraction, yi, is defined as:

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 Volume fraction, is defined as

Weight fraction, wi, is defined as

It is easy to convert from mole fraction (or volume fraction) to

weight fraction and vice versa. These are illustrated in Eg. 2.6
and 2.7.
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Example ( 2.6)

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Example (2.7)

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Apparent Molecular Weight

Apparent molecular weight of a gas mixture is a pseudo
property of the mixture and is defined as

The gas laws can be applied to gas mixtures by simply using

apparent molecular weight instead of the single-component
molecular weight in the formulas.
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Example (2.8)

Therefore, the apparent molecular weight of the mixture is

17.08 lbm/lb-mol.

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Behavior of Real Gas

The gas deviation factor is defined as:

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Real Gas Equation of State

Real gas equation is
(2.17)
z is dimensionless gas deviation factor.
z-factor can be interpreted as a term by which the pressure
must be corrected to account for the departure from the ideal
gas equation
(2.18)

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Real Gas Equation of State

For a certain quantity of gas,

(2.19)

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Real Gas Equation of State

Eqn. 2.17
may be written in terms of specific volume v or density Rho,
and gas gravity Gamma g g
,

(2.20)

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Real Gas Equation of State

(2.22)

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Real Gas Equation of State

At standard conditions

(2.23)

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Theorem of Corresponding States

Critical Pressure is pressure a gas exerts when in equilibrium
with the liquid phase and at the critical temperature. It may also
be defined as saturation pressure corresponding to the critical
temperature.
Critical Temperature is temperature (of a gas) above which a
gas cannot be liquefied by the application of pressure alone,
regardless of the amount of pressure.
Critical Volume is the volume of 1 pound-mass of gas at the
critical temperature and pressure: that is, the specific volume of
the gas at critical temperature and critical pressure.

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Theorem of Corresponding States

Reduced temperature, reduced pressure and reduced volume
are the ratios of the actual temperature, pressure and specific
volume to the critical temperature, critical pressure, and critical
volume.

By the theorem of corresponding states, z-factor for any gas

mixture is defined solely by reduced temperature and reduced
pressure:

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Determination of z-factor
z-factor Correlation of Standing and Katz
Pseudo-properties are given by Kays mixing rules as

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Fig. 2.4 Gas

Deviation Factor
for Natural
Gases

39

 In cases where the composition of a natural gas is not

available, pseudo-critical pressure and pseudo-critical
temperature may be approximated from

Pseudo-reduced pressure and temperature:

where p and T are the absolute pressure and absolute

temperature at which z-factor is required.

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Example 2.9 (Sweet Natural Gas)

Note: No Hydrogen Sulphide

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 At a pressure of 2000 psia and temperature of 150oF.

Using the z-factor chart, Fig. 2.4

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QUIZZ (1
)

QUIZZ(1)

Calculate compressibility factor for the following gas

composition at operating pressure 2300 psia and temperature
130F.
mole fraction
Component
CH4
0.6136
C2H6
0.1828
C3H8
0.1414
C4H10
0.0253
C5H12
0.0029
C6H14
0.0024
C7H16
0.0021
N2
0.0140
CO2
0.0155
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Direct Calculation of z-factors

1. The Hall Yarborough Method
2. Dranchuk, Purvis and Robinson Method
3. Gopal Method
All of these methods have their own Equations. Useful in
developing computer programs. Standing-Katz
correlation chart is handy to put in a program.
Be referred to Equations 2.40,2.41,2.42,2.43, and 2.44 for
above three methods.
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Direct Calculation of z-factors

45

Direct Calculation of z-factors

46

Direct Calculation of z-factors

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Direct Calculation of z-factors

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Other Equations of State

Van der Waals Equation of State
Van der Waals equation has limited application in engineering.
It is accurate only at low pressures.
Benedict- Webb- Rubin Equation (B-W-R) Equation of State
Equation of state describing the behavior of pure, light
hydrocarbons over single and two-phase regions, both
below and above critical pressure.
Redlich-Kwong (R-K) Equation of State
Applicable to mixtures

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Viscosity of Natural Gases

Coefficient of viscosity is a measure of the resistance to flow

exerted by a fluid.
The only accurate way to obtain the viscosity of a gas is to
determine it experimentally.
However, experimental determination is difficult and slow.
Petroleum Engineer must rely on viscosity correlations.

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Viscosity of Natural Gases

Viscosity of a gas can be calculated from

Composition
Gas Gravity
Stiel and Thodas(1961) equation can be used if
composition is known.
Carr et al(1954) method can be used if gas gravity is
known.

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Gas Formation Volume Factor and

Expansion Factor
In gas reservoir engineering, the main use of the real gas
equation of state is to relate surface volumes to reservoir
volumes of hydrocarbons.
This is accomplished by the use of the gas formation volume
factor Bg or gas expansion factor E.
Gas formation volume factor is the ratio of the volume of gas
in the reservoir to its volume at standard conditions.
Bg is usually expressed in units of reservoir cubic feet per
standard cubic feet, sometimes expressed it in barrels per
standard cubic foot.
Gas expansion factor is simply the reciprocal of the gas
formation volume factor.
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Gas Formation Volume Factor

(2.86)

(2.87)
At standard conditions of 14.73 psia and 60oF assuming Zsc=1
(2.88)

(2.89)

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Gas Formation Volume Factor

Dividing reservoir cubic feet by 5.615 to convert to reservoir
barrels obtains

(2.90)

(2.91)

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Example 2.13
At a pressure of 2500 psia and reservoir temperature of 180 F,
the gas deviation factor, z for the sour natural gas is 0.850.
(a) Calculate the formation volume factor, Bg and gas
expansion factor, E.
(a) How many standard cubic feet of this gas are contained in
a reservoir with a gas pore volume of 1.0 x 109 cu ft?

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56

Solution
(a) Using Eqn. 2.88, and 2.89,
(2.88)
(2.89)

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Solution

(b) Gas in place

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QUIZZ(2)

At a pressure of 3400 psia and reservoir temperature of 160 F,

the gas deviation factor for the sour natural gas is 0.784.
(1) Calculate the formation volume factor and gas expansion
factor.
(2) How many standard cubic feet of this gas are contained in
a reservoir with a gas pore volume of 1.3 x 1012 cu ft?

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API Gravity
API gravity is another gravity term that is used with
hydrocarbon liquids.

is the liquids specific gravity at 60oF referred to that of water

at 60 deg F, that is, specific gravity of 1.0, will have an API
gravity of 10o API.
Gravity of a liquid in oAPI is determined by its density at 60oF
and is independent of temperature.
Liquid specific gravity may be obtained by

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Gas Gravity of Total Well Stream

Total Well stream gas specific gravity differs from surface
gas specific gravity where the gas oil ratio is low.
Many correlations use the specific gravity as an index to
various fluid properties.
This should be the Well Stream Gas Gravity.
Following is the procedure for calculating well stream gas
gravity.

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Gas Gravity of Total Well Stream

Well stream gas specific gravity (air=1) is given by

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Gas Gravity of Total Well Stream

When the molecular weight of the tank oil is not known, it may
be estimated using the formula:

is equal to the average molecular weight of all the

hydrocarbons flowing in the well stream divided by the
molecular weight of air.

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Some Gas Conversion Equations

At standard conditions of 14.7 psia and 60 degree F:

Molecular weight of gas = 28.79 *(sp gr)
Density of gas, (lbm/cu ft)=0.0764 * (sp gr)
=mol wt/379
=28.97 (sp gr)/379
Specific volume of gas (cu ft/lbm)=13.08/sp gr = 379/mol wt
Gas flow (moles/day)=Gas flow rate(cfd)/379
Mass flow rate( lbm/hr)=3185 (MMscfd)(sp gr)

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Some Gas Conversion Equations

At conditions other than 14.7 psia and 60oF:

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Thank You
66

Q&A
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