Equilibrium gas-oil ratio measurements using a microfluidic technique.

Area of Science:

• Petroleum Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• The gas-oil ratio (GOR) is crucial for reservoir fluid characterization and equation of state (EOS) determination.
• Accurate EOS models are essential for reliable reservoir simulations and production forecasting.
• Conventional GOR measurement methods can be complex and lack repeatability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a microfluidic method for measuring the equilibrium GOR of reservoir fluids.
• To assess the achieved thermodynamic equilibrium of produced gas and liquid phases.
• To compare the microfluidic technique with conventional GOR measurement methods.

Main Methods:

• Injecting live crude oil into a serpentine microchannel at reservoir pressure.
• Utilizing segmented flow within the microchannel to separate gas and liquid phases.
• Employing compositional analysis and thermodynamic principles to verify phase equilibrium.

Main Results:

• The microfluidic technique successfully measured equilibrium GOR values for reservoir fluids.
• Excellent thermodynamic equilibrium was achieved between the produced gas and liquid phases.
• Measured GORs using the microfluidic method showed strong agreement with conventional techniques.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic method provides a simpler, more repeatable, and equipment-efficient way to measure equilibrium GOR.
• This technique enhances the accuracy of fluid properties for reservoir engineering applications.
• Microfluidics offers a promising alternative for precise characterization of reservoir fluids.