Condensates

What is condensate used for?

Condensates are used as refinery feedstocks for the manufacture of products such as petrol (gasoline), jet fuel, diesel and heating fuels. Some condensates, particularly those with a high paraffin content, are used for the manufacture of ethylene.

What gas is condensate?

Gas condensate is a hydrocarbon liquid stream separated from natural gas and consists of higher-molecular-weight hydrocarbons that exist in the reservoir as constituents of natural gas but which are recovered as liquids in separators, field facilities, or gas-processing plants.

condensate product list

Condensate products in a subterranean formation may not flow through the subterranean formation to the location of a recovery well. Although the hydrocarbons may be poorly flowing for different reasons, frequently, gas injection aids the recovery of these poorly flowing hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon may be too viscous to flow in the subterranean formation, for example, because it is a heavy crude that is not hot enough to flow easily through the subterranean formation. Injection of hot gas can then be used to decrease the apparent viscosity of the hydrocarbons in the subterranean formation. For example, steam, at elevated temperature, is frequently injected to liquify heavy crudes (those having an api gravity value less than 20°.) Other hydrocarbon products may not be under enough pressure in situ to force the hydrocarbons through the subterranean formation. Pressure can be insufficient either because the subterranean formation is not under much pressure naturally or, in the later stages of production, because the subterranean formation has lost pressure due to loss of a significant volume of hydrocarbons. Gas injection can be used to apply artificial pressure to force the hydrocarbon product through the subterranean formation.

An injected gas, for example, steam, is frequently augmented with a foaming agent. For example, it has been observed that steam tends to find channels of less resistance in the rock and by-pass hydrocarbons in the subterranean formation on its way to the production well. Since the function of the injected steam is to change the physical state of the hydrocarbon by heat transfer, techniques that allow the steam to remain in prolonged contact with the hydrocarbon product have been developed. One of these techniques is the addition of a foaming agent to the steam, which increases the apparent viscosity of the steam as it passes through the subterranean formation. Addition of the foaming agent slows the passage of the steam through the subterranean formation and increases contact with, and therefore heat transfer to, the hydrocarbons in the subterranean formation.

Gas injection without a foaming agent has also been used to increase the recovery of natural gas and gas condensate (natural gas that is liquid under the conditions of the subterranean formation.) In this application a gas that will not liquify under the conditions of the well, hereinafter a non-condensable gas, is injected into the subterranean formation containing the gas condensate. The injected gas maintains the pressure of the hydrocarbon product in the later stages of production. However, gas injection presents problems of maintaining continuous contact between the hydrocarbon product and the injected gas. Due to the relatively low viscosity of the injected gas and inhomogeneities in the subterranean formation, the injected gas will “finger” or flow through the paths of least resistance. Therefore, significant portions of the subterranean formation are bypassed, and the recovery well is subject to early break through of the injected gas. Moreover, due to the relatively lower density of the injected gas, it will frequently rise to the top of the subterranean formation and override the portions of the subterranean formation bearing the hydrocarbon product. In other words, the driving gas will bypass the product bearing portions of the subterranean formation either by channelling through portions of the subterranean formation already depleted of product, or the light driving gas will stratify in the formation and rise above the product. The result of either event is that the product is not pushed, and the producing well yields little of the desired driven product gas and instead produces only large quantities of the injected driving gas. All of these factors may result in lowered hydrocarbon recovery.

Injected foam increases the apparent viscosity of an injected gas and improves the efficiency of a gas flooding process. However, although foam has been used in conjunction with a driving gas in wells producing heavier product, it has not been used with natural gas or gas condensate. The reason is that in the case of natural gas (c1 to c12) being driven by a light driving gas such as methane, the driving gas and the driven gas are more nearly the same density than in the case of driving a very heavy crude oil with steam. Therefore, it has been believed that foam could not act as an effective barrier because the foam would not maintain its structure as the driving gas and the driven gas crossed the foam barrier.

Condensate gas product list from petrochemical and refineries

National oil company (noc)

Research institute of petroleum industry (ripi)

Crude oil and petroleum products evaluation department

Southern 1 condensate

 Condensate general properties analysis

 

Characteristics

Units

Result

 

Test method

      

Specific gravity @ 15.56 /15.56 °c

0.7384

  

Astm d4052

      

Api gravity

°api

60.1

  

Astm d4052

      

Sulfur content (total)

Wt.%

0.25

  

Astm d4294

      

H2s content

Ppm

3

  

Uop 163

      

Mercaptan content

Wt.%

0.13

  

Uop 163

      

Nitrogen content (total)

Ppm

<10

  

Astm d4629

      

Water content

Ppm

<0.025

  

Astm d4006

      

Salt content

P.t.b

<1

  

Astm d3230

      

Pona analysis:

     
      

*saturate

Vol.%

88.9

   
     

Astm d1319

Olefins

Vol.%

0.8

  
   
      

Aromatics

Vol.%

10.3

   
      

Kinematic viscosity @ 0 °c

Mm2 /s

1.097

   
      

Kinematic viscosity @ 10 °c

Mm2 /s

0.984

  

Astm d445

      

Kinematic viscosity @ 20 °c

Mm2 /s

0.836

   
      

Cloud point

°c

-30

  

Astm d2500

      

Pour point (upper)

°c

<-45

  

Astm d97

      

Reid vapor pressure

Psi

9.70

  

Astm d5191

      

Wax content

Wt.%

0.30

  

Bp 237

      

Corrosion copper strip (3h/50°c)

1b

  

Astm d130

      

Total acid number

Mg koh/g

0.10

  

Astm d 664

      

Aniline point

°c

60

  

Ip2

      

Molecular weight

G/mol

124

  

Osmomat

      

Saybolt color

22.5

  

Astm d156

      

Bromine index

Mgbr2/100g

867

  

Ip 130

      

Lead content

Mg/kg

<1

  

Astm d 5863

     

*s: saturate= paraffin+naphthene

Sampling date: 17 mordad 1394 (08 aug. 2015)

 

Report date: 24 shahrivar 1394 (15 sep. 2015)

 

National oil company (noc)

Research institute of petroleum industry (ripi)

Crude oil and petroleum products evaluation department

Southern pars 1 condensate

 

Table 2: tbp distillation analysis (astm d2892)

Frac. No.

Boiling range, °c

Yield, wt.%

Cumulative

Sp.gr. @

Yield, vol.%

Cumulative

 

Yield, wt.%

15.56/15.56 °c

Yield, vol.%

 
     
        

1

Ibp-15

4.37

4.37

0.5846

5.52

5.52

 
        

2

15-65

15.33

19.70

0.6442

17.57

23.09

 
        

3

65-100

18.70

38.40

0.7231

19.10

42.19

 
        

4

100-125

11.94

50.34

0.7445

11.84

54.03

 
        

5

125-150

10.60

60.94

0.7642

10.24

64.27

 
        

6

150-175

9.30

70.24

0.7782

8.82

73.09

 
        

7

175-200

7.35

77.59

0.7875

6.89

79.98

 
        

8

200-225

6.10

83.69

0.8015

5.62

85.60

 
        

9

225-250

4.97

88.66

0.8188

4.48

90.08

 
        

10

250-275

3.38

92.04

0.8290

3.01

93.09

 
        

11

275-300

2.46

94.50

0.8351

2.18

95.27

 
        

12

300-325

2.06

96.56

0.8545

1.78

97.05

 
        

13

325+

3.44

100.00

0.8610

2.95

100.00

 
        

National oil company (noc)

Research institute of petroleum industry (ripi)

Crude oil and petroleum products evaluation department

Southern pars (2 & 3) condensate

 Condensate general properties analysis

 

Characteristics

Units

Result

Test method

 
     

Specific gravity @ 15.56 /15.56 °c

0.7371

Astm d4052

 
     

Api gravity

°api

60.5

Astm d4052

 
     

Sulfur content (total)

Wt.%

0.28

Astm d4294

 
     

H2s content

Ppm

<1

Uop 163

 
     

Mercaptan content

Wt.%

0.21

Uop 163

 
     

Nitrogen content (total)

Ppm

<10

Astm d4629

 
     

Water content

Ppm

<0.025

Astm d4006

 
     

Salt content

P.t.b

<1

Astm d3230

 
     

Pona analysis:

    
     

*saturate

Vol.%

90.0

  
   

Astm d1319

 

Olefins

Vol.%

1.0

 
  
     

Aromatics

Vol.%

9.0

  
     

Kinematic viscosity @ 0 °c

Mm2 /s

1.114

  
     

Kinematic viscosity @ 10 °c

Mm2 /s

0.955

Astm d445

 
     

Kinematic viscosity @ 20 °c

Mm2 /s

0.830

  
     

Cloud point

°c

-30

Astm d2500

 
     

Pour point (upper)

°c

<-45

Astm d97

 
     

Reid vapor pressure

Psi

9.50

Astm d6191

 
     

Wax content

Wt.%

0.50

Bp 237

 
     

Corrosion copper strip (3h/50°c)

1b

Astm d130

 
     

Total acid number

Mg koh/g

0.06

Astm d 664

 
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