Category: Oil and Gas business

The movement of underground waters

Impermeable formations, such as shales and siltstones, tend to be finer grained or of a mixed grain size, with smaller, fewer, or less interconnected pores.

Hydrocarbon dew-point is to prevent the condensation and accumulation of hydrocarbon liquids at low points in the gas distribution grid. The hydrocarbon dew-point specification is usually achieved by removing a proportion of the higher hydrocarbons (typically butanes and heavier) from the process gas stream by using different refrigeration, absorption, adsorption or other technologies.

There are three common techniques for the measurement of hydrocarbon dew-point. The first is by far the most commonly accepted method – a fundamental chilled mirror technique which relies on the cooling of a mirrored surface in contact with the gas stream. As the dew-point temperature is reached, condensate starts to appear on the mirrored surface. The temperature of the mirror at the point where condensate is first observed is, by definition, the dew point. However, this manual, optical technique is not particularly appropriate because the observation of hydrocarbon condensate is very subjective to the human eye.

The second technique involves the analysis of gas composition using a process gas chromatograph, combined with a calculation method based upon equations of state that estimates the resultant hydrocarbon dew-point temperature. Whilst this methodology is capable of giving a reasonable degree of accuracy in terms of the hydrocarbon dew-point temperature, to do so requires analysis of a large number of hydrocarbon components which is expensive and complex.

The third technique, not widely used within industry, is the measurement of potential hydrocarbon liquid content (PHLC). This technique effectively measures the amount of hydrocarbon liquid, in milligrams per cubic meter, which will condense out of a natural gas stream at a particular operating temperature. It is therefore a parallel measurement to hydrocarbon dew-point temperature. It has the advantage that it is a fundamental measurement that can be related back to mass and flow standards, but has the considerable disadvantage that it is quite difficult to realize in practice and is therefore more suited to a periodic validation technique than to an on-line measurement process.

Although the three techniques above have their particular weaknesses, all are used to varying levels of success to determine the hydrocarbon dew-point (or PHLC) of natural gas.

The area of geology that deals with the movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks

Layer of rock, sediment or soil that does not allow water to pass through. This could be caused by a lack of pore space or pore spaces that are so small that water molecules have difficulty passing through.

Electronics for solving mismatch between PV panels.

An electric well log in which the conductivity of the formation rather than the resistivity is measured. Because oil-bearing formations are less conductive of electricity than water-bearing formations, an induction survey, when compared with resistivity readings, can aid in determination of oil and water zones.

Natural gas is made up of a large number of discrete components from hydrogen to complex long chain hydrocarbons. Each component will have its own particular dew point. The hydrocarbon dew point is the temperature (at a given pressure) at which the hydrocarbon components of any hydrocarbon-rich gas mixture, such as natural gas, will start to condense out of the gaseous phase. The hydrocarbon dew point is a function of the gas composition as well as the pressure. The hydrocarbon dew point is universally used in the natural gas industry as an important quality parameter, stipulated in contractual specifications and enforced throughout the natural gas supply chain, from producers through processing, transmission and distribution companies to final end users. The hydrocarbon dew point is analyzed by a hydrocarbon dew point analyzer