ADNOC has embarked on the second phase of its ambitious integrated capacity model (ICM) project with the overall aim to optimise its fluid production portfolio from the well level to the processing facilities. A key feature of the new software tool is the ability to track and predict fluid properties over time across the entire production network, comprising thousands of wells and a myriad of pipelines.

The reservoir fluid composition is assigned at well level for each producing reservoir. The compositional tracking over time is straightforward for many wells, but complicating factors do arise, such as

  • Lateral compositional variation related to complex reservoir charging history

  • Vertical compositional gradients, especially for near-critical fluids

  • The presence of initial and secondary gas caps, resulting in gas coning

  • Injection of miscible gas for enhanced oil recovery

The fluid systems range from medium-API oil to gas condensates and the key chemical components vary as follows: C1 [5-80%], CO2 [0.5-8%], and H2S [0-35%].

Mixing of pressurized fluids with different compositions at various junctions in the network requires a robust thermodynamics model to capture the associated variation in fluid properties, particularly density and viscosity as a function of pressure and temperature. We demonstrate that it is possible to constrain one unified equation of state applicable to all fluids, as long as the fluid systems used for the tuning span the entire range of compositions observed. Mixing of fluid streams is computationally much simpler if each stream is made up of the same components (although in different amounts) with the same component properties. On average, the predicted fluid density is within 1% of the measured value from a multi-stage separator test.

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