Friday 12 June 2015

What is the difference between live oil and dead oil ?

Oil can be classified as 'live' or 'dead' depending on the presence or absence of gas (basically CH4) or the volatile hydrocarbons dissolved in the oil.

Crude Oil typically has a carbon chain length ranging from C5 to C20. The gaseous hydrocarbons are mainly methane, ethane, propane, and butane (C1, C2, C3 and C4). The boiling point of methane, ethane, propane and butane are -161°c, -89°c, -42°c, and -0.5°c respectively. What this means is that at standard surface conditions of temperature and pressure (60°F or 15.5°c and 14.7 psi), if the oil is left exposed in an open container, the volatile hydrocarbons will certainly evaporate, simply because 15.5°c (surface) is already too 'hot' for these components of the liquid to remain at rest in the liquid. The intermolecular forces of attraction has already been exceeded and thus they evaporate. The closest neighbour to these volatile components-pentane- has a boiling point of +36°c, meaning that pentane  and longer carbon chain components of crude oil remain liquid at surface conditions of 15.5°c, they also remain liquid at room temperature of 25°c.

Imagine a situation where crude oil is placed in a special container, say (PVT cell), then subjected to the original pressure it existed in the reservoir, this pressure is gradually reduced until surface pressure is reached, at this time all the solution gas and volatile components are expected to have been released because of the reduction in the intermolecular forces of attraction existing between the molecules of the crude oil,which happens to be a function of pressure. The oil that remains at this point is actually 'dead' having being stripped of its dissolved gases and other volatile components.
Heavy oil, tar, and bitumen are perfect examples of oil that already exists in 'dead oil' condition. This is because heavy oil, tar and bitumen have little or no gas that may be released on the surface under separator conditions.

Live oil, on the other hand, contains sufficient dissolved gas that may be released from the oil at separator conditions. Examples include normal black oil, near critical oil, high shrinkage oil.
The truth is, at the surface both live and dead oil alike will have no dissolved gas present. Dead oil, therefore, refers to the state of produced crude oil at atmospheric condition.

Typically, when crude oil is produced, at the surface it is passed through one or more separators where the solution gas (C1 and some C2) is separated from the crude oil. Furthermore, the other lighter components (C3, C4 and some C5) may also be stripped off from the crude oil through other means of NGL recovery. C2-C5 are collectively referred to as natural gas liquids (NGLs). The now dead crude oil is then transported through pipelines or tankers to terminals for sales or for further refining.

2 comments:

  1. You have good articles here! If anyone here looking for loan @ 2% rate in return to buy home or other financing needs, I want you to contact Mr Benjamin On 247officedept@gmail.com Also On Whats-App + 1-989-394-3740When I was introduced to Mr. Benjamin, I was entering the market as a first time buyer. Naturally,my needs were a bit different and I had loads of questions. Before he sent me my pre-approval letter, he called to speak with me about what it meant and what could change. He made himself available to me at pretty much any hour via email and texts. He was very responsive and knowledgeable. He’s also very straightforward. I explained to him what my expectations were in terms of closing time and other particulars. He said he would meet those expectations but he surpassed them. I closed so quickly my realtor and the seller of course were excited about that. But as a buyer I appreciated being walked through the process of Mr Benjamin loan offer. From pre-approval to closing- the journey was so seamless and I consider myself lucky because I’ve heard horror stories. I recommend him to anyone looking for loan. Everything was handled electronically expediently and securely   

    ReplyDelete
  2. Top 10 best gambling sites for 2021
    Best casino online for US players 암호 화폐 종류 2021. · 1. Wild Casino - $2000 스포츠 토토 사이트 Welcome Bonus · 피망 슬롯 2. 탱글다희 영구정지 Ignition - $1000 Deposit Bonus · 3. 호날두 주니어 BetMGM Casino - $2,000 Deposit Bonus · 4.

    ReplyDelete