Production fluid, or well fluid, is the
fluid
In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously motion, move and Deformation (physics), deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are M ...
mixture of
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
,
gas and
water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
in
formation fluid that flows to the surface of an
oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas m ...
from a
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
. Its consistency and composition varies.
Fluids may be described by a multitude of characteristics including:
* Composition - the quantity of every molecular component within the fluid, eg methane, ethane, propane, i-butane, n-butane, etc
*Water cut - the proportion of the fluid, which is water rather than hydrocarbons.
*
API gravity
The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water: if its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks ...
- the oilfield measurement of the weight of the hydrocarbons.
*GOR - Gas to oil ratio describing how many
standard cubic feet of gas can be obtained for every
stock tank barrel of oil.
*
H2S - the concentration of this gas. Fluids with a high concentration of H
2S are described as "sour".
*Contaminants such as mercury which may require special material selection and handling
*BS&W - Base sediment and water which settles out during storage
In addition physical properties may include:
* Wellhead flowing pressure
* Wellhead shut-in pressure
* Wellhead flowing temperature
External links
Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary: produced fluid
Petroleum production
Natural gas
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