General Equations for the Bubble Point Formation Volume Factor of Crude Oils

Abstract

General equations for calculating the bubble point formation volume factor of all types of crude oil have been developed. Unlike present equation used in the oil industry, these new equations do not require the gas gravity of gas that is associated with the crude oil. The new equations are intended to complement the recent general equation (Ohirhian, 2010) for the bubble point formation volume factor of a any type of crude that has a temperature below 220.1^O F. The equations were tested with various types of crude oil that have temperatures between 175 and 280^O F. Absolute error between laboratory measured and calculated bubble point formation volume factor varied between 0 -5.1 %. The equation by Standing (1977) has absolute errors that ranged from 0 – 28% for the same data used to test the new equations.

Keywords: General Equations, Crude Oil, Volume Factor, Bubble Point

Journal of the Nigerian Association of Mathematical Physics, Volume 19 (November, 2011), pp 359 – 368