I found one study about that: http://cseg.ca/assets/files/resources/abstracts/2006/135S0131.pdf
According to their data, density for bitumen is about 1.01 g/cm3 for t=+20 Celcius but drops to 0.995 already at t=+40 C.
They also mention 2.1 g/cm3 for oil sands. This is because density of sand is much higher.
Dear Patrick
The fluid column can be more complicated than conventional reservoirs. Here are some possibilities:
1. bitumen with or without bottom water
2. top water over bitumen with or without bottom water
3. gas over bitumen with or without bottom water
4. gas over top water over bitumen with or without bottom water
5. any of the above with gas distributed unevenly in the main bitumen zone.
The oil sands of Alberta appear to be an easy task for a petrophysicist. After all, the sands are pretty clean, quite porous, and the fluid properties are reasonably well known. Even a novice geologist should be able to do it. However, a series of forensic log analyses over the last 30 years or so suggest that there are some basic misunderstandings about how oil sand cores are analyzed and how to calibrate log analysis results to that data.
DEAN-STARK CORE ANALYSIS METHOD
This method is used in poorly consolidated rocks such as oil sands and involves disaggregating the samples and weighing their constituent components. Samples are usually frozen or wrapped in plastic to preserve the contents during transport.
Dean-Stark laboratory apparatus ==>
In the lab, the still frozen cores are slabbed for photography and description, then samples are selected and weighed.
Samples are then heated and crumbled to drive off water, and weighed again. The weight loss gives the water weight. Solvents are used to remove oil. The sample is weighed again and the weight loss is the weight of oil. The matrix rock is separated into clay and mineral components by flotation, dried and weighed again, giving the weight of clay and weight of the mineral grains.
1: WTwtr = WTsample - WTheated
2: WToil = WTheated - WTminerals&clay
By dividing each weight by its respective density and adjusting each result for the total weight of the sample, the volume fraction of each is obtained. Porosity is the sum of water plus oil volume fractions Because the bound water in the clay is driven off by the drying sequences, this porosity is the total porosity.
3: VOLwtr = WTwtr / DENSwtr / WTsample
4: VOLtar = WTtar / DENStar / WTsample
5: PHIcore = VOLwtr + VOLtar
Moreover the bulk density was estimated previously by Clerk (1957) you can find his work in link below:
link: http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/INF/PDF/INF_022.pdf
Chorpa (2010) have discussed about density of fluid tar sand type
link: https://books.google.de/books?id=Y1-gwOIw3h4C&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=Tar+sand+fluid+density+measuring&source=bl&ots=39YeKKI_G_&sig=s-7wDqnU1k5jsYOe_b7oJvTQfLI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCWoVChMI1-3f1tm0xwIVAj8UCh3LaQge#v=onepage&q=Tar%20sand%20fluid%20density%20measuring&f=false
Speight (2013) explained Classes of Fluids which presented fluid charactristcs in reservoir
link: https://books.google.de/books?id=_bxAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=Tar+sand+fluid+density&source=bl&ots=ZTGzpfjtj-&sig=RLYezkoCd6J8cNvrvhz-id3mRIM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCYQ6AEwADgKahUKEwi727Gq27THAhXLPhQKHSbEDNo#v=onepage&q=Tar%20sand%20fluid%20density&f=false
Work of Speight is a completely discussion on the habitat of fluids of reservoir.
Greaves and Bentaher (2006) studied on characteristic of some fluids (Heavy oil, Tar sand and etc)
link: http://www.helgroup.de/articles/pdf/d9b2fa8882246366/Oil%20Recovery%20Tests.pdf
Regards
Massih
Bitumen(in oil sands) is defined as oil having less than 10° API gravity(density >1gm/cc; 1000kg/CuM) and a viscosity of more than 10,000 cp at ambient conditions. Bitumen is distributed across Alberta in Lower Cretaceous sandstones and underlying Devonian carbonate reservoirs of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. These biodegraded oils exhibit wide variations in fluid properties laterally and vertically, on both local and regional scales, with API gravities as low as 6° and with dead-oil viscosity in the range of thousands to tens of millions of centipoises at reservoir conditions . Oil sands oil is thus denser than water.
A link to some recent literature is in:-
Stephen R. Larter and Ian M. Head
Unconventional Hydrocarbons: Oil Sands and Heavy Oil: Origin and Exploitation
ELEMENTS, August 2014, v. 10, p. (4): 277-283,
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Philosophy
- Esthetics
- Interpretation