The phase envelopes of common reservoir fluid types are shown in Figure 4.6.

The reservoir
fluid types shown are for a gas, a gas condensate, a volatile oil, and a black oil reservoir. In Figure
4.6, the letter C denotes the location of the critical point on the phase envelopes. Consider a
reservoir whose initial pressure and temperature are denoted as pi T i, which represents
isothermal depletion by reduction in reservoir pressure in relation to the phase envelopes that
represent a gas, a gas condensate, a volatile oil, and a black oil reservoir. The phase envelope (A)
for the gas reservoir is clearly to the left of the solid line. The critical temperature (point C) and
cricondentherm of the phase envelope are lower than reservoir temperature, T i. As the reservoir
pressure is reduces at constant reservoir temperature, there is no chance that the solid line will
cross any part of the phase envelope that defines the gas reservoir. Consequently, no liquid will
form inside the gas reservoir as its pressure is reduces by production.

Gas reservoir are further classified as dry or wet. This classification is based on the pressure
and temperature of the facilities used in handling and processing the produced fluids. If the
pressure and temperature of the flow and processing facilities fall within the two-phase region
defined by the phase envelope, then liquids could form within the wellbore, flowlines, and
separators. This type of gas is called a wet gas (figure 4.7). Describing the gas as wet does not
mean that some of the gas exists as liquid within the reservoir. If the temperature and pressure of
the facilities fall outside the two-phase region of the phase envelope, no liquid will condense in
the wellbore, flowlines, and separators. This type of gas is described as a dry gas.

The phase envelope (B) for a gas-condensate reservoir intersects the solid line from
Gas Condensates [ CITATION Dan13 \l 2058 ]

Gas condensates are also kwon as retrograde gases because the phase behavior of these
types of reservoir fluids is characterized by retrograde dew point and retrograde condensation.
However, to begin with, a retrograde gas-condensate fluid is a hydrocarbon system that is totally
in the gas phase in the reservoir. Reservoir fluids that contain C 7+¿¿ less than 12.5% are almost
always in the gas phase in the reservoir initially. So, from a compositional standpoint, gas
condensates are typically dominated by methane (common range being 75%-85%), C 7+¿¿ less than
12.5%, and the balance being the intermediates, which results in a somewhat smaller phase
envelope compared to volatile oils, with the critical point moving further down the slope on the
left-hand side of the phase envelope. In general, the phase behavior of gas-condensate fluids is
rather is rather sensitive to the concentration of the C 7+¿¿ fraction, practically controlling the
retrograde dew point and the subsequent condensation and its characteristics. Another
distinguishing feature of gas-condensate phase envelopes is the location of the reservoir
temperature and the cricondentherm. Figure 12.3 shows a typical gas-condensate phase envelope.

An isothermal pressure reduction path, on the right-hand side of the critical point and less
than the cricondentherm, can also be considered for a gas-condensate fluid. At point A, the gas
condensate is initially in a single-phase vapor. However, as reservoir pressure decreases, the
expanding fluid exhibits a retrograde dew point at point B. as pressure decline continues, liquid
condenses from the gas due to retrograde condensation to form a free liquid or condensate in the
reservoir. The separator condition also lie within the phase envelope because further
condensation from the produced gas occurs due to cooling. A recombination of the produced gas
and the condensate at the surface represents the reservoir gas but not the total reservoir fluid
because retrograde liquid is precipitated in the reservoir.
 It is commonly assumed that the condensate formed in the reservoir remains immobile and
generally also affects the productivity from gas-condensate reservoirs. However, experimental
investigations by Danesh et al. in glass micromodels and long cores to determine the critical
condensate saturation revealed that the condensate can flow even at very low saturations. Ahmed
stated that near the wellbore, where the pressure drop is high, enough condensate might
accumulate to give phase two-phase flow of gas and retrograde liquid. Recently Bang et al. have
also reported on the successful application of special chemicals developed for treatment of liquid
(condensate as well as water) blocking that shows great potential to increase production from gas-
condensate wells. Their results indicated an improvement in the relative permeability of both the
gas and condensate phases by a factor of 2, following the chemical treatment.

In bubble-point systems, the decline in pressure below the bubble point simply causes a
reduction in the percentage of liquid, that is, the path of line BC crosses the continuously
decreasing quality lines, or line BC crosses each iso-vol only once. However, in gas-condensate
fluids, the path, or line