The Physical Properties of Reservoir Fluids

Reservoir fluids refer to those fluids held in reservoir rocks under the conditions of high temperature and high pressure. Generally, reservoir fluids fall into three broad categories: (i) aqueous solutions with dissolved salts, (ii) liquid hydrocarbons, and (iii) gases (hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon). In all cases their compositions depend upon their source, history, and present thermodynamic conditions. Their distribution within a given reservoir depends upon the thermodynamic conditions of the reservoir as well as the petrophysical properties of the rocks and the physical and chemical properties of the fluids themselves.