PVT – Pressure Volume Temperature

Searching for lost revenue

PVT or Pressure Volume Temperature in the oil & gas and geothermal world is a study in fluids dynamics and properties from geological formations.

In practice you can split it into two subjects: what is in the ground and what is in your mammoth tanker or export line. Together it balances with the great theories of Equation of States.

We at Global Spec get questions: I produce 100K barrels of oil, and there is only 65000 in the tanker, do we have to drill for more or do we have to audit the flow-process!

Then a Minister of Oil complains about nearly 15 billion dollar on expected revenue missing.

Another PVT laboratory defined and sold petrol, diesel, kerosene and light oils as a gas. After our reclassifications of their export oil they could sell their oil $10 more per barrel, compared to their current blend. As of this writing they added $4.95 on top of the $10 per barrel!

We were called to sample a new field. The geologist was not sure if it was a gas or an oil field. The country has a minister of oil and a minister of gas and the latter was receiving plenty of money from Brussels to encourage desperately needed gas. The work-procedure was biased towards gas but there was something unusual. We could go partially into the well but not out.  
From a simple slick-line unit operation the cost increased a hundred fold to include a rig with well test. Our job became a combination of well-intervention, well-test and onsite sampling with analysis. We proved the field was an oil field with significant candle wax. The solidification of the wax in the well caused only gas to flow and huge mechanical problems to enter the well.