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reservoir

a subsurface, porous, permeable or naturally fractured rock body in which oil or gas are stored. Most reservoir rocks are limestones, dolomites, sandstones, or a combination of these. The four basic types of hydrocarbon reservoirs are oil, volatile oil, dry gas, and gas condensate. An oil reservoir generally contains three fluids—gas, oil, and water—with oil the dominant product. In the typical oil reservoir, these fluids become vertically segregated because of their different densities. Gas, the lightest, occupies the upper part of the reservoir rocks; water, the lower part; and oil, the intermediate section. In addition to its occurrence as a cap or in solution, gas may accumulate independently of the oil; if so, the reservoir is called a gas reservoir. Associated with the gas, in most instances, are salt water and some oil. Volatile oil reservoirs are exceptional in that during early production they are mostly productive of light oil plus gas, but, as depletion occurs, production can become almost totally completely gas. Volatile oils are usually good candidates for pressure maintenance, which can result in increased reserves. In the typical dry gas reservoir natural gas exists only as a gas and production is only gas plus fresh water that condenses from the flow stream reservoir. In a gas condensate reservoir, the hydrocarbons may exist as a gas, but, when brought to the surface, some of the heavier hydrocarbons condense and become a liquid.

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  • Part of Speech: noun
  • Synonym(s):
  • Blossary:
  • Industry/Domain: Oil & gas
  • Category: Drilling
  • Company: PETEX
  • Product:
  • Acronym-Abbreviation:
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