Petroleum Engineering

VolumeI, General Engineering, includes chapters on mathematics, fluidproperties (fluid sampling techniques; properties and correlations ofoil, gas, condensate, and water; hydrocarbon phase behavior and phasediagrams for hydrocarbon systems; the phase behavior ofwater/hydrocarbon systems; and the properties of waxes, asphaltenes,and crude oil emulsions), rock properties (bulk rock properties,permeability, relative permeability, and capillary pressure), theeconomic and regulatory environment, and the role of fossil energy inthe 21st century energy mix.

GeneralEngineering, Volume I of the new Petroleum Engineering Handbook, hasbeen designed to present material that is needed by all practicingpetroleum engineers. It includes chapters on mathematics, propertiesfluids, rock properties, rock/fluid interactions, economics, the law,and the social context of fossil energy.

Themathematics chapters of this volume are a major departure fromprevious editions. The mathematical tables presented in previouseditions are now readily available using hand-held calculators orsoftware on desktop computers.

Themathematics chapters present mathematical topics that petroleumengineers need to better understand literature and the software theyuse on a day-to-day basis. Topics such as vibrating systems, ordinaryand partial differential equations, linear algebra and matrices, andGreen’s functions are introduced and references are provided forreaders who would like to pursue the topics in more detail.

Thediscussion of fluid properties covers fluid sampling techniques;properties and correlations of oil, condensate, and water;hydrocarbon phase behavior and phase diagrams for hydrocarbonsystems; and the phase behavior of water/hydrocarbon systems. Twochapters consider the properties of waxes, asphaltenes, and crudeemulsions.

Rockproperties and rock/fluid interactions are discussed. The rockproperties include bulk rock properties, such as porosity, elasticrock properties, and rock failure relationships. Measurementtechniques and models of singlephase permeability are then presented,followed by a review of the properties that describe the interactionbetween rocks and fluids, notably relative permeability and capillarypressure.

Inaddition to mathematics, fluid properties, and rock properties,petroleum engineers need to understand economic and legal issues.Essential aspects of the economic and regulatory environment areaddressed in the section. A brief review of the role of fossil energyin the 21st century energy mix ends the volume.