Novel Microfluidic Device for Dew Point Pressure Measurement of Retrograde Gas Condensates

Accumulation of liquid dropout in gas condensate reservoirs occurs when the pressure falls below the dew point and leads to declining well productivity. We have developed a microfluidic device to accurately measure the dew point pressure of retrograde gas condensates. Using the capillary effect, the device captures small quantities of condensed liquid as the fluid pressure crosses the phase boundary. The dew point pressure is determined by visual detection of the liquid in high-curvature areas of the device. We have conducted validation tests on live reservoir samples, with peak liquid dropout ranging from 1.3 to 13.0%. We have demonstrated that the microfluidic device can measure the dew point pressure with an accuracy of +/- 1 MPa. The novel microchannel design allowed us to accurately measure dew points of lean condensates, which are often difficult to detect in conventional methods. Furthermore, this method requires small sample volume and is significantly faster than the conventional laboratory techniques. Thus, this rapid dew point measurement technique can be used to characterize gas condensates at multiple temperatures and provide vital information about reservoir fluid behavior for production planning and optimization.

Automated summary

The newly developed microfluidic device accurately measures the dew point pressure of retrograde gas condensates, with small sample volume and fast speed, making it suitable for characterizing gas condensate reservoirs at multiple temperatures.