Identification of Hydrocarbon Inclusion Types and PVT Simulation Methods

Correct identification of hydrocarbon inclusion types and accurate PVT simulation are of great importance to research and application of petroleum inclusions in reservoir basins. At present, the methods for hydrocarbon inclusion analysis include congeal phase transition analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, micro-laser Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and so on. Micro-thermometry is the basic method to examine phase transition of fluid inclusions and is a simple and powerful tool of indentifying the types of oil-bearing hydrocarbon inclusions. By combining phase transition characteristics of hydrocarbon inclusions with the results of spectral analysis, different types of oils and gases, such as heavy oil, light oil, wet gas, dry gas and condensate gas can be identified. Critical points can also be used for determining the oil types. Based on the identification of hydrocarbon inclusions, PVT simulation of fluid inclusions is an important means to obtain accurate temperature and pressure of hydrocarbon accumulation. However, it is difficult to obtain the composition of a single hydrocarbon inclusion by PVT simulation, which will be one of the important aspects in research on hydrocarbon inclusions in the future.