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Basra Unversity For Oil and Gas College of Oil and Gas Engineering Department of Chemical

The document discusses API gravity, which is a measure of how dense a petroleum liquid is compared to water. API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of oil compared to water. A higher API gravity means an oil is less dense and lighter. The API scale classifies oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy based on their API gravity values. The API gravity is an important standard used in the oil industry to classify oils and determine their market value based on density.

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Ahmed Thaer
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86 views

Basra Unversity For Oil and Gas College of Oil and Gas Engineering Department of Chemical

The document discusses API gravity, which is a measure of how dense a petroleum liquid is compared to water. API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of oil compared to water. A higher API gravity means an oil is less dense and lighter. The API scale classifies oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy based on their API gravity values. The API gravity is an important standard used in the oil industry to classify oils and determine their market value based on density.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Thaer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BASRA UNVERSITY FOR OIL AND GAS

COLLEGE OF OIL AND GAS ENGINEERING


DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL

NAME : Ahmed Thaer Mahmood


NAME OF REPORT : API GRAPHITY
STAGE : FORTH STAGE
DATE : 17 /12 / 2017
Executive Summary
This experiment was conducted to calculate the API Gravity for several fluid
samples by using Hydrometer method. API gravity is thus an inverse measure of
the relative density of a petroleum liquid and the density of water, but it is used
to compare the relative densities of petroleum liquids. For example, if one
petroleum liquid floats on another and is therefore less dense, it has a greater API
gravity. In oil industries, the measurement of the API gravity for the sample is
important in order to study the quality of the oil in the reservoir. Through API
Gravity measurement the oil can be classified into heavy and light oil.

Introduction
API stands for the American Petroleum Institute, which is the major United States
trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. The API represents about
400 corporations in the petroleum industry and helps to set standards for
production, refinement, and distribution of petroleum products. They also
advocate on behalf of the industry. One of the most important standards that the
API has set is the method used for measuring the density of petroleum. This
standard is called the API gravity.

Specific gravity is a ratio of the density of one substance to the density of a


reference substance, usually water. The API gravity is nothing more than the
standard specific gravity used by the oil industry, which compares the density of
oil to that of water through a calculation designed to ensure consistency in
measurement. Less dense oil or “light oil” is preferable to more dense oil as it
contains greater quantities of hydrocarbons that can be converted to gasoline.
API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of an oil, which is nothing more
than the ratio of its density to that of water (density of the oil/density of water).
The value used in this scale was 141.5. Specific gravity for API calculations is

always determined at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and atmospheric pressure. API


gravity is found as follows:

API gravity = (141.5/Specific Gravity) – 131.5

Conversely, the specific gravity of petroleum liquids can be derived from the API
gravity value as:

Specific Gravity = 141.5/ (API gravity+131.5)

Though API values do not have units, they are often referred to as degrees. API
gravity moves inversely to density, which means the denser an oil is, the lower its
API gravity will be. An API of 10 is equivalent to water, which means any oil with
an API above 10 will float on water while any with an API below 10 will sink.

The API gravity is used to classify oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy. As
the “weight” of an oil is the largest determinant of its market value, API gravity is
exceptionally important. The API values for each “weight” are as follows:

Light – API > 31.1

Medium – API between 22.3 and 31.1

Heavy – API < 22.3

Extra Heavy – API < 10.0

These are only rough valuations as the exact demarcation in API gravity between
light and heavy oil changes depending on the region from which oil came.
API stands for the American Petroleum Institute, which is the major United States
trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. The API represents about
400 corporations in the petroleum industry and helps to set standards for
production, refinement, and distribution of petroleum products. They also
advocate on behalf of the industry. One of the most important standards that the
API has set is the method used for measuring the density of petroleum. This
standard is called the API gravity.

Specific gravity is a ratio of the density of one substance to the density of a


reference substance, usually water. The API gravity is nothing more than the
standard specific gravity used by the oil industry, which compares the density of
oil to that of water through a calculation designed to ensure consistency in
measurement. Less dense oil or “light oil” is preferable to more dense oil as it
contains greater quantities of hydrocarbons that can be converted to gasoline.

Petroleum is less dense that water and in 1916, the U.S. government instituted
the Baumé scale as the standard measure for any liquid less dense than water.
This, in most cases, applies to oil. The value used in this scale was 141.5 (see
calculation below), but subsequent testing showed that, due to error, the actual
value should be 140. The government changed the scale to 140 to correct the
issue, but the use of 141.5 had become so entrenched in the oil industry that the
API decided to create the API gravity scale using the old value of 141.5.

API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of an oil, which is nothing more
than the ratio of its density to that of water (density of the oil/density of water).
Specific gravity for API calculations is always determined at 60 degrees
Fahrenheit. API gravity is found as follows:

API gravity = (141.5/Specific Gravity) – 131.5


Though API values do not have units, they are often referred to as degrees. So the
API gravity of West Texas Intermediate is said to be 39.6 degrees. API gravity
moves inversely to density, which means the denser an oil is, the lower its API

gravity will be. An API of 10 is equivalent to water, which means any oil with an
API above 10 will float on water while any with an API below 10 will sink.

The API gravity is used to classify oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy. As
the “weight” of an oil is the largest determinant of its market value, API gravity is
exceptionally important. The API values for each “weight” are as follows:

Light – API > 31.1 Medium – API between 22.3 and 31.1 Heavy – API < 22.3
Extra Heavy – API < 10.0

These are only rough valuations as the exact demarcation in API gravity between
light and heavy oil changes depending on the region from which oil came. The
fluctuation as to what constitutes light crude in a given region is the result of
commodity trading in oil.

Because density is a measure of weight per volume, API can be used to calculate
how many barrels of crude can be extracted from a metric ton of a given oil. A
metric ton of West Texas Intermediate, with an API of 39.6, will produce 7.6
barrels (at 42 gallons each). The calculation is:

Barrels per metric ton = 1/[(141.5/API) + 131.5] x 0.159

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