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Crude oil is classified as light, medium, or heavy according to its measured API gravity. Light crude oil has an API gravity higher than 31.1° (i.e., less than 870 kg/m 3) Medium oil has an API gravity between 22.3 and 31.1° (i.e., 870 to 920 kg/m 3) Heavy crude oil has an API gravity below 22.3° (i.e., 920 to 1000 kg/m 3)
Since API gravity is an inverse measure of a liquid's density relative to that of water, it can be calculated by first dividing the liquid's density by the density of water at a base temperature (usually 60 °F) to compute Specific Gravity (SG), then converting the Specific Gravity to Degrees API as follows: = =
The API separator is a gravity separation device designed using Stokes' law principles that define the rise velocity of oil droplets based on their density, size and water properties. The design of the separator is based on the specific gravity difference between the oil and the wastewater because that difference is much smaller than the ...
The clear cut definition of light and heavy crude varies because the classification is based more on practical grounds than theoretical. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) defines light crude oil for domestic U.S. oil as having an API gravity between 37° API (840 kg/m 3) and 42° API (816 kg/m 3), while it defines light crude oil for non-U.S. oil as being between 32° API (865 kg/m 3 ...
Crude oil density is commonly expressed in degrees of American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity which are associated with specific gravity. The lower the API gravity, the denser the oil. The API gravity of liquid crude oil ranges from 4º for tar rich in bitumen to condensates that have an API gravity of 70º. Heavy oils are classified between ...
Thus, the API gravity or specific gravity is widely used for the classification of crude oils, based on a scheme proposed by the American Petroleum Institute (Table 1). A high API value >30 means a light crude with paraffinic character; a low API value means a heavy crude with increasing aromatic character. Table 1.
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API gravity - the oilfield measurement of the weight of the hydrocarbons. GOR - Gas to oil ratio describing how many standard cubic feet of gas can be obtained for every stock tank barrel of oil. H 2 S - the concentration of this gas. Fluids with a high concentration of H 2 S are described as "sour".