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U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 2005-1451

Methane Gas Volume Expansion Ratios and Ideal Gas Deviation Factors for the Deep-Water Bering Sea Basins



Volume Expansion Ratios

Volume ratios presented here relate the volume (Vm) of one mole of 100% methane gas at the relevant in-situ pressure and temperature to the volume (VSTP) of one mole of the same gas at standard conditions. Standard temperature and pressure (STP) are defined as T = 0°C or 273.15 K, P=1 atmosphere or 0.101325 MPa. At STP, Vm = 22,346 cm3/mol = VSTP.

Volume Ratio = VSTP/Vm

Volume ratio can be seen as an expansion factor describing the expected change in volume in bringing the methane from depth conditions to standard surface conditions. For dry gas, it is the reciprocal of the formation-volume factor (Hagoort, 1988). In this report, all volumes are compared back to the same standard temperature and pressure condition (STP). This approach facilitates estimation of resource volumes and allows direct comparison with gas yields from other settings.



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URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1451/volume_ratios.html
For more information, contact: Ginger Barth
maintained by Michael Diggles
last modified January 6, 2006 (mfd)