The world's proven reserves of crude oil will be depleted in 42 years at the current rate of consumption. Oil refiners are under considerable economic and environmental pressure to improve the efficiency of refining and the quality and definition of products. Statistical and fundamental models are extensively used to more accurately model the important refinery processes such as Fluidised Catalytic Cracking (FCC). A major problem with the fundamental approach is that FCC feedstocks are by definition heavy petroleum fractions, and as such constitute highly complex mixtures of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis of heavy petroleum fractions reveals a broad 'hump' of unresolved compounds termed an Unresolved Complex Mixture (UCM) of hydrocarbons. Conventional instrumental techniques alone are unable to elucidate the composition of UCMs, they are simply too complex. Oxidative degradation of UCMs has already been used with some success to selectively oxidise aliphatic and aromatic UCMs to reveal some of the structures incorporated in UCMs from various natural and anthropogenic sources. Ruthenium tetroxide (RUO4) attacks aromatic rings at the ipso-carbon of aromatic moieties. Unsubstituted aromatic carbon is oxidised to CO2 whereas substituents are preserved as carboxylic acids. "Retro-structural analysis" involves reconstruction of the products of oxidation to reveal the original molecule or 'average' molecule. However, previous studies have highlighted problems with the recovery of products from die oxidation of hydroaromatic compounds. Hydroaromatic compounds contain an alicyclic ring attached to an aromatic ring e.g. tetralin. This study presents evidence that (theoretically) data from RUO4 oxidation FCC feedstocks can make a significant improvement to the accuracy of FCC modelling at BP Amoco. RUO4 oxidation and work-up procedures were developed further in an attempt to overcome problems with 'losses' of oxidation products from hydroaromatic compounds, including an improved carbon dioxide trap. Several novel hydroaromatic compounds and a diaromatic compound proposed in a previous study as being 'average' UCM components were synthesised and fully characterised by GC, GCMS, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. The compounds synthesised were 6-cyclohexyltetralin, l-(3'- methylbutyl)7-cyclohexyltetralin, 1-n-nonyl-7-cyclohexyltetralin and 1-/n-nonyl-7- cyclohexylnaphthalene. RUO4 oxidation of the synthetic compounds and commercial tetralin revealed that while losses of between 70 and 50% of the expected water soluble dicarboxylic acids are observed, these losses can be at least partially accounted for by the 'over oxidation' of carboxylic acids to produce smaller carboxylic acids. For example, the RUO4 oxidation of tetralin produces 1,6-hexanedioic acid as a major product but significant amounts of 1,5-pentanedioic acid is observed along with trace amounts of 1,4- butanedioic acid. Smaller acids are likely to be undetected or lost as butyl esters during the work-up. Where 2-n-nonyl-1,6-hexanedioic acid was produced, decanoic and nonanoic acid as well as 1,5- pentanedioic acid and 1,4-butanedioic acid were observed corresponding to oxidation of the 2- position on the dicarboxylic acid. The three major products from RUO4 oxidation of ln-nonyl-7-cyclohexylnaphthalene were partially oxidised compounds including 2-(l-oxo-n-decane)-4-cyclohexylbenzoic acid, showing that the oxidation of diaromatic compounds in UCMs gives more complex oxidation products. This is consistent with previous studies where diaromatic UCMs were oxidised to give a more complex 'oxidised UCM' rather than simple carboxylic acids. The observation of monocarboxylic acids in oxidation products from the alicyclic portion of a hydroaromatic compound has not previously been reported. This represents a new source of monocarboxylic acids in the RUO4 oxidation products of UCMs and should be taken into account when oxidising UCMs likely to contain a significant proportion of hydroaromatic structures, such as hydrotreated FCC feedstocks. The synthesis and oxidation of di-substituted teiralins has increased the understanding of RuG4 oxidation products from UCMs and consequently furthered the use of RUO4 as a potentially useftjl tool in the elucidation of FCC feedstock compositions and other aromatic UCMs.

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The behaviour of gas condensate flow in the porous media is distinctly different from that of gas-oil flow. The differences are attributed to the difference in fluid properties, phase behaviour, and condensation and vaporisation phenomena that distinguishes gas condensate fluids from the aforementioned fluid types. These differences manifest themselves into an important flow parameter that is typically known as relative permeability. Relative permeability is known to be related to the phase saturation, and the interfacial tension (EFT). Also, at high phase velocities, its reduction with increasing velocity, known as Forchheimer (turbulence) or inertia effect, is well documented. An unconventional behaviour of gas condensate fluids has been experimentally proven in Heriot-Watt laboratory and confirmed by other experimental studies performed elsewhere. These tests have shown that at intermediate velocities, before the inertia becomes significant, the gas and the condensate relative permeabilities are significantly improved by increase in velocity. This phenomenon is referred to as the rate-effect. None of the conventional relative permeability models include this experimentally proven favourable rate effect. In this work the flow of gas condensate fluids in porous media is modelled with emphasis on near wellbore conditions. Theoretical, empirical as well as simulational investigations are used to improve the present technology on the treatment of the flow of gas condensate in reservoirs. The use of X-ray or y-ray devices to monitor saturation profile during displacement experiments is investigated and the appropriate test conditions leading to reliable measured relative permeability data are determined. The regimes of the gas condensate flow at the core level, where the rate effect is evident, are investigated using the concept of Reynolds number. Then a mechanistic flow model, where the flow of gas condensate fluids is assumed to follow an annularmist flow criterion, is presented to capture the essence of the rate effect in perforations. The favourable EFT and rate effects are incorporated into the modelling of gas condensate relative permeability by correlating it with capillary number (I\Ic). Two forms of the correlation are presented. The impact of EFT and Ne together with the Forchheimer (inertia) on well deliverability is thoroughly investigated using the above correlation. The gas condensate relative permeability correlation is combined with the Forchheimer effect and used in a specially modified version of a commercial simulator, Eclipse 300V 98a development, to investigate the impact of IFT, Nc, and inertia on well productivity. The impact is found to accelerate production from gas condensate reservoirs. At practical production rates, the significance of the impact on phase recoveries cannot be ignored regardless of reservoir fluid richness or absolute permeability.

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