Int J Thermophys (2013) 34:1845–1864 DOI 10.1007/s10765-013-1500-5 Exploratory Characterization of a Perfluoropolyether Oil as a Possible Viscosity Standard at Deepwater Production Conditions of 533 K and 241 MPa Hseen O. Baled · Deepak Tapriyal · Bryan D. Morreale · Yee Soong · Isaac Gamwo · Val Krukonis · Babatunde A. Bamgbade · Yue Wu · Mark A. McHugh · Ward A. Burgess · Robert M. Enick Received: 29 January 2013 / Accepted: 13 August 2013 / Published online: 29 August 2013 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract DuPont’s perfluoropolyether oil Krytox ® GPL 102 is a promising candidate for the high-temperature, high-pressure Deepwater viscosity standard (DVS). The preferred DVS is a thermally stable liquid that exhibits a viscosity of roughly 20 mPa · s at 533 K and 241 MPa; a viscosity value representative of light oils found in ultra-deep formations beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A windowed rolling- ball viscometer designed by our team is used to determine the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity at pressures to 245 MPa and temperatures of 311 K, 372 K, and 533 K. At 533 K and 243 MPa, the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity is (27.2 ± 1.3) mPa · s. The rolling-ball viscometer viscosity results for Krytox ® GPL 102 are correlated with an empirical 10-parameter surface fitting function that yields an MAPD of 3.9 %. A Couette rheometer is also used to measure the Krytox ® GPL 102 viscosity, yielding H. O. Baled · D. Tapriyal · B. D. Morreale · Y. Soong · I. Gamwo · B. A. Bamgbade · Y. Wu · M. A. McHugh · W. A. Burgess · R. M. Enick National Energy Technology Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, Department of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA H. O. Baled · R. M. Enick (B ) Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, 1249 Benedum Engineering Hall, 3700 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA e-mail: rme@pitt.edu D. Tapriyal URS, NETL Site Support Contractor, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA V. Krukonis Phasex Corporation, Lawrence, MA 01843, USA B. A. Bamgbade · Y. Wu · M. A. McHugh Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA 123