Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism
The B oilfield is a large integrated oilfield in the Middle East. Asphaltene precipitates from crude oil and deposits on solid surfaces, affording considerable blockages of the formation, wellbore, and production equipment. To fully understand the asphaltene precipitation trend and deposition mechan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Natural Gas Industry B |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352854021001017 |
| _version_ | 1797284755689963520 |
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| author | Heng Xue Chengjie Wang Liping Jiang Hehua Wang Zefei Lv Jinla Huang Wei Xiao |
| author_facet | Heng Xue Chengjie Wang Liping Jiang Hehua Wang Zefei Lv Jinla Huang Wei Xiao |
| author_sort | Heng Xue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The B oilfield is a large integrated oilfield in the Middle East. Asphaltene precipitates from crude oil and deposits on solid surfaces, affording considerable blockages of the formation, wellbore, and production equipment. To fully understand the asphaltene precipitation trend and deposition mechanism deeply, and solve the abovementioned problems in the B oilfield, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and isothermal depressurization experiments (IDEs) have been conducted to predict the asphaltene precipitation trend of an oil sample. According to the experiments, the saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene ratios were 5.6%, 37.4%, 33.1%, and 15.9%, respectively. The calculated colloidal instability index reached 0.88, indicating a risk of asphaltene precipitation. Based on IDEs, asphaltene precipitation was observed in the view cell window at 3196, 3545, and 3750 psi at different temperatures. Furthermore, the asphaltene deposition mechanism was studied on a string surface at the microscale based on molecular simulations and control measures were proposed. According to the simulations, the deposition process is found to be spontaneous. Asphaltene molecules were self-assembled and formed nanoaggregates in the form of a π–π conjugation. They were deposited parallelly on the string with a “face-to-face” pattern. When the simulation temperature reached 325 K, asphaltene deposition reached the maximum under the simulation conditions. Compared with omitting dispersants, the average distance between the asphaltene molecules and string mass center improved and the energy of the system had considerably lowered after adding dispersants, implying that dispersants can effectively weaken the asphaltene deposition process. This paper provides some suggestions for preventing and removing blockages of electric pumps caused by asphaltene deposition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:52:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f90a7b88df8a4c2bbe3c69ca9754daa4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8540 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T17:52:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Natural Gas Industry B |
| spelling | doaj.art-f90a7b88df8a4c2bbe3c69ca9754daa42024-03-02T13:49:46ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Natural Gas Industry B2352-85402022-02-01918495Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanismHeng Xue0Chengjie Wang1Liping Jiang2Hehua Wang3Zefei Lv4Jinla Huang5Wei Xiao6China Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, China; Chengdu Northern Petroleum Exploration and Development Technology Co. Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Corresponding author. China Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, China.State Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation Engineering (Southwest Petroleum University), Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaChina Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, China; Chengdu Northern Petroleum Exploration and Development Technology Co. Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaChina Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, China; Chengdu Northern Petroleum Exploration and Development Technology Co. Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaEngineering Technology Research Institute of Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, PetroChina, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaChina Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, China; Chengdu Northern Petroleum Exploration and Development Technology Co. Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaChina Zhenhua Oil Co., Ltd, Beijing, ChinaThe B oilfield is a large integrated oilfield in the Middle East. Asphaltene precipitates from crude oil and deposits on solid surfaces, affording considerable blockages of the formation, wellbore, and production equipment. To fully understand the asphaltene precipitation trend and deposition mechanism deeply, and solve the abovementioned problems in the B oilfield, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and isothermal depressurization experiments (IDEs) have been conducted to predict the asphaltene precipitation trend of an oil sample. According to the experiments, the saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene ratios were 5.6%, 37.4%, 33.1%, and 15.9%, respectively. The calculated colloidal instability index reached 0.88, indicating a risk of asphaltene precipitation. Based on IDEs, asphaltene precipitation was observed in the view cell window at 3196, 3545, and 3750 psi at different temperatures. Furthermore, the asphaltene deposition mechanism was studied on a string surface at the microscale based on molecular simulations and control measures were proposed. According to the simulations, the deposition process is found to be spontaneous. Asphaltene molecules were self-assembled and formed nanoaggregates in the form of a π–π conjugation. They were deposited parallelly on the string with a “face-to-face” pattern. When the simulation temperature reached 325 K, asphaltene deposition reached the maximum under the simulation conditions. Compared with omitting dispersants, the average distance between the asphaltene molecules and string mass center improved and the energy of the system had considerably lowered after adding dispersants, implying that dispersants can effectively weaken the asphaltene deposition process. This paper provides some suggestions for preventing and removing blockages of electric pumps caused by asphaltene deposition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352854021001017AsphaltenePrecipitation trendDeposition controlExperiment and simulationOilfield in the Middle East |
| spellingShingle | Heng Xue Chengjie Wang Liping Jiang Hehua Wang Zefei Lv Jinla Huang Wei Xiao Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism Natural Gas Industry B Asphaltene Precipitation trend Deposition control Experiment and simulation Oilfield in the Middle East |
| title | Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| title_full | Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| title_fullStr | Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| title_short | Asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| title_sort | asphaltene precipitation trend and controlling its deposition mechanism |
| topic | Asphaltene Precipitation trend Deposition control Experiment and simulation Oilfield in the Middle East |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352854021001017 |
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