Use of Laser Technology for the Treatment of Asphaltene Deposition in Carbonate Formations

Crude oils produced in many parts of the world contain asphaltenes. Asphaltenes plugging is a well-known cause of near-wellbore formation damage. The deposition phenomenon of asphaltene is mainly due to thermodynamic changes. Asphaltene deposition leads to production loss and requires expensive and in many times environmentally unfriendly corrective measures. This project proposes a novel technique for cleaning asphaltenes with laser energy. Laboratory laser diode modules were used to perform experiments. A two-inch column of bitumen/powdered limestone mixture was placed on top of a powdered limestone column in a flow cell, and the flow rates were measured before and after the laser treatment. The rate was correlated with permeability of this powdered limestone column in absence of bitumen. In a second series of experiments, actual consolidated limestone cores were subjected to flow of asphaltenic crude oil to simulate the damage process (i.e. permeability reduction). The damaged cores were subjected to laser treatments at various laser intensity and treatment time intervals. Experimental results indicated that asphaltene get disrupted after exposure to laser energy. However, the maximum amount of cleaning was noticed after an exposure of one hour and at higher laser intensity. The increased flow rate measured employing the powdered limestone column after treatment can be used in an oil field to disrupt, or desegregate asphaltene from the vicinity of oil production wells. However, the simultaneous pumping is required during the laser treatment to avoid the reprecipitation of the disrupted asphaltene. The laser cleaning technique appears to be disrupting the maltenes that form a continuous phase providing adhesive and ductile properties to the dispersed asphaltene. The proposed technique provides environmental friendly process and advanced technological breakthrough for treating asphaltene deposition in the petroleum industry.     

Use of Laser Technology for the Treatment of Asphaltene Deposition in Carbonate Formations

Abstract

Crude oils produced in many parts of the world contain asphaltenes. Asphaltenes plugging is a well-known cause of near-wellbore formation damage. The deposition phenomenon of asphaltene is mainly due to thermodynamic changes. Asphaltene deposition leads to production loss and requires expensive and in many times environmentally unfriendly corrective measures. This project proposes a novel technique for cleaning asphaltenes with laser energy. Laboratory laser diode modules were used to perform experiments. A two-inch column of bitumen/powdered limestone mixture was placed on top of a powdered limestone column in a flow cell, and the flow rates were measured before and after the laser treatment. The rate was correlated with permeability of this powdered limestone column in absence of bitumen. In a second series of experiments, actual consolidated limestone cores were subjected to flow of asphaltenic crude oil to simulate the damage process (i.e. permeability reduction). The damaged cores were subjected to laser treatments at various laser intensity and treatment time intervals. Experimental results indicated that asphaltene get disrupted after exposure to laser energy. However, the maximum amount of cleaning was noticed after an exposure of one hour and at higher laser intensity. The increased flow rate measured employing the powdered limestone column after treatment can be used in an oil field to disrupt, or desegregate asphaltene from the vicinity of oil production wells. However, the simultaneous pumping is required during the laser treatment to avoid the reprecipitation of the disrupted asphaltene. The laser cleaning technique appears to be disrupting the maltenes that form a continuous phase providing adhesive and ductile properties to the dispersed asphaltene. The proposed technique provides environmental friendly process and advanced technological breakthrough for treating asphaltene deposition in the petroleum industry.     

A NOVEL TECHNIQUE OF ASPHALTENE DEPOSITION TREATMENT USING ULTRASONIC IRRADIATION

The need for better understanding of asphaltene behavior in the crude oil and treatment techniques of its deposition in porous medium has been recognized but still requires extensive research and experimental activities. The ambitious goals of this study are to investigate: (1) influences of using ultrasonic irradiation on asphaltene behavior in the UAE crude oil, with consideration of solvent and temperature effects; and (2) influences of ultrasonic irradiation characteristics such as frequency and time interval on damaged oil permeability (due to asphaltene deposition) of carbonate reservoir rocks. To achieve the above-mentioned goals, three groups of experiments using ultrasonic irradiation were carried out. In the first group, 18 identical crude oil samples of 2.47 wt% initial asphaltene content were subjected to different time intervals of ultrasonic irradiation of 0, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 min and under different temperatures of 25, 40 and 60°C, respectively. Oil viscosity was measured and microscopic images of the centrifugated oil samples of asphaltene clusters were obtained. In the second set of experiments, 12 identical crude oil samples with different toluene concentrations of 5, 10, and 15 vol% were subjected to four different durations of ultrasonic irradiation and under different temperatures. In the third group, seven actual carbonate core samples of damaged oil permeability due to the injection of 60 pore volumes of asphaltic crude oil were subjected to different ultrasonic time interval of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 min and frequencies of 10, 15 and 20 kHz, respectively. Both the oil permeability of these samples was measured and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were carried out before and after the ultrasonic irradiation process. The results showed that subjection of the UAE crude oil to ultrasonic irradiation decreases the size of asphaltene clusters. Consequently, this effect reduces asphaltene tendency to precipitate at 10 min or more time interval of ultrasonic irradiation. In addition, similar results were obtained with solvent effect, but with more reduction in oil viscosity. The results also indicated that the increase of ultrasonic time interval and/or frequency drastically improve(s) damaged oil permeability.     

A NOVEL TECHNIQUE OF ASPHALTENE DEPOSITION TREATMENT USING ULTRASONIC IRRADIATION

ABSTRACT

The need for better understanding of asphaltene behavior in the crude oil and treatment techniques of its deposition in porous medium has been recognized but still requires extensive research and experimental activities. The ambitious goals of this study are to investigate: (1) influences of using ultrasonic irradiation on asphaltene behavior in the UAE crude oil, with consideration of solvent and temperature effects; and (2) influences of ultrasonic irradiation characteristics such as frequency and time interval on damaged oil permeability (due to asphaltene deposition) of carbonate reservoir rocks. To achieve the above-mentioned goals, three groups of experiments using ultrasonic irradiation were carried out. In the first group, 18 identical crude oil samples of 2.47 wt% initial asphaltene content were subjected to different time intervals of ultrasonic irradiation of 0, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 min and under different temperatures of 25, 40 and 60°C, respectively. Oil viscosity was measured and microscopic images of the centrifugated oil samples of asphaltene clusters were obtained. In the second set of experiments, 12 identical crude oil samples with different toluene concentrations of 5, 10, and 15 vol% were subjected to four different durations of ultrasonic irradiation and under different temperatures. In the third group, seven actual carbonate core samples of damaged oil permeability due to the injection of 60 pore volumes of asphaltic crude oil were subjected to different ultrasonic time interval of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 min and frequencies of 10, 15 and 20 kHz, respectively. Both the oil permeability of these samples was measured and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were carried out before and after the ultrasonic irradiation process. The results showed that subjection of the UAE crude oil to ultrasonic irradiation decreases the size of asphaltene clusters. Consequently, this effect reduces asphaltene tendency to precipitate at 10 min or more time interval of ultrasonic irradiation. In addition, similar results were obtained with solvent effect, but with more reduction in oil viscosity. The results also indicated that the increase of ultrasonic time interval and/or frequency drastically improve(s) damaged oil permeability.     

The effect of fracture characteristics on reduction of permeability by asphaltene precipitation in carbonate formation

Crude oils produced in many parts of the world contain asphaltene. Asphaltene plugging is a known cause of near-wellbore formation damage. The deposition phenomenon of asphaltene has been extensively investigated in homogenous porous media. However, we have not found any reported experimental work on asphaltene plugging in naturally or artificially fractured reservoirs. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of fracture characteristics on reduction of permeability by asphaltene deposition in carbonate formation.A single fracture system is made with different fracture characteristics such as porosity, permeability, and fracture angle using saw-cut limestone core samples with metallic plate. The fracture aperture was kept constant for most of the studied systems. The effect of flow rate, fracture angle, matrix to fracture permeability, asphaltene concentration, and the state of stress on the retained permeability is presented. Different fracture angle orientations of 45°, 90°, and 180° relevant to the flow axis were investigated. A noninvasive imaging technique—scanning electron microscopy (SEM)—was employed to visualize changes on the surface of the fracture as a result of aspheltenic crude oil flow through the system.     

Reversibility of Asphaltene Deposition Under Dynamic Flow Conditions

Abstract

Occurrence of asphaltene deposition in production formation constitutes one of the most serious problems currently encountered in the petroleum industry in many areas of the world. Reversibility of asphaltene deposition causes crucial argument and controversy in laboratory research of the petroleum industry. A deeper understanding of this phenomenon is the key for treatment of the problem of asphaltene deposition. The major goals of this study were to investigate 1) asphaltene adsorption rate on carbonate rock surfaces under static condition, and 2) asphaltene deposition and its reversibility under dynamic flow conditions. For the sake of achieving these goals, two groups of experiments were undertaken. The first one measured asphaltene adsorption rate under static condition, while the second group was devoted to studying reversibility of asphaltene deposition under dynamic flow condition through actual porous medium. The results of the study indicated that the increase of aging time increases asphaltene adsorption on carbonate rock surfaces under static condition. However, the major part of asphaltene is adsorbed during the first 30 h of contact of oil with the rock surface. The results of dynamic flow experiments showed that asphaltene deposition is a continuous process causing permeability damage and is also partially reversible. Furthermore, the asphaltene deposition causes more damage in low permeability rock than one in higher permeability. The obtained results are expected to have important implications for better formulation of treatments of asphaltene deposition.     

Optimization Assisted Asphaltene Deposition Modeling in Porous Media During a Natural Depletion Scheme

Abstract

Changes in thermodynamic properties such as pressure, temperature, and composition may result in asphaltene precipitation and deposition in porous media. In addition, asphaltene deposition can cause wettability alteration, permeability reduction, and ultimately a decrease in the productivity of a reservoir. Natural depletion is one of the most common processes of asphaltene deposition in which pressure changes destabilize the dissolved asphaltene in the oil and settle them onto the rock surface.

In this work, natural depletion experiments in consolidated core samples were performed under simulated reservoir conditions to obtain reliable data and analyze the asphaltene deposition mechanisms.

A mass balance equation, momentum equation, asphaltene deposition, and permeability reduction models were applied to model the process of permeability changes as a result of asphaltene deposition. MATLAB programming language was used to calculate the numerical form of the above equations iteratively. A genetic algorithm technique was employed as the optimization tool for history matching and determination of model parameters.

Modeling and optimization results showed an accurate match with measured data. Optimization confirmed that all major deposition processes (surface deposition, entrainment, and pore throat plugging) were effective in permeability changes. Calculation of precipitated asphaltene saturation by the introduced equation provides information on the volume fraction of porous media that was evaded by the precipitated asphaltene particles.     

Reversibility of Asphaltene Deposition Under Dynamic Flow Conditions

Occurrence of asphaltene deposition in production formation constitutes one of the most serious problems currently encountered in the petroleum industry in many areas of the world. Reversibility of asphaltene deposition causes crucial argument and controversy in laboratory research of the petroleum industry. A deeper understanding of this phenomenon is the key for treatment of the problem of asphaltene deposition. The major goals of this study were to investigate 1) asphaltene adsorption rate on carbonate rock surfaces under static condition, and 2) asphaltene deposition and its reversibility under dynamic flow conditions. For the sake of achieving these goals, two groups of experiments were undertaken. The first one measured asphaltene adsorption rate under static condition, while the second group was devoted to studying reversibility of asphaltene deposition under dynamic flow condition through actual porous medium. The results of the study indicated that the increase of aging time increases asphaltene adsorption on carbonate rock surfaces under static condition. However, the major part of asphaltene is adsorbed during the first 30 h of contact of oil with the rock surface. The results of dynamic flow experiments showed that asphaltene deposition is a continuous process causing permeability damage and is also partially reversible. Furthermore, the asphaltene deposition causes more damage in low permeability rock than one in higher permeability. The obtained results are expected to have important implications for better formulation of treatments of asphaltene deposition.     

Experimental and modeling analysis of asphaltene precipitation in the near wellbore region of oil wells

In this work, effect of reservoir temperature (in a range of 50–100°С) on the amount of asphaltene precipitation was determined. Rate of asphaltene precipitation was increased by increasing temperature. Damaged permeability of carbonate core samples was investigated at different asphaltene contents conducting core flood tests. The results showed the experimental and predicted data of damaged permeability ratio due to asphaltene precipitation matched. Moreover, the optimum mass concentration of components of the developed asphaltene inhibitor was determined by measuring interfacial tension on the boundary of oil and inhibitor solution. In addition, the change in the concentration of asphaltene inhibitor was simulated depending on the radial distance to well, production time and type of isotherm.     

Investigation of supercritical carbon dioxide, aspheltenic crude oil, and formation brine interactions in carbonate formations

Asphaltene precipitation and rock dissolution can significantly hinder the success of carbon dioxide flooding of asphaltenic crude oil in carbonate heterogeneous formations. It is essential during CO₂ flooding when both processes exist to study separately the effect of each phenomenon on the flooding process. Ten core flooding experiments under similar reservoir conditions of 4000 psia pressure and 250 °F temperature were conducted to evaluate each phenomenon separately. Actual rock cores representing different areas of carbonate oil field saturated with actual fluids of filtrated brine and asphaltenic crude oil were used to evaluate the interaction between supercritical (SC)-CO₂, carbonate rock, and its contained fluid. Asphaltene content of the produced crude oil, water and mineralogical rock analyses, and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) photos of rock pores were performed to evaluate the effect of supercritical (SC)-CO₂ flood on the permeability and mineralogical variation characteristics of the limestone cores. Results indicated that calcite dissolution and/or precipitation is the major reason for permeability improvement and/or impairment. It is also proven that the amount of permeability damage depends on the fabric of the rocks, salinity of the brine, and initial core permeability. The results also indicated that CO₂ injection in fresh water saturated carbonate rock led to complete collapse of that rock. It is recommended that fluid assessment should be conducted to the different areas of the field.     

CHANGE OF PHYSICAL AND THERMAL DECOMPOSITION PROPERTIES OF IN SITU HEAVY OIL WITH STEAM TEMPERATURE

Ikiztepe crude oil was subjected to four different steam temperatures during steam injection which was applied as an enhanced oil recovery process on a linear limestone model saturated with oil. Produced oils were characterized using density, viscosity measurements, pyrolysis experiments utilizing TGA and elemental analysis runs. Results showed that produced crude oils change in measured characteristics as compared to the original oil. These changes include an increase in H/C, and cracking activation energy, decrease in density, viscosity and amount of residue remaining after cracking (coke). Also, decrease in asphaltene amount, changes in the elemental composition of asphaltenes and increase in the cracking activation energies were observed at 225 °C run. These measurements show that the produced oils get lighter and differ compositionally from the original oil as steam temperature increases. Decrease in elemental sulphur amount is one of the major changes when environmental considerations are concerned. Residual oil left in the limestone pack on the other hand shows an increase in the low temperature oxidation (LTO), fuel deposition (FD) and high temperature oxidation (HTO) activation energies as determined from TGA combustion experiments on the samples taken from the pack after steam injection experiments.     

The control of asphaltene precipitation in oil wells

Asphaltene instability can occur in petroleum reservoirs leading to permeability reduction and deposition in transportation pipes restricting fluid flow. In this work, effect of reservoir pressure on amount of asphaltene precipitation was investigated. Two different asphaltene inhibitors (a new developed and an industrial) were used for preventing asphaltene deposition under static and dynamic conditions. Viscosity measurements of the oil, core flooding experiments and transmittance measurement were conducted to understand asphaltene precipitation and deposition behavior as well inhibitor efficiencies. Optimum concentration of the new asphaltene inhibitor was 200 ppm. Experiments show inhabitation efficiency of new inhibitor can reach up to 90% and showed better performance when compared with industrial one. In addition, squeeze lifetime of new inhibitor was 1.86 times longer than the industrial inhibitor in carbonate core samples. In the presence of new inhibitor formation damage and percent of transmittance was lower than in the presence of industrial asphaltene inhibitor.     

Analysis of counter-current gas–water capillary imbibition transfer at different temperatures

Gas water counter-current matrix–fracture interaction due to capillary forces was studied. The focus was on the rate of capillary imbibition and the development of residual gas phase under low (20 °C) and high temperatures (90 °C). Berea sandstone and Indiana limestone samples with different shape factors were obtained by cutting the plugs 1, 2.5, and 5 cm in diameter and 2.5, 5, and 10 cm in length. All sides were coated with epoxy except one end. Static imbibition experiments were conducted on vertically and horizontally situated samples where the matrix–fracture interaction took place upward and lateral directions, respectively. The effects of the matrix shape factor, wettability, surface tension, and core position on the recovery rate and ultimate recovery were investigated.The experimental scheme followed was useful in identification of the development of residual gas saturation for fully counter-current matrix–fracture interaction. We investigated and clarified to what degrees the rock/fluid properties (wettability and matrix shape factor) and existing conditions (temperature, causing lowered IFT and brine viscosity, and gravity) become effective on the residual gas saturation. It was observed that the residual gas saturation is sensitive to the matrix shape factor. The effect of surface tension on the recovery rate and ultimate recovery was also critical. The vertical cases yielded different recovery rates and ultimate recoveries with increasing temperature. Lower residual gas saturation with increasing temperature was obtained only for large diameters. That was attributed to the reduction in surface tension.Finally, critical matrix and fluid properties were correlated to the residual gas saturation and different dimensionless groups were tested for scaling.     

An Experimental and Modeling Study of Asphaltene Deposition Due to CO2 Miscible Injection

The authors studied deposition and entrainment of asphaltene particles as major mechanisms that occur in porous media. Deposition mechanisms that contribute to permeability reduction and entrainment of deposited particle improve the damaged permeability value. While in most previous works the effects of entrainment mechanism are considered negligible, in this study miscible CO₂ injection tests were conducted by core flood apparatus to investigate the effect of asphaltene deposition on permeability and porosity alterations. Results indicated that proposed model for entrainment mechanism is affected by deposition mechanism. The asphaltene deposition core's characteristics have undeniable roles in core impairment.     

An Experimental Investigation of Permeability Impairment Under Dynamic Flow Conditions Due to Natural Depletion in an Iranian Oilfield

Asphaltene deposition is an issue that has received much attention since it has been shown to be the cause of major production problems. It leads to permeability reduction under the processes of natural depletion as well as hydrocarbon gas/CO₂ injection. Though a great deal of researches have focused on studying permeability impairment in reservoir rocks, little is known about the asphaltene deposition mechanisms that control the permeability reduction for Iranian reservoirs. In this work, an experimental effort is made to investigate the permeability impairment of core samples of Iranian oil reservoirs. The experiments are performed on both sandstone and carbonate rock types at reservoir temperature and pressure. The mass balance was used for evaluating of porosity reduction during the experiments. The results indicate that the dominant deposition mechanism changes as production proceeds. In addition, it has been found that the primary mechanism in permeability impairment is surface deposition. On the other hand, entrainment of asphaltene particles is manifested when outlet pressure drops from 4,200 to 3,800 Psig for both sandstone and carbonate samples. It can be drawn that asphaltene entrainment dependence to pressure is much more than that to the injected pore volume. This research illuminates the deposition mechanisms and determines dynamic parameters of asphaltene deposition, which are necessary to devise reliable prevention strategies.     

A novel test method for evaluate asphaltene inhibitor efficiency on damage permeability

Asphaltene deposition has a significant detrimental effect on oilfield production. The key to effective treatment of asphaltene deposition is recognition of the problem. Asphaltene and effective treatment can be identified and quantified using laboratory methods. The most commonly way to asphaltene precipitation reduction is applying an asphaltene inhibitor. Most researchers investigate the effect of asphaltene inhibitors on fluid and precipitation reduction in static tests. This study is a coherent approach to measure effect of asphaltene precipitation on reservoir permeability and survey effect of asphaltene inhibitors on damage permeability.     

Asphaltene Deposition During Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage: Effect of Non-Condensable Gases

Asphaltene deposition was investigated during laboratory-scale steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) experiments to probe in situ upgrading of a heavy oil. Tests were conducted with and without the addition of non-condensable gases (carbon dioxide or n-butane) to the steam. The apparatus was a three-dimensional scaled physical model packed with crushed limestone saturated with 12.4° API heavy-crude oil. Temperature, pressure, and production data, as well as the asphaltene content of the produced oil, were monitored continuously during the experiments. For small well separations, as the fraction of non-condensable gas in the steam increased, the steam condensation temperature and the steam-oil ratio decreased. As a result of lower temperature, the heavy oil was less mobile in the steam chamber relative to pure steam injection. Thus, the heating period was prolonged and the recovery, as well as the rate of oil recovery, decreased. Asphaltene content of the oil produced as a result of pure steam injection decreased initially showing deposition of asphaltene within the porous matrix of the model. As the steam injection continued, the asphaltene content of the produced oil increased but remained below the initial value. Thus, the produced oil indicated some in situ upgrading. As the carbon dioxide concentration in the steam increased, greater asphaltene deposition occurred; however, no significant change in asphaltene content was found when n-butane was added to the steam. Post-experimental analyses of the porous media for asphaltene content confirmed retention for the pure steam and steam with added CO₂ experiments. Numerical simulation of the asphaltene deposition process using a pure solid deposition model corroborated experimental findings and showed that deposition occurred mainly at the steam-chamber boundary.     

CO2 miscible flooding in low permeability sandstone reservoirs and its influence on crude oil properties

Miscible CO₂ injection process has become widely used technique for the enhanced oil recovery in low permeability reservoirs. Core flooding experiments and field test of CO₂ miscible flooding in low permeability sandstone reservoirs and its influence on crude oil properties was studied. The results showed that CO₂ miscible flooding in low permeability sandstone reservoirs can enhance oil recovery both in laboratory study and field test. The permeability of sandstone reservoirs decreased during CO₂ miscible flooding due to the precipitation of asphaltene of crude oil. The precipitation of asphaltene lead to a reduction of asphaltene content and the apparent viscosity of crude oil. A further study on inhibitors and removers for asphaltene deposits from crude oil should be investigated to prevent and remove asphaltene deposits in low permeability sandstone reservoirs.     

Experimental and modeling study of asphaltene adsorption onto the reservoir rocks

Abstract

In this work, amount of asphaltene adsorption onto the carbonate and sandstone rock samples was investigated at various initial concentrations of asphaltene in oil. Asphaltene adsorption onto both types of the reservoir rocks was increased by increasing the initial concentration of asphaltene. The amount of asphaltene adsorption onto the rock samples was predicted using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The results showed that Langmuir model had a better accuracy for prediction of asphaltene adsorption onto the rock samples than Freundlich model. Furthermore, asphaltene adsorption onto the reservoir rocks was studied in the presence of a recently developed asphaltene inhibitor. The inhibitor significantly reduced asphaltene adsorption at any initial concatenation of asphaltene. Moreover, changes in the rock permeability due to asphaltene precipitation were determined in the presence and absence of the asphaltene inhibitor.