Heavy Organic Deposition and Plugging of Wells (Analysis of Mexico's Experience)

The production and transportation of petroleum fluids could be severely affected by deposition of suspended particles (i.e. asphaltene, paraffin/wax, sand, and/or diamondoid) in the production wells and/or transfer pipelines. In many instances the amount of precipitation is rather large causing complete plugging of these conduits. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of suspended particles during flow conditions.In this paper we present an overview of the heavy organic deposition problem, its causes, effects and preventive techniques.. We~lso presen~. an analysis of the diffusional effects on the rate of solId partIcle depOSItIon during turbulent flow conditions (crude oil production generally falls within this regime). We utilize the turbulent boundary layer theory and the concepts of mass transfer to explain the particle deposition rates on the walls of the flowing conduits. The developed model accounts for the Brownian and eddy diffusivities as well as for inertial effects and other forces acting acting upon the particles.The analysis presented in this paper shows that rates of particle deposition (asphaltene, paraffin/wax, sand, and/or diamondoid) on the walls of the flowing channel, due solely to diffusional effects, are negligible. It is also shown that deposition rates decrease with with increasing particle size. However, when the deposition process is momentum controlled (large particles) higher deposition rates are predicted. It is shown a decrease in deposition~~tes with in~rea~ing c~de oil kinematic viscosity. An increase 10 depOSItIOn rates WIth IncreasIng production rates is also observed.

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“…We consider the asphaltenes to exist in crude oil as both dissolved and suspended particles (1,2,3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asphaltene and Other Heavy-Organic Particle Deposition During Transfer and Production Operations

Escobedo

Mansoori

1995

Proceedings of SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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“…The latter is an important phenomenon since during crude oil production a streaming potential is generated which is believed to cause asphaltene aggregation (6). When solvents are used to precipitate asphaltenes, the resulting aggregates may have a diameter as large es 3(X3p (7). In addition to asphaltenes there may be other types of particles suspended in the crude oil as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid Particle Deposition During Turbulent Flow Production Operations

Escobedo

Mansoori

1995

All Days

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Thb papar wss 801SCtOdfor prasantation by an SPE Program CAmmlttaa fallowing mvlcnv of informatbn contained k! an sbstrsct submnted by the author(a) Contents of the pspmr, --nt'sd, ha~I@~n M~w'@ by tha M@fy of F'evdeum Ewhwefsand are skq.ct to comsdon by the authmls). Tfw material, M vsanted, dws not nacnSwlly leffaci any pasltion of fhe Sccioty of Petrd.sum Engineers its ofiivws, of rnembws, Papers presentad at SPE maetlngs we subject to publication rwlw by Edtfwlal~mHtW8 of the Sccwfy of Petrolaum Enghwers. Pwmbslrm to q is r.sstrlckl to an sbstrwt of not more than s00 words, Illustrations may not bs c@e4 llw abstmef thwld sontaln cor@ctscus eckrwwfadgnwnt of where and by whom the psper is praaentsd. Wrlta Librarian, SPE, P O sax S3StIW Rlchsrd am, TX 7~, U.S.A. TObX, tSSZ45 SPEUT. ABSTRACTThe production and transportation of petroleum fluids could be severely affected by deposition of suspended particles (i.e. asphaltene, paraffin/wax, sand, and/or diamondoid) in the production wells and/or transfer pipelines. In many instances the amount of precipitation is rather huge causing complete plugging of these conduits, Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of suspended particles during flow conditions. In this paper we present an analysis of the diffusional effects on the rate of solid particle deposition during turbulent flow conditions (crude oil production generally falls within this regime). The turbulent boundary layer theory and the concepts of mass transfer have been utilized to csfculate the particle deposition rates on the walls of the flowing conduit. The developed model accounts for the eddy and Brownian diffusivities as well as for inertial effects.The analysis presented in this paper shows that rates of solidparticle deposition (during crude oil production) on the walls of the flowing channel due solely to diffusional effects are small, k is also shown that de~sition rates decrease with increasing particle size, However, when the process is momentum controlled (large particle sizes) higher deposition rates are expected.References and Illustrations al end of pa~r

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“…Asphaltenic oils flowing through reservoir formations often results in severe permeability damages near the well bore causing a decrease in well productivity [2][3][4][5][6] . Beside permeability damage, the adsorbed asphaltene layers may also induce wettability alteration of the oil-bearing formation 7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asphaltene Adsorption Isotherm in the Pores of Reservoir Rock Cores

Alkafeef¹,

Smith²

2005

Proceedings of SPE International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry

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TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractNew data relating to the adsorption of asphaltenes on rock pore surfaces are reported. The data were obtained from the measurements of the electrokinetic potential of several different sandstone core samples with asphaltenic oils. The adsorption of asphaltene is accompanied by a numerical reduction in the (negative) surface potential of the pore walls, eventually stabilizing at a small positive potential, attributed to the asphaltene itself.After increasing to around 30% of the pore radius, the asphaltene adsorbed layer thickness stopped growing either with time or with concentration of asphaltene in the flowing liquid. This behaviour is attributed to the effect on the disjoining pressure across the adsorbed layer described by Derjaguin and Churaev 1 .Alternative hypotheses involving asphaltene adsorption isotherm have been investigated. A theoretical treatment advanced describing particle adsorption in the same terms as molecular adsorption and the Langmuir isotherm, with the free energy of asphaltene adsorption on the rock surface (modeled on silica), calculated on the basis of van der Waals attraction. Acceptable agreement was obtained with the electrokinetic measurements.

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Heavy Organic Deposition and Plugging of Wells (Analysis of Mexico's Experience)

Cited by 16 publications

References 13 publications

Asphaltene and Other Heavy-Organic Particle Deposition During Transfer and Production Operations

Asphaltene and Other Heavy-Organic Particle Deposition During Transfer and Production Operations

Solid Particle Deposition During Turbulent Flow Production Operations

Asphaltene Adsorption Isotherm in the Pores of Reservoir Rock Cores

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