Flow assurance

Data Science Enables Management of Stealth Asphaltene Flow-Assurance Risk

This paper reports the observation of stealth asphaltenes, a potential flow-assurance issue, by means of experimental analysis.

Fig. 1—Hypothesis of stealth-asphaltene precipitation and accumulation toward a production well in the upper reservoir.
Fig. 1—Hypothesis of stealth-asphaltene precipitation and accumulation toward a production well in the upper reservoir.
Source: SPE 216216.

Gas injection is recognized generally not only to improve oil recovery but also to increase the risk of asphaltene destabilization. The recent discovery of asphaltene deposits in a subject field motivated the operator to launch an immediate investigation to evaluate what critical risks might exist and consider appropriate mitigation. It was found that precipitated but invisible asphaltenes still can be flowable. This stealth asphaltene behavior could explain a possible mechanism of the first asphaltene observation in the upper reservoir.

Introduction

The subject giant offshore field in the Arabian Gulf has not experienced asphaltene-induced production deterioration during long-term lean hydrocarbon gas injection.

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