As it is well known, petroleum is formed by organic compounds of varied structures and different molecular weights. It is possible to group said organic compounds in saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes. The latter represent the heavy fraction and have increased in Mexico, as in the rest of the world, causing production and conversion problems.
Asphaltenes are considered to be a fraction of heavy oil which may be soluble and are found colloidal suspension, disperse in a continuous phase and surrounded by resins in a micelle. Resins are responsible for keeping asphaltenes separate, maintaining the system stable.
When there is a physical-chemical disturbance in an oil field, as it commonly occurs in production wells, it causes the concentration of resin molecules to undergo changes, causing them to leave the micelle, altering the stability of the asphaltenes that are suspended in oil, weakening asphaltenes' repulsive forces, generating a mutual interaction among asphaltenes,
This invention provides an innovative additive compound which can be utilized in handling these asphaltenes, this way allowing for an improvement in heavy crude oil, increasing the production of oil wells and improving its transportation in pipelines.
The characteristic of this innovative petroleum asphaltene handler additive compound are dearly described in the following description and in the attached drawings.
The sole presence of asphaltenes in oil is not an indication of a problem in an oil well's production or in its transportation in pipelines. There is a larger concentration of asphaltenes in heavy or extra heavy oil, and they usually remain stable in normal conditions. But this stability is relative; it may be modified if there is a change in oil temperature and pressure. We can see an illustration in
It is possible to classify the types of oils as shown in Table 1.
As mentioned above, heavy and extra heavy oil has larger contents of asphaltenes, so any unbalance may generate a major problem in its production and transportation in pipelines when a deposition of heavy fractions occurs, producing a high-viscosity effects due to its density and API gravity.
In order to improve control of the asphaltenes, an additive compound was prepared which is formed by the following substances shown in Table 2.
This additive compound when prepared at a temperature of 25° C., has the following characteristics:
Three doses with the additive compound were prepared as an example in heavy oil with the following characteristics:
The results obtained in the test are described in Table 3, where it is possible to observe the effect of asphaltene handling with the additive compound, in a reduction in viscosity of the heavy oil.
The dose of the asphaltene handler additive compound is going to depend upon the oil's physical characteristics where it is going to be applied. Another additional variable influencing its dosage is the cost one wishes to add to each barrel of oil to be treated.
It is also important to point out that this additive compound produces a permanent effect in heavy oil, where the viscosity reduction does not have any reversible effects, as in the case of heating or steam injection methods, where the oil's physical properties return to their initial state it had before the treatment.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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MX/A/2010/007188 | Jun 2010 | MX | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/MX2011/000036 | 3/23/2011 | WO | 00 | 5/14/2013 |