Investigating the impact of pulsed plasma-based shockwave technology on the characteristics of Indian crude oil

Abstract

The declining production from oil wells has become a growing concern worldwide, primarily because conventional methods are becoming less efficient in extracting the original oil reserves. Due to limitations associated with traditional oil recovery techniques, including their high expenses, depth limitations, heat losses, instability of additives, and environmental hazards, it is imperative to investigate the impact of alternative technologies on reservoir fluid properties and recovery. This research proposes a pulse plasma-based shockwave technology (PPBSW) using an indigenously developed tool that uses repeated electrohydraulic shock waves. The liquid pulsed discharge's plasma channel rapidly expands causing an electrohydraulic shock wave. The crude oil samples were exposed using repeated, steep-fronted shock waves of high strength. Crude oil samples were obtained from the Indian Oilfield and underwent characterization both before and after exposure to shockwaves. After the shockwave treatment, there were observable changes in the weight percentages of wax, saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes in the composition of the oil. C13 NMR investigations reveals that MCL (mean chain length) of the exposed samples was slightly affected. Further, the impact of shock wave on the viscosity of the crude oil was evaluated and viscosity of the samples found to be altered after exposure. Oil recovery was evaluated using core flooding studies on a saturated Berea sandstone core. The core was saturated using core plug saturator at 1000 psi. As a result of altered viscosity and reduced interactions between the rock and fluid, the oil recovery from the treated samples was approximately 24% greater as compared to the untreated samples. Given the oil recovery and mixed effect on the viscosity of studied crude oil samples, it can be inferred that PPBSW has a favourable effect on the hydrocarbon recovery.