Investigation of natural gas hydrate formation and slurry viscosity in non-emulsifying oil systems

Abstract

At a later stage of oilfield development, there will be more free water in the pipeline, which may engender the phase inversion of water-in-oil emulsions, thereby augmenting the risk of hydrate plugging. In a novel 30 L high-pressure autoclave, the effects of wax content, water cut, temperature, initial pressure, and rotation speed on hydrate crystallization nucleation and slurry viscosity were examined. Results demonstrated that in systems with wax content greater than or equal to 2 wt%, at the onset of the swift hydrate growth stage, the aggregation of wax and hydrate will impair the gelling structure of wax-containing oil, inducing an abrupt fall in slurry viscosity. Consideration is given to the solubility fluctuation of the natural gas in oil, and an empirical prediction formula for gas consumption during hydrate formation in wax-containing systems is established. The presence of wax hinders the crystalline nucleation and growth of hydrates. Notwithstanding, the hydrate slurry viscosity of the wax-containing system is greater because the wax-hydrate aggregates have a more conspicuous effect on the slurry viscosity than the hydrate volume fraction. The water cut of 70% is a critical upper limit, above which the viscosity of hydrate slurry would increase dramatically. Higher rotation speed and initial pressure can significantly enhance the viscosity of hydrate slurries, but their effects on the hydrate nucleation induction time are more perplexing.