Abstract

Asphaltene molecules are one of the main sub-fractions of heavy crude oils. During matrix acidizing operation, these polar molecules are highly susceptible to interact with acid and form a third phase called asphaltic sludge. Deposition of the formed sludge on the rock surface and plugging their pore throats alters the rock wettability state and consequently its permeability. In the present study, the impact of acid and oil on the volume of the formed sludge as well as on the wettability of three rock types including sandstone, fractured and vuggy carbonate rocks were experimentally explored. A new environmentally friendly bio-surfactant which is extracted from Zizyphus spina-christ shrub (ZSCS) leaves was used as an inhibitor to control the potential damage causing by wettability alteration and the following pore plugging. Two common commercial additives were also evaluated against the bio surfactant performance that was used in this study. As a complementary step, molecular dynamic simulations were also conducted firstly to shed the light on the affinities between asphaltene and acid molecules and then check how the presence of ZSCS intervene the interaction between asphaltene molecules and rock surface. Our findings prove that using ZSCS provides optimal solution concerning production issues (i.e., Prevention of acid-induced sludge formation), both economically and environmentally; economically as it simply costs less than other commonly used chemicals, and environmentally as it extracted from nature.

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