Abstract
Borehole blockage caused by asphaltene deposition is a problem in crude oil production in the Tahe Oilfield, Xinjiang, China. This study has investigated the influences of crude oil compositions, temperature and pressure on asphaltene deposition. The asphaltene deposition trend of crude oil was studied by saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes (SARA) method, and the turbidity method was applied for the first time to determine the onset of asphaltene flocculation. The results showed that the asphaltene deposition trend of crude oil by the turbidity method was in accordance with that by the SARA method. The asphaltene solubility in crude oil decreased with decreasing temperature and the amount of asphaltene deposits of T739 crude oil (from well T739, Tahe Oilfield) had a maximum value at 60 °C. From the PVT results, the bubble point pressure of TH10403CX crude oil (from well TH10403CX, Tahe Oilfield) at different temperatures can be obtained and the depth at which the maximum asphaltene flocculation would occur in boreholes can be calculated. The crude oil PVT results showed that at 50, 90 and 130 °C, the bubble point pressure of TH10403CX crude oil was 25.2, 26.4 and 27.0 MPa, respectively. The depth of injecting asphaltene deposition inhibitors for TH10403CX was determined to be 2,700 m.
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