Study on the characteristic of asphaltene-wax co-precipitation during gas injection of unconventional gas condensate reservoirs

Abstract

The intensification of energy shortage has accelerated the development of unconventional oil and gas resources, during which complex problems of organic solid precipitation often occur. The precipitation behavior of organic solid such as asphaltene and wax play an important role in the optimization of reservoir production. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the precipitation mechanism and interaction between asphaltene and wax, especially under high temperature and pressure. A self-designed precipitation apparatus based on backscattered light was utilized to achieve this objective. The effects of temperature range 30–120 ℃, pressure range 5–85 MPa, gas-oil ratio of 150，300 and 500 sm3/sm3 and injection gas of CH4, CO2 and N2 on organic solid precipitation in condensate oil-gas system were studied by physical simulation. The results revealed that asphaltene precipitated separately at high temperature, and asphaltene and wax co-precipitated at low temperature. Based on the observed precipitation behavior, a co-precipitation mechanism of asphaltene and wax under high-pressure conditions was proposed: Asphaltene particles precipitated first, providing nucleation sites for wax absorption, growth, and cross-linking as the pressure decreased. Moreover, the depressurization induced phase separation during oil and gas production resulted in the extraction of light components, reducing the solubility of wax and exacerbating reservoir damage caused by the precipitation of organic solid. Increasing the gas-oil ratio led to higher amounts of organic solid precipitation and shifted the pressure at which precipitation occurred. Furthermore, the miscibility of injection medium and condensate oil will also significantly affect organic matter precipitation, and the potential damage to the reservoir can be shown as follows: N2＞CO2＞CH4.