The impact of asphaltene deposition on fluid flow in sandstone

Abstract

Asphaltene deposition in oil reservoirs is a contentious issue affecting both well and reservoir productivity. Though the phenomenon has been previously studied in several laboratory experiments, the uniformity aspects of the asphaltene deposit are usually overlooked. We have previously developed an experimental workflow to create a uniform deposit of asphaltene inside the core sample. In this study, the impact of this uniform deposit on fluid flow is quantified through imbibition, corefloods and relative permeability experiments. In addition, the lab results are used in a field scale simulation to investigate the impact of deposition on field performance. The results exhibit a shift in the wettability state where a reduction in both water imbibition rate and capacity are observed after deposition. Besides, up to 25% reduction in absolute permeability is detected. Results of pressure drop experiments across the core conducted on the exposed rocks indicate a change in the wetting characteristics, with the exposed rocks becoming more mixed/intermediate wet and varying with the change in the initial brine saturation in the rock. Subsequently, the relative permeability set is affected where a shift in the oil residual saturation, a downgrade in the oil curve and an upgrade in the water curve are observed. Upscaling this new data to field scale indicated a loss of more than half of the well productivity and an earlier breakthrough if waterflooding is implemented.