UNIT-5

PROBLEMS IN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

PRECIPITATION AND DEPOSITION OF ASPHALTENES AND

PARAFFIN’S:

Asphaltene precipitation and deposition

Asphaltene precipitation and scheme
Under encouraging settings, the resins enclose asphaltenes in the petroleum.
The occurrence whereby asphaltenes are suspended or solubilised by resins in
the petroleum is ascribed to be a thermodynamic equilibrium occurrence. If
any of the influences that can upset the status of the suspension equilibrium
is modified, the asphaltene particles will amass and ultimately have their
nature altered. Alterations do occur during petroleum production, particularly
during the second and third stages of oil extraction. These alterations usually
disrupt the well characteristics, phase equilibrium and flow behaviour and
then affect with the thermodynamic equilibrium and results in asphaltene
precipitation as shown in figure inthe well bore, pipelines or other production
facilities.

1
When asphaltene molecules are disrupted, there will be separation of molecules of
asphaltene from the liquid segment, while repressing thermodynamic balance due to
existence of polar heads of maltenes and resins which cover asphaltene molecules. The
asphaltene molecules are disjointed from the liquid segment and micelle as a result of the
disturbances triggered as a result of the pressure drop. Each micelle possesses an
asphaltene core and arrangement of non-polar resins ends called fines. Thus, asphaltene
precipitate out as a result of occurrence of resins all over the asphaltene nuclei.
Asphaltene industrial inhibitors are produce using a principle similar to this
phenomenon.Thermodynamically, temperature, pressure, concentration, or
composition are the actual factors required in the course of production of
asphaltene precipitates. For instance, when the pressure is higher than the
bubble pressure of crude oils that are predisposed to asphaltene
precipitation, asphaltene precipitation will be initiated. Thus, the differences
in the precipitation characteristics of asphaltenes are caused by the changes
in density and the volatilization of light components of crude oil.

2
 When pressure is reduced drastically to the bubble point, then the quantity
of asphaltene precipitates will surge. However, the bubble point usually
presents the highest quantity of precipitation of asphaltene, while reducing
the pressure from the bubble point makes the asphaltene precipitation to
decrease, causing the precipitation produced in the liquid segment to finally
dissolve. Thus, precipitation attains the highest level at the saturation
pressure and reduces as pressure drops beneath the saturation pressure. The
area where precipitation happens is covered by the asphaltene precipitation
envelope (APE) or asphaltene deposition envelope (ADE). Temperature
influences on the modification of asphaltene precipitation have been
documented by many scientific authors globally.
It has been reported that the influence of temperature in addition with
pressure on the asphaltene precipitation in the phase envelop is referred to
as precipitation phase . As a result of the diverse influence of temperature on
phase envelop, the precipitation phase envelop behaviour has two universal
settings. The first setting is typically associated with heavy oil; here
precipitation yield range is restricted by temperature decrease. Thus, specifies
the direct temperature influence on the precipitation i.e. temperature rise
will result in more precipitate mass. The second setting is typically associated
with light oil; here asphaltene precipitation is usually restricted by the range
of temperature, which specifying the reciprocal influence of temperature on
asphaltene precipitate formation. Figure below represent the broad
impression of the two forms of thermodynamic behaviour

3
Concentration of petroleum is the third and most vital thermodynamic
parameter in the development of asphaltene precipitation. Largely, the
quantity of asphaltene precipitates produced reduces with rise in API gravity
i.e. reduced density. The level of oil cut is usually greater than 5% in heavy oil,
but less than 5% or insignificant in lighter oils
Asphaltene precipitation/asphaltene precipitation envelope (APE)
determination:
Controlling of asphaltene precipitation at its inception necessitates adequate
developmental approaches as well as having the knowledge of the detailed
circumstances surrounding the occurrence of the asphaltene precipitation.
Controlling of asphaltene precipitation at its inception necessitates adequate
developmental approaches as well as having the knowledge of the detailed
circumstances surrounding the occurrence of the asphaltene precipitation.

4
The APE describes the area in which asphaltene precipitation arises; thus,
precise determination of the APE as well as the quantities of precipitate
contained by the APE are essential for policy making and to regulation
prevailing models. Generally, pAu signifies the upper pressure on the APE,
while pAℓ signifies the lower pressure on the APE. There exist many
approaches such as electrical-conductance, viscometric, light-scattering,
acoustic-resonance, flirtation and gravimetric methods that can be used for
the determination and appraisal of the inception of asphaltene precipitation
and consequently presenting paramount ways to avert and/or control the
menace adequately.

i. Electrical-conductance method
Due to the fact that asphaltenes possess enormous dipole moments,
conductivity curve reveals an alteration in the slope during asphaltene

5
precipitation. Alteration in the fluid conductivity with fluctuations in quantity
and movement of charged constituents are determined by this method (

ii. Viscometric method

Due to the fact that the viscosity of petroleum having suspended solids (SS) is
greater than that of the pure petroleum’s viscosity, this method is able to
identify a noticeable alteration in the viscosity curve at the asphaltene
precipitation inception accurately

iii. Light-scattering method

Dark-coloured petroleum necessitates a near-infrared laser light system
(800 × 10−9 m to 2,200 × 10−9 m wavelength) to identify asphaltene-
precipitation circumstances. Light-scattering methods can be used effectively
to determine the APE at this condition. The norm of this method is founded
on the transmission of a laser light via the test fluid in an elevated-pressure,
elevated-temperature visual PVT cell experiencing pressure, temperature, and
composition fluctuations. During asphaltene precipitation measurement, a
receiver apprehends the quantity of light that move through the analysed
petroleum. It has proofed that, the power of transmitted light (PTL) is
inversely proportional to the petroleum mass density, to the particle size of
the asphaltene precipitate, and particle number per unit fluid volume, while
the PTL curve reveals strident obstructions at pAu, ps, and pAℓ.

iv. Acoustic-resonance method

. In the process of measurement of asphaltene precipitation using this
method, the petroleum is charged at an elevated pressure, for instance, 8,500
psia into a resonator cell kept at the oil well temperature. Altering the
volume, the resonator pressure is then reduced at a very little rate of for
example 50 psia/min. At the completion of the test, the rate
of depressurization reduces per time to a characteristic rate of 5 psia/min,
while acoustic data reveal strident alterations at pAu and at the petroleum
saturation pressure.

v. Flirtation method
During measurement using this approach, the cell constituents in the course
of a depressurization experiment are blended in a magnetic mixer, while little
amount of the well-blended well fluid are expunged via a hydrophobic filter at
different pressures. The saturate, aromatic, resin and asphaltene (SARA)
constituents of the substance left on the filter is then analyzed.

vi. Gravimetric method

6
In this method which is typically carried out in a conventional
pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) cell, a pressure below the pAu,
precipitation takes place, while bigger molecules separate out and stay at the
low part of the cell due to gravity. Pressure phases is essential to be selected
prudently to detect the point of inflection at pAu and pAℓ Asphaltene study of
the petroleum using n-pentane or n-heptane as titrant indicates a reduced
asphaltene content composition in relation to the main petroleum.

vii. Additional methods

A method that can be employed to identify asphaltene precipitation is an
approach of visual detection using a microscope. Others are determining the
interfacial tension among petroleum and water; a method built on pressure-
decrease across a capillary tube
Asphaltene deposition challenges and management
Asphaltenes deposition usually have negative impacts on the petroleum
generation rate at any oil generation stage. For instance, asphaltene deposits
usually reduces the probabilities of attaining an operative and successful oil
recovery when the deposits accumulate in reservoir rock by altering the
rock wettability. Challenges accompanying the asphaltene deposition produce
momentous operational damage and requires costly remedial processes.
Thus, asphaltene deposition significantly slows efficiency rate of the impaired
reservoirs, while in many occurrences stops the reservoir from flowing after a
total stuffing or blocking of production pole. The deposit could also block
surface production services including pipes meant for the transportation of
petroleum (flow lines).The issue of asphaltene precipitation and subsequent
deposition is a major prospective challenges in petroleum industry. Even
though, this issue is not expected like wax or scale, nonetheless, the influence
of asphaltene is habitually disastrous. Asphaltene precipitation can result in
reservoir damage, blocking of reservoirs and pipelines via deposition, removal
complications, and entangling in services particularly in offshore operations.
These asphaltene precipitates could deposit on exteriors, amass in low-energy
areas or upsurge the operational viscosity of the flowing oil. The overall
impact is a rise in pressure drop for a particular frequency via decrease in the
flowing zone or alteration in viscosity. Generally, the mitigation expenditure
of an unanticipated asphaltene challenges is usually much. Therefore, it is
vital that the characteristics of asphaltenes in an offshore production
structure be comprehended starting from the project plan phase. It is thus
imperative that adequate control and mitigation approaches needed to be
integrated into the scheme from the commencement of the project.

7
PRECIPITATION AND DEPOSITION OF PARAFFINS:
The effects of Paraffins deposits:
1. Unnatural production-rate declines in both flowing and pumping wells.
2. Reduction of the internal diameter of the pipelines and tubing, which can
eventually plug it.
3. Increased surface roughness on the tubing wall which causes increased
back pressure and reduced flow rate.
4. Stuffing box failures Extra power consumption Increased wear on
pumping equipment.
5. Accumulations that fill process vessels and storage tanks, leading to
system upsets and labour/OPEX-intensive clean up and disposal problems.
6. Interference with valve and instrumentation operation.
7. Increased risk of sticking pigs in the line and interference with the in-line
inspection of flow lines and export lines by tools such as gauge pigs,
calliper pigs and intelligent pigs.
PRECIPITATION AND DEPOSITION OF PARAFFINS:
Under the conditions of temperature, pressure and crude oil composition
occurring in an underground reservoir, the paraffin is in solution in the crude.
As the oil flows to the surface there is generally a reduction of temperature,
pressure, and the amount of dissolved gases contained in the oil. This
reduction of temperature and gas breakout are factors causing reduced
solubility of the paraffin in the crude.

Thus, as the crude containing paraffin rises to the surface and flows to storage
tanks at ambient pressure and temperature, the solubility of the paraffin may
be exceeded. Deposition tends to begin at the point in the system where the
temperature of the system falls below its cloud point, and continues as long is
there is a further drop in the solubility of paraffin in the crude. The severity of
the deposition as well as the location of the bulk of the deposition will depend
on the amount of paraffin originally in the crude, the manner in which
temperature and pressure of the crude are reduced, and other properties of
the crude and of the paraffin. For a paraffin problem to exist, the solid must
separate from solution, and it must stick to some surface. There are three
mechanisms of wax deposition: molecular diffusion, and shear deposition
(Addison, 1984). The mechanism of molecular diffusion is the deposition

8
mechanism occurring during production in which the oil temperature is well
above the cloud point until the oil is comes in contact with a cold surface; at
that point wax comes out of solution and adheres directly to the cold
equipment. Shear deposition of precipitated wax crystals occurs after the oil
has fallen below the cloud point, and the crystals are transported to the wall
by the shearing of the oil at the ,surface of the tubing or flowline. These
crystals will deposit on the layers formed by molecular diffusion if it occurs.
Shear dispersion is the main mechanism of deposition for any situation where
oil temperatures are below the cloud point. In the study of precipitation of
wax from crude oil, it is an oversimplification to regard paraffin as a single
entity.

METHODS OF TREATING PARAFFIN ACCUMULATIONS :

If paraffin has been allowed to accumulate in a well to such an extent that

production is curtailed, any of several different methods may be employed in
removing it and restoring the well's productivity. These methods are grouped
into three main categories: mechanical, thermal, and chemical; there are, of
course, combinations of these methods.
Mechanical Methods
1. For flowing wells, the paraffin cutter or paraffin knife was often used. The
paraffin hook was a positive method of removing large quantifies of paraffin
from a weil. lt often consisted of a heavy disk which slipped 19into a neutral
position while the tool was lowered, and slipped into an active position when
the tool was withdrawn.

2. For flowing wells, treatment mainly was by scrapers, either wireline or

automatic scrapers was used. For pumping wells scrapers were used. The
pigs, the paraffin knife, paraffin hook, corkscrew, porcupine, and swab were in
general use. Some operators pulled tubing and built a f'meunder it to remove
paraffins
3. Various forms of mechanical rotary reaming devices, designed to expand
against the walls of the well and scrape off the paraffin had been developed
and found to be useful. Some of these were effective in wells of moderate
diameter, but are scarcely adaptable in large shot cavities in which the walls
are several feet from the well axis.

9
4. On a field in South Louisiana. The wellhead was too hot to touch, but
surface pipes had paraffin deposition. The most cost effective method was
cutting and pigging the surface pipes. The early authors mainly recommended
mechanical methods of paraffin removal.

Mechanical methods are still in use, and in many cases, the most cost
effective way to deal with the paraffin problem. Many of the more recent
authors mentioned mechanical methods, but provided very little details of the
practice.

Thermal Methods
1. Hot Oil:
The most common thermal method of dealing with paraffin deposits has been
the use of hot oiling. Hot offing is the process of using heat to melt paraffin
deposits for removal of the well. A truck picks up a load of oil from a lease
tank, heats the oil to 150 to 300 ° F and pumps it into the well. Hot oiling is
applied either directly down the tubing, or in the annular space, with the
latter being more common. Hot oiling down the annulus is essentially a heat
transfer process. As hot oil is moves down the annulus, the tubing becomes
hot enough to melt the wax. As the depth of deposits in tubing increases, the
amount of oil and often its temperature must increase in order to treat these
deeper deposits. The oil falls to the bottom of the well, where it is eventually
produced back to the surface.

Chemical Methods :
The major types of chemicals available for paraffin treatment are:
1. Solvents, which act to dissolve paraffin from its deposits.

2. Paraffin inhibitors, sometimes called crystal modifiers, are used to alter

paraffin crystal growth. They are usually polymeric materials, and there is
usually no easy way to introduce them into the formation except during
fracturing or other squeeze treatments. These materials tend to be very
specific, and must be tailored for each weil.

10
3. Paraffin dispersants. These do not prevent the precipitation of paraffin, but
coat the particles, reducing thexr tendency to stick to each other or to other
surfaces. 4. Surfactants, which act to solubilize the wax, usually into an
aqueous phase. Products of types 2, 3 and 4 generally tend to be quite
specific to a particular paraffin or oil; they are selected by taking samples and
testing each of a variety of products until the best one is found. Testing labs
are experienced which helps to narrow the range of products, but the testing
of 30 to 50 formulations is routine. The tests used have been described
above, in the section "Deposition."

The chemical treating programs allow the operator to implement very flexible
paraffin control methods. Thus the operator can design stop gap measures,
maintenance or production stimulation plans as the situation requires.

4. Stop gap, or as-needed, measures are the most cost effective method of
paraffin control on easily accessed wells that have problems once a year or so.
In this case, the use of solvents or dispersants avoids the danger of damage to
the well that hot oil may cause. For a well not easily accessed, such as during
the winter, a maintenance program may be called for, since the down time
caused by the paraffin problem may be avoided. In a flowing well with no
capillary tubing strings for injecting chemical downhole, chemical inhibition is
not possible unless solids are added to frac fluids, or solids are put into the
tubing and allowed to fall to the bottom of the weil.

5. If there are downhole injection facilities, the use of inhibitors would

probably be the method of choice. Solvent The use of solvents in treating
paraffin problems began early and was widespread. Solvents should be used
hot if at ali possible, since elevated temperature increases wax solubility and
increases the rate of wax removal. One of the very best solvents is carbon
disulfide, but because of its poisonous nature, high flammability and cost, it is
not used in the field.
6. Naphtha, benzene, casing head gasoline, and commercial solvents as being
suitable for use in the field. A satisfactory method of application, if a regular
schedule is followed, is for the pumper to loosen the packing box and pour
the solvent into the tubing. After letting, it week for a period of time, the well
is pumped off. Solvents must be used in a timely manner. They are not
effective if the wax accumulation is thick, unless some mechanical agitation is
present. The salt deposition in the tubing formed a rough surface to which the
paraffin cou:d adhere. Often, running fresh water in addition to solvent
loosens both salt and paraffin, allowing the latter to be pumped from the

11
weil. If wax has been allowed to accumulate in a well to such an extent that
production is curtailed, any of several different methods may be employed in
removing it and restoring the well's productivity. A common method involves
the introduction of wax-solvents, such as benzene, gasoline and heavier
distillates. Better zesuit_ have been secured when the solvent has been
preheated to such an extent that it melts the wax. The effectiveness of the
solvent is increased by heating when used in this was, its primary functior_ is
to serve as a car,'ier for heat. The solvent .may be run into the well through
tubing or between the well casing and tubing, or it may be poured into the
open casing of a well or lowered in a dump bailer. The dumpbailer is
especially useful in introducing solvents with little temperature loss. Hot
solvent should be promptly bailed or pumped out of the well to prevent the
molten wax from solidifying again in the well as it cools.

Microbial Methods:
1. Oxygen-utilizing microbes are usually used in microbial method of wellbore
cleanup. The paraffins are metabolized by the microbes are oxidized to
alcohols, aldehydes and carboxylic acids In addition to metabolizing
parraffinic hydrocarbons, microorganisms may produce compounds that
emulsify paraffin deposits and improve fluid flow.The use of microbial
treatments to refine waxy paraffins into production fluids. Their method was
to inject microbial cultures down the annulus; where they would metabolize
paraffin into alcohols. The range of test well conditions were 32° to 180° F, 0
to 20% salinity, and 3 to 11 pH. They reported a field test in which wells were
having monthly h_. oiling, costs were reduced 15 to 25% and higher sustained
oil production resulted. For microbial methods to be effective, they
recommended the following precautions: (1) the microbial method should be
applied in well with water cuts in excess of 1%, (2) application of the microbial
method in flowing wells should be avoided, (3) high fluid levels can be
detrimental to the application of microbial methods, and (4) hydrogen sulfide,
certain oilfield chemicals and high salinity can inhibit bacterial activity,
therefore microbial methods should not be applied under conditions 2, 3 and
4.

2. Micro-Bac International Inc. estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 wells have been
treated using their microbial products and discussed several case histories of
microbial wellbore cleanup. Oil production increases have occurred in about
50% of all wells treated. In certain instances, microbial injection in a near-
wellbore region can rival certain existing chemical treatments, both in
efficiency and cost. Other companies involved in the application of microbial

12
method for wellbore cleanup are: Alpha Environmental, Microbial System
Corporation, Microbios Ltd., Geo-Microbial Technologies, Inc. National
Paraclean, Universal Paraclean, Inc. and PSL, Inc.Santamaria and George
recently published a paper in which they gave results of microbial treatment
of five production wells. These wells have severe paraffin deposition problems
and had to be controlled with hot oiling at least every two week. A microbial
formulation and biocatalyst were injected down the annulus weekly or every
other week, depending on the severity of the paraffin problem. They
concluded that the production rates of oil, water, and gas were not increased
by use of the microbial treatment.

3. However, the production down time due to hot oiling was reduced by
microbial treatments. During the microbial treatment, no hot oiling was
required for six months. Microbial treatments for paraffin reduction have
potential but will generally be limited to wells with certain characteristics,
since the treatment consists of living microorganisms. Well characteristics
cited in particular include bottomhole temperatures less than 180 to 210° F,
salinity as sodium chloride less than 20%, and the absence of any well treating
chemicals such as biocides or corrosion inhibitors in that well during
treatment.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN WELL TREATMENT FOR PARAFFIN

PROBLEMS
Treatment of wells for solving paraffin problems usually involves injecting
relatively small quantity of chemicals, heated oil or heated water into a
producing weil, and as such is not regulated by existing state and federal
regulations.

However, injecting chemicals such as calcium carbide, chlorinated

hydrocarbon, etc. which are designated as hazardous substances under
section 102(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act, should be avoided for treatment of paraffin paraffin
problems.

Scale problems in production:

Wells producing water are likely to develop deposits of inorganic scales.
Scales can and do coat perforations, casing, production tubulars, valves,
pumps, and downhole completion equipment, such as safety equipment and

13
gas lift mandrels. If allowed to proceed, this scaling will limit production,
eventually requiring abandonment of the well.

Technology is available for removing scale from tubing, flowline, valving, and
surface equipment, restoring at least some of the lost production level.
Technology also exists for preventing the occurrence or reoccurrence of the
scale, at least on a temporary basis. “Temporary” is generally 3 to 12 months
per treatment with conventional inhibitor “squeeze” technology, increasing to
24 or 48 months with combined fracture/inhibition methods.

SCALE MECHANISMS
As brine, oil, and/or gas proceed from the formation to the surface, pressure
and temperature change and certain dissolved salts can precipitate. This is
called “self-scaling.” If a brine is injected into the formation to maintain
pressure and sweep the oil to the producing wells, there will eventually be a
commingling with the formation water. Additional salts may precipitate in the
formation or in the wellbore (scale from “incompatible waters”). Many of
these scaling processes can and do occur simultaneously. Scales tend to be
mixtures.For example, strontium sulfate is frequently found precipitated
together with barium sulfate.
The most common oilfield scales are:
 Calcite
 Barite
 Celestite

14
 Anhydrite
 Gypsum
 Iron sulfide
 Halite

“Exotic” scales such as calcium fluorite, zinc sulfide, and lead sulfide are
sometimes found with high temperature/high pressure (HT/HP) wells.Calcite
deposition is generally a self-scaling process. The main driver for its formation
is the loss of CO2 from the water to the hydrocarbon phase(s) as pressure
falls. This removes carbonic acid from the water phase, which had kept the
basic calcite dissolved. Calcite solubility also decreases with decreasing
temperature (at constant CO2 partial pressure).
Halite scaling is also a self-scaling process. The drivers are falling temperature
and evaporation. Halite solubility in water decreases with decreasing
temperature, favoring halite dropout during the production of high total
dissolved solids (TDS) brines to the surface. (Falling pressure has a much
smaller effect on decreasing halite solubility.) Evaporative loss of liquid water
is generally the result of gas breakout from undersaturated condensate and
oil wells, as well as the expansion of gas in gas wells. This increase in water
vapor can leave behind insufficient liquid water to maintain halite solubility in
the coproduced brine phase. Halite self-scaling is found with both high-
temperature and low-temperature wells.
Barite scales are generally the result of mixing incompatible waters. For
example, seawater is often injected into offshore reservoirs for pressure
maintenance. Seawater has a high-sulfate content; formation waters often
have high-barium contents. Mixing these waters results in barite deposition. If
this mixing/precipitation occurs within the reservoir far removed from a
vertical wellbore, there will generally be little impact on the production of
hydrocarbons. Mixing/precipitation near or within the wellbore will have a
significant impact on production. Mixing of incompatible waters within the
sandpack of a hydraulically fractured well can also be detrimental to
production. Furthermore, after the initial, large deposition of scale, this water
continues to be saturated in barite and additional barite scale will continue to
form in the wellbore as pressure and temperature fall.
Waterfloods combining ground waters with high calcium and high sulfate
contents can deposit anhydrite or gypsum by much the same “incompatible
waters” mechanism discussed for barite. However, calcium sulfate scale

15
solubility, unlike that of barite scale, actually increases with decreasing
temperature (until about 40°C). This can decrease the likelihood of scale after
the initial mixing deposition.
The reversal in solubility falloff below 40°C accounts for the gypsum scaling
observed in surface equipment. This inverse temperature effect can result in
the generation of anhydrite scale when injecting seawater. Anhydrite
solubility falls as pressure falls; data could not be found for gypsum solubility
vs. pressure.Iron sulfide scales are almost ubiquitous when hydrogen sulfide is
produced—frequently the result of tubular corrosion in the presence of H 2S. A
review of the iron sulfide chemistry and phases occurring in production
equipment is physical properties of the phases vary (sometimes dense,
sometimes not), and the phase composition can change with time.

SCALE REMEDIATION
Scale remediation techniques must be quick and nondamaging to the
wellbore, tubing, and the reservoir. If the scale is in the wellbore, it can be
removed mechanically or dissolved chemically. Selecting the best scale-
removal technique for a particular well depends on knowing the type and
quantity of scale, its physical composition, and its texture. Mechanical
methods are among the most successful methods of scale removal in
tubulars. When pulling costs are low (e.g., readily accessible and shallow land
locations), the least expensive approach to scaling is often to pull the tubing
and drill out the scale deposit.
Milling
Scales are generally brittle. One of the earliest methods used to break off the
thin brittle scale from pipes was explosives: a strand or two of detonation
cord (“string shot”) placed with an electronic detonation cap at the
appropriate location in the wellbore, most effectively at the perforations.
Thicker scales require more stringent means. Impact bits
and milling technologies have been developed to run on coiled tubing inside
tubulars using a variety of chipping bits and milling configurations. Such scale
removal rates are generally in the range of 5 to 30 linear ft/hr of milling.
Jetting
An alternative to milling and drilling is jetting.[9] Fluid jetting systems have
been available for many years to remove scales in production tubing and
perforations. These tools can be used with chemical washes to attack soluble
deposits where placement is critical. Water jetting can be effective on soft

16
scale, such as halite, but is less effective on some forms of medium to hard
scales such as calcite and barite. The use of abrasive slurries greatly improves
the ability of jets to cut through scale but can damage the steel tubulars and
valves.“Sterling beads” is an alternative abrasive material for scale removal by
jetting.This material matches the erosive performance of sand on hard, brittle
scales, while being 20 times less erosive of steel. Sterling beads do not
damage the well if prolonged jetting occurs in one spot. The beads are soluble
in acid and have no known toxicity, simplifying use and cleanup. Hard scales,
such as barite, are removed at rates > 100 ft/hr. This tool is capable of
descaling configurations other than wellbore tubing (e.g., removing hard
barite scale deposits on two gas lift valves in a multiple-mandrel gas lift
completion.
Chemical dissolution
Chemical dissolution of certain wellbore scales is generally relatively
inexpensive and is used when mechanical removal methods are ineffective or
costly. Carbonate minerals are highly soluble in hydrochloric acid; therefore,
they can easily be dissolved. Bullheaded “acid washes” are commonly used to
remove calcite accumulations within the wellbore.Sulfate scale is more
difficult to remove from the wellbore because the scale has a low solubility in
acid. Chelants (scale dissolvers) have a high thermodynamic driving force for
dissolving sulfate scales such as barite, isolating and locking up the scale
metallic ions within their closed cage-like structure. These chemicals are
successful at removing films of sulfate scale from the wellbore. However, they
are slow in dissolving the larger particle-sized wellbore scales and plugs—the
reaction rates are surface-area limited; treatments are time-consuming, thus
expensive.
FORMATION OF DAMAGE DUE TO MIGRATION OF LINES:
1. Production wells, particularly in sandstones. Direct evidence of fines-
induced formation damage in production wells is often difficult to come by.
Although most other forms of formation damage have obvious indicators of
the problem, the field symptoms of fines migration are much more subtle.
Indirect evidence such as declining productivity over a period of several
weeks or months is the most common symptom. This reduction in
productivity can usually be reversed by mud-acid treatments. A large number
of wells around the world follow these patterns of reduction of productivity
followed by significant improvements when subjected to a mud-acid
treatment. This behavior most often suggests a buildup of fines in the near-
wellbore region over a period of time. Field studies and laboratory
experiments have indicated that the fines causing the permeability reduction

17
include clays, feldspars, micas, and plagioclase. Because the mobile fines are
made up of a wide variety of minerals, the clay content of the reservoir may
not always be a good indicator of the water sensitivity of the formation.

2. Core flow tests conducted in the laboratory clearly show that if low-salinity
(< 2%) brines are injected into water-sensitive rocks, large reductions in
permeability (up to a factor 500) are obtained in figure.It is now well
established that this dramatic reduction in permeability is almost entirely a
result of fines migration. Evidence is shown clearly in figure. Reversal of flow
results in a temporary increase in permeability as the fines plug pores in the
reverse flow direction.

18
Fine-grained minerals are present in most sandstones and some carbonates.
They are not held in place by the confining pressure and are free to move
with the fluid phase that wets them (usually water). They remain attached to
pore surfaces by electrostatic and van der Waals forces. At "high" (> 2%) salt
concentrations, the van der Waals forces are sufficiently large to keep the
fines attached to the pore surfaces. As the salinity is decreased, the repulsive
electrostatic forces increase because the negative charge on the surfaces of
the pores and fines is no longer shielded by the ions. When the repulsive
electrostatic forces exceed the attractive van der Waals forces, the fines are
released from pore surfaces.

There is a critical salt concentration below which fines are released. The
typical magnitude of the critical salt concentration is in the range of 5,000 to
15,000 ppm (1.5%) sodium chloride. For divalent ions, this concentration is
significantly lower. If a water-sensitive sandstone is exposed to brine with a
salinity below the critical salt concentration, fines are released, and significant

19
reductions in permeability are observed in figure.Fines migration can also be
induced by mechanical entrainment of fines, which can occur when the fluid
velocity is increased above a critical velocity.

It has been experimentally observed that critical flow velocities for fines
migration are lower when the brine phase is mobile. Critical velocities are an
order of magnitude higher when the brine is at a residual saturation. This
implies that fines migration will be more important with the onset of water
production in a well, which is indeed the case. It is often observed that well
productivities decline much more rapidly after the onset of water production.
In such instances, more frequent acid treatments are needed to maintain
production after water breakthrough.The extent of permeability reduction
observed is also a function of the wettability of the rock. More oil-wet rocks
tend to show less water sensitivity, maybe because the fines are partially
coated with oil and are not as readily accessible to the brine. Significantly
smaller reductions in permeability are observed when the rock is made less
water-wet. Examples of such operations include loss of freshwater-mud
filtrate or completion fluid to the formation, steam injection in a huff 'n' puff
operation for recovering heavy oil, water injection from a freshwater source,
high well production rates (flow velocities above the critical velocity), and
water breakthrough in production wells.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS::
1. Loss of vegetation
2. Excessive air emissions
3. Deterioration of surface-water quality
4. Contamination of groundwater aquifers
5. Production of toxic and carcinogenic substances
6. Corrosion and destruction
Land Disturbance and Related Problems

20
1. Pipeline installation and construction of well pads, roads, waste disposal
pits, sediment ponds, and plant facilities (e.g., offices, parking areas, storage
tanks) are sources of land disturbance.

2. New wells and new roads frequently are not needed because existing ones
from previous oil operations are used whenever possible. For commonly used
5-spot well patterns (four injection wells and one central production well)
about 1.2 ha (3 acres) of land are usually disturbed for every 4 ha (10 acres) of
project area

3. Usually, loss of vegetation from project construction and operation is

minor. However, significant impacts to endangered and threatened biota and
to historic or archaeologic materials could arise without preproject planning
and evaluation.
4. Accidental oil, brine, and chemical spills can result in contamination of
soils. and waters with subsequent loss of bio data and land
productivity.Reclamation procedures for oil-contaminated soils usually
involve soil aeration by plowing. Addition of lime, fertilizer, and mulch is
sometimes beneficial.
5. Soils contaminated with brine require reclamation procedures such as
leaching with water or the application of soil amendments for removal of
soluble salts.

21
6. More information is still needed on effective clean-up procedures and
methods for restoration of soils contaminated with EOR-related effluents. Soil
erosion and sedimentation are not unique to EOR-affected areas; they usually
occur with any type of land development that involves surface disturbance.
The potential for erosion and sedimentation is related to the extent and
duration of surface disturbance, soil characteristics, weather, and topography.
In general, erosion and sedimentation are most likely to occur on steep
terrain with slopes greater than 30%. .

22
7. Also, erosion and runoff from dirt access roads can be a major source of
stream sedimentation. Without. adequate control measures for access roads,
rates of erosion may equal 20,400 metric tons per km2 (57,600 tons/sq mile),
which is about 2000 times greater than comparative rates from an
undisturbed watershed, compared with an undisturbed watershed in similar
topography

Deterioration of Surface Waters

1. Surface disturbances and stream crossings by roads and pipelines may
cause significant increases in stream sedimentation and turbidity with
detrimental effects on aquatic habitats .
2. The extent and duration of such disturbances and the implementation of
control measures will affect the degree of environmental impact. Other
potential problems include seepage of pollutants from waste disposal pits and
accidental spills of oil, brine, or other chemicals.
3. The occurrence of accidental spills requires spill-prevention control and
countermeasure (SPCC) plans for early detection and control of pollutants.
Groundwater Contamination
Enhanced oil recovery processes use water-soluble chemicals, which may be
toxic to organisms and carcinogenic to man if transported in sufficient
quantities to ground or surface waters. For example, some petroleum
sulfonate surfactants, polymers, and biocides used in the micellar-polymer
technique are known to be toxic to some organisms.

23
Groundwater can be contaminated by:
(1) thermal processes that increase subsurface temperatures and pressures
leading to increased solubility of potentially hazardous compounds contained
in underground formations
(2) carbon dioxide containing hydrogen sulfide
(3) seepage of chemicals and brine from waste disposal pits, especially those
that are unlined
(4) escape of brines and chemical-laden produced water from oil-depleted
reservoirs or disposal formations
(5) long-term 13 ORNL/TM-6943 migration of chemicals by natural flow out of
the reservoir into freshwater aquifers and eventually to surface waters. The
last mechanism may cause problems long after completion of the project. For
groundwater to become contaminated, communication must exist between
the pollution source and the ground to become contaminated,
communication must exist between the pollution source and the
groundwater system, or between saltwater and freshwater aquifers that are
hydraulically connected.

7. Communication and translocation of potential contaminants (e.g., brine,

oil, chemicals) can occur from broken or corroded well casings in both
active and abandoned wells, and through underground drainage channels,
fractures, and faults . In addition to extraction of contaminated
groundwater from wells, freshwater zones that become polluted may
have natural surface outlets (springs) that are used for drinking by
humans and wildlife. In active oil fields, operators generally inspect and
maintain well casings on a regular basis to reduce the possibility of well
failure. Yet, casing failures with subsequent leakage do occur, as
evidenced by the long-standing pollution of freshwater aquifers in and
near some oil fields

24
AIR POLLUTION
Except for thermal projects, air emissions from EOR processes are not
considered excessive on the basis· of current standards, because we'll pumps
are usually dr1ven by electric motors 1nstead ot by internal combustion
engines. However, steam generators used in steam-injection processes could
produce s1gn1ficant emissions of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and
suspended particulates; therefore, periodic sampling of the stack gases may
be needed. Additional data are also needed on the characterization of
hydrocarbon emissions generated during in situ combustion and steam
displacement.

25