Synopsis of Laboratory Methods for Characterizing Waxy Crude Oils
Abstract
The separation of wax as a solid phase from crude oils during oil production is
inevitable because of drop in temperature and compositional changes as it is produced
from the reservoir. Operational problems associated with wax precipitation and
depositions could reduce the profit margin. Flow assurance issues resulting from wax
precipitation and deposition are expected to increase tremendously in the future
because oil production from many regions has shifted to the low temperature deep sea
environment that favors wax deposition. In order to reduce future risks of wax
deposition, an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the fluid properties is
paramount. This article presents a review of the laboratory analyses methods
necessary to have a good understanding of waxy oil fluid properties. Laboratory
techniques for the measurement of both dead and live waxy crude oil properties like
wax appearance temperature (WAT), pour point (PP), true boiling point (TBP)
analysis, wax content and compositional analysis (n-paraffin distribution; paraffin,
naphthene, aromatic (PNA) analysis and saturate, aromatic, resin, asphaltene (SARA)
analysis) are presented. Different methods/results achievable for the measurement of
each of these properties are highlighted. The collation of these techniques provides a
quick guide for selection of suitable characterization techniques for wax investigation.
References
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28. ASTM D5853-11 Manual, 2013. Standard Test Method for Pour Point of Crude oils. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, May, 2013.
29. Burger ED, Perkins TK, Striegler JK. Studies of Wax Deposition in the Trans Alaskan Pipelines. Journal of Petroleum Technology 1981: 1075-86.
30. Chung TH. Thermodynamic Modeling for Organic Solid Precipitation. Paper SPE 24851, presented at the 67th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition -Washington DC, Oct, 1992.
31. Coutinho JAP, Daridon JL. Low Pressure Modeling of Wax formation in Crude Oils. Energy and Fuels 2001; 15(6): 1454-60.
32. Tabatabaei-Nejad SA, Khodopanah E. Effect of Hydrocarbon Fluid Characterization on Wax Precipitation Modeling. Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering 2009; 6(1).
33. Speight JG. Handbook of Petroleum Analysis. New York, Wiley Interscience, 2001.
34. Nedelchev A, Stratiev D, Ivanor A et al. Boiling Point Distribution of Crude Oils based on TBP and ASTM D-86 Distillation Data. Petroleum and Coal 2011; 53(4): 275-90.
35. Stenby EH, Yan W. Composition and Physical Properties of Hydrocarbons. Exploration, Production and Transport 2003; 1.
36. Whitson CH. Fluid Sampling and Laboratory Data; Chapter 3. In: PVT Analysis Manual (Eds.) Norsk Hydro, 1998.
37. Riazi MR. Characterization and Properties of Pure Hydrocarbons. In: Characterization and Properties of Petroleum Fractions (Eds.) USA, ASTM 2005: 30-86.
38. ASTM D2887-13 Manual. Standard Test Method for Boiling Range Distribution of Petroleum Fractions by Gas Chromatography. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, Jun, 2013.
39. Zeng H, Zou F, Lehne E et al. Gas Chromatography Applications in Petroleum Hydrocarbon Fluids. 2012. Available from: www.interchopen.com.
40. Pedersen WB, Hansen AB, Niesen AB et al. Wax Precipitation from North-Sea Crude Oil: 2. Solid-Phase Content as a function of Temperature Determined by Pulsed NMR. Energy and Fuels 1991; 5: 908.
41. Vafaie-Sefti M, Mousavi-Dehghani SA, Mohammad-Zadeh Bahar M. Compositional Modeling of Wax Formation in Petroleum Mixtures. International Journal of Engineering Nov 2001; 14 (4): 303.
42. ASTM D5443-04 Manual. Standard Test Method for Paraffin, Naphthene and Aromatic Hydrocarbon Type Analysis in Petroleum Distillates Through 200oC by Multi-Dimensional Gas Chromatography. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, Aug 2013.
43. Wenhui W, Milad S, Stuti G et al. Errors and Repeatability in VSARA Analysis of Heavy oils. SPE Heavy Oil Conference Canada held in Calgary, Alberta, 12-14 Jun, 2012.
44. Carbognani L, Orea, M, Fonseca M. Complex Nature of Separated Solid Phases from Crude Oils. American Chemical Society, Energy and Fuels 1999; 13: 351-58.
45. Fan, T, Wang J, Buckley JS. Evaluating Crude Oils by SARA Analysis. SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa Oklahoma, 2002.
2. Leontaritis KJ. The Asphaltene and Wax Deposition Envelopes. Fuel Science and Technology Int’l 1996; 14(1&2): 13-39.
3. Leontaritis KJ, Leontaritis JD. Cloud Point and Wax Deposition Measurement Techniques. SPE Paper No. 80267 presented at SPE International Symposium on Oil Field Chemistry held in Houston, Texas, Feb 5-7, 2003.
4. Ahmed T. Equations of State and PVT Analysis: Applications for Improved Reservoir Modeling. Houston Texas, Gulf Publishing Company, 2007: 82-497.
5. Coto B, Coutinho JAP, Martos C et al. An Assessment and Improvement of n-paraffin Distribution Obtained by HTGC to Predict Accurate Crude Oil Cold Properties. Energy & Fuels 2011; 25: 1153-60.
6. Alcazar-Vara LA, Buenrostro-Gonzalez E. Liquid-Solid Phase Equilibria of Paraffinic Systems by DSC Measurements. Intech chapter 11, Open Science 1, 2013. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54575.
7. Anand G, Anirbid S. Need for Flow Assurance for Crude Oil Pipeline: A Review. IJMSE Feb 2015; 6(2).
8. Akbarzadeh K, Ratulowski J, Eskin D et al. The Importance of Wax Deposition Measurements in the Simulation and Design of Subsea Pipelines. Paper SPE 115131 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Colorado, Nov 21 24, 2010.
9. Karan K, Ratulowski J. Measurement of Waxy Crude Properties Using Novel Laboratory Techniques. SPE 62945 prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Dallas, Texas, Oct 1-4, 2000.
10. The American Society of Testing and Material. Standard Test Method for Cloud Point of Petroleum Products. ASTM Standard Designation: D 2500-91, Dec 1991.
11. Hammami A, Ratulowski J, Coutinho JAP. Cloud Points: Can we Measure or Model them? Petroleum Science and Technology 2003; 21(3-4): 345-58.
12. Deepstar IV Project. Flow Assurance Design Guideline. DSIV CTR 4203b-1, 2001: 522-678.
13. Uba E, Ikeji K, Onyekonwu M. Measurement of Wax Appearance Temperature of an Offshore Live Crude Oil using laboratory Light Transmission Method. Paper SPE 88963 presented at the 28th Annual SPE International Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, Aug 2-4, 2004.
14. Brown TS, Niesen VG, Erickson DD. The Effect of Light Ends and High Pressure on Paraffin Formation. Paper SPE 28505 presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, Sep 25-28, 1994.
15. Pan H, Firoozabadi A, Fotland P. Pressure and Composition Effect on Wax Precipitation: Experimental Data and Model Results. SPE Production & Facilities Nov, 1997.
16. Betancourt S, Davies T, Kennedy R et al. Advancing Fluid-Property Measurements, 2007. Available from: www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/.../advancing_fluid_property.pdf.
17. Zhu T, Walker JA, Liang J. Evaluation of Wax Deposition and Its Control during Production of Alaska North Slope Oils. US Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Dec 2008.
18. Outlaw J, Ye P. Differential Scanning Calorimetry Application Note, 2011. Perkin Elmer 009514_01. Available from: www. perkinelmer.com.
19. Elsharkawy AM, Alsahhaf TA, Fahim MA et al. Determination and Prediction of Wax Deposition from Kuwaiti Crude Oils. Paper presented at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference held in Caraca Venezuela, Apr 21-23, 1999.
20. Calange S, Ruffier-Meray V, Behar E. Onset Crystallization Temperature and Deposit Amount for Waxy Crudes: Experimental Determination and Modelling. Paper presented at the International Symposium of Oilfield Chemistry, Houston, Texas, Feb 18-21, 1997.
21. Coutinho JAP, Daridon JL. The Limitations of the Cloud Point Measurement Techniques and the Influence of the Oil Composition on its Detection. Petroleum Science and Technology 2005; 23: 1113-28.
22. Monger-McClure TG, Tackett JE, Merrill LS. Comparison of Cloud Point Measurement and Paraffin Prediction Method. SPE paper 54519. SPE Production & Facilities 1999; 14(1).
23. Hammami A, Raines M. Paraffin Deposition from Crude Oils: Comparison of Laboratory Results to Field Data. SPE 28776 Presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference San Antonio Texas, Oct 5-8, 1999.
24. Chukwu GA, Khataniar S, Patil S et al. Operational Challenges in Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) Transportation through Trans Alaskan Pipelines (TAPS). United States Department of Energy Report, 2007.
11 Nwachukwu AN et al. J. Adv. Res. Petrol. Tech. Mgmt. 2015; 1(2): 1-11.
25. McMullin JN, Esatman CD, Pulikkaseril C et al. Proceedings of the 1999 IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, Edmont, Alberta Canada, May 1999: 1774-77.
26. Alghanduri LM, Elgarni MM, Daridon J et al. Characterization of Libyan Waxy Crude Oils. Energy and Fuels 2010; 24: 3101-107.
27. Alboudwarej H, Huo Z, Kempton E. Flow Assurance Aspects of Subsea Systems Design for Production of Waxy Crude Oils. Paper SPE 103242 presented at SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in San Antonio Texas, Sep 24-27, 2006.
28. ASTM D5853-11 Manual, 2013. Standard Test Method for Pour Point of Crude oils. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, May, 2013.
29. Burger ED, Perkins TK, Striegler JK. Studies of Wax Deposition in the Trans Alaskan Pipelines. Journal of Petroleum Technology 1981: 1075-86.
30. Chung TH. Thermodynamic Modeling for Organic Solid Precipitation. Paper SPE 24851, presented at the 67th Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition -Washington DC, Oct, 1992.
31. Coutinho JAP, Daridon JL. Low Pressure Modeling of Wax formation in Crude Oils. Energy and Fuels 2001; 15(6): 1454-60.
32. Tabatabaei-Nejad SA, Khodopanah E. Effect of Hydrocarbon Fluid Characterization on Wax Precipitation Modeling. Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering 2009; 6(1).
33. Speight JG. Handbook of Petroleum Analysis. New York, Wiley Interscience, 2001.
34. Nedelchev A, Stratiev D, Ivanor A et al. Boiling Point Distribution of Crude Oils based on TBP and ASTM D-86 Distillation Data. Petroleum and Coal 2011; 53(4): 275-90.
35. Stenby EH, Yan W. Composition and Physical Properties of Hydrocarbons. Exploration, Production and Transport 2003; 1.
36. Whitson CH. Fluid Sampling and Laboratory Data; Chapter 3. In: PVT Analysis Manual (Eds.) Norsk Hydro, 1998.
37. Riazi MR. Characterization and Properties of Pure Hydrocarbons. In: Characterization and Properties of Petroleum Fractions (Eds.) USA, ASTM 2005: 30-86.
38. ASTM D2887-13 Manual. Standard Test Method for Boiling Range Distribution of Petroleum Fractions by Gas Chromatography. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, Jun, 2013.
39. Zeng H, Zou F, Lehne E et al. Gas Chromatography Applications in Petroleum Hydrocarbon Fluids. 2012. Available from: www.interchopen.com.
40. Pedersen WB, Hansen AB, Niesen AB et al. Wax Precipitation from North-Sea Crude Oil: 2. Solid-Phase Content as a function of Temperature Determined by Pulsed NMR. Energy and Fuels 1991; 5: 908.
41. Vafaie-Sefti M, Mousavi-Dehghani SA, Mohammad-Zadeh Bahar M. Compositional Modeling of Wax Formation in Petroleum Mixtures. International Journal of Engineering Nov 2001; 14 (4): 303.
42. ASTM D5443-04 Manual. Standard Test Method for Paraffin, Naphthene and Aromatic Hydrocarbon Type Analysis in Petroleum Distillates Through 200oC by Multi-Dimensional Gas Chromatography. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, Aug 2013.
43. Wenhui W, Milad S, Stuti G et al. Errors and Repeatability in VSARA Analysis of Heavy oils. SPE Heavy Oil Conference Canada held in Calgary, Alberta, 12-14 Jun, 2012.
44. Carbognani L, Orea, M, Fonseca M. Complex Nature of Separated Solid Phases from Crude Oils. American Chemical Society, Energy and Fuels 1999; 13: 351-58.
45. Fan, T, Wang J, Buckley JS. Evaluating Crude Oils by SARA Analysis. SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa Oklahoma, 2002.
Published
2021-08-13
How to Cite
AN, Nwachukwu et al.
Synopsis of Laboratory Methods for Characterizing Waxy Crude Oils.
Journal of Advanced Research in Petroleum Technology & Management, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 2, p. 1-11, aug. 2021.
ISSN 2455-9180.
Available at: <http://thejournalshouse.com/index.php/petroleum-tech-mngmt-adr-journal/article/view/266>. Date accessed: 19 may 2024.
Section
Research Article
