INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF ASPHALTENE DEPOSITION ON RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CHARACTERISTICS DURING WAG PROCESS

• Main Author: KHANIFAR, AHMAD KHANIFAR
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/15297/1/2013%20Phd%20-%20Investigation%20Of%20The%20Effect%20Of%20Asphaltene%20Deposition%20On%20Relative%20Permeability%20Characte.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/15297/

Pressure depletion, temperature changes, and injection of CO2 or solvents into reservoirs can induce asphaltene precipitation and deposition in porous media. The dynamic displacement efficiency of a water alternating gas (WAG) process is controlled by relative permeability. Asphaltene deposition may alter the original characteristics of the relative permeability curves. To the best of the author's knowledge, the effects of asphaltene deposition on three-phase relative permeability data have not been investigated in detail in the literature. In this study the effects of asphaltene deposition on the three-phase relative permeability using dynamic displacement experiments are investigated. A synthetic experimental approach is used to simulate the effect of in-situ asphaltene deposition on three-phase relative permeability for a water-wet system. This approach uses a chemical solvent as the precipitating agent to create in-situ asphaltene deposition.