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Asphaltenes
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If you cannot nd the answer you are seeking in this article
about asphaltenes, please post your question on the
Discussion page. It is being monitored by industry experts.
Asphaltenes are a solubility class of the crude oil de ned as
soluble in aromatic solvents and insoluble in n-alkanes [1][2]. It
can appear in a gas condensate system if the reservoir has an
oil rim[3]. The ASTM D-3279-90 (IP143/90) test de nes
asphaltenes as solids that precipitate when an excess of n-
heptane or pentane is added to a crude oil. The choice of light
alkane (/wiki/Alkane) will affect the quantity of asphaltenes
precipitation and can mislead any asphaltene content
comparison between two oils if the solvent choice is not clear.

Asphaltene molecules have complex structures and are

typically polar with relatively high molecular weights (~700 to
1,000)[4] and a density of about 1.2g/cc [5]. Asphaltenes may
precipitate from crude oil during production and deposit on
(/wiki/File:Asphaltene_deposit.jpg)
the internal surface of the production system or accumulate in
equipments with high resident time or dead legs[6], creating Asphaltene deposit in production tubing
ow assurance (/wiki/What_is_ ow_assurance%3F) and (/wiki/Production_tubing), creating ow assurance
processing issues (emulsion, heat exchanger fouling, etc.). (/wiki/What_is_ ow_assurance%3F) issues.

(/wiki/File:Asphaltene_fouling.jpg)
Heat exchanger fouling due to asphaltenes.
Contents
1 Asphaltene deposition problems
2 Understand more about asphaltenes
2.1 Geological origin
2.2 Composition
2.3 Analysis
3 What can cause asphaltenes to precipitate?
3.1 Effect of Temperature
3.2 Effect of Pressure
3.3 Effect of Gas Lift
3.4 Effect of Acid Stimulations
3.5 Effect of Miscible Gas
3.6 Effect of Oxidation
3.7 Effect of Electric Fields
3.8 Effect of Mixing Different Streams
4 Asphaltene Risk Assessment
4.1 Sampling
4.2 SARA Analysis
4.3 De Boer Plot
4.4 ASIST
4.5 Lab Measurement of Asphaltene Flocculation
4.6 Deposition Modelling
5 Asphaltene Mitigation
5.1 Asphaltene Inhibitors
5.2 Coatings
5.3 Reservoir pressure maintenance
6 Asphaltene Remediation
6.1 Chemicals/solvents
6.2 Mechanical
7 Reversibility and Irreversibility of Asphaltene Deposition
8 External links
9 References

Asphaltene deposition problems

In the oil industry, asphaltenes are only a problem
when they are precipitated. Asphaltenes deposits can
occur throughout the production system, from near
wellbore reservoir to production tubing, owlines, and
processing facilities, e.g separators. They cause
production rate decline and various other operational
problems, such as higher viscosity and water oil
emulsion, etc. It is a key risk to handle in ow
assurance (/wiki/What_is_ ow_assurance%3F) and
production chemistry (/wiki/Production_chemistry).

Near wellbore reservoir[7]: asphaltene

deposition in the reservoir has been reported
(/wiki/File:Asph_deposits.jpg)
causing permeability reductions or changes to
Asphaltenes precipitated under different conditions have different
wettability, resulting in lower recoveries. morphology.
Production tubing[8]: Tubing deposits can cause
decreased production rate and severe problems
to wireline operations.
Flowline: owline deposits also cause decreased production and can cause pigs to get stuck during pigging
operations.
Processing facilities[9]: asphaltene deposits have also been seen in production equipment, such as separators,
where asphaltenes have collected after having been precipitated further upstream. Asphaltenes also cause
 oil/water separation problems by stabilizing emulsions.

Asphaltene deposits can appear hard and coal-like, or more sticky and tar-like. The more resins are precipitated with the
asphaltenes, then the more oil-like the deposit may appear. The nature of the deposits is determined by the crude oil and
the conditions under which precipitation occurred.

Understand more about asphaltenes

Geological origin
Asphaltenes are today widely recognised as soluble,
chemically altered fragments of kerogen
(/wiki/Kerogen) which migrated out of the source rock
(/wiki/Source_rock) for the oil, during oil catagenesis
(/wi/index.php?
title=Catagenesis&action=edit&redlink=1). The nickel
to vanadium contents of asphaltenes re ect the pH
(/wiki/PH) and Eh (/wi/index.php?
title=Reduction_potential&action=edit&redlink=1)
conditions of the paleo-depositional environment of
the source rock for oil (Lewan, 1980;1984) and this
ratio is therefore in use in the petroleum industry for
oil-oil correlation and for identi cation of potential
source rocks for oil (oil exploration)
(/wiki/File:CompositionAsphaltenes.PNG)
Heavy oils, tar sands (/wi/index.php? Hypothetic asphaltene structures.
title=Tar_sands&action=edit&redlink=1) and
biodegraded oils (as bacteria can not assimilate asphalten[e]s, but readily consume saturated hydrocarbons and certain
aromatic hydrocarbon isomers - enzymatically controlled) contain much higher proportions of asphaltenes than do
medium-API (/wiki/API_gravity) oils or light oils (/wiki/Light_crude_oil). Condensates are virtually devoid of asphaltenes.

Composition
Asphaltenes consist primarily of carbon (/wi/index.php?title=Carbon&action=edit&redlink=1), hydrogen (/wi/index.php?
title=Hydrogen&action=edit&redlink=1), nitrogen (/wi/index.php?title=Nitrogen&action=edit&redlink=1), oxygen
(/wi/index.php?title=Oxygen&action=edit&redlink=1), and sulfur (/wiki/Sulfur), as well as trace amounts of vanadium
(/wi/index.php?title=Vanadium&action=edit&redlink=1) and nickel (/wi/index.php?title=Nickel&action=edit&redlink=1). The
C:H ratio is approximately 1:1.2, depending on the asphaltene source. Asphaltenes are de ned operationally as the n-
heptane (/wiki/Heptane) (C7H16)-insoluble, toluene (/wiki/Toluene) (C6H5CH3)-soluble component of a carbonaceous
(/wi/index.php?title=Carbonaceous&action=edit&redlink=1) material such as crude oil, bitumen (/wiki/Bitumen) or coal
(/wi/index.php?title=Coal&action=edit&redlink=1). Analysis of n-pentane precipitated asphaltenes might typically show 80-
85% by weight carbon of which 50-60% is aromatic, 7-10% hydrogen, and up to 10% sulphur, 3% nitrogen and 5% oxygen,
plus traces of heavy metals such as vanadium and nickel. The resultant molecular weight of the precipitated material
therefore can vary enormously from thousands to millions, depending upon the solvent.

Analysis
All techniques are now roughly in accord, including many different mass spectral methods (ESI (/wi/index.php?
title=Electrospray_ionization&action=edit&redlink=1) FT-ICR MS, APPI, APCI FIMS, LDI) and many different diffusion
techniques (time-resolved uorescence depolarization (TRFD), uorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), Taylor
dispersion (/wiki/Taylor_dispersion))[10]. This result deviates substantially from previous conventional wisdom, the old and
incorrect view is promulgated on many popular web sites putatively illustrating asphaltene molecular structures
(/wi/index.php?title=Molecular_geometry&action=edit&redlink=1). Asphaltene molecular weight is ~750 Da with 500 -
1000 FWHM. Aggregation of asphaltenes at very low concentrations (in toluene) led to aggregate weights being
misinterpreted as molecular weights with techniques such as VPO or GPC. The chemical structure is dif cult to ascertain,
due to the complex nature of the asphaltenes, but has been studied by all available techniques including X-ray, elemental,
and pyrolysis GC-FID-GC-MS (/wi/index.php?title=Gas_Chromatograph&action=edit&redlink=1). However, it is undisputed
that the asphaltenes are composed mainly of polyaromatic carbon i.e. polycondensed aromatic benzene units with oxygen
(/wi/index.php?title=Oxygen&action=edit&redlink=1), nitrogen (/wi/index.php?title=Nitrogen&action=edit&redlink=1), and
sulfur (/wiki/Sulfur), (NSO-compounds) combined with minor amounts of a series of heavy metals, particularly vanadium
and nickel which occur in porphyrin structures.
Asphaltene molecular architecture has also been controversial. The TRFD rotation diffusion measurements have indicated
there is predominantly one PAH per asphaltene molecule. Asphaltene rotational diffusion measurements show that small
PAH chromophores (blue uorescing) are in small asphaltene molecules while big PAH chromophores (red uorescing)
are in big molecules. This implies that there is only one fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (/wi/index.php?
title=Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon&action=edit&redlink=1) (PAH) ring system per molecule. Very recent fragmentation
studies by FT ICR-MS and by L2MS (two-color laser mass spectroscopy) strongly support this 'island' molecular
architecture as shown by TRFD and refuting the 'archipelago' molecular architecture.
Nanocolloidal structure: it has been shown that asphaltenes have two distinct nanocolloidal structures. The island
molecule architecture, with attractive forces in the molecule interior (PAH)and steric repulsion from alkane peripheral
groups gives rise to nanocolloids with aggregation numbers less than 10. Methods to show these structures in clude
SANS, SAXS, high-Q ultrasonics, NMR, AC-conductivity, DC-conductivity, centrifugation. These structures are also observed
in oil reservoirs with extensive vertical offset (where gravitational effects are evident). In addition to these 'primary'
nanoaggrgeates, CLUSTERS of nanoaggregates can also form as seen by a variety of techniques.

What can cause asphaltenes to precipitate?

Asphaltenes are typically stable under virgin reservoir
condition, which are believed to be held in solution by
resins (similar structure and chemistry, but smaller).
During production, asphaltenes can be destabilized
and precipitate due to changes in temperature (to a
lesser extent), pressure and the chemical composition
of the crude. Asphaltene deposition risk is dependent
on both precipitation and ow shearing, which will be
explained further in the risk assessment section.

Effect of Temperature
The effect of temperature is critical in the mechanism
for paraf n wax precipitation, but its impact on
asphaltenes precipitation is less pronounced. As
shown in the asphaltene phase envelope, asphaltene
stability tends to increase at higher temperatures.
(/wiki/File:Asph_phase.jpg)
Asphaltene precipitation envelope
Effect of Pressure
Pressure has a large effect on the occulation of
asphaltenes. Studies of asphaltene deposition in
production well tubing have found that deposition
occurs below the depth at which the bubble point for
the crude occurs[11], which means asphaltenes can
precipitate at pressures above the bubble point. As
the uid rises in the tubing, the pressure gradually
drops and the oil expands. Different species in the oil
expand at different rates depending upon their
compressibilities. The lighter ends such as methane
expand to a greater degree than the heavier
components. This has the effect of increasing the
molar volume of the lighter ends in the crude,
increasing their in uence on the stabilising resins, and (/wiki/File:Asph_solubility.jpg)
hence increasing the likelihood of asphaltene Comparision of asphaltene stabilities by live oil solubility parameters.
precipitation. Pb is bubble point pressure.

The greatest risk of precipitation however, occurs at a depth just below where the uids are at their bubble point because
gas starts to breakout at the bubble point, where lighter gases such as methane, ethane and propane are lost from the oil.
This marks the turning point for asphaltene solubility, from which point on asphaltenes become more and more stable in
solution as pressure decreases and more gas leaves the oil phase.

Effect of Gas Lift

Lift gas usually consists mainly of light alkanes which are able to strip away the stabilizing resins. In wells where gas lift
has been installed, there can therefore be an increased risk of asphaltene precipitation. The magnitude of the risk depends
upon how close to occulation the oil was before mixing with lift gas and the lift gas volumes compared to the amount of
oil. On the other hand, adding gas increases the overall uid velocity and therefore makes asphaltenes harder to deposit.

Effect of Acid Stimulations

Production wells subjected to acid stimulation can result in asphaltene deposits although asphaltenes are stable during
normal production. Acid stimulation treatments have been shown to adversely affect the asphaltene stability of certain
crudes causing sludging and rigid lm emulsions[12]. There are examples in the literature of methods to limit these

[13]
effects[13]. Asphaltene sludges and emulsions stabilised by asphaltenes have been observed. The polar nature and
consequent surface activity of asphaltenes attracts them to oil/water interfaces and is enhanced during acid treatments.
During initial well-unload, the produced hydrocarbon is owed back together with some low pH completion/stimulation
uids, which is also a scenario subjected to higher than normal asphaltene deposition risk.

Effect of Miscible Gas

In some CO2 or N2 miscible ood programs, formation damage can occurred, which subsequently was considered to be
due to asphaltene deposits plugging the formation. Little is reported on the nature of the deposits but it appears that CO2
can destabilise asphaltene micelles by two mechanisms. Firstly, dissolution of CO2 into the crude depeptises the resins in
much the same manner as light hydrocarbons. Secondly, CO2 tends to strip out the lighter hydrocarbons, further
increasing the risk of asphaltene precipitation.

Effect of Oxidation
Exposure to air can cause resins to oxidise. Where this has occurred, the resultant measured asphaltene content has been
shown to rise. This effect would not normally be considered important during normal operations.

Effect of Electric Fields

The polar nature of asphaltenes can cause an attraction to positive or negative electrodes, and electrodeposition has been
reported in some heavy crudes[14]. This could occur, for instance, in electrostatic separators. However, the effect is likely to
be small, and any crude which is susceptible to asphaltene precipitation is likely to have lost asphaltenes before this point
in the production system.

Effect of Mixing Different Streams

Each hydrocarbon has a given asphaltene content and a particular solvency for its asphaltenes. In a major export line,
there may be several streams from different reservoirs all using the same line. Mixing different crude streams can have a
signi cant impact on the risk of asphaltene precipitation. For instance, a light condensate with little asphaltenes can
destabilise a crude with a high asphaltene content which on its own has good asphaltene solvency.

Asphaltene Risk Assessment

Establish the risk of asphaltene precipitation during oil eld operations, the crude oil must be characterised for its
asphaltene content and the solvency it has for its asphaltenes, and then the effect of the external conditions determined. It
is important to keep in mind that asphaltene content is NOT directly correlated with asphaltene risk. High asphaltene
content may be stable asphaltenes while low asphaltene content may be unstable asphaltenes.

Sampling
Studies have shown that asphaltene precipitation can be essentially irreversible. Once the intermolecular force which
stabilises the asphaltene resin micelle is broken, the precipitated asphaltene cannot be easily resolubilised. To obtain a
representative sample from which to determine the risk of asphaltenes the oil must not have lost any of its asphaltenes.
To achieve this, samples must be taken at pressures above the bubble point and maintained single phase. When the uids
are below their bubble point in the reservoir, this is clearly impossible. Even when the bubble point falls in the production
tubing between the perforations and the wellhead it is not easy. Frequently, only wellhead samples are available. Wellhead
samples may have lost some asphaltenes, however, providing the well has been owing for some time, the amounts lost
are likely to be only a fraction of the total asphaltene content. Once sampled, further asphaltene deposition should be
avoided. This could be achieved by sampling into a high pressure vessel, and pressurising the sample to above its bubble
point.

SARA Analysis
SARA refers to the saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene (SARA) fractions of a crude oil. The saturate fraction consists
of nonpolar material including linear,branched, and cyclic saturate hydrocarbons. They typically decrease asphaltene
solubility. Aromatics, which contain one or more aromatic rings, are more polarizable and increase asphaltene solubility.
The asphaltene content of an oil can be determined by the IP laboratory test method IP 143. This method extracts
asphaltenes and the waxy fractions from a crude oil using n-heptane. Asphaltenes are then extracted into toluene, which is
nally evaporated off leaving the solid weight of asphaltenes. The asphaltene content of a crude oil is insuf cient alone to
predict the likelihood of asphaltene precipitation, and as such is of limited value without further information.
Resins provide a protective shield around the asphaltenes to prevent them from aggregating and precipitating. When this
resin encapsulation shield is removed by addition of n-alkanes, asphaltene precipitation takes place. It is important to
establish the balance of the asphaltene and resin fractions of the crude since this information is essential to identifying
the instability of a stock tank crude sample.
The resin content of a crude can be measured by an
HPLC technique. Resins are isolated on an amino
propyl normal phase HPLC column. A known amount
of the oil from which the asphaltene has been
removed is separated. Using isocratic elution with the
same solvent, saturates and aromatics are eluted
from the column for a speci c time period. Resins are
then eluted by back ushing the column with
chloroform/methanol. The resins are recovered by
evaporation, determined by weight and reported as a
percentage of the original oil.
Colloidal stability index (C.S.I.) can be calculated from
SARA analysis and be used to estimate asphaltene
stability.
Saturates+Asphaltenes
C. S. I. =
Aromatics+Resins

De Boer Plot
(/wiki/File:SARA_analysis.jpg)
The best known, most widely used screening method
Asphaltene stabilizability assessment using SARA analysis.
for evaluating the risk of asphaltene precipitation
during depressurization is that proposed by de Boer et
al. [15]. It is a simple evaluation based on (1) the
difference between reservoir and bubble-point
pressure, (2) density of the reservoir uid, and (3)
asphaltene saturation at reservoir conditions, as
summarized in what is often referred to as a "de Boer
plot". The unstable and stable regions are based on
calculations of asphaltene supersaturation using the
Hirschberg model [16]. An intermediate area, labeled
"Possible problems" lies between the extremes and is
bounded by calculated supersaturation values of 1
and2 (assuming the solubility parameter of
asphaltene is 20 MPa1/2.)

Although the de Boer plot clearly distinguishes very

(/wiki/File:Deboer.jpg)
stable oils from very unstable ones, experience over
the past decade has shown that predictions tend to De Boer plot with eld data
be somewhat pessimistic, indicating asphaltene
precipitation in cases where no problems develop in the eld, i.e., "false positive".

ASIST
The ASIST method was developed by Wang and Buckley[18] and
is often used by Chevron (/wi/index.php?
title=Chevron&action=edit&redlink=1)[19] for asphaltene risk
assessment. The ASIST refers to Asphaltene Instability Trend, a
linear relationship between the solubility parameter at the onset
of asphaltene precipitation and the square root of the molar
volume of precipitating agents for a series of liquid n-paraf ns.
This trend could be used to predict asphaltene onset pressures
during oil production from stock-tank oil (STO) titration
experiments with liquid n-paraf ns at near ambient conditions
and solubility parameter estimates based on refractive index
(RI) measurements.
The information required consists of standard PVT an
compositional data for the reservoir uid. The only additional
information is the oil-speci c ASIST data for STO samples,
which can be obtained from as few as two or three onset
titrations with different n-paraf ns at each of two different
temperatures. The ASIST data can be extrapolated to predict
the onset solubility conditions for addition of the oil's light ends
(C1 - C6) as well as for addition of injection or lift gas (/wiki/File:Asist.jpg)
(/wi/index.php?title=Lift_gas&action=edit&redlink=1). Use of ASIST to predict onset for oil at reservoir
Comparisons of these onset solubility conditions to the in-situ
condition[17]
solubility parameter of live oil or live oil plus injection/lift gas,
which can be estimated from the PVT and compositional data,
will tell under what circumstances the reservoir oil should experience asphaltene instability.
Lab Measurement of Asphaltene Flocculation
The asphaltene and resin contents do not de ne
whether asphaltenes will be precipitated from any
given crude under operational conditions. Companies
have used two methods to establish how close to
asphaltene instability a crude will be.

High Pressure Microscope - This apparatus

allows a crude oil to be pumped through a
windowed cell at pressures and temperatures
similar to those experienced under eld
conditions. A narrow path length and a
powerful light source are used to examine the
transmittance through the oil as the pressure
and/or temperature are altered. On reduction of
pressure, the solvency of a crude for its
asphaltenes is reduced, and asphaltene
(/wiki/File:Asph_onset.jpg)
occulation can take place. This can be
Asphaltene onset characterization by High Pressure Microscope.
observed by the formation of occulated black
deposits which adhere to the window. The
pressure required for this to commence is then noted.

Asphaltene Flocculometer - The solvency of a crude oil for its asphaltenes can be determined quantitatively by
titrating the crude with an n-alkane occulant and measuring the volume of alkane required before suf cient resins
are removed to allow asphaltenes to precipitate. Light scattering is used to detect the onset of asphaltene
occulation, whilst an oil sample is titrated at the required temperature and pressure. To measure the onset of
occulation, a known volume of the test oil sample is transferred to the pressure vessel. Once at temperature, the
oil sample is titrated with the occulant. The volume of occulant added is recorded against the voltage signal from
the photo diode. As the occulant is added, the crude becomes lighter and there is an increase in the returned
signal. When suf cient occulant is added, the oil reaches the threshold of occulation, and there is a marked
decrease in the returned signal, as asphaltene particles scatter the re ected light.

Deposition Modelling
Precipitated asphaltenes do not necessarily deposit and become a ow assurance (/wiki/What_is_ ow_assurance%3F)
risk because their deposition behavior is heavily impacted by the uid ow. If the wall shear stress is high enough, some
asphaltene deposits can actually be sheared off by the ow. A few eld cases have been reported that the production
tubing has no asphaltene deposition although asphaltene is unstable in the tubing. Modeling asphaltene deposition is not
a easy task, but progress has been made in the past few years[20] [21].

Asphaltene Mitigation
Asphaltene Inhibitors
Asphaltene inhibitors (/wiki/Asphaltene_inhibitor) are long chain molecules that mimic the stabilising effect of a resin
(/wi/index.php?title=Resin&action=edit&redlink=1) layer to preventing occulation. However, some current asphaltene
inhibitors (/wiki/Asphaltene_inhibitor) are actually dispensents, that it, they don't prevent asphaltene occulation, but
instead disperse the precipitated asphaltenes to prevent deposition or agglomeration. Asphaltene inhibitors
(/wiki/Asphaltene_inhibitor) have to injected upstream of the asphaltene occulation location for optimal performance. In
general, their effectiveness has been questionable as reported by several operators[22]. Their ef ciency could be around
50-70% if it works. Additionally, current lab asphaltene inhibitor screening methods have questionable correlation with eld
performance[23].
Asphaltene inhibitor (/wiki/Asphaltene_inhibitor) squeeze has been proposed to mitigate near wellbore asphaltene
problem, but with limited success case studies[24].

Coatings
Epoxy resin coatings have been applied to tubulars (12) in an attempt to stop asphaltenes from sticking and building up
into a deposit.

Reservoir pressure maintenance

One of greatest risk of asphaltene deposition is in the near wellbore region because it can quickly curtail production and
choice of mitigation or remediation is very limited. Water ood (/wiki/Water ood) is often used to maintain reservoir
pressure and improve ultimate recovery. The target reservoir pressure maintenance is usually set right above the
asphaltene onset pressure to prevent asphaltene from dropping out in the reservoir.

Asphaltene Remediation
Since none of the asphaltene mitigation methods is 100% effective, remediation typically becomes unavoidable if
asphaltene deposition is a risk. Depending on the location of the deposit, conventional remediation methods include
chemical (e.g. dispersants, solvent, etc.), mechanical (e.g. coil tubing jetting, wireline cutting, pigging, shoveling, etc), or
combination of the two[25].

Chemicals/solvents
Many operators rely upon periodic solvent washes to remove asphaltenes that have formed. Typically hot aromatic
solvents such as xylene (/wiki/Xylene) prove effective, although production wells must be shut in for several hours for
such a treatment. There is an additional risk if the solvent reaches the formation, since changes to wettability can alter the
relative permeability to oil, and cause a dramatic reduction in oil production rates. Also, asphaltene deposits may be
dislodged and get pushed into the formation during bullheading. Further, aromatic solvents can pose environmental
hazard and tend to dissolve elastomer seals. The rule of thumb is 100 gallon of solvent per foot of tubing with deposit.
More environmentally terpene (/wi/index.php?title=Terpene&action=edit&redlink=1) based solvents are available, but at a
much higher cost.
Long chain carboxylic acids have been identi ed as effective for deasphalting, probably by reacting with precipitated
asphaltenes via hydrogen bonding. Long chain anionic surfactant have also been reported as effective although this
chemical type would not be suitable in production systems since they would encourage formation of emulsions.

Mechanical
Dual completions have been used to allow the injection of Xylene (/wiki/Xylene) directly into the production stream.
Details are limited of how effective this method was and the high cost of such completions probably eliminates this as a
solution in many cases.
Coiled tubing (/wiki/Coiled_tubing) has also been used to inject asphaltene solvents/inhibitors, although in this reported
case results were disappointing, possibly as a result of the relatively poor performance of the chemicals used.
Wireline (/wi/index.php?title=Wireline&action=edit&redlink=1) cutting is an effective means of asphaltene removal if the
wellbore is readily accessible.
Mechanical scraping devices can been used to remove blockages in production tubing. In one eld a downhole hydraulic
motor has been used, lowered and powered from coiled tubing. It was found to be the most economical method of
controlling asphaltenes for this development.
Pigging (/wiki/Pigging) can be used to remove asphaltene deposits in owlines. However, effective removal requires the
appropriate types of pigs to be used and the pigging should be performed on a regular basis. Spherical or foam pigs are
not suitable for asphaltene removal.
A recent report has indicated ultrasonic treatments can clean up asphaltenes deposited in near wellbore regions[26],
although at the time of writing, no commercial equipment is available.

Reversibility and Irreversibility of Asphaltene Deposition

This subject has been addressed by many authors and remains the most controversial part in studying the behavior of
asphaltenes. Depending on the method used to detect asphaltene, some investigators reported that asphaltene deposition
is irreversible or less likely to be reversible process[27][28], others have reported that the process is reversible[29][30]. Thou[31]
argued that asphaltene deposit is more reversible if the occulation occurred at higher temperatures (>30C).

External links
Article regarding asphaltene fouling by Irwin A. Wiehe (http://www.aiche-chicago.org/symposium06/wiehe.pdf)
Asphaltene Aggregation from Crude Oils and Model Systems Studied by High-Pressure NIR Spectroscopy
(http://www.camo.com/downloads/Asphaltene_Aggregation_from_Crude_Oils_and_Model_Systems_Studied_by_High-
Pressure_NIR_Spectroscopy.pdf) (Source : American Chemical Society (/wi/index.php?
title=American_Chemical_Society&action=edit&redlink=1))

References
 1. ↑ Mullins, OC et al. Editors, Asphaltenes, Heavy Oils and Petroleomics, Springer, New York (2007) 700 pages, 23
Chapters, 46 contributing scientists.
2. ↑ Asphaltene (http://tigger.uic.edu/~mansoori/Asphaltene.Molecule_html)
3. ↑ Thou, S. and Ruthammer, G. "Detection of asphaltene occulation onset in a gas condensate system", SPE 78321,
2002
4. ↑ Groenzin and Mullins, "Asphaltene molcular size and structure", J. Phys. Chem, A 103 (1999), 1013-1020
5. ↑ Yarranton and Masliyah, "Molar mass distributlion and solubility modeling of asphaltenes", AIChE J 42.12 (1996),
3533-3543
6. ↑ J. Creek, "Freedom of action in the state of asphaltenes: escape from conventional wisdom", Energy&Fuels, 19.4
(2005), 1212-1224
7. ↑ Newberry M.E. and Barker K.M. 1985 "Formation Damage Prevention through the Control of Paraf n and
Asphaltene Deposition." SPE Paper 13796, Oklahoma City, March 10-12, 1985
8. ↑ Adailas, S. 1982 Investigation of Physical and Chemical Criteria as Related to the Prevention of Asphaltene
Deposition in Oil Well Tubings. MSc Thesis.
9. ↑ Thaver R. Nicoll and Dick G. 1988 Asphaltene deposition in Production Facilities. SPE Paper 18473.
10. ↑ Institute of Petroleum, London Standard Methods for Analysis & Testing of Petroleum and Related Products
IP143/84
11. ↑ Adalialis S. "Investigation of Physical and Chemical Criteria as Related to the Prevention of Asphalt Deposition in
Oil Well Tubings". MSc thesis, Petroleum Engineering Department, Imperial College University of London, 1982.
12. ↑ Tuttle R.N., High‑Pour‑Point and Asphaltic Crude Oils and Condensates. J. Petroleum Tech. 35. Jan‑June 1983
13. ↑ Newberry M.E. and Barker K.M. "Formation Damage Prevention through the Control of Paraf n and Asphaltene
Deposition." SPE Paper 13796, Oklahoma City, March 10-12, 1985
14. ↑ Lichaa P.M. and Herra L. Electrical and Other Effects Related to the formation and prevention of Asphaltenes
Deposition. SPE Paper 5308 Oil eld & Geothermal Chemistry Symposium, Dallas, Jan, 16 17.
15. ↑ de Boer, R.B., Leerlooyer, K., Eigner, M.R.P., and van Bergen, A.R.D.: "Screening of crude oils for asphalt
precipitation: theory, practice, and the selection of inhibitors", SPE PF (Feb. 1995) 10, 55-61.
16. ↑ Hirschberg, A., DeJong, L.N.J., Schipper, B.A., and Meijer, J.G.: "In uence of temperature and pressure on
asphaltene occulation," SPEJ (June 1984) 24, 283-293
17. ↑ J.X.Wang, J.L. Creek, "Screening of potential asphalene problems" SPE 103137, 2006.
18. ↑ Wang, J.X. and Buckley, J.S.: "An experimental approach to prediction of asphaltene occulation", SPE 64994
presented at 2001 OCS, Houston, 13-16 Feb.
19. ↑ Montesi et al. "Asphaltene management in GOM DW subsea development", OTC 21587, 2011
20. ↑ S. Takhar*, P. D. Ravenscroft*, D. C. A. Nicoll 1996 Prediction of Asphaltene Deposition During Production - Model
description and Experimental Details. SPE 30108.
21. ↑ D.Eskin, J.Ratulowski, K. Akbarzadeh, S. Andersen, "Modeling of asphaltene deposition in a production tubing",
AIChE Journal, 2011
22. ↑ Montesi et al. "Asphaltene management in GOM DW subsea development", OTC 21587, 2011
23. ↑ Montesi et al. "Asphaltene management in GOM DW subsea development", OTC 21587, 2011
24. ↑ Alberto G. Di Lullo, Thomas P. Lockhart, EniTecnologie SpA; Carlo Carniani, Mauro Tambini, Eni - Agip, "A Techno-
Economic Feasibility Study of Asphaltene Inhibition Squeeze Treatments", European Petroleum Conference, 20-22
October 1998, The Hague, Netherlands
25. ↑ UNDERSTANDING PARAFFIN AND ASPHALTENE PROBLEMS IN OIL AND GAS WELLS, Petroleum Technology
Transfer Council, South Midcontinent Region, July 16, 2003 Workshop in Smackover, Arkansas at the Arkansas
Natural Resources Museum[1] (http://jakpoderwacdziewczynee.blogspot.com/)
26. ↑ Gollapudi U k, Bang S S, and Islam M R. 1994 "Ultrasonic Treatmentfor Removal of Asphaltene Deposits During
Petreoleum Production." SPE 27377 Louisiana , February 7-10. 1994
27. ↑ Fotland, P. "Precipitation of asphaltenes at high pressures: Experimental techniques and results" Fuel Sci & Tech.
Int., 14 (1&2), p313-325, 1996
28. ↑ Wang, et. al, "Advances in observation of asphaltene destabilization" SPE 50745, SPE International Symposium on
Oil eld Chemistry, Houston, Texas, 16-19 Feb 1999
29. ↑ Hammami, et al. "Asphaltene precipitation from live oil: an experimental investigation of the onset conditions and
reversibility" DBR research Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
30. ↑ Hirschberg, et al. "In uence of temperature and pressure on asphaltene occulation", JPT, P283-293, June 1984
31. ↑ Thou, S. and Ruthammer, G. "Detection of asphaltene occulation onset in a gas condensate system", SPE 78321,
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