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PVT|FlowAssurance

Flow Assurance in Oil and Gas Industries

PVT
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. PVT CharacterisationExperiments
A. Waxes
i. Waxy crude characterisation experiments
ii. Wax Inhibitors
iii. Viscosity of Wax Oil Suspensions
B. Asphaltenes
i. Experimental Techniques to study Asphaltene Precipitation
a. Quantification of Amount of Asphaltenes
b. Detection of Asphaltene Onset Pressures (AOP)
3. Design (Black oil or Compositional?)
4. Flow Assurance Phase Envelope
==============================================================================
1. Introduction
Flow assurance is amulti-disciplineprocess involving sampling, laboratory analysis, production
and facilitiesengineering to ensure uninterruptedoptimum well productivity. Laboratorytesting
provides necessary data to assessthe flow assurance risk because it definesphase behavior and
the properties of the waxes, asphaltenes, and hydrates known to be principal causes of
flowproblems.
Sampling points:
1. The reservoir Fluid sampling
2. The surface sampling
3. In the case of emulsion problem, sample should be taken at the inlet to separator,
downstream of any control valves etc.
==============================================================================
2. PVT Characterisation Experiments:
A. Waxes
i. Waxy crude characterisation experiments:
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Wax Content: HTGC (High Temperature Gas Chromatography)

Wax Appearance Temp. (WAT): High Pressure Cross Polar Microscopy (HP-CPM)
Upper and Lower Pour Point: Live oil pour point apparatus (ASTM D5853)
Gel Strength: Model Pipeline Test (MPT)
Rheology and Viscosity: Controlled Stress Rheometry
Wax Solubility: Bulk Filtration
When assessing a waxy crude productionor transport situation, relying solelyon conventional
dead crude wax tests, including wax content and wax appearance temperature
measurements, canbe misleading. Stock-tank oil tests areinsufficiently representative of field
situations because reservoir pressure and solution gas have a strong influence on wax
solubility. Laboratory-scale tests must account for the actual thermophysical situation in the
field if they are to be applicable.
The wax appearance temperature (WAT) is the temperature below which a solid wax phase
forms within a hydrocarbon fluid at a given pressure. Below the WAT, significant viscosity
increases, deposition, and gelling are possible. The pour point is the temperature, at a given
pressure, below which the staticfluid may form a gel. For a system cooledbelow its pour point,
restarting flow maybe difficult or impossible.
ii. Wax Inhibitors:
Basically, three groups of wax inhibitor chemicals are used.
Wax crystal modifiers
Detergents
Dispersants
The last two groups are surface-active agents as, for example, polyesters and amine
ethoxylates.These act by keeping the crystals dispersed as separate particles, thereby reducing
their tendencyto interact and adhere to solid surfaces.
Crystal modifiers are substances capable of building into wax crystals and altering the
growthand surface characteristics of the crystal. The crystal modifiers will lower the pour point
as wellas the viscosity. The name pour point depressant is also used for this class of chemicals.
The acetate group(CH3COO) contained in the inhibitor is very unlike the paraffinic branches
and will disturb furtherstructuring of the paraffinic molecules.

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iii. Viscosity of Wax Oil Suspensions:

Oil containing solid wax particles may exhibit non-Newtonian flow behavior. This means that the
viscosity varies with shear rate (dvx/dy). At temperatures above the WAT, the oil behaves in a
Newtonian manner (viscosity independent of shear rate). Below the WAT, the viscosity varies
depending on shear rate.
The apparent oil viscosity below the WAT may be calculated from (Pedersen and Rnningsen,
2000)

B. Asphaltenes:
Asphaltenes is a component class that may precipitate from petroleum reservoir fluids as a
highlyviscous and sticky material that is likely to cause deposition problems in production wells
and pipelines. Asphaltenes are defined as the constituents of an oil mixture that, at room
temperature, are practically insoluble in n-pentane and n-heptane, but soluble in benzene
and toluene (Unlike resins which are soluble in n-pentane and insoluble in liquid butane or
propane). Because a major part of reservoir fluidsconsists of paraffins, asphaltene precipitation
problems are quite frequent. Unlike wax precipitation, asphaltene precipitation is not limited to
low temperatures. Precipitation may occur in the reservoir, in the production well, during
pipeline transportation, and inprocess plants. Gas is often injected into an oil reservoir to obtain
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an enhanced oil recovery.Because natural gas essentially consists of paraffins, gas injection will
tend to worsen precipitationproblems.
Also there are different opinions about the solubility properties of already precipitated
asphaltenes. Just a few years back, it was the general opinion that already precipitated
asphaltenes would never go back into solution again. Supporters of this idea saw asphaltenes
dissolved in an oilmixture as aggregates, only staying in solution because of an outer protective
layer consisting of resins. Removal of this protective layer would make the asphaltenes form
even larger aggregates that would precipitate and become insoluble, because it would be
impossible to regenerate the protective resin layer. Resins form another solubility class.
resinsare soluble in n-heptane. They can be adsorbed on silica or alumina from an n-heptane
solution, from which state they can be extracted using a methanolbenzene solution. The
understanding ofasphaltene precipitation as a nonreversible process was essentially based on
experimental observations of asphaltenes precipitated from stabilized oils by addition of large
quantities of either n-pentane or n-heptane. This precipitation technique gives asphaltenes in
almost pure form, and the cohesion between the individual asphaltene molecules in this form
may be so high that itbecomes almost impossible to dissolve the asphaltenes again.
For an oil of a fixed composition, asphaltene precipitation is most likely to take place right atthe
bubble point. At the bubble point, the oil has the highest content of dissolved gas. The
paraffinic gas components (C1, C2, etc.) are bad solventsfor the asphaltenes; this is what makes
asphaltene precipitation likely to take place. If the pressureis lowered, some gas will evaporate,
and the gas concentration in the liquid phase will decrease. This makes the asphaltenes more
soluble in the liquid. The asphaltene phase will slowly dissolve and possibly disappear. The
pressure at which the last asphaltenes go into solution is called the lower asphaltene onset
pressure (lower AOP). Increasing the pressure from the bubble point will also make the
asphaltene phase dissolve. Though paraffins are generally poor solvents for theasphaltenes, the
solubility of asphaltenes in paraffins increases with pressure, and, at a sufficientlyhigh pressure,
the upper asphaltene onset pressure (upper AOP), the asphaltene phase will disappear.
APO: Asphaltene Precipitation Onset

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i. Experimental Techniques to study Asphaltene Precipitation:

Quantification of Amount of Asphaltenes:
The n-C5 or n-C7 precipitation technique (e.g., Burke et al., 1990) is used to determine
the asphaltene content in a stabilized oil mixture. The n-paraffin is injected in large
quantities (e.g., 40/1 n-C5 /oil on a volume basis), which forces the asphaltenes to precipitate.
Theprecipitate is filtered and washed to purify the asphaltenes.
Asphaltene content measurement as a heptane insoluble fraction: IP 143
Asphaltene content measurement as a pentane insoluble fraction: ASTM D893
Detection of Asphaltene Onset Pressures (AOP):
Gravimetric Technique
Acoustic Resonance Technique
Light-Scattering Technique
Filtration and Other Experimental Techniques

===============================================================================
3. Black Oil or Compositional Model? (in Design)
Black Oil:
A black oil model assumes that the fluids consist of a liquid phase and a gas phase only. The
amount of gas that dissolves in the oil is dependent on pressure andtemperature.

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Black oil models should only be used in steady state simulations in which the API gravity is less
than 45 and the GOR is less than 14000 standard m3/m3 of stock tank oil (2 500 scf/stb).
The following minimum data shall be used to set up a black oil model:
1. Oil SG. 2. Gas SG. 3. GOR 4. Water cut
This data should be obtained from a laboratory multistage flash analysis (normally 3 stages). The
sum of the gases evolved from each of the laboratory flash stages is known as the producing
GOR. The density of the oil produced from the final flash stage is defined as the stock tank oil
density. The gas SG is based upon the weighted average gravity from each stage.
This analysis should be performed at conditions that closely match field operating conditions
i.e.:
1. The 1st and 2nd stage pressure and temperature conditions in the test should closely match
the 1st and 2nd stage separators in the field.
2. The 3rd and final stage of separation is performed at stock tank conditions, 1,01 bar, 15C
(14,7 psia, 60F).
3. Even if the field operation only has a single stage of separation, the laboratory test shall also
include a second stage at stock tank conditions.
Using the GOR, oil SG, gas SG data, and standard black oil correlations the physical property
information required for a multiphase flow analysis can beevaluated.
Physical property correlations should be tuned to match laboratory data at the bubble point
condition and the 1st stage separator. Solution GOR and volume formation factor information
is available from the multiphase flash data at these 2 conditions.
Live oil viscosity data that is generally available at the bubble point condition should be used to
tune the oil viscosity correlation.
Compositional Model:
A compositional model shall be used for any fluids that lie close to the critical point, such as
highly volatile oils, as well as for gas-condensate systems.
The industry standard, transient multiphase simulator, OLGA, currently only works with
compositional descriptions of the fluids.
Compositional modelling should be used for systems in which the GOR is > 2500 or the API
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gravity is > 45.

Detailed fluid analysis, as provided from the process design, shall be used. A compositional
model requires a detailed analysis of the fluids. However, attempting to model the fluids in
terms of the components e.g. C10, C11, does not produce an adequate characterisation of the
fluid, rather the heavy end components beyond approximately C7 require a full characterisation
in terms of their normal boiling point (NBP), molecular weight (MW), and SG. Reservoir engineers
often have available heavy end component characterisation in terms of critical pressures and
temperatures; however these can be manipulated using standard routines to provide the
characterisation in terms of NBP, MW, and SG. The characterised fluid data can be used either to
generate tables of properties,within which design software packages have to interpolate, or to
enable some software programs to calculate the required properties at any temperature
andpressure, directly.
Fluid viscosity values shall be obtained from laboratory analysis if fluid samples are available for
testing.
If fluid samples are not available, PVT package generated viscosity values may be used.
Historically PVT package determined viscosity values have proven to be significantly
underestimated.Current BP preferences for PVT packages are:
PVTsim from CalSep
MultiFlash from InfoChem
Whichever package is selected, the equation of state used to characterise the fluid shall be
matched to as much laboratory data as possible before any design work is undertaken.
Validation exercises have shown that BWRS is the most accurate method for predicting a range
of fluid properties. However the BWRS method is not supported by many PVT packages.
If the PVT package does not support BWRS methodology, either the Peng-Robinson or SRK
methods should be used. With either of these methods, both liquid and gas property predictions
are significantly improved if Peneloux shift parameters are applied.

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==============================================================
4. Flow Assurance Phase Envelope:

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Figure 1 Typical Flow Assurance Phase envelope

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