Effects of reservoir rock pore geometries and ultrasonic parameters on the removal of asphaltene deposition under ultrasonic waves

Asphaltene deposition around the wellbore is a major cause of formation damage, especially in heavy oil reservoirs Ultrasonic stimulation, rather than chemical injection, is thought to be a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of removing asphaltene deposition. However, it seems to be unclear how crucial features like reservoir pore geometries and ultrasonic parameters affect this ultrasound treatment.In this work, five two-dimensional glass micromodels with different pore geometries were designed to assess the impact of pore geometries on the ultrasonic removal of asphaltene deposition. Experiments were undertaken in an ultrasound bath at a set frequency (20 kHz) and adjustable powers (100–1000 W). Direct image analysis before, during and after sonication was used to assess the impact of pore geometry and a change in ultrasonic parameter on the removal of asphaltene deposition. The effectiveness of ultrasound treatment at various sonication periods were found to be reliant on the pore geometries of the individual micromodels. For micromodels with throat sizes 300 µm and pore shapes as circle, square and triangle, an increase in ultrasonic power from 400 to 1000 W resulted in an increase in the percentage of removed asphaltene deposition after 2 h from 12.6 to 14.7, 11.5 to 14.63, and 5.8 to 7.1 percent, respectively.     

Research on the removal of near-well blockage caused by asphaltene deposition using sonochemical method

Near-well blockage caused by asphaltene deposition often occurs during the process of crude oil exploitation. It can reduce the porosity and permeability of reservoirs and seriously affects the migration and exploitation of oil and gas. In this paper, removing near-well blockage caused by asphaltene deposition using sonochemical method is investigated. Six PTZ transducers with different parameters are used to study the deplugging effect. Results show that the optimal ultrasonic frequency and power for plugging removal are 20 kHz and 1000 W respectively. it is found that lower ultrasonic frequency is good for asphaltene deposition plug removal when ultrasonic power is constant; as the power of the sensor increases, the effect of removing the asphaltene deposition plug gets better, ultrasonic power can well make up for the attenuation of ultrasonic energy caused as frequency increases; the effects of removing asphaltene deposition plug for the three cores with different initial gas logging permeability all get worse no matter what type of transducer is used; the effect of asphaltene deposition plug removal for the three cores samples all become better and then tend to be stable as ultrasonic treatment time increases further; considering of reducing construction cost and oil reservoir protection, ultrasonic processing has a lot of unexampled advantages compared with chemical injection, such as good adaptability, low cost, simple operation, non-pollution and benefit for the sustainable development of oil field; affected by the synergistic effect of ultrasonic and chemical agents, the combined treatment effect of ultrasound and chemical agents is significantly better than using ultrasound or chemical agents alone.     

Asphaltene multilayer growth in porous medium probed by SANS

Presence of suspended particles such as asphaltene in crude oils could significantly affect the production by means of deposition in porous media especially near the well bore. We investigate this phenomenon using the ability of Small Angle Neutron Scattering technique to probe directly the asphaltene adsorption process in a porous medium at the nanometer length scale under flow conditions. A device based on a quartz tube filled with SiC particles constitute the porous medium in which an asphaltene solution in a mixture of good (toluene)/bad (heptane) solvent is injected under controlled flow. The contrast matching technique enables to match the porous medium scattering contributions and to measure the signal of the deposit. Such a device can be used for curves surface measurements on a setup originally designed for bulk studies and permit thus the direct comparison with measurements on flat surfaces (neutron reflectivity) and indirect adsorption measurements (adsorption isotherm). We show here that asphaltene in good solvent leads to a monolayer whereas addition of bad solvent results in a multilayer growth which is consistent with the deposition behaviour described in the literature.     

Advances in ultrasonic production units for enhanced oil recovery in China

With the development of oil recovery technology, ultrasonic technology has been involved in oil production and oilfield development. The mechanism of ultrasonic wave plugging in near well is different from the conventional oil recovery technology. Ultrasonic oil production technique is an effective method to enhance oil production with low cost, good applicability, and no environmental pollution. The core part of ultrasonic oil production equipment for Enhanced Oil Recovery is a high-power ultrasonic transducer. The continuous high-power ultrasound is used to treat the reservoir, which changes the pore structure, the physical property and the state of the fluid, thus improving the permeability and flows conditions of the reservoir, and increasing the oil yield and oil recovery. Ultrasonic oil recovery equipment includes the generation of high-power ultrasonic signals, long-distance transmission and the conversion of electrical energy to acoustic energy. In this paper, state-of-the-art on the development of ultrasonic oil production devices for Enhanced Oil Recovery in China is introduced. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reference for the development of high-power ultrasonic oil extraction equipment and its promotion in tertiary oil recovery technology.     

Nonlinear seismics and the acoustic action on the oil recovery from an oil pool

At the first stage of seismic action, the attenuation of acoustic waves in real (porous, creviced) rocks is always related to the energy pumping to high-frequency (ultrasonic) modes, and only at the next stage are these waves converted into chaotic thermal oscillations, so that the entire phenomenon refers to a basic problem of nonlinear seismics. Several physical phenomena related to the excitation of ultrasound and the corresponding transformations of the wave spectrum (including the dry friction in contacts, the instability of viscoelastic oscillations, the seismic energy pumping to the rotational modes, and the resonance of gas bubbles in natural oil) are considered in relation to the development of vibroseismic methods of acting upon a producing oil pool. The results of experiments on the ultrasound-stimulated water displacement of natural (gas-saturated) oil from a porous medium are presented, in which the oil recovery reached up to 90%.     

Removal of colloidal precipitation plugging with high-power ultrasound

Petroleum is a continuous and dynamically stable colloidal system. In the process of oil extraction, transportation, and post-treatment, the stability of the petroleum sol system is easily destroyed, resulting in asphaltenes precipitation that can make pore throat, oil wells, and pipelines blocked, thereby damaging the reservoir and reducing oil recovery. In this paper, removing near-well plugging caused by asphaltene deposition with high-power ultrasound is investigated. Six PZT transducers with different parameters were used to carry out the experimental study. Results show that ultrasonic frequency is one important factor for removing colloidal precipitation plugging in cores, it could not be too high nor too low. The optimum ultrasonic frequency is 25 kHz; Selecting transducers with a higher power is an effective way to improve the removal efficiency. The optimum ultrasonic power is 1000 W. With the increase of ultrasonic treatment time, the recovery rate reaches the maximum and tends to be stable. ultrasonic processing time should be controlled within 120 min. Besides, three methods — ultrasonic treatment alone, chemical injection alone, and ultrasound-chemical method — for removing colloidal precipitation plugging are compared. Results indicate that the ultrasound-assisted chemical method is better than chemical injection alone or ultrasonic treatment alone to remove colloidal sediment in the core. Finally, the mechanism of the ultrasonic deplugging technique is analyzed from three aspects: cavitation effect, the thermal effect, and mechanical vibration.     

横波速度径向层析成像方法及应用研究

近来三维声波成像技术的一个重要进展是利用偶极子弯曲波反演地层径向横波速度剖面。确定地层径向横波速度变化对评价井壁稳定性、估算地应力和优化油藏生产等有着重要的意义。偶极横波测井激发的弯曲波低频探测较深,高频探测较浅,本文根据偶极弯曲波的频散特征,采用约束反演的方法求取地层径向横波速度变化。在实际测井中,经常会遇到偶极子弯曲波的频散曲线在高频时缺失或者不准确的情况,这会使约束反演方法产生误差。针对这一现象,本文提出利用理论频散数据进行高频约束,并通过数值模拟验证了改进后约束反演方法的正确性。本文给出了一个致密气层的横波速度径向剖面综合应用实例,发现地层径向横波速度变化程度与岩石脆性有很好的对应关系,最终的压裂效果由压前、压后正交偶极横波各向异性的变化得到了印证,压裂后油气产量提高。     

超声波对多孔介质中两相流动的影响

近年来，超声技术已被应用于采油工程中，在油井解堵，水井增注等方面发挥了重要的作用。     

Investigating the effect of different asphaltene structures on surface topography and wettability alteration

This paper aims at investigation of the effect of asphaltene structure on wettability and topography alteration of a glass surface as a result of asphaltene precipitation. In order to provide a better insight into the topography alteration, a bi-fractal approach was employed. Such an approach is capable of discriminating topography alteration in two different surface types, namely, macro-asperities and micro-asperities. The observed variation of the fractal dimension in the two surface types could be considered as the consequence of different asphaltene sources. Therefore, the structure of different asphaltene sources was carefully examined. The effect of asphaltene structure is more pronounced for asphaltene precipitation at higher pressure. It was revealed that asphaltene particles of high complexity and with larger poly-aromatic rings tend to be detached easier at higher pressure than those with smaller poly-aromatic rings. Another evidence to emphasize the significance of asphaltene structure was given through wettability alteration. It was found that asphaltene particles with larger poly-aromatic rings turn the surface less oil wet at higher pressure. It seems that the difference in wetting condition and surface topography alteration of different asphaltene sources roots in their different structures.     

Effect of ultrasound radiation duration on emulsification and demulsification of paraffin oil and surfactant solution/brine using Hele-shaw models

Ultrasound technique is one of the unconventional enhanced oil recovery methods which has been of interest for more than six decades. However, the majority of the oil recovery mechanisms under ultrasound reported in the previous studies are theoretical. Emulsification is one of the mechanisms happening at the interface of oil and water in porous media under ultrasound. Oppositely, ultrasound is one of the techniques using in oil industry for demulsification of oil/water emulsion. Therefore, the conditions in which emulsification becomes dominant over demulsification under ultrasound should be more investigated. Duration of ultrasound radiation could be one of the factors affecting emulsification and demulsification processes. In this study a technique was developed to investigate the effect of long and short period of ultrasound radiation on emulsification and demulsification of paraffin oil and surfactant solution in porous media. For this purpose, the 2D glass Hele-shaw models were placed inside the ultrasonic bath under long and short period of radiation of ultrasound. A microscope was used above the model for microscopic studies on the interface of oil and water. Diffusion of phases and formation of emulsion were observed in both long and short period of application of ultrasound at the beginning of ultrasound radiation. However, by passing time, demulsification and coalescence of brine droplets inside emulsion was initiated in long period of ultrasound application. Therefore, it was concluded that emulsification could be one of the significant oil recovery mechanisms happening in porous media under short period of application of ultrasound.     

Direct measurement of porous media local hydrodynamical permeability using gas MRI.

The concept of hydraulic permeability is at the core of modeling single phase or multi-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media, as it is the spatial distribution of the permeability that primarily governs the behavior of fluid flow in the medium. To date, the modeling of fluid flow in porous media has been hampered by poor estimates of local permeability. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is well known for its ability to measure non-invasively the local density and flow rate of different fluids saturating porous media [1,2]. In this paper we demonstrate the first non-invasive method for the direct measurement of a single projection of the local permeability tensor of a porous medium using gas-phase MRI. The potential for three-dimensional imaging of the medium permeability is also discussed. The limitations of the method are listed and results are presented in a model porous medium as well as in a real oil reservoir rock.     

Application of an effective medium theory for modeling ultrasound wave propagation in healing long bones

Quantitative ultrasound has recently drawn significant interest in the monitoring of the bone healing process. Several research groups have studied ultrasound propagation in healing bones numerically, assuming callus to be a homogeneous and isotropic medium, thus neglecting the multiple scattering phenomena that occur due to the porous nature of callus. In this study, we model ultrasound wave propagation in healing long bones using an iterative effective medium approximation (IEMA), which has been shown to be significantly accurate for highly concentrated elastic mixtures. First, the effectiveness of IEMA in bone characterization is examined: (a) by comparing the theoretical phase velocities with experimental measurements in cancellous bone mimicking phantoms, and (b) by simulating wave propagation in complex healing bone geometries by using IEMA. The original material properties of cortical bone and callus were derived using serial scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) images from previous animal studies. Guided wave analysis is performed for different healing stages and the results clearly indicate that IEMA predictions could provide supplementary information for bone assessment during the healing process. This methodology could potentially be applied in numerical studies dealing with wave propagation in composite media such as healing or osteoporotic bones in order to reduce the simulation time and simplify the study of complicated geometries with a significant porous nature.     

含低渗透夹层的非均质双重介质垂向干扰的精确解

本文建立了单一介质、双重介质中由两个渗透层被一个致密低渗透层隔开的多层油藏渗流的数学模型,并求得了无穷大地层的精确解和长时渐近解。利用这个解可以在双重介质层状油藏的单井、多井试井中解释压力恢复曲线、垂向干扰试井和垂向脉冲试井。     

考虑相重新分布的双重介质分形油藏不稳定渗流压力动态特征

基于分形油藏渗流力学,针对存在井筒储集、表皮效应和井筒相重新分布影响下的不稳定渗流问题,建立双重介质分形油藏有效井径数学模型,并采用Douglas-Jones预估校正法求得无限大地层定产量生产条件下的非线性数值解.由数值解可知,该系统完整的压降曲线由四个流动区组成.最后分析各个分形参数、相重新分布参数和双重介质参数变化时压力的变化规律,做出典型压力曲线图版,为研究复杂渗流系统中相重新分布影响下的不稳定渗流规律提供参考.     

Fabric dependence of quasi-waves in anisotropic porous media

Assessment of bone loss and osteoporosis by ultrasound systems is based on the speed of sound and broadband ultrasound attenuation of a single wave. However, the existence of a second wave in cancellous bone has been reported and its existence is an unequivocal signature of poroelastic media. To account for the fact that ultrasound is sensitive to microarchitecture as well as bone mineral density (BMD), a fabric-dependent anisotropic poroelastic wave propagation theory was recently developed for pure wave modes propagating along a plane of symmetry in an anisotropic medium. Key to this development was the inclusion of the fabric tensor--a quantitative stereological measure of the degree of structural anisotropy of bone--into the linear poroelasticity theory. In the present study, this framework is extended to the propagation of mixed wave modes along an arbitrary direction in anisotropic porous media called quasi-waves. It was found that differences between phase and group velocities are due to the anisotropy of the bone microarchitecture, and that the experimental wave velocities are more accurately predicted by the poroelastic model when the fabric tensor variable is taken into account. This poroelastic wave propagation theory represents an alternative for bone quality assessment beyond BMD.     

水驱油藏中原油极性物质对吸附和润湿性影响的分子模拟

为了研究水驱油藏中原油极性物质的吸附机理及其对油藏表面润湿性的影响,构建以石英为代表的砂岩岩石骨架模型,己烷为代表的非极性物质模型和以甲苯、胶质和沥青质为代表的极性物质模型,运用分子模拟方法研究4种原油组分和水分子在砂岩油藏表面竞争吸附过程和润湿状态。结果表明：水与4种原油组分在石英矿物表面竞争吸附时,原油中的非极性物质会比极性物质更加容易脱附。极性物质会随着时间的变化逐渐吸附在矿物表面,非极性的物质会随着时间变化逐渐远离矿物表面。吸附过程中静电力起吸附作用,范德华力起排斥作用。最后结合润湿性实验结果,从机理上解释了不同原油组成对润湿性的影响,即原油组分中极性物质含量越高,胶质沥青质含量越大,岩石表面油湿性越大,且水驱过程中润湿性向亲水方向变化越难。结论对提升水驱油藏采收率影响因素的认识有重要意义。     

Developments in geothermal energy in Mexico—Part thirty-seven. Procedure to diagnose production abatement problems in geothermal wells

A procedure to diagnose cases of production decrease in geothermal wells is presented. Most commonly, a production decrease in geothermal wells is due to: surface pipeline scaling, mechanical damage in the wellbore, entrance of cooler fluids to the producing reservoir layer and reservoir and well pipeline scaling. The procedure, which is presented as a decision diagram, is based in chemical and well production data. It is able to identify the above mentioned causes for a given well. This procedure was successfully applied to 17 wells from the Cerro Prieto geothermal field. In addition, a silica deposition rate parameter, Rd, was designed. It can be used as a forecasting tool for well scaling. It is proposed that this parameter is important in deriving suitable production strategies to minimise the effect of silica scaling processes in the reservoir.     

Arch Failure in Sandstone in the Case of Nonlinear Flow

A mathematical model of elastic--plastic deformations and stability of sand in a compacted zone around a perforation with a nonlinear flow is developed for a gas well. Laser processing of porous materials is accompanied by similar problems too. The stresses in porous material and the effect of flowing fluids have been analyzed theoretically. The criteria describing stability of sand arches are given. Critical rates of production are found that do not result in destruction of the reservoir near the perforation opening by tensile and shear stresses. The influence of variable permeability on the stability of the arches around the perforations has been studied. The significant influence of water on elastic–plastic deformation and destruction of sand arches is shown within the approach of constant saturation. The results are obtained for both fluid production from the well and gas injection into the reservoir. The conditions of arch stability near the perforated opening are always fulfilled with fluid injection.     

Numerical investigation of a coupled moving boundary model of radial flow in low-permeable stress-sensitive reservoir with threshold pressure gradient

The threshold pressure gradient and formation stress-sensitive effect as the two prominent physical phenomena in the development of a low-permeable reservoir are both considered here for building a new coupled moving boundary model of radial flow in porous medium. Moreover, the wellbore storage and skin effect are both incorporated into the inner boundary conditions in the model. It is known that the new coupled moving boundary model has strong nonlinearity. A coordinate transformation based fully implicit finite difference method is adopted to obtain its numerical solutions. The involved coordinate transformation can equivalently transform the dynamic flow region for the moving boundary model into a fixed region as a unit circle, which is very convenient for the model computation by the finite difference method on fixed spatial grids. By comparing the numerical solution obtained from other different numerical method in the existing literature, its validity can be verified. Eventually, the effects of permeability modulus, threshold pressure gradient, wellbore storage coefficient, and skin factor on the transient wellbore pressure, the derivative, and the formation pressure distribution are analyzed respectively.     

A method for water well regeneration based on shock waves and ultrasound

The regeneration of water wells is an urgent problem nowadays, when drilling of new wells becomes more and more expensive. Formation damage leads to a reduction of the formation's permeability and/or pore volume which in turn inhibits the ability of the water to flow from the reservoir formation into the wellbore. A new technology that uses high-power ultrasound to remove formation damage of water wells has been developed. The effectiveness of regeneration of wells can be enhanced if ultrasound and shockwaves are used during the same treatment. It was shown by computer modelling, that the two methods have different depths of impact. Whereas the ultrasonic method has a strong impact on the area of the filter tube, the impact of the shock waves is focused on the gavel pack, the wall of the well and the adjacent aquifer. A shockwave treatment, which is normally more effective due to larger impact zone, needs to be followed by ultrasonic treatment in order to facilitate the removal of the detached deposits. These theoretical assumptions were confirmed by field tests on two wells. The use of the method leaded to an increase of the production by 40% and 109% respectively.