Drag Reduction in Heavy Oil

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Storm ◽  
R. J. McKeon ◽  
H. L. McKinzie ◽  
C. L. Redus
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Effective Viscosity ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Heavy Oils ◽  
Single Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Pipeline Flow ◽  
Water Layers ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Flow Experiments

Transporting heavy crude oil by pipeline requires special facilities because the viscosity is so high at normal field temperatures. In some cases the oil is heated with special heaters along the way, while in others the oil may be diluted by as much as 30 percent with kerosene. Commercial drag reducers have not been found to be effective because the single-phase flow is usually laminar to only slightly turbulent. In this work we show the effective viscosity of heavy oils in pipeline flow can be reduced by a factor of 3–4. It is hypothesized that a liquid crystal microstructure can be formed so that thick oil layers slip on thin water layers in the stress field generated by pipeline flow. Experiments in a 1 1/4-in. flow loop with Kern River crude oil and a Venezuela crude oil BCF13 are consistent with this hypothesis. The effect has also been demonstrated under field conditions in a 6-in. flow loop using a mixture of North Sea and Mississippi heavy crude oils containing 10 percent brine.

Pipeline Flow Of Heavy Crude Oil Emulsions

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.J. Summer ◽  
K.B. Hill ◽  
C.A. Shook
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Heavy Crude Oil ◽  
Pipeline Flow ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Oil Emulsions

Hydrocarbon Recovery From Oil Sands by Cyclic Surfactant Solubilization in Single-Phase Microemulsions

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pushpesh Sharma ◽  
Konstantinos Kostarelos ◽  
Sujeewa S. Palayangoda
Keyword(s):  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Heavy Oils ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Flow Experiment ◽  
Heavy Crude

Extra heavy crude oil (bitumen) reserves represent a significant part of the energy resources found all over the world. In Canada, the “oil sands” deposits are typically unconsolidated, water-wet media where current methods of recovery, such as open pit mining, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), vapor extraction, cold heavy oil production with sand, etc., are controversial due to adverse effect on environment. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) techniques have been applied as alternatives but have limited success and contradictory results. An alternative method is described in this paper, which relies on the application of single-phase microemulsion to achieve extremely high solubilization. The produced microemulsion will be less viscous than oil, eliminating the need for solvent addition. Produced microemulsion can be separated to recover surfactant for re-injection. The work in this paper discusses phase behavior experiments and a flow experiment to prove the concept that single-phase microemulsions could be used to recover extra-heavy oils. Phase behavior experiments showed that the mixture of alcohol propoxysulfate, sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate, sodium carbonate, and tri-ethylene glycol monobutyl ether results in single-phase microemulsion with extra-heavy crude. A flow experiment conducted with the same composition produced only single-phase microemulsion leading to 74% recovery of the original oil in place from a synthetic oil sand. Future experiments will be focused on optimizing the formulation and testing with actual oil sands samples.

Wax Deposition Experiment with Highly Paraffinic Crude Oil in Laminar Single-Phase Flow Unpredictable by Molecular Diffusion Mechanism

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 3406-3419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Van Der Geest ◽  
Vanessa C. Bizotto Guersoni ◽  
Daniel Merino-Garcia ◽  
Antonio Carlos Bannwart
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Molecular Diffusion ◽  
Diffusion Mechanism ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Single Phase Flow ◽  
Wax Deposition ◽  
Paraffinic Crude

Experimental Investigation of Oil/Water Emulsion Rheology in Electric Submersible Pump and its Effect on the Pump Head Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rasyid Ridlah ◽  
Haiwen Zhu ◽  
Hong-Quan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Effective Viscosity ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Flow Loop ◽  
Oil Viscosity ◽  
Inversion Point ◽  
Pump Head ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Emulsion Rheology

Abstract The presence of formation water throughout the oil well production lifetime is inevitable and consequently forming the dispersion or the emulsion due to the immiscibility of those two phases and the strong shear force acting in a rotating ESP. The formation of stable emulsion close to the inversion point will significantly increase the effective viscosity of an emulsion. This paper will present an experimental investigation of emulsion rheology inside the ESP and its effect on ESP performance under various oil viscosities and different water cuts (WC). Multi stages radial type ESP were assembled into a viscous flow loop which was initially developed by Zhang (2017). Emulsions at each WC formed from different oil viscosities, similar oil density, and surface tension. Multistage ESP was used to circulate oil/water emulsions in a close flow loop. Mass flowmeter measures both mass flow rate and fluid density, and the effective emulsion viscosity derived from an in-line pipe viscometer (PV) which locates downstream of the ESP discharge. The pressure transmitter is occupied in each pump stage to measure the pressure increment. The experiment results present in terms of pump boosting pressure at each water cut and the flow rate delivered by the pump. A Single-phase oil experiment was run at a different temperature to validate the accuracy of the PV. The data discrepancy of PV's viscosity and rotational viscometer is ±6%. The experiment results captured the emulsion's effective viscosity trend as a function of WC. A significant increase of effective viscosity close to the inversion point was observed, and it occurs due to a higher number of water droplets and hydrogen bonds which lead to an increase in hydrodynamic forces thus generating a tight emulsion. The experiment results reveal that a higher oil viscosity 70 cp reaches an inversion point at 30% - 35% WC. Meanwhile, for lower oil viscosity 45 cp reaches the inversion point at 35% - 40% WC since the turbulence increases with the decrease of oil viscosity. The increasing of effective viscosity in the water-oil emulsion induces higher pressure loss in the pump due to high friction loss, and it deteriorates the pump head. Nevertheless, as the WC increases further, the pump head will advance close to the single-phase water performance since the water turns as the continuous phase. Eventually, we can observe a prudent relationship in the pump performance in the change of emulsions effective viscosity as a function of WC. The inversion point phenomena occur at a different range of WC for different oil viscosity. Therefore, it is vital to set the possible range of operational conditions away from the inversion point. A better understanding of these aforementioned issues will lead to an accurate ESP design for optimum well performance.

LATTICE BOLTZMANN SIMULATION OF THE FLOW OF NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS IN POROUS MEDIA

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 99-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDO S. BOEK ◽  
JONATHAN CHIN ◽  
PETER V. COVENEY
Keyword(s):  
Porous Medium ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann ◽  
Effective Viscosity ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Newtonian Fluids ◽  
Lattice Boltzmann Simulation ◽  
Local Shear ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Flow Experiments ◽  
Good Agreement

We present a LB study of the flow of single-phase non-Newtonian fluids, using a power law relationship between the effective viscosity and the local shear rate. Channel flow experiments were carried out to measure the velocity profiles. The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with theory. We also report simulations of the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in a 2-D porous medium.

Pipeline flow behaviour of heavy crude oil emulsions

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Wyslouzil ◽  
M. A. Kessick ◽  
J. H. Masliyah
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Flow Behaviour ◽  
Heavy Crude Oil ◽  
Pipeline Flow ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Oil Emulsions

scholarly journals Bioremediation of Heavy Crude Oil Contamination

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al-Sayegh ◽  
Yahya Al-Wahaibi ◽  
Sanket Joshi ◽  
Saif Al-Bahry ◽  
Abdulkadir Elshafie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Contamination ◽  
Heavy Crude Oil ◽  
Heavy Oils ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Screening Criteria ◽  
Crude Oil Contamination ◽  
Oil Biodegradation ◽  
Heavy Crude

Crude oil contamination is one of the major environmental concerns and it has drawn interest from researchers and industries. Heavy oils contain 24-64% saturates and aromatics, 14-39% resins and 11-45% asphaltene. Resins and asphaltenes mainly consist of naphthenic aromatic hydrocarbons with alicyclic chains which are the hardest to degrade. Crude oil biodegradation process, with its minimal energy need and environmentally friendly approach, presents an opportunity for bioremediation and as well for enhanced oil recovery to utilize heavy oil resources in an efficient manner. Biodegradation entails crude oil utilization as a carbon source for microorganisms that in turn change the physical properties of heavy crude oil by oxidizing aromatic rings, chelating metals and severing internal bonds/chains between molecules. Biodegradation does not necessarily lower quality of crude oil as there are cases where quality was improved. This paper provides information on heavy crude oil chemistry, bioremediation concept, biodegradation enzymes, cases of Microbial Enhanced heavy crude Oil Recovery (MEOR) and screening criteria towards a better understanding of the biodegradation application. Through the utilization of single microorganisms and consortia, researchers were able to biodegrade single pure hydrocarbon components, transform heavy crude oil fractions to lighter fractions, remove heavy metals and reduce viscosity of crude oil.

Pipeline Flow Tests With Emulsions Of Saskatchewan Heavy Crude Oil

1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.G. Gillies ◽  
W.H.W. Husband ◽  
M. Small ◽  
L. Kurucz ◽  
R. Parker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Heavy Crude Oil ◽  
Pipeline Flow ◽  
Heavy Crude
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