EFFECT OF INHIBITORS ON ASPHALTENE PRECIPITATION

Asphaltene precipitation and its deposition along the production system and separation facilities cause a lot of problems in the Oil and Gas industry. It damages reservoir by reducing its permeability while also changing its wettability. Asphaltene precipitation also reduces well productivity where they clog production system and separation facilities. To overcome this issue, the prediction of asphaltene precipitation is important so that preventive measures could be taken before the deposition of the asphaltene precipitates becomes worse.
The prediction of the behaviour of asphaltene and its precipitation could be of assistance in finding the suitable inhibitors that could mitigate asphaltene precipitation. Inhibitors are widely used in the industry to prevent or stop asphaltene precipitation. However, inhibitors are sensitive to the crude oil system that they are put into. Besides that, inhibitor environment (neutral, acidic, basic) also plays very important role in determining the efficiency of the inhibitors in mitigating asphaltene precipitation. Hence, it is essential that the inhibitors used to prevent asphaltene precipitation are customized precisely to each reservoir system. This study focuses on finding the most suitable inhibitor to mitigate asphaltene precipitation, as well as analyzing all the possible effects of using the inhibitors