Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Vol.46, No.4, 18-23, 2007
Role of asphaltenes in foamy oil flow
It has been suggested in several studies that there may be a link between the presence of high asphaltenes content and the foam-ability of oil. However, a systematic examination of the impact of asphaltenes on the performance of solution gas drive, in connection with foamy oil flow, has not been reported. This paper presents an experimental study that addresses this issue. The objective of this work was to examine whether or not the presence of asphaltenes has a strong influence on the performance of foamy solution gas drive. To this end, parallel solution gas drive experiments were conducted using a heavy crude oil from the Lloydminster area and a deasphalted version of the same oil. To eliminate the influence of oil viscosity, the viscosity of the crude oil was reduced to the same level as that of the deasphalted oil by diluting it with a 50-50 mixture of heptane and toluene. The experiments were carried out in a visual sandpack that permits observation of bubble formation in the sand. The results show that the presence of asphaltenes significantly promotes foamy oil flow.