ASPHALTENE DEPOSITION: A SURVEY OF FIELD EXPERIENCES AND RESEARCH APPROACHES

Leontaritis, K.J. and Mansoori, G.A., 1988. Asphaltene deposition: a survey of field experiences and research approaches. J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 1: 229-239 The paper reviews the experiences of the oil industry and the progress and direction of the research community in their efforts to provide solutions to the asphaltene deposition problem. The oil industry, basically, seems to be combating the problem through remedial rather than preventive methods. Mechanical and chemical cleaning metho is are being improvised to maintain production at economical levels. The research community, currently, is rather split in the approach to model the asphaltene deposition problem. One school of thought considers the asphaltenes dissolved in the oil in a true liquid state and dwells upon thermodynamic techniques to predict their phase behavior. Another considers asphaltenes to exist in oil in a colloidal state, as minute suspended particles, and utilizes colloidal science techniques, among other, to predict their phase behavior. Experimental work over the last 40 years suggests that asphaltenes may exist in a colloidal state in the crude oil and further pursue of the subject in this direction by both the industrial and research communities is warranted.