Laboratory Investigation of the In-Situ Chemical Demulsification Process

Abstract

This study investigates and proposes a novel approach for crude oil demulsification using a laboratory-scale reservoir model designed to simulate actual reservoir conditions. To evaluate the effectiveness of chemical demulsification methods, the displacement of crude oil within the reservoir model using two different injection fluids was examined. In the first case, formation water was used as the injection fluid and served as the baseline for comparison. In the second case, formation water was mixed with various concentrations of the selected demulsifier and subsequently injected into the reservoir model to conduct the displacement process. This comparative approach enabled the assessment of the influence of demulsifier concentration on both emulsion stability and oil recovery performance. The experimental results demonstrated that the addition of demulsifiers to the produced water significantly enhanced the breakdown of emulsified crude oil. This improvement resulted in increased oil recovery efficiency within the same operational period, while simultaneously reducing the amount of free water in the produced fluid. Furthermore, the study identified the optimal demulsifier concentrations that ensured maximum demulsification efficiency while minimizing chemical consumption. The findings indicate that integrating demulsifiers into the formation water injection process facilitates the in-situ breakdown of emulsified crude oil within the reservoir, thereby reducing the need to transport large volumes of crude oil emulsions to surface processing facilities. Consequently, this approach lowers operational expenditures (OPEX) and improves the overall economic profitability of the reservoir.