Development of technology for destroying stable water-in-oil emulsions by ultrasonic method at the mobile well production preparing unit

Mining Faculty, Perm National Research Polytechnic University, Perm, Russia

Abstract

Treatment of production fluids to meet the requirements of the first quality group for commercial purposes is becoming more relevant every year in the Perm Region. Most operational facilities are in the final stages of development and characterized by the high water content of production fluids, which later leads to the formation of water-in-oil emulsions (WOEs) during transportation and field preparation. When treated by traditional methods, such as thermal and thermo chemical gravity sedimentation, stable WOEs are not amenable to destruction. These preparation methods are easy to use but do not always provide the expected result. In this regard, an urgent task is to develop and implement new technologies for the preparation of hydrocarbons, which can be used separately from traditional methods, or in combination with them. This method is called ultrasound impact (USI). This article describes regularities in the influence of various parameters on the efficiency of stable water-in-oil emulsion destruction during field-based treatment with the use of USI. The paper describes the experience of using USI, as well as the high destruction efficiency of stable water-in-oil emulsions in comparison with traditional methods. The authors of the article conducted pilot tests using a mobile unit for treating production fluids with stable WOEs pre-treated by ultrasound. Following test results, the technological effect has been evaluated and recommendations for the practical application of the proposed method have been made.