The Analytical Model for the Impact Assessment of the Magnetic Treatment of Oil on the Wax Deposition Rate on the Tubing Wall

Abstract

There has been a large amount of experience in recent decades in the use of magnetic fields on reservoir fluids. This paper discusses the effect of a magnetic field on wax precipitation. An analytical model is developed to quantify the wax deposition rate on the tubing surface during the magnetic treatment of reservoir oil. It has been established that the passage of the oil flow through a non-uniform magnetic field causes a high-intensity electric field for a sufficiently long period of time, the effect of which decreases the solubility of wax in oil, increases the intensity of wax precipitation in oil, and reduces the wax deposition on the tubing surface. The model accounts for the fact that the wax deposits present on the tubing surface are a highly efficient heat insulator that changes the temperature regime of the flow and the temperature of the tubing wall. This circumstance changes the rate of deposits but does not make these deposits less harmful to wells’ operation. A method for calculating the equilibrium wax concentration and changing the solubility of wax in oil under a constant electric field has been developed. We show that the effect of magnetic treatments on wax deposition rises with the increase in the concentration of asphaltenes in the oil and water cut.

Keywords

• wax precipitation
• wax deposition
• magnetic treatment
• analytical model
• time between overhauls