DOWNHOLE EMULSIFICATION VISCOSITY REDUCTION

INCREASES PRODUCTION

G.E. BROWNE G.R. HASS R.D. SELL

this article begins on the next page F

Downhole Emulsification: Viscosity Reduction Increases Production G.E.Browne G.R.Hass R.D.Sell Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present a further update on the use of surfactants to assist in the pumping of viscous crude oils in Westem Canada.
Typically, crude oils present downhole pumping problems, due to the high natural viscosity of the oil, such as Alberta's heavy oils, or in lighter oils which may have formed viscous oil exterior emulsions in situ, during combustion or by the agitation of the rod string and downhole pump during production.
Viscosity reductions using DownHole Emulsification (DHE ) technology are possible, with oil viscosities from 10,000 to 500,000 centipoise capable of being reduced to less than 200 Temperature Deg. F centipoise by the formation of water continuous emulsions. Wells
which have high fluid levels, rod fall problems, high FIGURE 1: Viscosity vs. temperature for different water oil hydraulic pressures, poor pump efficiencies or excessive pres- emulsions. sure losses in gathering systems are good candidatcs. Solving these viscosity concerns can cause production to be control of the amount of diluent required at these sites, than by tryin- significantly enhanced, with costs being minimal in general, to alter the viscosity of the wet
sandy crude in the wellbore. less than 50 cents per incremental barrel. Figure I shows the viscosity of the crude oil and that of the Reduced power consumption, decreased mechanical loads, emulsions formed (depending on the oillwater ratio) over a reduced towline pressures, more constant daily production and reasonable temperature range. This graph is for oil from the
the reduction of flushbys or well loading are other potential Clearwater formation, but other oils such as the Cummings exhibit benefits. similar responses. When emulsions are formed having water as the exterior phase, the viscosity of the final
emulsion is almost independent of the original oil viscosity. Noticeably, the emulsion viscosity is only about 1% of the original oil viscosity at the Background bottomhole temperatures of these shallow wells (22'C). lt is evident Many techniques have been used to assist the producer
in the that the use of surfactant and water can accomplish significant production and handling of heavy oil. Re us of hea by downhole reductions in well bore viscosity. _ combustion, steam drive or cyclic steam Huff n' Puff come Nevertheless, as Figure 2 shows, not every heavy oil well is a readily to mind.
good candidate. The well needs to have the potential of further One of the more easily understood techniques is the addition of inflow as the viscosity is decreased, in order to obtain production condensate or light hydrocarbon diluent to cut viscosity in the tubing- increases. Although numerous wells have been pumped success- or flowlines. This is used primarily to mitigate rod fall problems fully at high sand cuts (> 5%), with one well as high as 16%, the
and the sanding of pump checks, and allows rod speed to be method is most successful in the presence of sand if the accompanying increased. With rotary equipment, the addition of diluent causes water cut is low. You then have full control over viscosity pump efficiencies to be improved, torque to decrease and pump by altering the water oil ratio to a safe level. speed to increase. In some other locales the use of
surfactants, either singly or in Another method of producing crudes that has the same effect as combination with inorganic chemical salts, to form water continuous the use of diluent, is to make a water continuous emulsion of the emulsions goes back some 20 years. In Western Canada this oil in the wellbore by means of adding surfactants. does not appear to have been tried until the mid 1980's, when lt is likely that diluent will be
required in the final processing some limited trials were initiated by Petroferm for Dome of the oil, at the treaters and for gravity control in order to meet Petroleum. pipeline specifications. However, one has more economical During the last decade, DHE has come to be an accepted pro- production practice by the heavy oil producers at Elk Point, Alberta.
Other successful well tests in Saskatchewan, near the Alberta DHE is a registered trademark of Petroferm Inc. border and at Primrose have also been carried out.
 _ _ _ {§]1~~_ _ .9_6-4
0 _-0'2-

Downhole Emulsification:
Viscosity Reduction Increases Production

G.E. BROWNE, G.R. HASS, RD. SELL

Petroferm Inc.

Abstract 100.000 cpo

The purpose of this paper is to present a further update on the .

use of surfactants to assist in the pumping of viscous crude oils 10.000

i in Western Canada. , Viscosity

(oP)
! Typically, crude oils present downhole pumping problems,
1.000
: due to the high natural viscosity of the oil, such as Alberta's:
heavy oils, or in lighter oils which may have formed viscous oil:
'I'

I exterior emulsions in situ, during combustion or by the agitation' 100

of the rod string and downhole pump during production.
Viscosity reductions using DownHole Emulsification (DHE*) Emulsions
. techno~ogy are possible, with oil viscosities from 10,000 to lOepe
50 100 150 200
; 500,000 centipoise capable of being reduced to less than 200 Temperature (Deg. F)
;centipoise by the formation of water continuous emulsions.
: Wells which have high fluid levels, rod fall problems, high FIGURE I: Viscosity vs. temperature for different water oil
i hydraulic pressures, poor pump efficiencies or excessive pres- emulsions.
:sure losses in gathering systems are good candidates.
: Solving these viscosity concerns can cause production to be trol of the amount of diluent required at these sites, than by trying
:significantly enhanced, with costs being minimal: in general, to alter the viscosity of the wet sandy crude in the wellbore.
:less than 50 cents per incremental barrel.
Reduced power consumption, decreased mechanical loads, Figure 1 shows the viscosity of the crude oil and that of the
i reduced flowline pressures, more constant daily production and emulsions formed (depending on the oiUwater ratio) over a rea-
fthe reduction of flushbys or well loading are other potential sonable temperature range. This graph is for oil from the
:benefits. Clearwater formation, but other oils such as the Cummings exhibit
similar responses. When emulsions are formed having water as
the exterior phase, the viscosity of the final emulsion is almost
independent of the original oil viscosity. Noticeably, the emulsion
viscosity is only about 1% of the original oil viscosity at the bot-
Background tornhole temperatures of these shallow wells (22°C). It is evident
Many techniques have been used to assist the producer in the that the use of surfactant and water can accomplish significant
production and handling of heavy oil. The use of heat by down- reductions in well bore viscosity.
hole combustion, steam drive or cyclic steam (Huff n' Puff) come Nevertheless, as Figure 2 shows, not every heavy oil well is a
readily to mind. good candidate. The well needs to have the potential of further
One of the more easily understood techniques is the addition of inflow as the viscosity is decreased, in order to obtain production
condensate or light hydrocarbon diluent to cut viscosity in the tub- increases. Although numerous wells have been pumped success-
ing or flowlines. This is used primarily to mitigate rod fall prob- fully at high sand cuts (> 5%), with one well as high as 16%, the
lems and the sanding of pump checks, and allows rod speed to be method is most successful in the presence of sand if the accompa-
increased. With rotary equipment, the addition of diluent causes nying water cut is low. You then have full control over viscosity
pump efficiencies to be improved, torque to decrease and pump by altering the water/oil ratio to a safe level.
speed to increase. In some other locales the use of surfactants, either singly or in
Another method of producing crudes that has the same effect as combination with inorganic chemical salts, to form water continu-
the use of diluent, is to make a water continuous emulsion of the ous emulsions goes back some 20 years. In Western Canada this
oil in the wellbore by means of adding surfactants. does not appear to have been tried until the mid 1980's, when
It is likely that diluent will be required in the final processing some limited trials were initiated by Petroferm for Dome
of the oil, at the treaters and for gravity control in order to meet Petroleum.
pipeline specifications. However, one has more economical con- During the last decade, DHE has come to be an accepted pro-
duction practice by the heavy oil producers at Elk Point, Alberta.
Other successful well tests in Saskatchewan, near the Alberta bor-
* DHE is a registered trademark of Petroferm Inc. der and at Primrose have also been carried out.

April 1996, Volume 35, No.4 25

 .---,....-----------------------.......;,....
ifajS .
~ar" ;ED '/TH
HYDiUUUC srSTEM ~
Bitumen

".A77J1.l-
CHEJt:CI.L
TLYX
UnlJJr.ely. but
not excluded Requires
Thermal
Techniques

Potential Wells
I )Excessive loading
2)High torque
Unlikely Wells
3)High flowline pressure I )Very high wAter cut
2)Very sandy wells
4)High fluid levels 3)Poor inflow potenUal
°
S)Rod fall problems
6)Poor pump efficiency
(i.•
FIGURE 2: Candidates for DHE process. 3t1CXV1 J10~ STJIJNC " , : oJ
'J10~Ut::'lo.V TU1JL\"t:..... ,: •

These tests are particularly noteworthy in that two significant '1l0~UCTI0N

. &S1NC'"
(' °°l
• ~
milestones were accomplished. In one well, the gross production
was greater than 100 m3 per day with a net gain of some 35 m3 per NorNO J'1lJ/1' SrA:'llJl ..... ,! :. J roJU/.~O'v OF
day of oil, and in the other case, the well was successfully pumped ~ /OIL-r..v-r,,:rlf ZJlr..-:.s:ON
J'ZIVO...r:O.vs\ \ J .,,-dcrir<d oi!l/f,D ",!.:
while producing sand at an average concentration of 16%. Please
.,-----------,( .
see the Appendix for the other operating characteristics of these
two wells. ItTAIT ou. JlZSTIITOlJC _ ~ t l
~
"':--

1'\0yJlo Ptn4f _>{y~-,U.-'JI.-'1'-INT.-'AXZ---­

Application Techniques e~TC''''Da ~Olt.

In most instances of DHE in Alberta, chemical is premixed at FIGURE 3: Downhole emulsification configuration.
various concentrations, depending on the well requirements, into a
water tank before being injected. See Figure 3 for the typical setup poten~ial for more easily causing the well to be sanded.
of a stand alone system for one well, being produced by means of To :offset this potential and to "even out" the shock effect, it is
a progressive cavity pump. On wells which are flowing, or using now more common to use blends of 1:1,2:1, or even 3:1 ratios of
intermittent gas lift, the chemical/water mixture is also injected lease crude to chemical water. These are mixed cursorily for about
into the casing annulus, where it enters the tubing string by means 10 minutes by truck agitation before loading a well. This has the
of a sliding sleeve or other aperture. The pad wells which have a action of building an oil in water emulsion at the surface, which
single water supply system are slightly different, in that.a separate not only disperses the chemical water more evenly in order to mit-
pump for the chemical is provided, which allows both water flow igate ~'shock" and gives a longer daily effect, but also has some
and chemical concentration to be varied independently. suspending ability to support sand which will have become water
No special water requirements are needed, other than it be rea- wet and separated from the crude oil in the annulus.
sonably clean to avoid plugging valves and filters. Production
water is generally used at all wells. This keeps water costs low In a similar sense, where chemical water is added to the annu-
and minimizes any potential damage to the reservoir. lus, a~ previously described, there is some premixing occurring
allowing the formation of partially mixed emulsions, stirred by
One further economy can arise when a common water tank is
escaping casing gas and mingled by gravity settling. These "slop-
used for dual or three well setups. On the Amoco pad system, this
py" emulsions aid in the filling of the pump.
is further enhanced by using only one pump to push the chemical
and water through a common manifold system to all twenty wells Side strings and hollow rods have been used in a few cases
on each pad (all wells are not candidates but it is not evident with promising but mixed results. Side string injection here refers
which ones will be, in advance of producing them). to the method of injecting chemicaVwater through a small diame-
Obviously, given the potential for -40 0 degree weather, these ter string, strapped to the tubing and protected from buckling by
tanks are insulated and heated by a firetube, while chemical/water collar,protectors, and through a check valve just under the first
delivery lines are either insulated or buried below the frost line, cavity, of the rotary pump.
and the pump is usually cont~ned within the motor building or In one case during late 1991, (not in Canada, but likely of sig-
housed in a separate weather enclosure. In the case of the pad nificant interest to heavy oil producers) a heavy oil well of over
wells, these lines are contained within a utilidor system and heat 100,000 centipoise viscosity employing gas lift, had its net pro-
traced outside the utilidor. These annular injected wells require no duction increased from 2 to 20 m3 per day. Ongoing work on sev-
additional equipment downhole. eral wells led to the full scale implementation of this technology
Although gravity feed has been successfully used, the common throughout the heavy oil districts. At present, over 150 heavy oil
method of injecting chemical water to the annulus is by the use of wells, being produced by various methods (flowing, continuous or
a small rotary pump. The chemical water is then put through intermittent gas lift, rotary screw and beam pumps) are now using
(sometimes a filter) check valves, pressure relief valve, and a flow DHE with substantial production gains. Typically a minimum of
control device. See Figure 4. These serve the purpose of control- 100% increase in oil production is normal, with the greatest indi-
ling the flow rate with a constant pressure, independent of tank vidual well gain being an increase from 7 to 128 m3 per day.
level. In a few isolated instances, the addition of chemical without aid
The second main technique is to premix chemical into water, of additional water has been practiced. This has the benefit of
with load sizes of 1 or 2 m3 being common and then batch this allowing winterized formulations to be injected neat and negates
mixture into the well. This has the benefit of requiring no fixed the requirement for storage and trucking of water. However, it
equipment setup but has high associated daily or twice daily truck only works on fairly wet wells and also seems to require larger
charges. Furthermore, due to the "shock" treatment, it has the amounts of chemical.

26 The Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology