Asphaltene Deposition During CO2

Flooding
R.K. Srivastava,* SPE, S.S. Huang, SPE, and Mingzhe Dong, SPE, Saskatchewan Research Council
Summary
In this article we present results of dynamic and static precipitation tests to investigate the likelihood of asphaltene deposition
problems in southeast Saskatchewans Weyburn reservoir. Tests
were conducted at the reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. The effect on asphaltene flocculation/precipitation of the
operating pressure, CO2 concentration, gas contaminants in CO2,
and presence of formation brine was investigated for three different oil samples using static pressure/volume/temperature PVT
tests. The extent of asphaltene deposition was also assessed
through coreflood experiments and through an x-ray computeraided tomograph CAT-scanning visualization experiment.
Static tests indicated the most important factor on which the
asphaltene precipitation depended was the CO2 concentration. For
oils belonging to the same pool, the increase in asphaltene precipitation with solvent concentration was proportional to the initial asphaltene contents of the oil. Coreflood experiments showed
a considerable increase in asphaltene deposition in the core matrix
following CO2 injection. Pore topography of the core matrix
played an important role in the extent of CO2-induced asphaltene
deposition. X-ray CAT-scanning tests depicted localized areas of
asphaltene deposition along the length of the core, with significant
deposition suspected to be occurring near the inlet of the core.

Introduction
After initial waterflooding, many light and medium oil reservoirs
are subjected to miscible or near-miscible CO2 or hydrocarbon
flooding for enhanced oil recovery. In the US, 60 active miscible
CO2 projects were in operation in 1996, whereas, in Canada, hydrocarbon miscible floods are more common and number around
40 active projects.1 In Saskatchewan, Canada, most of the light oil
reservoirs have reached their economic limit of production by
waterflooding2 and are suitable candidates for miscible/nearmiscible CO2 flooding.3 The injected CO2, when it contacts the
reservoir oil, can cause changes in the fluid behavior and equilibrium conditions which favor precipitation of organic solids,
mainly asphaltenes.4 Asphaltene precipitation can change the wettability of the reservoir matrix and consequently affect the flood
performance.5 It can also cause formation damage and wellbore
plugging, requiring expensive treatment and cleanup
procedures.6-10 Asphaltene deposition problems are not limited to
miscible floods,11 they are also encountered during natural depletion, gas-lift operations, caustic flooding, and matrix acidizing.
Asphaltenes are the polar, polyaromatic, and high molecular
weight hydrocarbon fraction of crude oil that are generally characterized as insoluble in n-hexane or in n-pentane. They are believed to exist either dissolved in oil or as a finely dispersed colloidal suspension in oil stabilized by resins adsorbed on their
surface. The asphaltene/resin ratio and high/low molecular weight
component ratio determine which crude oil can precipitate asphaltenes. Application of chemical, mechanical, or electrical
forces can alter these ratios and destabilize resins and asphaltenes.
The fine particles of destabilized asphaltenes coalesce and cause
flocculation. Flocculated asphaltenes may contain sizable amounts
of entrapped oil10 which inhibits deposition. Asphaltene precipi*Now a consultant.

tation is considered to occur when the flocculated asphaltenes

separate from the oil phase. However, precipitated asphaltenes
which are hard to observe visually because of their similar dark
color can return to solution if the asphaltene/resin ratio of the
precipitated phase is the same as that of the original oil. In CO2 or
hydrocarbon flooding, the asphaltene-to-resin ratio of crude oil is
altered, causing asphaltene precipitation and thereby its deposition. In static PVT tests, asphaltene flocculation is believed to
occur, whereas in coreflood tests asphaltene precipitation/
deposition in the core matrix may occur.
Asphaltene precipitation is not clearly understood at present.
The role of resins in stabilizing asphaltenes is well recognized.
But the exact mechanism of how the asphaltenes are stabilized in
the presence of resins is not well established for light oils. In
recent literature11,12 it was suggested that asphaltenes may aggregate with resins to form relatively small molecules with a molecular weight around 2,000 g/gmol. At low dilution ratios near
the onset of precipitation, asphaltenes seem to precipitate as a
liquid component. At high ratios, the separation into pure asphaltenes and resins is believed to occur.
One of the major problems that confronts reservoir/production
engineers considering a miscible CO2 flood for a field is the need
to assess the likelihood of asphaltene precipitation and consequent
oil recovery and monetary losses. To do this, experimental studies
or modeling techniques are initiated to determine when and
how much asphaltene will be precipitated. Several
methods13-17 were reported for measuring the onset of asphaltene
precipitation and also the extent of this precipitation. These may
include measurement of the electrical conductivity14 and
viscosity,15 and spectrophotometry13,16 and gravimetry.17 In this
investigation, we have used a spectrophotometric technique11 for
measuring the asphaltene content of crude oil samples. The modeling approaches none was attempted rely on the utilization of
Flory-Huggins polymer solution theory,17,18 application of
equation-of-state calculations,19 use of thermodynamic colloidal
models,20 and, more recently, thermodynamic micellization
models21 for prediction of asphaltene precipitation. However, all
techniques require experimental data for model validation.
There are many factors that affect the asphaltene precipitation
process.4 These may include the nature of the rock matrix, the
asphaltene and resin contents of the reservoir oil, the amount of
formation brine and its composition, the nature of injection gas,
the presence of contaminants in the injection gas, and temperature
and pressure conditions. The present investigation focuses on CO2
injection in the Weyburn reservoir and examines the effect on
asphaltene flocculation/precipitation of operating pressure, CO2
concentration, presence of formation brine, and contaminants in
CO2 such as methane and nitrogen. Weyburn is a light oil reservoir 2835 API gravity located in southeast Saskatchewan. It is
characterized by a higher permeability Vuggy zone at the bottom
and a Marly zone at the top. The injected CO2 is more likely to
contact and mobilize the reservoir oil in the Marly zone which
could be the more susceptible area for asphaltene deposition. We
have therefore also investigated, by dynamic coreflood experiments, the extent of asphaltene deposition likely in the Weyburn
reservoir that represents zones of increasing permeability. Parts of
the core matrix that are more susceptible to asphaltene deposition
and flocculation were examined by a suitably designed x-ray
CAT-scanning experiment.

Copyright 1999 Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper (SPE 59092) was revised for publication from paper SPE 37468, first presented
at the 1997 SPE Production Operations Symposium held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
911 March. Original manuscript received for review 9 March 1997. Revised manuscript
received 20 July 1999. Paper peer approved 2 August 1999.

SPE Prod. & Facilities 14 4, November 1999

Weyburn Reservoir. The Weyburn pool is located about 130 km

81 miles southeast of the city of Regina in the province of
Saskatchewan, Canada. The field was discovered in 1954 and it
1064-668X/99/144/235/11/$3.500.15

235

covers approximately 180 km2 70 sq miles. It was completely

delineated by vertical drilling and by 1991 consisted of 627 producing wells and 162 water injection wells. A horizontal infill
drilling program was implemented in 1991 to improve production
which was about 25.8% of the original oil in place.
The Midale beds of the Weyburn reservoir that represent the
Mississippian Charles Formation were deposited on a shallow carbonate shelf in the Williston Basin. The field is uniformly subdivided into an upper Marly and a lower Vuggy zone. The Marly
zone is essentially a chalky dolostone with occasional limestone
interbeds. The porosity of the Marly dolostone ranges from 16%
to 26%. The permeability varies from 1 to 100 md.
The Vuggy zone is a heterogeneous, subtidal limestone that
contains two distinct rock typesIntershoal and Shoal. The Intershoal Vuggy covers a larger area, whereas Shoals or high-grainsize Vuggy zones have a limited areal extent but tend to dominate
performance because of their high permeability. The porosities
throughout the Vuggy zone range from 3% to 18% and the permeabilities from 0.01 to 500 md. Shoal permeabilities are generally an order of magnitude higher than Intershoal ones. For a
given porosity, Shoal Vuggy rocks tend to have the highest permeability, while Marly rocks have the least, with Intershoal
Vuggy lying somewhere in between. The Vuggy zone is more
fractured than the Marly and it controls the magnitude and direction of the permeability anisotropy. More details on the Weyburn
reservoir and its geology can be found elsewhere.22,23
Experiment
Crude Oil Characterization and Reservoir Fluid
Reconstitution. The fluid properties of the Weyburn reservoir
vary widely. From 1955 to 1961, the oil densities ranged from 855
kg/m3 34API to 904.2 kg/m3 25API, the saturation pressure
from 2.2 to 6.7 MPa 319 to 972 psi, and the instantaneous gasoil ratios from 17 to 32 m3/m3 95 to 180 scf/bbl. The oil densities are higher in the southern portion and lower in the northern
portion of the reservoir. The variations are believed to be related
to the geologic and depositional environment of the reservoir.
For this work, separator oil and gas samples were collected
from three different well locations in the Weyburn reservoir covering three distinct areas of the reservoir. These well locations
were 14-17-6-13 W2M oil well 1, 3-11-7-13 W2M oil well 2,
and Hz 12-18-6-13 W2M oil well 3. The respective reservoir
temperatures for these oils were 59, 61, and 63C 138, 142, and
145F. The crude oils were characterized by measuring the density and viscosity as a function of temperature and as a function of
pressure at the respective reservoir temperature.
The Weyburn reservoir fluid W1 was reconstituted by recombining the separator oil and gas samples to a gas-oil ratio GOR
of 19 m3/m3 107 scf/bbl at 59C 138F, fluid W2 to a GOR of
23 m3/m3 129 scf/bbl, and fluid W3 to a GOR of 32 m3/m3 180
scf/bbl. The PVT properties of these reservoir fluids were measured. More details of the experimental apparatus and measurement procedure can be found in our previous publications.24,25
Static Asphaltene Flocculation Studies. Asphaltene precipitation/flocculation tests were carried out in a PVT apparatus. The
PVT cell, maintained at the desired reservoir temperature, was
charged with the reconstituted reservoir fluid and pure or impure
CO2 to attain a desired concentration of CO2 at the desired pressure, usually 16 MPa 2,321 psi. The mixture was equilibrated
and the GOR of the mixture was measured. A significant portion
of the reservoir fluid-CO2 mixture was transferred to another piston cylinder through a 0.5 m in-line filter see Fig. 1. The piston
cylinder was slowly depressurized and the free gas was released
through a condenser to minimize the loss of light ends. The piston
cylinder was then slowly cooled to the ambient conditions. The
asphaltene content of the filtered and flashed crude oil was determined by spectrophotometry using a Hitachi dual-beam spectrophotometer. The amount of asphaltene flocculated/precipitated
was obtained by the difference in the asphaltene content of the
flashed crude oil and the original Weyburn oil.
236

Fig. 1Modified light oil PVT apparatus for asphaltene flocculation studies.

For the system containing brine, the PVT cell was first charged
with the pure/impure CO2 and formation brine, and the contents
were mixed. The desired amount of Weyburn reservoir fluid was
then charged into the PVT cell, and the procedure outlined above
was repeated.
Dynamic Asphaltene Precipitation Tests. The asphaltene deposition in the core matrix was measured using a single Marly plug
and stacked Vuggy composite cores. The composite cores generally comprised four to five good plugs, of 2.5 cm 1 in. diameter,
from three Weyburn Wells. The sequence of the stacking of the
core plugs was determined using the method described in Ref. 26.
The core was mounted in a triaxially loaded core holder. The oven
temperature was raised to 59C 138F and the operating pressure was set at 16 MPa 2,321 psi.
The core was saturated with Weyburn dead oil W1 at irreducible water saturation at a flow rate of 2 cm3/hr 0.31 in.2/hr. After
oil breakthrough, the oil samples produced approximately 1 g
each were collected and the asphaltene content was determined a
1 g oil sample is the minimum amount required for an accurate
measurement by spectrophotometry. The oil injection was continued until the oil produced had the same asphaltene content as
the injected oil. The amount of asphaltene adsorption was calculated. A record of the brine and oil production provided the
amount of initial oil saturation in the core.
A secondary CO2 injection was started on the core at the initial
oil saturation to determine the additional amount of asphaltene
deposition induced by CO2. Once again, the oil samples produced,
approximately 1 g each, were collected and the asphaltene content
was measured. CO2 injection was stopped when the gas-oil ratio
reached 10,000 m3/m3 56,000 scf/bbl. The residual oil saturation
in the core was determined from the amount of oil produced. The
core was subjected to a four-stage blowdown and cooled. The
connate water measured and the residual oil saturation data, along
with the asphaltene content of the oil produced, were used to carry
out a materials balance and to determine the amount of asphaltene deposition in the core matrix during CO2 injection.
Results and Discussion
Weyburn Crude Oil and Reservoir Fluid Characterization.
The density and viscosity of the Weyburn crude oil samples were
measured and they are reported in Table 1. Crude oil W1 had an
API gravity of about 29 whereas oils W2 and W3 had gravities of
36 and 31API. The asphaltene contents of the crude oils W1,
W2, and W3 were 4.8, 4.0, and 4.9 wt %, respectively. From the
limited number of oil samples collected, it was difficult to ascertain if the asphaltene content of the Weyburn crude oil was correlated to the API gravity.
The Weyburn reservoir fluids or live oils were reconstituted by
recombining appropriate oil and gas samples at their respective

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

TABLE 1 CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WEYBURN DEAD OILS

Oil W1*
Temperature
(C)
15
20
59
61
63
Pressure
(MPa)
0.1
3.54
6.99
10.44
17.33
Basic sediment and water,
vol %
Molecular weight, g/gmol
(Component)

Density
(kg/m3)

Oil W3

Oil W2**

Viscosity
(mPas)

Density
(kg/m3)

Viscosity
(mPas)

Density
(kg/m3)

Viscosity
(mPas)

854.9

869.2
11.76
12.8
842.4
4.60
864.4
9.40
4.2

813.1
2.35

839.4
3.15
Density
Viscosity
Density
Viscosity
Density
Viscosity
(at 59C) (at 59C) (at 61C) (at 61C) (at 63C) (at 63C)
878.9
875.9
846.1

846.1
849.2
852.4
858.0
860.9
0.1

4.2

813.1
816.4
819.6
822.9
829.3

2.35
2.49
2.62
2.76
3.04

839.4
842.4
845.2
848.4
854.7

3.15
3.26
3.37
3.49
3.71

0.2

0.5

230
(wt %)

203
(wt %)

215
(wt %)

48.5
33.5
13.2
4.8

55.3
31.1
9.6
4.0

48.4
33.5
13.2
4.9

Saturates
Aromatics
Resins
Asphaltenes
*Collected from Weyburn well 14-17-6-13 W2M.
**Collected from Weyburn well 3-11-7-13 W2M.

Collected from Weyburn well Hz 12-18-6-13 W2M.

Reservoir temperature for the oil samples.

reservoir temperatures. Table 2 presents the measured PVT data

for the reservoir fluids. The saturation pressure varied from 2.9
MPa 421 psi for fluid W1 to 3.5 MPa 363 psi for fluid W2 and
4.9 MPa 711 psi for fluid W3. The relatively heavier components (C
6 ) increased in the reservoir fluid as the bubblepoint
pressure of the fluids increased Table 3.
Asphaltene Flocculation. Asphaltene flocculation tests were conducted for three Weyburn reservoir fluids to determine the effect
of the following parameters: operating pressure, CO2 concentration at 16 MPa 2,321 psi, the presence of formation brine, and
impure
CO2
I-CO2
containing
2.7 mol % N2
and
2.9 mol % CH4. The potential source of CO2 for southeast
Saskatchewan is power plant flue gas. Thus N2 and CH4 from
recycled gas are the most likely contaminants for CO2. The composition selected for the studies is based on a separate study where

the multiple-contact minimum miscibility pressure for Weyburn

reservoir fluid W1 was investigated.24,27
It is worth pointing out that the static experiments conducted in
this work are only predictive for the asphaltene precipitation in the
case of the first-contact miscibility. In the miscible CO2 injection
process, CO2 and oil are not first-contact miscible but achieve
miscibility by dissolution of CO2 into the oil and by evaporation
or extraction of hydrocarbon components from the oil into the
CO2 phase.28 As a result of vapor-liquid separation, the precipitation of asphaltenes will be increased because the light components
are stripped away from the crude which in a first-contact miscibility stabilizes the asphaltenes in the crude. However, the results
obtained in this work can be used to tune the parameters in a
thermodynamic model like that described in Refs. 7 or 17 for a
prediction of asphaltene precipitation in the multiple-contact
process.

TABLE 2 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WEYBURN RESERVOIR FLUIDS

Properties
Reservoir temperature
Saturation pressure
Viscosity
Density
Formation volume factor
Swelling factor
Gas-oil ratio

Units

Fluid W1*

Fluid W2**

Fluid W3

C
MPa
mPas@p sat
kg/m3@p sat
m3/m3
m3/m3
m3/m3

59
2.89
3.01

1.087
1.074
19.3

61
3.47
1.45
797.2
1.102
1.060
23.4

63
4.92
1.76
806.4
1.124
1.085
32.0

*Collected from Weyburn well 14-17-6-13 W2M.

**Collected from Weyburn well 3-11-7-13 W2M.

Collected from Weyburn well Hz 12-18-6-13 W2M.

Formation volume factorvolume of reservoir fluid at p sat and T res/volume of reservoir oil at 1 atm and 15C.

Swelling factorvolume of reservoir fluid at p sat and T res/volume of reservoir oil at 1 atm and T res .

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

237

TABLE 3 COMPOSITION OF WEYBURN RESERVOIR

FLUIDS
Component

Fluid W1

Fluid W2

Fluid W3

N2
CO2
H2S
Methane
Ethane
Propane
i-Butane
Butane
i-Pentane
Pentane
C69
C1017
C1827

C28

0.96
0.58
0.30
4.49
2.99
4.75
0.81
1.92
1.27
2.19
25.73
26.98
13.28
13.75
100.00

1.59
0.23
4.54
2.07
4.41
1.23
2.59
4.53
4.96
27.34
27.86
11.78
6.87
100.00

2.07
0.74
0.12
7.49
4.22
7.85
1.58
4.97
2.01
2.58
21.56
22.02
10.27
12.52
100.00

Weyburn Reservoir Fluid W1 and CO2 Mixtures. The amount

of asphaltene flocculation was measured for Weyburn reservoir
fluid W1 at 59C 138F. Three different oil samples W1A,
W1B, and W1C were collected from the same well. They showed
slight variations in the oil properties.13 The asphaltene content for
these oil samples varied between 4.8 and 5.3 wt %. Because of
this variation, the asphaltene flocculation data were normalized to
the initial asphaltene content of the oil.
Fig. 2 presents the normalized asphaltene flocculation data as a
function of CO2 concentration. Table 4 shows a part of the data
see Ref. 13 for complete data. The data show that the onset of
asphaltene flocculation is nearly the same for the three data sets
oils W1A, W1B, and W1C. After the onset, the asphaltene flocculation follows a nearly linear increase with increasing CO2 concentration. The data not following the linear trend appear to be at
relatively high CO2 concentrations which possibly represents the
two-phase region. These studies suggest that the asphaltene floc-

Fig. 2Normalized asphaltene flocculation in Weyburn reservoir fluid W1 there are three different oil samples from the
same well with pure and impure CO2 I-CO2 concentration at
59C and 16 MPa.

culation in Weyburn reservoir fluid/CO2 mixtures was insensitive

to the operating pressure in the pressure range of 10 to 20 MPa
1450 to 2900 psi investigated.
The most important parameter affecting the asphaltene flocculation is the CO2 concentration. The effect of the presence of
formation brine in the water-oil ratio of 3:7 seems to be negligible. The effect of small amounts of N2 and CH4 contamination
also does not seem to affect the flocculation pattern.
Weyburn Reservoir Fluid W2 and I-CO2 Mixtures. Eleven
mixtures of the Weyburn reservoir fluid W2 and impure CO2
I-CO2, in the absence of brine, were investigated. The objective
was to determine the effect of the oil properties and the effect of
CO2 contaminants on asphaltene flocculation at a constant field
operating pressure. All the experiments were conducted at 16 MPa
2,321 psi and 61C 142F. Table 5 presents the asphaltene
flocculation data for these mixtures with the I-CO2 concentration
ranging from 29.4 to 85.0 mol %.

TABLE 4 EFFECT OF CO2 CONCENTRATION ON ASPHALTENE FLOCCULATION FOR

WEYBURN RESERVOIR FLUID W1* AND CO2 MIXTURE, IN THE PRESENCE AND
ABSENCE OF BRINE, AT 16 MPa AND 59C

Fluid
Reservoir fluidCO2

Reservoir fluidCO2brine**

CO2 Concentration
(mol %)

Saturation
Pressure
(MPa)

Gas-Oil Ratio
(m3/m3)

Asphaltene
Flocculated
(wt %)

0.58
16.4
46.0
53.5
54.9
65.3
65.3
75.0

2.9
4.6
8.8
10.2
10.5
12.8
12.8
16.0

19.2
43.9
131.4
172.7
182.1
277.7
277.7
449.7

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.93
1.68
2.69
2.74
3.34

3.5
6.7
8.7
10.7
16.7

42.9
89.1
134.3
186.3
449.7

0.00
0.00
0.34
1.40
3.01

15.9
35.0
46.6
55.5
75

*Reservoir fluid from Weyburn well 14-17-6-13 W2M; asphaltene content 4.9 wt %.
**Volume ratio of brine to oil3:7.

238

Estimated.
Amount of asphaltene flocculated was the difference between the asphaltene content of the oil determined before and after the
experiment.

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

TABLE 5 EFFECT OF IMPURITY ON ASPHALTENE FLOCCULATION FOR WEYBURN

RESERVOIR FLUID W2* AND IMPURE CO2** MIXTURES, IN THE ABSENCE OF BRINE,
AT 16 MPa AND 61C

Fluid
Reservoir fluidimpure CO2

CO2 Concentration
(mol %)

Saturation
Pressure
(MPa)

Gas-Oil Ratio
(m3/m3)

Asphaltene
Flocculated
(wt %)

29.4
41.7
44.9
52.6
54.6
58.0
63.8
70.0
75.0
85.0

6.3
7.9
8.4
9.7
10.0
10.7
11.9

70.3
114.4
131.1
171.6
186.1
214.8
281.3
N/A
N/A
N/A

0.00
0.25
0.50
1.02
1.72
2.07
2.84
3.04
3.23
2.34

*Reservoir fluid W2 from well 3-11-7-13 W2M; asphaltene content 4.0 wt %.

**Impure CO2 : 2.68 mol % N22.87 mol % CH494.45 mol % CO2.

Assuming pure CO2.

The amount of asphaltene flocculated was the difference between the asphaltene content of the oil determined before and after the
experiment.

The results from the mixtures of reservoir fluid and I-CO2 without brine Table 5 and Fig. 3 indicate a smooth increase in the
asphaltene flocculation with increasing I-CO2 concentration
greater than 41 mol %. No asphaltene flocculation was obtained
at 16 MPa 2,321 psi at concentrations of less than 41 mol %.
This agrees favorably with earlier results with Weyburn reservoir
fluid W1 that the onset of asphaltene flocculation occurs at about
39 to 46 mol % CO2 concentration. These results show that the
effect of contaminants in the CO2 stream is once again insignificant, as was observed with oil W1. Furthermore, a slight increase
in the operating temperature from 59 to 61C 138 to 142F did
not change the asphaltene flocculation pattern.
Weyburn Reservoir Fluid W3 and CO2 Mixtures. Asphaltene
flocculation tests were conducted for Weyburn reservoir fluid W3,
in presence and absence of brine, at 63C 145F and 16 MPa
2,321 psi to determine the effect of brine on asphaltene flocculation.
Without Brine. Seven mixtures of Weyburn reservoir fluid W3
and CO2 were tested in the absence of brine. The onset point for
asphaltene flocculation was found to be about 39 mol % CO2 concentration for this oil Table 6 and Fig. 4. A linear increase in
asphaltene flocculation was noted after the onset like it was for
oils W1 and W2. The dotted line shows the approximate boundary
of the two-phase region at about 70 mol % CO2 concentration.

Fig. 3Asphaltene flocculation in Weyburn reservoir fluid W2

as a function of I-CO2 concentration at 61C and 16 MPa.
Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

With Brine. Seven additional mixtures of fluid W3 and CO2

were investigated in the presence of brine. In these experiments,
the brine was first saturated with CO2 at the operating pressure
before the reservoir fluid was charged in the PVT cell. Five of
these mixtures used a brine-to-oil volume ratio of 3:7 70 vol %
oil like that used with fluid W1. However, two mixtures were
investigated that had a brine-to-oil ratio of 3:1 25 vol % oil. The
purpose of these tests was to determine the effect of an increase in
the brine content of the mixture on asphaltene flocculation.
Table 6 presents the flocculation data for these mixtures with
the CO2 concentration ranging from about 45 to 63 mol %. Fig. 4
shows the plot on a normalized asphaltene content scale. Fig. 4
shows that, for the same CO2 concentration, a small decrease in
asphaltene flocculation is generally observed in the presence of
brine. This indicates that the presence of brine tends to slightly
inhibit the asphaltene flocculation in the Weyburn reservoir fluid.
This behavior appears to be somewhat more pronounced with an
increase in the amount of brine present in the system. However,
Fig. 4 shows that the asphaltene flocculation data for the oil with
and without brine still fall within the narrow band. This indicates
that the effect of brine on asphaltene flocculation is relatively
small.
Fig. 4 shows a narrow band where all the asphaltene flocculation data for the three oils seem to fall. Therefore, it can be concluded that differing oil properties of the samples collected from
different wells in the same pool have a negligible effect on asphaltene flocculation.
Dynamic Coreflood Studies. Three coreflood experiments were
conducted to assess the asphaltene precipitation during CO2 injection. The tests used essentially the same experimental procedure
as above. However, each test used a different core material: a
cleaned single Marly plug, a stacked composite Vuggy Intershoal
Vuggy core comprising four preserved plugs, and a stacked composite high-grain-size Vuggy Shoal Vuggy core comprising five
cleaned plugs. In terms of permeability variation, the Marly plug
represented an absolute permeability of 0.5 md; the stacked preserved Vuggy core had a harmonically averaged baseline oil permeability of 1.6 md or a harmonically averaged air permeability
measured after the test of 4.3 md; and the high-grain-size Vuggy
core had a harmonically averaged air permeability of 62.5 md.
Tables 7 and 8 provide the permeability variations, stacking sequences, and lengths of individual plugs used in the coreflood
tests.
SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

239

TABLE 6 EFFECT OF CO2 CONCENTRATION ON ASPHALTENE FLOCCULATION

FOR WEYBURN RESERVOIR FLUID W3* AND CO2 MIXTURE, IN THE PRESENCE
AND ABSENCE OF BRINE, AT 16 MPa AND 63C
CO2 Concentration
(mol %)

Saturation
Pressure**
(MPa)

Gas-Oil Ratio
(m3/m3)

Asphaltene
Flocculated
(wt %)

Reservoir fluidCO2

0.7
36.6
44.5
52.4
58.6
65.2
70
75

4.9
9.2
10.6
12.3
14.0
16.1
17.9
20.2

32.0
120.0
153.9
207.6
241.7
304.4
N/A
N/A

0.00
0.00
0.67
2.10
2.70
3.48
3.09
3.16

Reservoir fluidCO2brine**

45.0a
47.4b
51.8a
54.5a
54.8b
60.4a
62.5a

10.7
11.2
12.2
12.8
12.9
14.5
15.2

155.4
166.1
193.0
214.9
215.1
270.0
299.4

0.52
0.40
1.19
1.92
1.75
2.74
3.30

Fluid

*Reservoir fluid W3 from Weyburn well Hz 12-18-6-13 W2M; asphaltene content 4.85 wt %.
**Estimated.

The amount of asphaltene flocculated was the difference between the asphaltene content in the oil determined before and after the
experiment.
Two-phase fluid.

Low value caused by incomplete mixing.

a
Volume ratio of brine to oil3:7.
b
Volume ratio of brine to oil3:1.

Marly Plug. In preparation for all the tests, the core plug or
composite core was first saturated with formation brine at 59C
138F and 16 MPa 2,321 psi. Weyburn dead oil W1 from well
14-17-6-13 W2M was injected into the core at a rate of 2 cm3/h
0.31 in.2/hr. During the oil saturation stage, the asphaltene content of the oil produced was analyzed photometrically. The asphaltene content of the injected oil was measured at 4.75 wt %.
Fig. 5 shows the variation in asphaltene content of the oil produced with oil injection for the Marly plug. An initial sharp drop
in the asphaltene content from the initial 4.75 to 4.5 wt % was
observed for the first sample. This clearly indicated the adsorption
of asphaltenes by the clean core matrix. As the oil flood continued
until about 2.2 pore volume PV when the brine production
stopped, the asphaltene content of the oil produced increased
slowly but remained below 4.75 wt %. This showed that additional adsorption of asphaltenes was still occurring, most likely at

the new sites created by the outflow of brine. After the 2.2 PV of
oil injection, a continued high asphaltene content 4.75 wt % of
the oil produced could possibly indicate a slight redissolution of
the adsorbed asphaltenes in the core matrix.
After completion of the oil saturation, the amount of asphaltenes remaining in the Marly core matrix was calculated. This
calculation was based on the amount of oil produced and the
asphaltene content of the oil produced. The asphaltene content of
the oil residing in the core sample was determined to be 4.87
wt %. This value is slightly higher than the 4.75 wt % asphaltene
in the original injected oil. The results, therefore, provide further
evidence of a mild adsorption of asphaltenes by the core matrix
during oil saturation.
For determining CO2-induced asphaltene precipitation/
flocculation, CO2 was injected at a rate of 2 cm3 /h 1.28 ft/D into
the oil-saturated core samples. This represented a secondary

Fig. 4Normalized asphaltene flocculation in the Weyburn reservoir fluid W3/CO2 concentration at 63C and 16 MPa.

Fig. 5Asphaltene content of oil produced during Weyburn

dead oil W1 saturation of a Marly plug at 59C and 16 MPa.

240

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

TABLE 7 PROPERTIES* AND STACKING SEQUENCE OF PRESERVED VUGGY PLUGS**

Plug Identification Letter
Core Properties
Length (cm)
Diameter (cm)
Baseline oil permeabillity (md)
Permeability to air (md)
Porosity (fraction)

4.839
2.493
6.21
19.8
0.145

4.787
2.496
0.59
3.37
0.124

4.840
2.476
4.95
2.0
0.122

4.836
2.485
2.47
12.8
0.121

*Determined by Core Laboratories.

**Vuggy plugs from PanCanadian Weyburn well 141/14-02-6-14 W2M.

Indicates stacking sequence, i.e., plug M at the inlet and N at the outlet.
Used for determining the stacking sequence.

Determined after the core displacement test was completed.

residual oil in the core matrix, determined by Core Laboratories,

is as follows:

CO2 injection into the core matrix which was felt to be adequate
for the asphaltene precipitation studies. Table 9 provides a summary of the coreflood run indicating the core properties, operating
conditions, and results for various injection stages. Fig. 6 shows
the variation in the asphaltene content of the oil produced with PV
of CO2 injected for the Marly plug. The asphaltene content of the
oil produced remained essentially unchanged until CO2 breakthrough which occurred at about 0.75 PV. Since the oil produced
had not yet been in contact with the injected CO2, it showed very
little change in the asphaltene content. The initially produced oil
was also partially the oil left in the production lines after the oil
saturation stage. The oil produced after the CO2 breakthrough
showed a sharp decrease in the asphaltene content of the oil produced. These reductions in asphaltene content demonstrate additional asphaltene precipitation/flocculation in the core matrix during CO2 injection.
After completion of the test, the amount of asphaltenes remaining in the core matrix was calculated. Fig. 6 shows the cumulative
asphaltene precipitation in the Marly plug during CO2 injection.
At the end of the flood, nearly 0.058 g asphaltene was left in the
core. This translated into an asphaltene residual oil content of 7.2
wt % and amounted to an approximately 52% increase in the asphaltene content over that of the injected oil, which was 4.75
wt %. This increase was caused by the additional asphaltene
flocculation/precipitation that occurred from secondary CO2 injection.
A petrographic analysis was conducted by Core Laboratories
on the core sample after the secondary CO2 injection. The purpose
of the analysis was to identify and quantify the asphaltenes left in
the core after the coreflood experiment. For this analysis, a 5.0cm-long 2-in-long core plug was sectioned at 1 and 3 cm 0.39
and 1.18 in., respectively from the inlet end into three segments.
An approximate quantitative distribution of the asphaltenes and

Component
Inlet end
bitumen/asphaltene vol %
2
residual oil vol %
17

1 cm from 3 cm from
the inlet
the inlet
3
2
6
4

These results were obtained using a 300-point modal petrographic

analysis of the thin sections.
The petrographic analysis results indicate that, for the inlet end
section, the core matrix contained 2% asphaltene/bitumen and
17% residual oil other constituents include 11% monoquartz and
70% dolomite. A visual examination of the core after CO2 injection revealed a considerably higher deposition of the suspected
asphaltenes at the inlet end. It may be possible that the petrographic analysis was not able to distinguish the oil and asphaltenes clearly and it should therefore be considered as only qualitative in nature.
Preserved Composite Vuggy Core. The preserved Vuggy core
was saturated with dead oil W1 like in the test with the Marly
plug. Fig. 7 shows the variation in asphaltene content of the oil
produced during oil saturation for this core. The baseline oil permeability was measured Table 7 by Core Laboratories using a
compatible oil. Since the core was already saturated with an oil,
the initially produced oil asphaltene content does not appear to
decrease but instead shows the asphaltene content of the resident
oil. It appears that the asphaltene content of the resident oil was
about 5.4 wt %, whereas the injected oil had an asphaltene content
of 5.0 wt %.
The variation in asphaltene content of oil produced with secondary CO2 injection was similar to that observed for the Marly
plug. The asphaltene content remained essentially unchanged until

TABLE 8 PROPERTIES* AND STACKING SEQUENCE OF CLEANED HIGH-GRAIN-SIZE VUGGY PLUGS**

Plug Identification Number
Core Properties
Length (cm)
Diameter (cm)
Permeability to air (md)
Porosity (fraction)
Well location

61A

41A

62A

49A

62B

4.67
2.50
19.8
0.162
3-33-5-13 W2M

4.66
2.50
267.5
0.210
2D-12-6-14 W2M

4.43
2.50
95.2
0.154
3-33-5-13 W2M

4.64
2.50
240.0
0.146
2D-12-6-12 W2M

4.58
2.50
95.2
0.154
3-33-5-13 W2M

*Determined by Core Laboratories.

**Vuggy plugs from PanCanadian Weyburn wells.

Indicates stacking sequence, i.e., plug 61A at the inlet and 62B at the outlet.
Used for determining the stacking sequence.

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

241

Fig. 6Asphaltene content of oil produced and cumulative asphaltene precipitation in Marly plug during CO2 injection at
59C and 16 MPa.

CO2 breakthrough at about 0.80 PV. Thereafter, the asphaltene

content decreased sharply, indicating asphaltene deposition in the
core matrix during CO2 injection.
Upon completion of the test, the plugs were subjected to Dean
Stark analysis and core cleaning by Core Laboratories. These
treatments determined the amount of residual oil and water remaining in the core. The porosity of each plug was also determined and it was used to calculate the PV of the core. A materials balance analysis on asphaltenes showed that the asphaltene
content of the residual oil was 9.1 wt % Table 9, an approximately 80% increase over the initial asphaltene content of the
injected oil 5.0 wt %. This analysis indicated that there was substantially higher asphaltene deposition in the Vuggy core matrix
than in the Marly core following CO2 injection.
High-Grain-Size Vuggy Composite Core. The composite core
was saturated with Weyburn dead oil W1 at 59C 138F and 16
MPa 2,321 psi the same for the Marly plug and the Vuggy
composite core. The asphaltene content of the oil produced with

oil injection for the composite core varied in a way similar to that
observed for the Marly plug.
To investigate CO2-induced asphaltene precipitation/
flocculation, CO2 was injected at a rate of 2 cm3/hr 3.66 ft/D;
Table 9 into the oil-saturated core sample. Fig. 8 shows the variation in the asphaltene content of the oil produced with PVs of CO2
injected. The asphaltene content of the oil produced remained
essentially unchanged until CO2 breakthrough at about 0.90 PV.
Thereafter, it decreased sharply, demonstrating an increase in the
amount of asphaltene deposition in the core matrix during CO2
injection, like the case with the Marly plug and the Vuggy composite core. The asphaltene content of the oil produced at the end
of CO2 injection was nearly zero 0.03% by weight.
For this core, an extended waterflood EWF was carried out
after nearly 2.3 PV of CO2 injection when oil production ceased.
The oil sample collected during the EWF showed a sharp rise in
the asphaltene content, from 0.03 to 4.1 wt %. This indicates that
flocculated asphaltenes during CO2 injection were picked up by
the flow of brine during the EWF. A negligible volume of oil less
than 0.12 in.3 was produced thereafter during the EWF and it
could not be used for asphaltene analysis the minimum volume
required is approximately 0.6 in.3. A summary of the test results
is given in Table 9. The oil recovery by secondary CO2 injection
was approximately 65% of the initial oil in place IOIP and the
total recovery following the EWF was over 82% IOIP Fig. 8.
After the test was completed, the amount of asphaltenes remaining in the core matrix was calculated by a materials balance.
The results indicated that the asphaltene content of the residual oil
was 11.5 wt % after the CO2 flood. This amounts to a 130% increase in the asphaltene content in the high-grain-size Vuggy matrix by secondary CO2 flooding over that 5.0 wt % of the injected Weyburn dead oil. The increase was approximately 80%
for the predominant Vuggy matrix, whereas it was only about
50% for the Marly matrix.
X-ray CAT-Scan Experiments. We tried to assess the CO2induced asphaltene deposition/precipitation pattern along the core
length. To do this, the stacked high-grain-size Vuggy core was
x-ray scanned using CAT by Novacor Research & Technology
Corporation before the coreflood experiment clean core matrix
and afterwards dirty core matrix containing essentially asphalt-

TABLE 9 SUMMARY OF THE ASPHALTENE QUANTIFICATION STUDY CONDUCTED ON

THE MARLY, PRESERVED VUGGY COMPOSITE AND HIGH-GRAIN-SIZE VUGGY
COMPOSITE CORES AT 16 MPa AND 59C
Marly Plug

Preserved
Vuggy

High-GrainSize Vuggy

Core Properties
PV (cm3)
Porosity (% bulk volume)

5.79
25.8

11.91
12.8

18.6
16.5

Oil Saturation Stage

Oil injection rate (m/d)
Oil injection volume (PV)
Initial oil-in-place (cm3)
Asphaltene content of injected oil (wt %)
Effective oil permeability (m2)

0.42
20.3
4.81
4.75
0.44

0.77
8.8
7.97
5.0
0.61

1.15
15.9
15.8
5.0
19.7

0.42
2.1
0.87
7.2

0.77
2.1
4.2
9.1

1.2
3.5
5.2
11.5

1.2
2.5
2.6

Displacement Test

Secondary CO2 Flood

CO2 injection rate (m/d)
CO2 injection volume (PV)
Residual oil after CO2 injection (cm3)
Asphaltene content of residual
oil left in core (wt %)
Extended Waterflood
Brine injection rate (m/d)
Brine injection volume (PV)
Residual oil after brine injection (cm3)

242

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

Fig. 7Asphaltene content of oil produced during Weyburn

dead oil W1 saturation of a preserved Vuggy composite core at
59C and 16 MPa.

enes. Both scans were conducted at the same locations at intervals of 1 cm 0.39 in. along the length of the core.
Post-coreflood treatments were carried out by flushing the core
initially with decane and later with methyl alcohol. Decane was
used to remove the residual oil remaining in the core after the
EWF and blowdown. In a bench test, decane was found to be a
satisfactory solvent because it picked up hardly any asphaltenes
from a filter paper during flow conditions. It was therefore presumed that decane can flush out the residual oil from the core
without unduly disturbing the precipitated/deposited asphaltenes
left in the core after CO2 injection. Methyl alcohol was used to
clean the core of decane and brine left after the EWF. During
flushing with methyl alcohol, a high pressure drop was noted
across the core with little production. The core was suspected of
being plugged. However, methyl alcohol and formation brine
were evaporated from the core by keeping it in an oven at 90C
194F for over 24 hours. It was assumed that most of the decane
was removed during the initial methyl alcohol flush before the
core became plugged.
Figs. 9 and 10 depict the images generated from the CAT scan
for the clean core and dirty core containing asphaltenes, respectively. The 23-cm-long 9.1-in.-long core was scanned and imaged at 22 locations sequentially along the length, starting from
the inlet end. These images are presented in five rows in Figs. 9
and 10, each row except the last row containing five images. The
first image in the top left corner represents a location approximately 0.5 cm 0.20 in. from the inlet and each subsequent image
from left to right portrays scan locations 1 cm 0.39 in. apart. The

Fig. 8Oil recovery and asphaltene content of oil produced during the secondary CO2 flood of a composite high-grain-size
Vuggy core at 59C and 16 MPa.
Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

Fig. 9X-ray CAT-scan images of a clean high-grain-size Vuggy

core at 1 cm intervals along the length from top left to right.

last image located at the bottom right depicts the scan closest to
the outlet. A characteristic number called the CT number represents the grain density of the matrix at a particular measurement
location in the scanned images. The CT number in Figs. 9 and 10
ranges from 500 to 900. The highest density is represented by
white CT No. 900 and the lowest by black CT No. 500. The
shades of gray in the images represent an intermediate density.
The CT number distribution in Figs. 9 and 10 thus represents the
distribution of the matrix grain density.

Fig. 10X-ray CAT-scan images at 1 cm intervals along the

length for dirty core containing essentially asphaltenes from
top left to right.
SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

243

Fig. 11Variation in the average CT number with core length for

clean and dirty core containing essentially asphaltenes.

3. The effect of the presence of brine on asphaltene flocculation

seemed to be negligible. However, an increase in the brine concentration appeared to somewhat inhibit the asphaltene flocculation.
4. The effect of contaminants approximately 3 mol % N2 and 3
mol % CH4 in CO2 on asphaltene flocculation was insignificant.
5. The asphaltene flocculation data normalized to the initial
asphaltene contents of the oils fell into a narrow band for the
different oil samples collected from the Weyburn pool, indicating
the effect of oil properties on asphaltene flocculation to be almost
negligible.
6. Laboratory core displacement tests showed that asphaltene
precipitation/adsorption depended on the pore topography of the
core matrix tested. The high-grain-size Vuggy matrix showed the
highest asphaltene precipitation in the core during CO2 injection.
7. X-ray CAT scanning of the clean and dirty containing deposited asphaltenes Vuggy core showed that the technique can be
used for visualizing the core matrix and the asphaltene deposition
pattern.
Nomenclature

A comparison of the images in Figs. 9 clean core and 10

dirty core containing asphaltenes at individual scan locations
shows that the high-density white areas have generally increased
in size in Fig. 10. This can be attributed to deposition/precipitation
of asphaltenes in the core matrix. Scan locations 10 and 11 9.5
and 10.5 cm 3.74 and 4.13 in., respectively from the inlet indicate an opposite trend, i.e., that high-density areas are more predominant in the clean core. The lowering of the grain density in
these scans following CO2 injection may indicate damage to the
core matrix. These scans also show the Vuggy nature of the core
represented by isolated black areas low-density zones. Thus,
x-ray CAT scanning can be used for visualizing the core matrix
and asphaltene deposition pattern. However, it is difficult to ascertain the exact location of precipitation/deposition sites of asphaltenes in the core matrix from these images.
To obtain some quantitative information on asphaltene
precipitation/deposition, the CT number distribution for a scanned
image can be used to calculate an average CT number. The average CT number provides an indication of the average density of
the matrix. Fig. 11 shows the variation in the average CT number
with the core length for clean and dirty cores. A relatively high
average CT number for the dirty core observed close to the inlet
0.5 and 1.5 cm 0.2 and 0.59 in., respectively locations can
signify asphaltene precipitation and deposition. Since the error in
the CT number measurement is estimated by Novacor Research
Corporation to be about 10 units, several measurement locations such as 2.5, 5.0 to 9.0, or 20.5 cm 1, 2.0 to 3.5, or 8.1 in.,
respectively from the inlet represent essentially identical core
matrix densities, or negligible asphaltene precipitation and deposition, at these sites. It appears that most of the asphaltene deposition is close to the inlet Fig. 11. At 9.5 and 10.5 cm 3.74 and
4.13 in., respectively scan locations from the inlet, an abnormal
drop is observed in the CT number values for the dirty core. It is
suspected that it is caused by damage to the core matrix during
CO2 injection, as mentioned earlier. However, this conclusion
may require further investigation for confirmation.

Conclusions
The following conclusions are drawn from the results of this
study.
1. The most important factor on which the asphaltene
flocculation/precipitation depends is the CO2 or injection gas concentration. The asphaltene flocculation determined from the static
precipitation tests appeared to be insensitive to the operating pressure when the fluid mixture was in single phase.
2. The onset point for asphaltene flocculation for the Weyburn
reservoir was in the range of 39 to 46 mol % CO2 concentration.
The asphaltene flocculation increased linearly in the single-phase
region with CO2 concentration after the onset.
244

p sat saturation pressure, m/Lt2 , psi

T res reservior temperatures, T, C
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors acknowledge the 11 oil companies, namely, Amoco
Canada Petroleum, Gulf Canada Resources, Husky Oil, Marathon
Oil, Mobil Oil Canada, Murphy Oil, Norcen Energy Resources,
PanCanadian Petroleum, Talisman Energy, Shell Canada, and
Wascana Energy, and also the Alberta Department of Energy and
Canada Center for Mineral and Energy Technology CANMET
for their financial support of this work.
They wish to express their thanks to Dr. B. Verkoczy for his
valuable input on the asphaltene measurement technique by spectrophotometry; P. De Wit, B. Schnell, N. Shatilla, and K. Sterrenberg for their contributions to the experimental work; Dr. A. Kantzas and Novacor Research Corporation for conducting x-ray CAT
scanning of the cores; and J. Dickinson and B. Tacik for help in
the preparation of the manuscript. Thanks also go to PanCanadian
Petroleum Limited and Wascana Energy Inc. for providing the oil
and gas samples for this work.
References
1. Moritis, G.: New Technology, Improved Economics, Boosts EOR
Hopes, Oil & Gas J. April 1996 94, 39.
2. Saskatchewan Energy and Mines: Reservoir Annual 1993.
3. Huang, S.S. and Dyer, S.B.: Miscible Displacement in the Weyburn
Reservoir: A Laboratory Study, J. Cdn. Pet. Tech. September
1993 32, 42.
4. Kokal, S.L. and Sayegh, S.G.: Asphaltenes: The Cholesterol of Petroleum, paper SPE 29787 presented at the 1995 Middle East Oil
Show, Bahrain, 1114 March.
5. Buckley, J.S. Asphaltene Precipitation and Crude Oil Wetting,
SPE Advanced Technology Series March 1995 53.
6. Kamath, V.A., Yang, J., and Sharma, G.D.: Effect of Asphaltene
Deposition on Dynamic Displacements of Oil by Water, paper SPE
26046 presented at the 1993 Western Regional Meeting, Anchorage,
2628 May.
7. Novosad, Z. and Costain, T.G.: Experimental and Modeling Studies
of Asphaltene Equilibria for a Reservoir Under CO2 Injection, paper
SPE 20530 presented at the 1990 SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, New Orleans, 2326 September.
8. Baker, H.L. et al.: Asphaltene Deposition Control Using Chemical
Control Agents, paper CIM 92-7 presented at the 1992 CIM Annual
Technical Conference, Calgary, 710 June.
9. Leontaritis, K.J., Amaefile, J.O., and Charles, R.E.: A Systematic
Approach for the Prevention and Treatment of Formation Damage
Caused by Asphaltene Deposition, paper SPE 23810 presented at
the 1992 SPE International Symposium on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, 2627 February.
10. Leontaritis, K.J. and Mansoori, G.A.: Asphaltene Deposition: A
Survey of Field Experiences and Research Approaches, J. Pet. Sci.
Eng. 1988 1, 229.

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

11. Asphaltenes: Fundamentals and Applications, E.Y. Shen and O.C.

Mullins eds., Plenum Press, New York City 1995 Chap. III, 97
113.
12. Asphaltenes and Asphalt, 1. Developments in Petroleum Science, T.F.
Yen and G.V. Chilingarian eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam 1994 40A.
13. Srivastava, R.K. et al.: Quantification of Asphaltene Flocculation in
Saskatchewan Light and Medium Oil Reservoirs, J. Cdn. Pet. Tech.
October 1995 34, 31.
14. Fotland, P., Anfindsen, H., and Fadnes, F.H.: Detection of Asphaltene Precipitation and Amounts Precipitated by Measurement of Electrical Conductivity, Fluid Phase Equilibria 1993 82, 157.
15. Escobedo, J. and Mansoori, G.A.: Viscometric Determination of the
Onset of Asphaltene Flocculation: A Novel Method, SPEPF May
1995 115.
16. Fuhr, B.J. et al.: Properties of Asphaltenes form a Waxy Crude,
Fuel 1991 70, 1293.
17. Burke, N.E., Hobbs, R.E., and Kashou, S.F.: Measurement and
Modeling of Asphaltene Precipitation, JPT November 1990 1440;
Trans., AIME, 289.
18. MacMillan, F.J. et al.: A Unified Approach to Asphaltene Precipitation: Laboratory Measurement and Modeling, JPT September
1995 788; Trans., AIME, 299.
19. Ngheim, L.X. et al.: Efficient Modeling of Asphaltene Precipitation, paper SPE 26642 presented at the 1993 SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Houston, 36 October.
20. Leontaritis, K.J. and Mansoori, G.A.: Asphaltene Flocculation During Oil Production and Processing: A Thermodynamic Colloidal
Model, paper SPE 16258 presented at the 1987 SPE International
Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry, San Antonio, Texas, 46 February.
21. Victorov, A.I. and Firoozabadi, A.: Thermodynamics of Asphaltene
Precipitation in Petroleum Fluids by a Micellization Model, AIChE.
J. 1996 42, 1753.
22. Elsayed, S.A. et al.: Multidisciplinary Reservoir Characterization
and Simulation Study of the Weyburn Unit, JPT October 1993
930.
23. Beliveau, D., Payne, D.A., and Mundy, M.: Analysis of Waterflood
Response of a Naturally Fractured Reservoir, JPT September 1993
881.
24. Srivastava, R.K. et al.: A Comparison of Minimum Miscibility
Pressure Determinations for Weyburn CO2 Solvent Design, paper
CIM 94-50 presented at 45th Annual Technical Meeting of the Petroleum Society of CIM, Calgary, 1215 June 1994.
25. Huang, S.S. et al.: A Laboratory Miscible Displacement Study for
the Recovery of Saskatchewans Crude Oil, J. Cdn. Pet. Tech.
April 1994 33, 43.
26. Hupler, J.D.: Waterflood Relative Permeabilities in Composite
Cores, JPT May 1969 539.
27. Huang, S.S. et al.: Minimum Miscibility Pressure Determination:
Rising Bubble Apparatus vs. Slim Tube vs. Correlation, paper pre-

Srivastava, Huang, and Dong: Asphaltene Deposition During CO2 Flooding

sented at the 1993 43rd Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference,

Ottawa, Ontario, 36 October.
28. Stalkup, F.I.: Miscible Displacement, Monograph Series, SPE, Richardson, TX 1992 8.

SI Metric Conversion Factors

API 141.5/(131.5API)
bbl 1.589 873
cp 1.0*
in. 2.54*
in.3 1.638 706
ft 3.048*
F (F32)/1.8
in. 2.54*
lbm 4.535 924
md 9.869 233
mile 1.609 344*
psi 6.894 757
sq mile 2.589 988
*Conversion factors are exact.

E01
E03
E00
E01
E01
E00
E01
E04
E00
E00
E00

g/cm3
m3
Pas
cm
cm3
m
C
cm
kg
m2
km
kPa
km2
SPEPF

Raj Srivastava is an independent consultant working as a lead

test engineer for MCI Worldcom in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He
previously worked for BDM Petroleum Technologies as a senior
engineer and for the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC)
as a senior research engineer in gas/chemical flooding. Srivastava holds a BS degree from the Indian Inst. of Technology
and MS and PhD degrees from the U. of Waterloo, Ontario, all
in chemical engineering. Sam Huang is a manager of gas/
chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) with the petroleum
branch of the SRC in Regina, Saskatchewan, and an adjunct
professor at the U. of Regina. e-mail: huang@src.sk.ca. He previosly worked as a research scientist with Gulf Canada and
was involved in hydrocarbon and CO2 miscible EOR projects.
Huang holds a PhD degree in physical chemistry from Marquette U., Wisconsin. Mingzhe Dong is a research engineer in
the petroleum branch of the SRC. e-mail: dong@src.sk.ca. His
research interests include multiphase flow in porous media,
phase behavior in immiscible and near-miscible gas-injection
processes, reservoir simulation, and surface phenomena in
EOR. Dong holds a PhD degree in chemical engineering from
the U. of Waterloo.

SPE Prod. & Facilities, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1999

245