Investigation of Asphaltene Precipitation and Reservoir Damage during CO2 Flooding in High-Pressure, High-Temperature Sandstone Oil Reservoirs

Abstract

Asphaltenes are heavy aromatic hydrocarbon compounds contained in reservoir fluids and may precipitate when the reservoir pressure is reduced by production or when gas is injected into the reservoir, and then further deposit on pore-throat surfaces causing reservoir damage. At present, the research on asphaltene precipitation and reservoir damage is carried out in conventional reservoirs, and the influence of CO2 injection under high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) conditions has not yet been clearly understood. In this work, we combined perturbed-chain statistical association fluid theory (PC-SAFT) calculation, experiments, phase-state simulation, and numerical simulation to predict the asphaltene precipitation with different pressures, temperatures, and amounts of injected gas and to clarify the influence on reservoir permeability and oil production when using CO2 injection. The results show that the precipitation of asphaltenes in the process of CO2 injection is the desorption of colloid-asphaltene inclusions caused by gas molecules and then the mutual polymerization process between dispersed asphaltene molecules. CO2 injection will increase the amount of precipitation and move the precipitation curve to the right side. The degree of permeability reduction caused by the deposition of asphaltenes in the core is 12.87–37.54%; the deposition of asphaltenes in the reservoir is mainly around the injection/production wells and along the injected gas profile. Considering asphaltenes, the oil recovery degree is reduced by 1.5%, and the injection rate is reduced by 17%. The reservoir pressure, temperature, and physical properties have a strong correlation with the degree of reservoir damage, while the initial asphaltene content has a low correlation. This work will be of great interest to operators seeking to enhance oil recovery by CO2 injection in deep reservoirs.