Simulation Study of Asphaltene Deposition Due to Natural Depletion in One of the Iranian Fractured Reservoirs

This work concerns with simulation of asphaltene precipitation and deposition at the field scale, which is real situation of oil production from petroleum reservoirs. The onset pressure and total asphaltene content of Sarvak oil reservoir, located in southwest of Iran, have been experimentally measured, and used for validations of a thermodynamic solid model. The obtained thermodynamic model applied in a field-scale simulation model, and the asphaltene precipitation and deposition under natural depletion condition were predicted. In addition, the effect of fracture properties on asphaltene deposition at reservoir conditions was investigated. The developed dual-porosity and dual permeability simulation model also has been used for some sensitivity analysis of parameters affecting asphaltene deposition in reservoir. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that dynamic and static parameters of asphaltene play crucial role in the field performance and formation damage. Also, the results confirmed that, the permeability reduction due to asphaltene deposition in the fractures is more considerable than in the matrix media.

Keywords:

Asphaltene , Thermodynamic Solid Model , Simulation , Precipitation , Permeability Impairment , Fracture , Sarvak Formatio