DETECTION OF ASPHALTENE PRECIPITATION AND AMOUNTS PRECIPITATED BY MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRICAL-CONDUCTIVITY

Asphaltene deposition during oil production might lead to expensive cl ean up operations. The production plans may also have to be reviewed. It is therefore necessary to investigate the potential for asphaltene deposition prior to field development. Reliable techniques for detecti on of asphaltene precipitation are needed in order to test existing th eoretical models. The available experimental techniques are elaborate and not suited for high pressure work. A novel technique to determine asphaltene precipitation and relative amounts precipitated is presente d. The technique is based on measurement of electrical conductivity, o f the crude oil. It is seen that the electrical conductivity changes a bruptly at the point of precipitation. Both gravimetric analysis and m icroscopy has been used to verify the results obtained by conductivity . The principle has been checked for a number of oils with varying asp haltene content from 0.3wt% to 9wt%. Results from four different oils are reported.