Emerging Technologies to Control Wax Deposition in the Oilfields: An Overview

Abstract

Wax deposition on the well bore, production tubing, flow lines and pipelines reduces the production or flow capacity and increases the cost for the production and transportation of waxy crude oils in the oilfields. The different conventional methods for the control of wax deposition problems are mechanical, chemical, electrical, thermal and combination of others. But, there is no single solution to this problem that can be applied to all the oilfields. This has led to search for techno-economical solution for the control of wax deposition problems. This paper reviews application of different conventional methods for reducing wax deposition as well as discusses the recent technological innovations for the control of wax deposition in the oilfields. Keywords: waxy crude oil, wax deposition, paraffin wax, wax appearance temperature, bacterial treatment