Application of Demulsification as a Water Shut-Off Technique for Production Optimization in Oil Wells

Abstract

Water from surrounding aquifers and injector wells encroach, and eventually breakthrough into the wellbore as oil production progresses. Water plays a very vital role in the production of oil through pressure maintenance and production support. However, when produced alongside the oil, it costs a lot to separate, treat, and dispose it. This prompted the need for developing appropriate and effective water shut off methods. In this study, a model is developed for determining the volume of water that can be displaced from an oil-water emulsion using a demulsifier, which when combined with a downhole oil-water separator will greatly reduce the volume of water travelling up the wellbore and thereby minimizing hydrostatic pressure losses. Results shows that there is significant drop in the volume of water produced from the wells due to the application of demulsifiers which translates to a reduction in hydrostatic pressure losses.