Authors : C. Ijogbemeye Oseghale, E.J. Akpabio and O. Edebor
Abstract: Some physicochemical properties of 10 samples of crude oil from different well heads for laboratory analysis have been studied. ASTM-D97 Laboratory Method was used by preheating oil sample to 60-75°C then cooled at the rate of 0.15°C min-1. The temperature of first occurrence of turbidity was taken as Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT) crude oil samples were found to be characterized with basic sediment and water ranges from 0.1-90% (BS and W), API gravity ranges from light crude (24.1@78°F) to heavy crude (39.8@79°F), viscosity (cst) at 40°F ranges from 18.42-25.20, wax content (wt.%) ranges from traces from 6-10% and composition of crude oil laboratory results proves that Nigerian crude have high content of paraffins in excess of 5%, high basic sediment which have high tendency to clog the internal pipe diameter. The knowledge provided in this study has direct application to paraffinic crude oils productivity enhancement in terms of costs reduction (cleaning and deposits removal) and oil production improvement. Correct selection of a prevention treatment will avoid extremely expensive and inefficient trial-and-error procedures. The strategy employed in this study was to use temperature and fluid characterization analysis of Niger Delta crude to predict the potential for wax related problems in Niger Delta oilfields as evident in the research.
C. Ijogbemeye Oseghale, E.J. Akpabio and O. Edebor, 2012. Mitigating Potential Risk of Paraffin Wax Deposition on Oil Pipelines in Niger Delta. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 7: 348-352.