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Useful Information Regarding Paraffin Removal Oil Wells

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By Amy Wright


Petroleum fuels are powering the present world. The fuels are mined in different places worldwide. One of the regions that is famous for its large oil deposits is the Middle-East. Most economies in this part of the world relay heavily on income generated from the sale of oil. Other places where oil deposits are found include Africa, Russia, and the United States. This is worth knowing about Paraffin Removal Oil Wells.

The process of extracting oil from the ground presents several challenges. One of the most recurrent problems is the formation of organic deposits both around and inside the wellbore. The deposits can be placed into two major categories, that is, paraffins and asphaltenes. The deposits form inside the pores of the reservoir rock or in the tubing.

Three main categories of compounds are found in crude oil. Tthese compounds include aromatic hydrocarbons, asphaltenes and resins, and saturated hydrocarbons also known as paraffin. Aromatic hydrocarbons and paraffin make the highest percentage whereas only a small percentage is made by asphaltenes and resins. On the contrary, more asphaltenes and resins than aromatic hydrocarbons and paraffin are contained in tars, bitumens, and many other degraded crude oils.

Paraffins are high-molecular-weight alkanes that form in wellbores, feed line, and other spaces and components in boring arrangements. Usually, the thickness of the deposits increases over time and after growing to large sizes, they can cause a considerable reduction in the production of oil. After reaching this level, some remedial steps should be taken so that full production can be restored.

Deposits usually range in hardness from very hard to brittle deposits. The deposits usually get bigger and firmer as the molecular weight of the paraffins increases. In most cases paraffins and asphaltenes occur separately, but in some cases, they occur together. The deposition is usually caused by the loss of solubility of the crude oil involved. Loss of solubility is caused by several factors such as changes in content of the oils and change in pressure and temperature.

There are various techniques used in removal of paraffins. To make the removal process of paraffins faster and easier, new techniques have been invented in the course of time. As such, today there exist many methods. These techniques can be grouped into 3 major groups. The three include use of heat for melting and removing the wax, use of chemical solvents, and mechanical removal.

The use of scrappers and knives for removing the wax deposits in wellbores is what is entailed in mechanical techniques. The factors that surround the deposits determine how the mechanical techniques vary in their efficiency. Relatively, these techniques are cheap to use. Many companies use them a lot on their oil fields.

The second most applied method after mechanical is the use of chemical solvents. Under this technique, crude oil is smeared on the walls of the wellbore in order to remove paraffins. In order for the crude oils to work effectively they are heated to about 300 degree Fahrenheit. Gravity is then used in injecting or feeding the hot oils into the wellbore. The hot solution dissolves all the wax before it is pumped back to the surface.




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