Revista de Petróleo y Biotecnología Ambiental

Abstracto

A Review of Wax Mitigation Methods through Hydrocarbon Production

Muhammad Ali Theyab

The world demand for energy has led oil companies to expand their operations in the cold environments such as
the offshore deep-water for more reservoirs. During hydrocarbon production, oil companies are challenged with
the problem of wax deposition from the crude oil building up on the pipe wall. The precipitated solid phase of
wax, creating pressure abnormalities and causing an artificial blockage leading to a reduction or interruption in the
production. It leads to increases in operational and remedial costs while suppressing oil production. This research
outlines the important methods that used to reduce or mitigate wax deposition in the hydrocarbon production
systems around the world, such as the chemical, mechanical, thermal methods, or a combination between them,
microbial treatment, cold flow, cold-oil recirculation method, choke cooling method, the wax eater method, magneticfluid
conditioning method, Eco-wave TM treatment, ultrasonic wave treatment, bacterial treatment, and spiral flow
method. Many researchers have been used various different types of chemical inhibitors, such as polyethylene,
ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers, copolymer esters, polyacrylate polymer, ester/vinyl acetate copolymers, olefin/
ester copolymers, polymethacrylates, alkyl phenol resins, xylene and toluene. The reduction in wax deposition
was 100% after using the influence of bending spiral flow with polyacrylate polymer at a concentration of 1000
ppm and 2000 ppm at different time and flow rates, and the ambient temperature was 33°C. The reduction in
wax deposition was 100% after using the effect of bending the spiral flow with the inhibitor at a concentration
of 500 ppm at flow rate 4.8 L/min, and the reduction in wax deposition was 94% at the same concentration
and flow rate 2.7 L/min. Despite of all the previous mitigation methods, many oil companies still suffer from wax
deposition problems and are still looking for a good solution to solve this issue.