A review of asphaltene deposition during the water-based EOR methods in oil reservoirs

In this paper, the deposition of asphaltene and its relationship with water based EOR methods (including injection of low salinity water, injection of nanofluid and injection of emulsion solvents) from oil reservoirs have been investigated. Studies show that in the injection of low-salt water, all salt water intensifies the deposition of asphaltene. The same trend is observed for surface tension between crude oil and salt water (IFT). Increasing the volume of all brine in the mixture leads to increasing and decreasing asphaltene precipitation in low salinity and medium salinity, respectively. NiO, Fe3O4 and SiO2 nanoparticles are used to adsorb asphaltene and prevent its deposition. Different solvents can be used to remove asphaltene deposits. Among the emulsion solvents that are used as an alternative method to remove asphaltene deposit in porous media, emulsion (oil / water) with 70/30 ratio is the optimal solvent since removes all precipitated asphaltene.