Abstract
The most frequent problem encountered in day to day oil well production is the deposition of paraffin or wax inside the production tubing. The solution to this problem is frequent scraping and hot oil operation with help of Coiled Tubing Unit (CTU) thereby increasing the non productive time. The following paper proposes an alternative technique for dewaxing of production tubing.
The technique involves the use of Co-Ni nanoparticles along with an exclusive polymer to be pumped inside the annulus between production tubing and casing at the time of well commissioning. The nanoparticles remain suspended in the polymer filled inside the annulus throughout the life of the well. The application of magnetic field across the casing causes the nanoparticles to vibrate and get heated. This increase in temperature is transferred to the tubing by convection. The increase in temperature causes the wax to melt and is produced along with the oil stream.
This technique will make the frequent scraping and hot oil jobs obsolete thereby saving time and money. The technique eliminates flow assurance problems encountered due to paraffin deposition inside the production tubing.
