Utilizing acidized NH2 for mitigating formation damage and improving oil recovery: Case Study of Penara Field, Malaysia

The performance of acidized NH2 for mitigating formation damage and improve oil recovery in the Penara Field, offshore Peninsular Malaysia was studied. Physical observation and interfacial tension measurement were carried out to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the performance of the acidized amines. By-products of acidized amines dispersed the suspended wax solid and prevented it from re-depositing after 48 hr. Oil recovery increased to 51.3% for non waxy-liquid crude and 13% for waxy-gelled crude. The effectiveness of the acidized amines depended on the type of crude and the acid/amine ratio. The acid/amine ratio of 80:20 was more suitable for the non waxy-liquid crude (Temana B) whereas the ratio of 85:15 was more suitable for the waxy-gelled crude (Penara A). The thermochemical method using acidized amine showed a good prospect for production increment of between 13% or 156 STB/day as indicated by the coreflooding test to 22% or 265 STB/day as predicted by well performance simulation. This in an abstract of a paper presented at the 2008 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium (Tulsa, OK 4/19-23/2008).