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AQUATERMOLYSIS OF HEAVY OIL IN RESERVOIR CONDITIONS WITH THE USE OF ULTRADISPERSED CO-BASED CATALYST

Sergey Sitnov

Abstract

The depletion of light hydrocarbon resources and increasing the amount of heavy oil reservoirs drive petroleum companies to produce high viscous oil by unconventional methods, particularly thermal methods. Presently increasing the efficiency of thermal applications is a vital task. This paper discusses the influences of catalytic (introduction of catalytic precursors and H donor with amount of 1 wt% on oil) and non-catalytic aquathermolysis to the group composition and properties of extra-heavy oil from пїЅAshalchinskoeпїЅ oil reservoir (Republic of Tatarstan) in reservoir conditions. The effect of oil treatment was evaluated by the results of SARA-analyze (the group composition), dynamic viscosity and IR-Spectroscopy of resins and asphaltenes before and after treatment. It is revealed that viscosity of oil samples after non-catalytic aquathermolysis is increased, comparing with other objects of research. It can be explained by formation of more dense structures by recombination of destructed fragments of high-molecular components, increasing the molecular mass of observed products. According to IR-Spectroscopy the decrease in condensed aromatic cycles in asphaltene molecules is revealed as a result of destructive hydrogenation process of C-C bonds. The catalysts activate in-situ by introducing H donor. This results to decrease in resins and asphaltenes content forming light fractions of hydrocarbons. Thus irreversible viscosity decrease of extra-heavy oil is obtained.

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