Hydrogen Sulfide Mitigation

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a deadly gas that when present degrades crude oil, fouls equipment, and causes system disruptions impacting production. The three major impacts to petroleum production:

Health Risk: Exposure to H2S gas at low levels causes a range of irritants and at high levels is lethal. This leads to loss in production and increases human health risks.
Plugging: H2S reacts with iron to produce iron sulfate (black sludge) that leads to accumulation in system equipment resulting in costly repairs and shutdowns.
Corrosion: The presence of H2S causes corrosion that compromises the integrity of pipelines and equipment and often leads to sulfide stress cracking.

MuniChem's OilOx H2S-100 scavenger formulation provides a solution to remove H2S. This formulation is a MEA Triazine based solution that is easily injected using existing MEA Triazine scavenger infrastructure. Our formulation accomplishes the removal without producing a sulfur precipitant and at a greater efficiency than MEA Triazine alone, making it unique in the industry.

Paraffin Control

The primary cause of deposition issues in production operations arises from compounds that remain soluble under downhole conditions. When the production fluid ascends in the well, soluble substances such as salts and paraffin crystallize. These deposits tend to form and expand in specific areas, including valves, pumps, and rough surfaces, potentially leading to complete blockage of the well. Addressing or preventing these deposits at an early stage is critical, as a plugged well requires costly treatments and halts production for several days.

The presence of paraffins and the potential for blockages have the following consequences:

Production Downtime: A blockage can completely halt production, leading to lost revenue during the downtime.
Increased Operational Costs: Clearing a blockage often requires specialized treatments or equipment, which can be expensive. In severe cases, the well might need to be shut down for several days.
Equipment Damage: The buildup of deposits in components like valves, pumps, and tubing can cause wear and tear, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
Reduced Efficiency: Even partial blockages can restrict flow, decreasing production rates and efficiency over time.
Safety Risks: Blockages can lead to increased pressure in the system, potentially causing accidents or equipment failure.
Environmental Impact: If blockages lead to equipment malfunctions, there may be risks of leaks or spills, which can harm the environment and result in regulatory fines or cleanup costs.

MuniChem’s custom treatment options consists of application of products that combine paraffin dispersants and crystal modifiers. These compounds work on most types of paraffin molecules, whether they are linear (normal or iso-paraffin) or cyclo-paraffins. Large chunks of consolidated paraffin are de-consolidated, broken and sloughed off. The colloidal chemistry in the compound, helps the treatment to penetrate the wax, and improve the oil water interface. The colloidal surfactant component also helps carry the paraffin in solution by impeding the tendency to plate out. As a result, paraffin deposition is controlled, API gravity increases, viscosity decreases, and cloud and pour points are reduced.

Production Enhancement

As wells age, several factors can restrict oil flow in the near well bore area resulting in the deposition of heavier fractions in the flow zone. Changes in fluid pressure can change the density enough to cause asphaltene and/or heavy fractions to flocculate and deposit from solution, particularly as the crude oil goes from an over saturated condition to below the bubble point. Traditional well stimulation practices, such as acidizing, can upset the equilibrium of the crude creating asphaltene problems. This results in plugging the pores, limiting the flow through the area causing the formation to become oil-wet which accumulates oil and lets more water flow instead. Aging wells with these characteristics benefit greatly from production enhancements through down hole stimulation.

MuniChem’s down hole stimulation chemistry provides production enhancement in the following ways:

Our formulations are engineered to release heavy depositions from well bore and well flow zones to increase recovery;
We use our proprietary colloidal based formulations to clean the well bore and increase the wettability of the formation to reduce flow resistance and increase recovery;
We accomplish this through precise injections to the well bore and the affected areas of the production formation to reduce capillary forces and improve the mobility ratio; and
Treatments generally take 2 to 4 hours to complete and the well only remains shut-in for 12 to 24 hours after treatment.