Asphaltene precipitation and deposition caused by temperature variation, pressure depletion, and oil composition changes can result in formation damage, oil production reduction, and increased operating costs. Use of chemical additives is probably the most effective option for preventing or reducing asphaltene problems. Selection of inhibitors for asphaltene deposition is commonly based on simple tests conducted on stabilized crude oil samples at ambient conditions. The results obtained from the current testing techniques in the laboratories are sometimes in disagreement with the outcome at field conditions. Therefore, the current techniques that are employed to select the most appropriate asphaltene inhibitor based on their efficiency should be revisited to provide a better methodology for choosing the most suitable strategy for inhibitor/solvent injection. This research study addresses this asphaltene challenge using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)-based technique, with emphasis on selection of chemical additives for remediation/prevention strategies to handle gas-induced asphaltene deposition problems. The proposed technique can work at high-pressure conditions, simulating the effect of pressure and dissolved gas on asphaltene phase behavior and deposition tendencies with and without inhibitors. It can also assess the deposition rate onto the quartz crystal surface as a result of asphaltene deposition under real reservoir conditions. In this study, the ability of different asphaltene inhibitors to shift asphaltene onset points and reduce the amount of deposited asphaltenes in dead crude oils is investigated. A comparison between the results of the QCM technique at high pressure and high temperature and dead crude oil testing at ambient conditions is presented. The results of this work indicate that the change in the temperature, pressure, and presence of gas could alter the ranking of chemistries for mitigating asphaltene challenges.

中文翻译：

---

评价化学物质对抗沥青质聚集和沉积的实验技术的比较：高压高温石英微天平的新应用

由温度变化，压力消耗和油成分变化引起的沥青质沉淀和沉积会导致地层损害，产油量减少和运营成本增加。使用化学添加剂可能是预防或减少沥青质问题的最有效选择。沥青质沉积抑制剂的选择通常基于在环境条件下对稳定的原油样品进行的简单测试。从实验室当前的测试技术获得的结果有时与现场条件下的结果不一致。所以，应重新探讨基于效率选择最合适的沥青质抑制剂的现有技术，以提供一种更好的方法来选择最合适的抑制剂/溶剂注入策略。这项研究使用基于石英晶体微天平（QCM）的技术解决了沥青质面临的挑战，重点是为处理/预防气源沥青质沉积问题的补救/预防策略选择化学添加剂。所提出的技术可以在高压条件下工作，模拟在有或没有抑制剂的情况下压力和溶解气体对沥青质相行为和沉积趋势的影响。它还可以评估在实际储层条件下由于沥青质沉积而在石英晶体表面上的沉积速率。在这项研究中，研究了不同沥青质抑制剂改变沥青质起始点和减少原油中沥青质沉积量的能力。提出了在高温和高温下使用QCM技术的结果与在环境条件下进行的死原油测试之间的比较。这项工作的结果表明，温度，压力和气体存在的变化可能会改变用于缓解沥青质挑战的化学物质的等级。