A novel approach of crude oil demulsification

This study investigates and proposes a novel approach for crude oil demulsification by employing a laboratory-scale reservoir model designed to simulate real reservoir conditions. Two distinct injection scenarios were examined to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical-assisted demulsification. In the first case, conventional produced water was utilized as the injected fluid to serve as a baseline for comparison. In the second scenario, the produced water was blended with varying concentrations of a selected chemical demulsifier and then injected into the reservoir model. This comparative approach enabled the evaluation of how demulsifier concentration influences both emulsion stability and oil recovery performance. Experimental results clearly demonstrated that the introduction of chemical demulsifiers into the produced water significantly improved in-situ emulsion destabilization. This enhancement resulted in a noticeable increase in oil recovery efficiency and a reduction in the free water content of the recovered product within the same operational period. Furthermore, the study identified optimal demulsifier concentrations that achieved maximum demulsification efficiency while minimizing overall chemical consumption. The findings indicate that incorporating chemical demulsifiers into the water injection process not only enhances subsurface separation but also enables the direct reinjection of produced water into the reservoir. This practice can minimize the need to transport large volumes of crude oil emulsions to onshore processing facilities, thereby reducing operational expenditures (OPEX) and improving overall field profitability.