Paper: Control Of Paraffin Deposition With Wax Inhibitors

When paraffin is deposited from crude oil on downhole and surface equipment, it can reduce oil production and increase maintenance costs. Paraffin may deposit in tubular goods as a hard coating that gradually decreases flow capacity of lines and producing capability of wells. Paraffin crystallized from solution may be trapped at restrictions (beans, valves, controllers) and cause complete or temporary plugging of the system. Pressure surges caused by intermittent plugging and extrusion of the paraffin can overload pumps, flood the separators, and may result in equipment failure. Mechanical and thermal methods have been most widely used to remove wax deposits. Although chemical inhibition has often seemed to offer promise of preventing wax deposition and reducing operating costs, field trials of commercial products by our operations people were generally unsuccessful. The purpose of this paper is to report on the development and field testing of a new wax inhibitor which has been used successfully and economically in hundreds of wells.