Flow Improver Additive for Flow Assurance of Waxy Crude Oil

The crude oil from Upper Assam oilfields is rich in paraffin and asphaltenes, which tend to deposit in production and transportation systems such as tubing, flow lines, delivery lines, and trunk pipelines. These deposits pose significant challenges, especially during winter when lower temperatures exacerbate wax precipitation. To address these issues, Oil India Limited (OIL) employs several strategies, including the use of indirect heaters to raise crude oil temperatures and the application of specialized flow improvers to prevent wax buildup. These chemicals are typically imported and costly.

In pursuit of an indigenous solution, OIL partnered with CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun, to analyze Assam crude oil and develop a more effective, locally-produced additive. The new additive is a blend of homo and copolymers of C14–C24 alcohol acrylates and C6–C12 polyalpha olefins, designed to enhance the flow of waxy crude oils containing long-chain paraffins i.e upto 65. The polymer acrylate was synthesized in the lab, and the most effective formulation was scaled up using commercial-grade materials. Laboratory tests showed >70% reduction in wax deposition. This innovation supports full indigenization of the additive, using only Indian-sourced materials, and significantly reduces reliance on imported chemicals.

Field trials planned by Oil India Limited. The scale up to pilot scale of 200kg per batch scale synthesis of Flow improver additive is in plan and also to provide 10 MT of liquid phase additives to OIL for field trials.

• Flow improver(FI) additive is effective for high wax containing crude oil FI additive suitable for crude oils having long paraffinic chains (C .65).
• Available in solid and liquid phase for easy field adoption.
• Effective al low temperatures (upto 15 deg C).
• More than 70% reduction in wax deposition, as compared to 50-55% using available commercial additives.