The effects of temperature and acid number of crude oil on the wettability of acid volcanic reservoir rock from the Hailar Oilfi eld

Wettability of acid volcanic reservoir rock from the Hailar Oilfield, China, was studied with crude oils of different acid numbers generated from an original crude oil with an acid number of 3.05 mg KOH/g. The modifed oils and their resultant acid numbers were： A （2.09 mg KOH/g）, B （0.75 mg KOH/g）, C （0.47 mg KOH/g）, D （0.30 mg KOH/g）, and E （0.18 mg KOH/g）. Contact angles and improved Amott water indexes were measured to study the effects of temperature and acid number on the wettability of the acid volcanic reservoir rock. Experimental results indicated that the wettability was not sensitive to variation in temperature when using the same oil, but the acid number of the crude oil was a key factor in changing the wettability of the rock. The Amott water index, Iw was an exponential function of the acid number, and the Amott water index increased as the acid number decreased （i.e. Amott water index exponentially decreased with the acid number increase）. The Iw value of the core saturated with oil A, with an acid number of 2.09 mg KOH/g, ranged from 0.06 to 0.11, which indicated low water wetness. If the acid number of the oil decreased to 0.18 mg KOH/g, the Iw value increased to 0.95, which indicated strong water wetness. The contact angle decreased from 80~ to 35~ when the aid number decreased from 0.75 to 0.18 mg KOH/g, indicating a change towards more water wet conditions. The oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition of water also increased as the acid number of the oil decreased. As an example, at 80 ~C, the recovery of Oil A with an acid number of 2.09 mg KOH/g was only 7.6%, while Oil E with an acid number of 0.18 mg KOH/g produced 56.4%, i.e. an increase of 48.8%.

Variations of the Surface Wettability Index over the Tibetan Plateau During 1971-2005

Based on 1971-2005 monthly mean maximum/minimum temperature,wind speed,relative humidity,sunshine duration,and precipitation data at 25 stations over the Tibetan Plateau,a study of the largest potential evapotranspiration（LPE） is performed by using the Penman-Monteith model.The surface wettability index（SWI） is calculated and examined,together with its space distribution,interannual and seasonal variations,as well as associated causes.The results suggest that the annual area rainfall exhibits a pronounced increasing trend at 15.0 mm per decade;the annual LPE shows a different-degree decrease at-4.6—-71.6 mm/10 yr.In the southwestern Ngari prefecture and Nyalam county,the annual SWI displays insignificant decline trends compared to increasing trends in other areas of Tibet（0.02-0.09 per decade）.For Tibet,on average,the SWI experiences a noticeable rise at 0.04/10 yr,particularly in 1981-2005.On a seasonal basis,the SWI shows increasing trends,especially in summer.In the 1970s-1980s,the interannual variation is characterized mainly by lower temperature and lower humidity.From the 1990s,air temperature keeps on rising,leading to an appreciable increase in SWI,displayed as a type of warm and humid climate.The salient increases（decrease） of precipitation and relative humidity（mean temperature daily range） are the principal causes of the greatly enhanced SWI in the region.The pronounced decrease in mean wind and sunshine duration also plays an active role.