Minimising hydrogen sulphide generation during steam assisted production of heavy oil
Author(s)
Montgomery, WB
Sephton, MA
Watson, JS
Zeng, H
Rees, A
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The majority of global petroleum is in the form of highly viscous heavy oil. Traditionally heavy oil in sands at shallow depths is accessed by large scale mining activities. Recently steam has been used to allow heavy oil extraction with greatly reduced surface disturbance. However, in situ thermal recovery processes can generate hydrogen sulphide, high levels of which are toxic to humans and corrosive to equipment. Avoiding hydrogen sulphide production is the best possible mitigation strategy. Here we use laboratory aquathermolysis to reproduce conditions that may be experienced during thermal extraction. The results indicate that hydrogen sulphide generation occurs within a specific temperature and pressure window and corresponds to chemical and physical changes in the oil. Asphaltenes are identified as the major source of sulphur. Our findings reveal that for high sulphur heavy oils, the generation of hydrogen sulphide during steam assisted thermal recovery is minimal if temperature and pressure are maintained within specific criteria. This strict pressure and temperature dependence of hydrogen sulphide release can allow access to the world’s most voluminous oil deposits without generating excessive amounts of this unwanted gas product.
Date Issued
2015
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2015, 5, pp.8159-
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Start Page
8159
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
5
Copyright Statement
© 2015. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder in order to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000349188800001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
ARTN 8159
Subjects
Petroleum
Heavy oil
Aquathermolysis
Steam
Sulfur
Hydrogen sulfide
Oil sand
Publication Status
Published