SYNTHESIS OF SYNTHETIC BRINE AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR FORMATION WATER TESTING TO ESTIMATE SCALE INDEX (CO3 VARIALBLE IN FORMATION WATER)
Fanata Yudha Nugraha (a*), Ega Dimas Saputra (a), Carin Nova Azzaria (a), Brian Tony (a), Dian Indri Astuti (a), I Putu Gema Bujangga Waisnawa (b)

a) Petroleum Engineering Department, UPN ^Veteran^ Yogyakarta *fanata.yudha[at]upnyk.ac.id
b) environmental Engineering Department, UPN ^Veteran^ Yogyakarta

Abstract

The decreased oil production due to scaling in production equipment results in losses. In oil wells, ions such as calcium, barium, carbonate, sulfate, magnesium, sodium, and chloride are commonly present in formation water and are the main contributors to scaling. This study focuses on creating synthetic brine with a composition resembling field formation water as an alternative solution for rapid laboratory-scale measurement of the scale index. The research involves stages of synthetic brine preparation, physical and chemical testing of the brine, comparison with formation water, and calculation of the Stability Index (SI) using Stiff & Davis method. The results indicate that synthetic brine can be prepared based on laboratory analysis of field samples by estimating the materials and masses present in formation water, thus allowing replication using natural or chemical materials in the laboratory while considering parameters such as pressure, temperature, and pH during the manufacturing process. The pH significantly impacts the risk of scale formation, where a slightly basic pH, around pH 8, supports higher concentrations of carbonate ions (CO32-) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3-), thereby increasing the risk of scale formation.

Keywords: Synthetic Brine- Scale- Formation Water

Topic: Engineering