Reservoir Souring Work – Understanding the Cycling and Conversion of Sulfur in Offshore Petroleum Reservoirs

The chemistry, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena of sulfur compounds in upstream petroleum operations is important as it impacts materials used in the production and processing systems, health and safety plans, treatment processes, and transport of petroleum. In offshore operations these impacts are magnified due to the remoteness of the operations and infrastructure limitations on the platform. Sulfur is introduced into offshore reservoirs through the injection of seawater containing sulfate and/or existing organic sulfur compounds in the reservoir. During the production and processing, sulfate converts to other sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, thiosalts, and sulfides, among others. How the sulfur is transformed determines the scale of impact and treatment and mitigation processes. The objective of this cluster is to better understand the cycling of sulfur at upstream and downstream temperatures and pressures, and the adsorption/absorption behaviour of sulfur compounds. The research will involve the following sub-projects: Sampling protocol development; Sulfur Chemistry; Development of green based solvents for sulfur removal; and Studying and modeling of localized pitting corrosion using molecular modeling techniques for oil and gas industry in harsh environment.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Faisal Khan

Student:

Fatima Shaheen, Mahsan Basafa, Angham Saeed, Michael Pappoe, Yi Liu

Partner:

Suncor Energy Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Oil and gas

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland