Research Articles in Petroleum & Gas

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Author: search.filters.author.Ikechukwu Okafor

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    Evaluation of the Potential of Calcium Hydroxide Synthesized from Eggshells as a Drilling Fluid Additive
    (Petroleum and Coal, 2020-01-09) Abdullahi Gimba; Shalom Onome Amakhabi; Oghenerume Ogolo; Oluwaseun Alonge; Nzerem Petrus; Ikechukwu Okafor; David Afolayan
    This research work studied the suitability of Ca(OH)2 synthesized from eggshell as a drilling fluid additive. Ca(OH)2 was synthesized from calcined eggshells (CES) and uncalcined eggshells (UCES) and characterized using FTIR and EDX. Samples of one laboratory barrel of water-based mud were prepared using bentonite clay from Afuze, Edo State, Nigeria, and the synthesized Ca(OH)2 produced from CES and UCES and commercial Ca(OH)2 were added to different mud samples prepared, and its effect on the mud properties were tested for. The results obtained from the experiment conducted showed that the synthesized Ca(OH)2 gave comparable pH values as the commercial Ca(OH)2. Hence it served primarily as a pH enhancer. However, the addition of Ca(OH)2 from both sources increased the filtrate volume and mud cake thickness far beyond API standard which might create wellbore problems due to the high filtrate loss and mud cake thickness that were observed.
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    Assessing the Impact of Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Ammendments on the Economics of Deep Offshore E&P Assets in Nigeria
    (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2020-08-04) Oghenerume Ogolo; Omowumi Iledare; Petrus Nzerem; Ikechukwu Okafor ; Emeka Iloegbunam; Isaac P. Ekeoma
    Nigeria recently amended the Deep Offshore and Inland Basins Act. The Act seeks to generate aditional annual revenue of over $1 billion for the government. The 2019 Law seems attractive to the government in the short run in terms of early rent extraction; on one hand, the seeminglly attractiveness of the fiscal terms in the Ammended Act, which is to expand output from investment in Nigeria deep offshore in the country is conjectural. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the amendments to the PSC Act on value creation and addition to stake holders using systems and economic metrics that include investment earning power and discounted government take. A designed petroleum economic modeling framework applied to the fiscal terms in the new Act show a significant decrease in value addition to contractor portfolio of assets by about 25% but increases government discounted take statistics from 63.70% to 72.64% in comparison to the fiscal and contract terms in PSC 1993. The IRR and FLI obtained using the terms in the new Act were 23.66% and 0.043, respectively.
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    Production of Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil by Transesterification Process using Heterogeneous Catalyst
    (NIJEST, 2021-12-07) Ayuba Salihu; Mahmood A. A.; Gimba S. B.; Petrus Nzerem; Ikechukwu Okafor
    Non-renewable diesel from fossil has been considered as potentially carcinogenic with serious harmful effect to human health and to the environment. This study aimed to produce a renewable diesel –biodiesel- via transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO), investigated and determined the most suitable amongst various types of heterogenous catalysts (viz a viz KOH/CaCO3, KOH/CaO and KOH/K2CO3). The chemical and physical characterisation of the biodiesel was been carried out. Among the catalysts investigated, KOH/CaCO3 catalyst showed the best catalytic performance in terms of % yield and better fuel quality in density, acid value, viscosity and free fatty acid. The reason for this performance may be due to its most basic characteristic than the others. As a result, this catalyst was selected for the optimisation study. At the optimum reaction conditions of 10 wt% catalyst loading and 1:10 oil to methanol feed mole ratio, triglycerides conversion was highest, 98.12%. The characterisation results shows that the parameters tested (i.e. density, viscosity, acid value and free fatty acid) meet the strict requirements of the biodiesel standard and therefore, the produced fuel can be used in place of the petrol diesel.
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    Comprehensive Characterization of Some Selected Biomass for Bioenergy Production
    (ACS Omega, 2023-11-08) Asmau M. Yahya; Adekunle Akanni Adeleke; Petrus Nzerem; Peter Pelumi Ikubanni; Salihu Ayuba; Hauwa A. Rasheed; Abdullahi Gimba; Ikechukwu Okafor; Jude A. Okolie; Prabhu Paramasivam
    There is a lack of information about the detailed characterization of biomass of Nigerian origin. This study presents a comprehensive characterization of six biomass, groundnut shells, corncob, cashew leaves, Ixora coccinea (flame of the woods), sawdust, and lemongrass, to aid appropriate selection for bio-oil production. The proximate, ultimate, calorific value and compositional analyses were carried out following the American Standard for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence were employed in this study for functional group analyses, thermal stability, and structural analyses. The H/C and O/C atomic ratios, fuel ratio, ignitability index, and combustibility index of the biomass samples were evaluated. Groundnut shells, cashew leaves, and lemongrass were identified as promising feedstocks for bio-oil production based on their calorific values (>20 MJ/kg). Sawdust exhibited favorable characteristics for bio-oil production as indicated by its higher volatile matter (79.28%), low ash content (1.53%), low moisture content (6.18%), and high fixed carbon content (13.01%). Also, all samples showed favorable ignition and flammability properties. The low nitrogen (<0.12%) and sulfur (<0.04%) contents in the samples make them environmentally benign fuels as a lower percentage of NOx and SOx will be released during the production of the bio-oil. These results are contributions to the advancement of a sustainable and efficient carbon-neutral energy mix, promoting biomass resource utilization for the generation of energy.
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    Well Placement Optimization Using Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithm
    (Society of Petroleum Engineers SPE, 2019-07-31) Aisha Diggi Tukur; Alonge Oluwaseun; Oghenerume Ogolo; Petrus Nzerem; Nhoyidi Nsan; Ikechukwu Okafor ; Abdullahi Gimba; Okafor Andrew
    The general success ratio of wells drilled lies at 1:4, which highlights the difficulty in properly ascertaining sweetspots. well placement location selection is one of the most important processes to ensure optimal recovery of hydrocarbons. Conventionally, a subjective decision is based on the visualization of the HUPHISO (a product of net-to-gross, porosity and oil saturation) map. While this approach identifies regions of high HUPHISO regarded as sweetspots in the reservoir; it lacks consideration for neighbouring regions of the sweetspot. This sometimes lead to placement of wells in a sweetspot but near an adjoining aquifer; giving rise to early water breakthrough - low hydrocarbon recovery. Recently, heuristic optimization techniques. Genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated annealing (SA) has received attention as methods of selection of well-placement locations. This project developed and implemented GA and SA well-placement algorithms and compared the reservoir performance outputs to that of conventional method. Firstly, a reservoir performance model was built using a reservoir flow simulator. In the base case, the wells were placed based on a subjective selection of gridblocks upon the visualization of the HUPHISO map. Thereafter, JAVA routines of GA and SA well-placement algorithms were developed. The numeric data (ASCII format) underlying the map were then exported to the routines. Finally, the performance model was updated with new well locations as selected based on the GA and SA-based approach and the results were compared to the base case. The Comparison of the results showed that both GA and SA-based approach resulted to an increased recovery and time before water breakthrough.
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    Defining the Optimal Development Strategy to Maximize Recovery and Production Rate from an Integrated Offshore Water-Flood Project
    (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2019-07-31) Hajara Kabeer Abdulfatah; Ikechukwu Okafor; Petrus Nzerem; Khaleel Jakada
    A reservoir development plan provides the necessary guidance and information for establishing whether or not a project is economically viable considering possible development project options, risks and uncertainties in order to define the most optimal development concept that will increase oil production and reduce production costs. The aim of this project was to determine the optimum way to develop and produce an offshore oil field in a manner that considers risks and uncertainties and values stakeholders’ interest. A stochastic multi-tank reservoir model was created using MBAL and it consist of various producers and water injection wells. Sensitivity analysis was carried out on Seven development scenarios with a view to examine effect of maintaining reservoir pressure, sustaining well productivity and injectivity, optimize well counts and improving well delivery- timing, cost and well performance. The economic viability of each of the development scenarios was carried out to determine the net present value, incremental project cash flow, unit technical cost, unit development cost and breakeven price BEP of each of the scenarios. The optimal development strategy was then selected based on the production performance and key economic indicators. The project provided an opportunity to develop an additional 396MMbbls of recoverable oil from 32 new wells both producers and injector wells (P+WI).
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    Study of the Potential of Sodium Carbonate Extracted from Trona as a Drilling Fluid Additive
    (International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa, 2020-06-30) Petrus Nzerem; Enyo June Adejoh; Oghenerume Ogolo; Ikechukwu Okafor; Abdullahi Gimba; Ternenge Joseph Chior; Precious Ogbeiwi
    Drilling additives play a unique role during drilling operations, from aiding in the control of various drilling challenges to successfully enhancing downhole drilling efficiency. pH enhancers are amongst the plethora of additives imported into Nigeria at exorbitant prices to aid in drilling operations. These additives includes NaOH, Na2CO3, Ca(OH)2 etc. These additives are used to improve the mud pH and mitigates drill string corrosion. The high cost of importation of these additives, has warranted the need for product substitution which should take advantage of the locally available resources. This paper evaluated the suitability of locally-sourced Trona, as a mud additive in drilling mud. Trona is known chemically as Sodium Sesquicarbonate or Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate. A distinguishing factor in this research work was the purification of Trona by extracting the compound of interest (Na2CO3) from it using the monohydrate process. The purification method involved crushing and screening of Trona as well as calcination, filtration and evaporation processes. The analysis of the Trona and the extracted product was performed using quantitative analysis and characterization tools such as FTIR and EDX. Further experimentation was carried out to evaluate the effects of the extracted sodium carbonate on the mud pH, rheology, and density of the water based mud. The results were also compared to the results gotten from the addition of conventional Na2CO to similar mud samples. The extracted Na2CO was observed to increase the pH of the mud samples from 8.73 to 9.52 and the commercial Na2CO increased it from 8.73 to 10 and this value is still in the range of API standard. The pH enhancers from both sources also had effect on the mud rheological properties. This indeed showed that the extracted Na2CO from Trona acted as drilling fluid pH enhancer and hence possess the potential for usage in the industry.
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    Determination of the Optimal Blend Ratio of Hydrogen in Natural Gas System Using Physical Properties as Basis
    (ICMEAS, 2023-11-01) Ayuba Salihu ; Ikechukwu Okafor; Aniezi Okoro Daniel; Abdullahi Gimba ; Petrus Nzerem
    The Determination of the optimal blend ratio of hydrogen in natural gas systems using physical properties as a basis is an important research topic given the increasing use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source. This research aims to determine the optimal blend ratio of hydrogen in a natural gas system using physical properties such as its Composition, Heating Value, Density, and Wobbe index as the basis of evaluation. Samples of consumer-grade Natural gas and clean Hydrogen gas were sourced in Nigeria. Both samples were used for blending and laboratory analysis. The blend volume ratios of Natural Gas (NG) and Hydrogen analyzed were 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4, & 5:5 using a Gasometer and Gas Chromatography Machine (CG). The experiment results provided valuable insights into the potential feasibility of replacing natural gas systems with a Hydrogen-Natural gas blend. The result obtained indicated about 2.06% reduction in percentage methane content, 26.35% reduction in gas density, 19.97% reduction in heating value (HHV), 5% reduction Wobbe index for every 10% increment of Hydrogen Ratio. This implies that blending carbon-neutral hydrogen gas into the natural gas systems for the purpose of decarbonization requires adequate compensation for expected changes in properties like heating value, flow dynamics, and process handling. The EUROMOT specification recommends that the percentage change in the wobbe index should be within the limit of +4% and -4% as an acceptable limit of interchangeability of fuel gas. Using the EUROMOT specification on Wobbe index, further numerical analysis affirmed that Natural Gas blended with as much as 25.74% Hydrogen can effectively be a substitute for fuel gas systems that are presently using Natural Gas.
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    Simulation Study of the Effect of Various Water Alternating Gas Injection Schemes on Recovery in a Gas Condensate Reservoir
    (Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), 2023-07-30) Jakada K.; Abdullahi Gimba; Ikechukwu Okafor ; Petrus Nzerem; Abdulfatah H. K.; Oluogun M.
    The volatile characteristics of gas condensate reservoirs in the phase envelope makes its temperature and pressure conditions between the critical and cricondentherm points very sensitive to perhaps only rely on one source of reservoir energy enhancement and puts enormous technical constraints on quality decision making on effective reservoir management. Non adequate oil production simulation performance interpretation for high, base and low case scenarios based on critical high quality input data is definitely the technical missing link which severely hampers effective design, development, planning, optimization and prediction of gas condensate reservoir performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the recovery performance of a rapidly declining reservoir flow rates of a gas condensate reservoir through the water alternating gas (WAG) injection technique using the Schlumberger Eclipse simulator. Five different case scenarios were used which include cases of no-injection wells (which is the control case), gas injection, water injection, water alternating gas (for 7, 5, and 3-spot patterns) and flow rate alterations with a seven spot pattern-WAG technique. A total of 13 simulation runs were done with one control and 12 other runs with high, base and low cases. The sensitized water and gas injection rates used ranges from 12,000STB/day to 2,000STB/day and 12,000MSCF/day to 1,000MSCF/day. All results showed increase in oil flow rates with appreciable pressure response and subsequently, the viable option would be to consider in the short term water and gas injection before considering the more holistic WAG techniques in the long term. This is due to the current economic and technical constraints to boost the viability of the best choice of action. The results of these comprehensive simulation runs is a viable data bank needed for critical decision making for improved recovery from this rapidly declining condensate reservoir.
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    Preparation and Characterization of Different Eco-Friendly Demulsifiers from Calabash Seed for Emulsion Management
    (Nigerian Journal of Technology, 2024-12-31) Ikechukwu Okafor; Adewumi, C. N.; Jakada K.; Petrus Nzerem; Abdullahi Gimba; Danbauchi S.
    The process of crude oil demulsification is still confronted with numerous challenges within the petroleum industry. Consequently, it is pertinent to develop innovative means or materials to accomplish the efficient separation of oil– water emulsions. In this work, three different Eco-friendly demulsifier: oil based, ethanol-based and Nano-based demulsifiers were prepared via a simple one-step hydrothermal route using Lagenaria siceraria (calabash) seed as raw materials. The eco-friendly demulsifiers were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic (GC-MS) and their chemical content and Physico-chemical properties compared with a commercial demulsifier (Phase treat). The results obtained showed that the seed have an oil content of 31%. The phytochemical screening of the extracted oil reveals the presence of most compounds found in chemical demulsifiers such as phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids, terpenoids etc. The FT-IR spectra of the chemical demulsifier was found to be similar to that of the oil and most of the functional groups present in the ethanol and oil bases demulsifiers whereas that of Nano-based was observed to differ. The GC MS analysis reveals the presence of both lipophilic and hydrophilic compound needed for demulsifiers preparation. In the bottle test analysis carried out to determine the efficacy of the eco-friendly demulsifiers, it was observed that the nano-based demulsifier performed better than the commercial demulsifier in the following trend: Nano-based > commercial > ethanol-based > oil-based. This current study not only encourage the effectual application of agricultural waste (Calabash seed) but also creates an understanding into the search of new demulsifying materials that would offer excellent performance. Finally, future investigations should focus on assessing the efficacy, stability, and potential industrial applications of these bio-demulsifiers and Nano-based demulsifiers.