How Oxiteno works

Drilling fluids are critical in oil and gas exploration, as they maintain a well's stability, cool and lubricate the drill bit, and help to remove grit. Oxiteno  optimizes drilling productivity with a wide range of additives for drilling fluids and well-cleaning agents.

Its entire line of humectants, lubricants (ULTRAFLUID^®), continuous phase (ULTROIL^® OE), helps guarantee the high performance and stability required by the challenges faced in drilling activities.

For the challenges in this stage, different types of drilling fluids are used and usually rated according to their main base (continuous phase). Oxiteno provides solutions adapted to each type of fluid and technology, such as ULTROIL^® OE 040, made of base oils with low aromatic content for oil-based drilling fluids (OBM).

Lubricants are important additives used in drilling fluids to guarantee the integrity of the drill string and reduce friction to achieve higher penetration speeds during drilling. The ULTRAFLUID^® line, which includes natural and  synthetic-based lubricants, features high biodegradability and low toxicity,  assuring the efficiency of this step. The cleaning agent, ULTROIL^® WM 1001,  completes this line. Its proprietary combination of ingredients is excellent for  dissolving and dispersing oil or synthetic-based fluid residues, leaving the well,  tubing, and metal surfaces free of oil deposits, even at low application rates and  under high salinity conditions.

Applications:

• Lubricants
• Casing Cleaners
• Additives
• Humectants
• Continuous phase

Oxiteno serves the well stimulation stage with a complete line of emulsion preventers, surfactants for stimulation and hydraulic fracturing, and specific solvents. Its solutions act in the stimulation of wells providing better performance in  well intervention and hydrocarbon recovery operations.

The emulsion preventers in the ULTRAWET^® line prevent the oil from mixing with the injected fluids, enhancing the efficiency of stimulation operations with the use of acid solutions where the formation of these emulsions is common. This low toxicity product line delivers high performance even in different types of oil and fluids, ensuring the integrity of these fluids in a wide range of applications.

Oxiteno also has a research pipeline for the development of green solvents and surfactants to remove different types of paraffin and asphaltenes.

Applications:

• Emulsion preventers
• Surfactants
• Flowback Solutions
• Specific solvents

The separation phase is one of the most critical stages in oil production. In this step, the efficiency of the process to separate the resulting fluids directly impacts operational cost. Therefore, the stage of breaking the emulsion and dehydrating the oil is extremely important and ensures productivity and competitiveness
for service companies.

ULTROIL^® EB is a streamlined line of intermediates for demulsifying formulations that help to destabilize the oil emulsion, ensuring the quality of the different phases (oil and water) and increasing productivity in oil recovery.

The components of a demulsifying formulation are rated according to their different functions and the features they deliver during the oil emulsion treatment. Oxiteno's portfolio includes the demulsifying bases in the ULTROIL^® EB line, and several additives that have different actions in breaking down emulsions, and can also act as a hybrid - that is, with more than one function depending on the type of emulsion:

Droppers: Improve the coalescence process of water droplets, boosting speed in the fluid separation process, as well as the excellent quality of the separated phases.

Dryers / Treaters: Agents that increase the efficiency of oil emulsion treatment, inducing the flocculation and coalescence of the dispersed phase, and delivering excellent oil dehydration results.

Wetting Agents: Interact with solids that may be present in the emulsion, changing their wettability features and destabilizing the emulsion.

The observed results of water separation for some of the products and their simple combination are illustrated in the graph and the image below. For more information about the products and recommendations for use, contact our Technical Assistance team.

Applications:

• Demulsifiers
• Foamers

The free flow of hydrocarbons from the well to the surface is one aspect to assure operational safety and well performance. Paraffin and asphaltene precipitation during production can reduce or even plug flow lines and reduce profitability. Oxiteno offers solutions from its Flow Assurance portfolio to control this precipitation.

This portfolio is comprised of paraffin inhibitors and pour point depressants in the SURFONIC® OFP line, as well as SURFONIC® OFA asphaltene dispersants that help maintain the cold fluidity of the crude and increase the solubility of hydrocarbons in the oil. This prevents precipitation, plugging, and contamination of the production lines, minimizing economic and safety impacts in oil flow to the surface.

The products of this technological platform are intended to guarantee the useful life of the equipment used in the exploration and production of oil and gas.

The ULTROIL^® CI intermediates line creates a protective film to prevent corrosion, which poses a serious threat to the assets of the oil and gas industry at all stages, from exploration to production and refining.

Used in formulations of corrosion inhibitors, the ULTROIL^® CI line provides anti-corrosion protection on internal surfaces, maintaining the integrity of metallic materials used in the transport and storage of hydrocarbons and reducing the formation of sediments and the wear of the metallic material.

On this platform, we also have the H_₂S sequestrant, ULTROIL^® SV 70, which removes H_₂S from oil, reducing health and environmental hazards and ensuring the safety of the operation.

Applications:

• Corrosion inhibitors
• H_₂S sequestrant

Oxiteno is aligned with society's demands, offering solutions for the present and future of the Energy & Resources industry. Its technologies allow service companies to develop more sustainable formulations and create alternatives in global energy production. With this in mind, in 2021, Oxiteno launched its innovation platform in biofuels.

Internationally, the industry is adapting to the transition of the energy matrix. In recent years, there has been significant investment in wind farms and reducing CO₂ emissions in operations. In this scenario, renewable sources, such as biofuels, have grown in importance in the energy sector.

In practice, biofuel production involves a complex chain of processes, using a wide range of chemical sources, such as foam controlling agents, biocides, demulsifiers, fouling inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, and neutralizers.
One of Oxiteno's pillars is investing in research and development, contributing to the sector's constant growth. Its new solutions in biofuels aim to increase the technical and economic efficiency of these production processes to meet the challenges of a very competitive and demanding market.

Chief among the products under development by Oxiteno are:

• Foam controlling agents – Control of alcoholic fermentation foam is essential to increase fermentation efficiency. It requires formulations capable of preventing foam and combating it – where dispersants and defoamers are imperative.
• Corn oil demulsifier – The efficient separation of corn oil from distillation solids, co-products formed in the ethanol production process, increases the quality of the co-products and their value propositions. That is why it is so important to use effective demulsifiers.