Abstract
The need to increase petroleum production capacity in trying to achieve self-sufficiency, has led Brazil to intensify its research and production in deep waters. The seawater injection process has proven to be an effective mechanism for improving the oil recovery factor in such cases. However, the success of the injection project depends on the quality of the injected seawater and its compatibility with the reservoir. The strategy used to minimize the risks associated with the seawater injection process and to reach production targets under environmentally safe conditions, involves: establishment of the injection water quality requirements, standardization of the techniques for on-line monitoring of the injection water quality and development of an expert system to assist the operational team in controlling the water quality and corrosion process.
This paper describes those strategies and introduces an expert system developed to seawater injection plants, that allows for the acquisition of corrosion and water quality variables, and infers diagnoses, recommendations and alarms to indicate corrective procedures as soon as a deviation occurs.
