CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Over the past decades, advances in the development of petroleum resources have contributed enormously to the global energy demand and economic development. Exploration of petroleum requires huge capital investment and it’s the goal of the companies to get a good reward for their investments. Hydrocarbon bearing formation are susceptible to damage and plugging from a variety of sources which could be natural or induced. The permeability and porosity of virgin reservoirs may be altered dramatically unless drilling, completion and interventions are carried out with utmost diligence and attention to details. Without these, the well productivity and the reserve recovery would suffer, leading to high cost of well maintenance and environmental protection costs which has huge economic impact on the exploration companies (Kruger, 1986). This became the driver for researches on more efficient ways to explore crude oil in order to maximize profit. The usage of chemicals in the oilfields has helped overcome a lot of the challenges experienced. Oilfield chemicals areutilized in many ways and at different stages in the upstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry. They serve several functions including enhanced oil recovery,drilling optimization, corrosion protection, prevent mud loss in different geological formations,and stabilize drilling fluid in high pressure and high temperature environment, among others. There has been a steady rise in the demand for oilfield chemicals because of its importance in recent times in the face of depleting oil resources. The cost of demand rose up to $26.06 billion in 2017 and is expected to rise further up to $32.69 billion by 2023 (Zoveidavianpoor, 2019).