A Review of Wax-Formation/Mitigation Technologies in the Petroleum Industry

Wax or paraffin formation in subsea pipelines is a major problem in the upstream petroleum industry, accounting for tremendous economic losses. Researchers have reported that approximately 85% of the world's oils encounter problems from wax formation (Thota and Onyeanuna 2016). In this manuscript, the authors briefly discuss the mechanism of wax formation in pipelines. Next, a review of various wax-mitigation technologies is provided. The review includes citations of various thermal, chemical, mechanical, biological, and other innovative methods reported by previous researchers and used in the industry.