Enhanced Oil recovery

1. By : Sarthak Shah (PE16M006)
IIT MARDAS
Applications Of Nanotechnology
In EHOR

2. What Is Nanotechnology
2
 Engineering With Molecules And Atoms
 Dealing with Sizes of 1 to 100 nanometers
 Fabrication of a Device or System on a nanometer
Length Scale
 Involves Synthesis and Utilization of:
NanoParticles / NanoFibers / NanoFilms /
NanoCrystals

3. Kondratyev’s Cycle
3

4. WHY Nanotechnology
4
 Properties of Material Changes
 Number of Atoms at surface become significant
 Provides Large Surface to volume Ratio (Enhanced Activity At
Surface)
 Chemically Modified Surfaces (Wettability Alteration At
Nanoscale)
 Enhanced Thermal Properties (Heat Transfer)

5. Nanomaterials
5

6. Major Applications of
Nanotechnology
6

7. Applications In Oil & Gas Industry
7

8. Why used in EOR??
8
•Heavy Oil : Gravity less than 22 API
•Extra Heavy Oil: Less than 10 API ; viscosity <10000cp
•Bitumen: Viscosity - >50000 cp
•All have high S,N components than light oils
•Resins Are responsible for keeping Asphaltenes mixed with the
saturates. Thus high amount of resins does not allow oil to flow easily

9. Nanotechnology In EHOR
9
Nanofluids
(Wettability Alteration)
Nanoemulsions
(Mobility Control)
Nanocatalyst
(Enhancing Steam Injection)
Three Major
Branches

10. Nanofluids
10
 Nanofluids are made by dispersing the
nanoparticles in a base fluid.
 The most widely used nanoparticles is silicon
nanoparticles with a different wettability.

11. Role Of Nanofluids
11
 The main role of Nanofluids is the wettability
alteration from oil wet to neutral wet or water wet
or vice versa.
 Wettability alteration is achieved by adsorption of
nanoparticles of the desired wettability on the
rock.
 This adsorption is occurred due to disjoining
pressure.
 HLPN alter the rock from water wet to oil wet.
 LHPN alter the rock from oil wet to water wet.
 NWPN alter either oil wet or water wet rock to
neutral wet.

12. Disjoining Pressure
12

13. Comparison with Water and Polymer
Floods
13

14. Factors affecting Nanofluid in EOR applications
14
• Nanoparticle Size
• Nanoparticle Concentration
• Nanoparticle Wettability
• Rock Composition
• Oil Composition
• Brine Ph

15. Nanoemulsions
15
• 50-500nm
• Small enough to pass typical microporesSize
• High
• Also Good at High temperatures
• For Extended Periods
Stability
• Surfactant adsorb desorb relatively Easily
• Nano particle require high energy at
interface (oil -water) ; irreversibly adsorbed
Advantage
over surfactant
stabilization

16. 16

17. Nanofoams
17
 Similar to Nanoemulsions,
CO2 Nanofoams can be
formed
 There are surfactant
stabilized Co2 foams
typically used.
 Surfactant retention is an
issue.
 Surfactant foams are stable
for a few hours whereas
nanoparticle foams are
Co2 Nano
Foam

18. Nanocatalyst
18
 The so-called in-situ upgrading is accompanied by
decreasing the asphaltenes and resins content,
molecular weight and sulfur content, and by
increasing saturates and aromatics content and H/C
ratio.
 This technology of the use of ultradispersed metals
or nanoparticles as catalysts for in situ upgrading of
heavy crude oil and bitumen/tar sands.
 Nano-sized transition metal can easily transported
through the porous media of micron-sized.

19. Aquathermolysis
19
 Aquathermolysis results in irreversible lowering of
heavy oil viscosity.
 Aquathermolysis window ranges from 200 oC to 300
oC
 Chemical Reactions of Aquathermolysis
 According to the theory of chemical valence, among
C-O, C-S, and CN chemical bonds, the C-S bond
energy is the least.
 Because of this, the C-S bond will break in the
process of aquathermolysis and result in a low amount
of sulfur and heavy components such as resin and
asphaltene.
 The hydrolysis of aliphatic sulfur linkages is the main

20. Nanocatalyst Used
20
 The analysis found that all transition metal
species have the ability to accelerate the
decomposition of the sulfur compounds.
 Among all the transition metal species, VO2+ ,
Mo3+ ,Ni 2+ and Fe3+ are the most effective for
aquathermolysis of heavy oil.
 Nickel nanoparticles improved the recovery of the
steam stimulation process by 10%.

21. Other Specific Uses
21
Fines
Migration
Nano
Filters
Nano
Sensors

22. Limitations
22
 Although, nano-particles have high mobility in
porous media because their size are quite smaller
compared to the pore size, but some proportion of
the catalyst are retained in the sand.
 However, there are still hurdles facing it, which
include
 determining the effective size of the nano-catalyst to
secure penetration in the porous reservoir matrix,
 changes in temperature during operation may result
in settling,
 separation
 possible agglomeration of the nano-catalyst,
 synthesis

23. References
23
 Nanofluids in HV application TUDeft university
 A review on applications of nanotechnology in the
enhanced oil recovery part A: effects of nanoparticles on
interfacial tension Goshtasp Cheraghian (2016)
 Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Polymer/ nanosilica, H.
Yousefvand et al (2015)
 EOR/IOR-nanotechnologies: present and future,
Alexander Khavkin et al (2014)
 SPE157094 Nanotechnology assissted EOR techniques,
new solutions to old challenges, Shahayab Ayatollahi
(2012)
 CO2 EOR: Nanotechnology for Mobility Control Studied
Sinisha (Jay) Jikich (2012)
Thank You