No abstract

Applications of nanotechnology in several fields of petroleum industry, e.g., refinery, drilling and enhanced oil recovery (EOR), have attracted a lot of attention, recently. This research investigates the applications of nanoparticles in EOR process. The potential of various nanoparticles, in hybrid and bare forms for altering the state of wettability, reducing the interfacial tension (IFT), changing the viscosity and activation of other EOR mechanisms are studied based on recent findings. Focusing on EOR, hybrid applications of nanoparticles with surfactants, polymers, low-salinity phases and foams are discussed and their synergistic effects are evaluated. Also, activated EOR mechanisms are defined and specified. Since the stabilization of nanofluids in harsh conditions of reservoir is vital for EOR applications, different methods for stabilizing nanofluids through EOR procedures are reviewed. Besides, a discussion on different functional groups of NPs is represented. Later, an economic model for evaluation of EOR process is examined and “Hotelling” method as an appropriate model for investigation of economic aspects of EOR process is introduced in detail. The findings of this study can lead to better understanding of fundamental basis about efficiency of nanoparticles in EOR process, activated EOR mechanisms during application of nanoparticles, selection of appropriate nanoparticles, the methods of stabilizing and economic evaluation for EOR process with respect to costs and outcomes.

Previous studies on Nanoparticles (NPs) application for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods have revealed their effective role in the rock wettability alteration, relative Interfacial Tension (IFT) and oil viscosity reduction, formation and stabilization of the emulsions, and reduced asphaltene precipitation, which are all in direct relationship with oil/water interfacial properties. This study focuses on the interfacial properties of oil/water in the presence of Titania NPs and different ions at different pressures and temperatures. For this, different concentrations of TiO2 NPs in the Formation Water (FW) were prepared to monitor the effects of NPs on the oil/water IFT, carbonate rock wettability, zeta potential, and asphaltene adsorption. The results on IFT values indicated that NPs behavior at high pressures and temperatures is completely different, as compared to the ambient conditions, and 1000 ppm NPs introduced the lowest IFT at 600 psi and 60 °C. This reduction is potentially attributed to the asphaltene adsorption at the oil/water interface by TiO2 NPs, which hinders the asphaltene deposition at the interface and in turn IFT increasing. Contact angle results revealed two distinctive behaviors for NPs at high and low concentrations. In other words, with the first interval (below the optimum concentration), an increase in NPs concentration led to a quick wettability alteration toward the water-wet condition, and with the second one (above the optimum concentration), there was an increase in contact angle with an increase in NPs concentration, which is due to the NPs stacking near the rock surface. These results were in good accordance with zeta potential measurements, in which 1000 ppm nanofluid presented the highest stability (zeta potential value of −46.9 mV). Batch adsorption experiments resulted that catalytic TiO2 NPs are capable of adsorbing asphaltene at the oil/water interface. In addition, the results on fitting experimental data to the Langmuir and Freundlich Isotherms showed that the adsorption best fitted Langmuir Isotherm and hence the adsorption type is a monolayer.

High water production in oil fields is an area of concern due to economic issues and borehole/wellhead damages. Colloidal gels can be a good alternative to polymers to address this as they can tolerate harsh oil reservoir conditions. A series of bottle tests with different silica and NaCl concentrations were first conducted. The gelation time, cation valence, rheology, and viscosity were investigated to characterize the gels. The applicability of solid gels in porous media was finally inspected in a dual-patterned glass micromodel. Bottle test results showed that increasing NaCl concentration at a constant silica concentration can convert solid gels into two-phase gels and then viscous suspensions. Na+ replacement with Mg2+ resulted a distinctive behaviour probably due to higher coagulating ability of Mg2+. Rheology and viscosity results agreed with gelation times: gel with shortest gelation time had the highest viscosity and storage/loss modulus but was not the most elastic one. Water injection into glass micromodel half-saturated with crude oil and solid gel proved that the gel is strong against pressure gradients applied by injected phase which is promising for water conformance controls. The diverted injected phase recorded an oil recovery of 53% which was not feasible without blocking the water zone.