Field Applications of Nanotechnology in the Oil and Gas Industry: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Abstract

During the early 21st century, nanotechnology has stood strong in the oil and gas industry, with many applications that have gone from laboratory and numerical simulation studies to successful trial applications in the field. In this Review, recent advances of nanofluid and nanoparticle applications in real environments of the oil and gas industry are presented. These applications cover more than 20 wells in Colombia that have been treated to overcome different formation damage mechanisms, such as asphaltene precipitation/deposition, fines migration, and inorganic scale deposition. Also, different approaches to enhance drilling fluids in Canada, Brazil, Iran, and Colombia are examined. In the case of improved oil recovery (IOR), different applications are discussed, including strategies to improve the productivity of heavy crude oil and extra-heavy crude oil reservoirs through enhanced mobility and hydraulic fracturing in Colombia, a field trial for water shutoff in Csongrad-3 formation in the Algyo field in Hungary, nanocapsules injection for wettability alteration, applications of gas injection (N2 and CO2) in the presence of nanoparticles in Austin chalk, Buda and Eagle Ford formations in the United States, and the use of nanoparticle-assisted foams for well dewatering in China. For secondary and tertiary recovery, we explore the design and implementation of A-Dots and carbon quantum dots as tracers in Saudi Arabia and Colombia, respectively, hydrophobic nanoparticles as drag reducers in injector wells in China, and nanofluids for enhancing chemical enhanced oil recovery processes in southern Colombia. It is worth mentioning that the results were based on oil production and reserves derived from production curves and analysis of the declination curves. Finally, challenges and perspectives of the role of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry today are discussed.

Advances in and Perspectives on Strategies for Improving the Flowability of Waxy Oils

“…At the same time, polymer pour point depressants have poor timeliness, insufficient resistance to shear and repeated heat treatment, and unsatisfactory effects on crude oils with high wax content and high resin asphaltene, and there is an urgent need to develop and synthesize pour point depressants with special chemical composition and microstructure to meet the needs of field pipeline transmission. Therefore, researchers have used micro-and nanotechnology to develop new microand nanocomposite pour point depressants 252 (Table 6).…”

Minireview of Formation Damage Control through Nanotechnology Utilization at Fieldwork Conditions

“…Iran has been using nanomaterials for oil and gas research in recent years. ,− Nanotechnology was applied in one of the unknown Iranian oilfields in the country’s south. The formation contains shale rocks, which are linked to different challenges such as fluid loss, lack of chemical stability, borehole collapse, well kicking, and sticking of the pipes.…”

“…Franco et al 67 recently demonstrated the application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas sector. They applied nanotechnology in EOR, water shutoff, dewatering, and improvement of production in heavy oil, and their results were based on the oil production rate.…”

Mechanism of Nano-depressurization and Injection-Augmenting Technology and Its Application in China’s Oilfields: Recent Advances and Perspectives

“…Most oilfields at home and abroad adopt water injection development for the recovery of crude oil, and many old oilfields have increased their recovery ratio after long-term water injection development. − However, considering the complexity of the reservoir and the noncompliance of the water quality of injected water with the oilfield development requirements, the water injection process is easily affected by the invasion of foreign solid particles, bacterial blockage and swelling, and dispersion and migration of clay minerals, causing damage to the formation permeability and subsequent increase in injection pressure and decrease in water injection. , In recent years, on the basis of water flooding, chemical flooding has been widely used for tertiary oil recovery in China’s oilfields, and remarkable results have been achieved. , However, the use of chemical agents causes several problems, such as chemical acidification causes secondary migration of particles, resulting in further damage to the formation and a short effective period; the extensive use of surfactant increases the development cost; the injection of polymer further blocks the pore roar; and degradation is difficult. The problems of under- and noninjection in water injection wells have seriously affected the development of oilfields. − …”