Experimenting silica nanoparticles and smart water solution on an oil-wet rock and recording changes in interfacial tension and the contact angle which defines wettability.

1. NANOPARTICLES ASSISTED SMART WATER FLOODING
FOR EOR APPLICATIONS IN KURDISTAN REGION
Chneran Ali Hussein Surchi

2. OUTLINE
 Review
 Enhancing Oil Recovery, EOR
 Nanoparticles in EOR
 Aim
 Methodology
 Rock sample collection, core plug and thin section preparation
 Aging
 Solutions preparation
 IFT and wettability determination
 Results and discussion
 Composition of the rock
 IFT test results
 Contact angle results
 Conclusion
 References

3. REVIEW
Enhancing Oil Recovery, EOR
NP=ED*EA*EVI*(So Vp)/Bo
NP, oil recovery ED, micro displacement EA and EVI, macro displacement
o Micro displacement efficiency is affected by; relative permeability, capillary pressure, interfacial tension, and
wettability.
o Macro sweep efficiency is affected by; pattern of the producer and injector wells, reservoir heterogeneity, oil and
injecting fluid mobility ratios, and properties of reservoir rocks.
o Interfacial tension; 𝑁𝑐𝑎 =
𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠
=
𝑉𝜇
𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
oil recovery is directly proportional to capillary number and inversely to interfacial
tension
o Wettability is a function of contact angle ; contact angle reduce, formation becomes more water wet

4. Nanoparticles in EOR
Table 1 Summary of Nano fluids field trials (Alsaba et al, 2020)

5. Aim
o Using silica particles along with smart water.
o Experimenting on carbonate rock sample from pila spi formation.
o Reducing interfacial tension
o Decreasing contact angle

6. METHODOLOGY
o Rock sample collection from pila spi formation
Figure 1 outcrop of Pila Spi formation

7. o Core plug preparation with drill press and trimmed into thin sections.
Figure 3 trimmed core plug Figure 4 thin sectionsFigure 2 rock sample

8. o Aging
Reservoir fluid samples Time (Days) Time (hours)
Brine 5 120
Oil 20 500
Table 2 Aging periods

9. o Solutions Preparation
First brine was prepared from those salts and concentration of ions then three times calcium ions
were added to make smart water.
Salts
Na2SO4
Na2S
NaHCO3
BaCl2
NaCl
KCl
CuSO4
MgCl2
CaCl2
Table 3 salts used for brine
Ion concentration (mg/L)
Cl 16200
PO4 2.6
F 0.8
SO4 1141
S 2750
HCO3 1600
Ba 67
Na 10789
K 1610
NH3N 12.6
Cu 171
Al3 2.7
Mg 380
Mn 10
Fe 2.4
Ca 1520
Table 4 Ion composition and concentration in brine
Salinity (relative to
F.W.)
Deionized 0
10 time diluted 0.1
5 time diluted 0.2
2 time diluted 0.5
1.5 time diluted 0.67
Formation Water 1
Table 5 dilution amount relative to
formation water or brine

10. o Then different amounts of silica particles were added and tested
Weight percentage of silica
0.25
0.5
1
Table 6 amount of silica NPs in wt%
Oil sample properties
Type Light oil
API 36
Density 0.8 g/cc
Viscosity 9.5 cp
Table 7 oil sample properties

11. o IFT and wettability determination
Figure 5 HP-HT Pendant Drop Device

12. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
o Composition of the rock
Limestone and the main composition was calcite, traces of quartz and dolomite.
Figure 6 thin section under microscope

13. o IFT test results
1.5 times dilution gives the least IFT thus its chosen as a base fluid
Salinity (relative to
F.W.)
IFT (mN/m)
Deionized 0 15.86
10 time diluted 0.1 15.37
5 time diluted 0.2 14.52
2 time diluted 0.5 12.64
1.5 time diluted 0.67 11.18
Formation Water 1 12.45
Table 8 IFT results for diluted brines
Slica NPs added to smart water
Weight percentage IFT (mN/m)
0.25 8.41
0.5 8.26
1 7.96
Table 9 weight percentage of silica resulting in different IFT

14. Figure 7 a comparison between IFT reductions of different solutions

15. o Contact angle results
Figure 8 a comparison between contact angle reductions for each silica amount added

16. 1.5FW_3Ca+0.25wt% NP
48hr 120hr 240hr 540hr
166 122 119 112
164 112 124 109
167 124 115 115
160 125 127 108
133 114 108
121 122 113
time (hr) 0 48 120 240 540
AVG C.A 170 164 123 120 111
Table 10 optimum contact angle measurement at different times

17. Figure 12 oil droplet after 540 hrFigure 11 oil droplet after 240 hr
Figure 10 oil droplet after 120 hrFigure 9 oil droplet after 48hr

18. CONCLUSION
o More oil is required to be produced to meet the future demand.
o Nanoparticles are proven to be capable of enhancing oil recovery during injection process by reducing
IFT and altering wettability.
o This research paper aims at experimenting aforementioned parameters.
o Rock, oil, and brine composition samples are from the Kurdistan region.
o Silica nanoparticles were used along with smart water.
o 0.25, 0.5, and 1 weight percentages of silica was added to the base solution and tested for IFT and
contact angle.
o The base solution was 1.5 times diluted brine with three times calcium ions addition.
o IFT reduced the most to 7.96 mN/m with 1 weight percent of silica. However, optimum weight percent for
the contact angle was 0.25 reducing the angle from 170° to 111° and could be concluded as intermediate
wet or close to water wet.
o More research should be conducted to clearly understand the mechanism and success of different types
of nanoparticles in EOR.

19. REFERENCES
o Afolabi, R.O., Yusuf, E.O., 2018. Nanotechnology and global energy demand:
challenges and prospects for a paradigm shift in the oil and gas industry. [online]
Available at:< https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13202-018-0538-0 >
(Accessed 2 July 2020).
o Agi, A. et al., 2018. Mechanism governing nanoparticle flow behaviour in porous
media: insight for enhanced oil recovery applications. [online] Available at:<
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40089-018-0237-3 > (Accessed 3 July
2020).
o Alsaba, T. M. et al., 2020. A comprehensive review of nanoparticles applications in
the oil and gas industry. [online] Available at:<
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13202-019-00825-z > (Accessed 3 July
2020).
o Baviere, M. et al., (1991). Basic Concepts in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes.
Essex and New York: ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO.