How Nanotechnology can be used in Enhanced oil recovery to alter wettability and reduce interfacial tension

1. ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF NANO TECHNOLOGY;
Changes in interfacial tension and
wettability
PRESENTED BY ; STEPHEN ADJEI
ROLL NO ; 14MT000605
MTECH PETROLEUM- PE

2. SCOPE
Introduction
Literature review
Report Details
Conclusion

3. OBJECTIVES
• To determine how Nanotechnology can be used in Enhanced Oil
Recovery to cause wettability alterations and reduce interfacial
tension.
• To study the factors that bring about oil entrapment

4. INTRODUCTION
• Production of the initial oil in
place can be achieved by three
main techniques. Primary
recovery, Secondary recovery
and Tertiary / Enhanced oil
recovery

5. PRIMARY
RECOVERY
• This is via the natural drive mechanism
occurring in the reservoir; Water drive,
depletion drive , gascap drive, gravity
drive or a combination of drives. This
can recover only 10 - 20% of the Initial
Oil in Place.
• If the reservoir energy is not enough to
lift fluids an artificial lift is installed to
lift produced fluids to surface
SUCKER ROD PUMP – ARTIFICIAL LIFT

6. SECONDARY
RECOVERY
• These involve the injection of water or
gas to displace oil and drive it to
wellbore without changing the
properties of the fluid.

7. ENHANCED OIL
RECOVERY
• Includes chemical flooding , thermal
flooding and miscible flooding
methods. These changes the properties
of the fluids to improve sweep
efficiency by reducing the mobility ratio
between injected and in-place fluids,
eliminate or reduce the capillary and
interfacial forces and thus improve
displacement efficiency.

8. IMPROVED RECOVERY METHOD EXAMPLES CHALLENGES
Secondary OIL Recovery
recovery of OIIP)
Water Injection
Gas Injection
 For water injection, Incompatibility
between injected fluid and formation
fluid leads to formation damage and
scale formation
 the injected fluids often quickly
channel through the formation
bypassing most of the oil in place due
the unfavourable mobility ratios
Enhanced Oil Recovery
75% recovery of OIIP)
Chemical Flooding- (Polymer/Surfactant)
Thermal flooding
(Steam flooding/ In situ combustion)
Gas injection- CO2 injection
high costs, potential corrosion of the
formation and fluid loss during the flow
through the reservoir
channelling of steam
Very low Viscosity of CO2 results in poor
mobility control

9. THE WAY FORWARD
The world is in a phase where
there is an increased demand
of energy sources (particularly
oil and gas) and reduced
production due to mature
oilfields. There is a need for
new technologies which can
help improve production from
the reservoir and develop new
fields. Nanotechnology offers
promising solution for the
same
SORRY NO OIL

10. WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY
• (Bueno, 2004 as cited in (Fletcher and Davis, 2010) defines
nanotechnology as the direct control of materials and devices on the
atomic and molecular scale; nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100
nanometers. (1nm is a billionth of a meter, or 10-9 of a meter).

11. WHY NANOTECHNOLOGY
• Properties of materials change as
their size approaches the nano
scale.
• As a particle decreases in size, a
greater proportion of atoms are
found at the surface compared to
those inside. This increase in surface
area leads to an increase in the rate
of reactions which occur on the
surface of the material.
• Has added properties such as
lightness, mechanical strength and
corrosive resistant as compared to
their larger- scale counterparts.

12. APPLICATION IN PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
Based on their properties of lightness, strength and corrosive
resistance to build better materials for production
Nanosensors which give more detailed information in the reservoir
For Enhanced Oil Recovery

13. APPLICATION IN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY
• Trapped oil can be recovered by
reducing the capillary forces
which prevent oil from flowing
within the pores of the
reservoir rock and to the
wellbore. And this can be done
by reduction in the oil- water
interfacial tension and
wettability alterations.
For an Oil/ water system
r
P ow
c
2 cos

Pc = Capillary pressure between oil and water
ow = Interfacial tension between oil and water,
dyne/cm
 = Oil/water contact angle, degrees
r = Radius of capillary tube, cm

14. INTERFACIAL TENSION
• It is the boundary tension
between two immiscible fluids.
• Reduction of the oil- water
interfacial tension leads to easy
flow of trapped oil since the
stronger the interfacial tension,
the more work is needed to
bring molecules to the surface.
The interfacial tension itself is caused by the imbalance in the
molecular forces of attraction experienced by the molecules at
the surface as shown below

15. WETTABILITY
• This is the preference of a solid to be in
contact with one fluid rather the other.
• This affect location, control and
distribution of fluids in the reservoir.
• It is defined by the contact angle
measured through the denser phase.
• For Homogenous wettability, the entire
rock surface has a uniform molecular
affinity for either water or oil.
• For Heterogeneous wettability, distinct
surface regions exhibit different affinities
for oil or water. From water- wet to
neutral wet and from oil water to water
wet.
θ < 90---------- water wet
θ > 90----------- Oil wet
θ = 90----------- no preference for oil nor water

16. CHANGING INTERFACIAL TENSION AND WETTABILITY
USING THE PROPERTIES OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
• Using the properties of nanoparticles, nanotechnology can be used in
EOR is to improve the properties of the injected fluid; to reduce
interfacial tension and enhance viscosity and secondly to improve
fluid rock interaction properties; wettability.

17.  Large surface to volume ratio: Provides an enhanced activity and
contact area; and organizing water flood and surfactant flooding.
These provides tremendous driving force for diffusion thereby causing
a reduction in interfacial tension.
 Tailored Molecules
This an excessive chemical loss during chemical injection hence the
expected efficiency is not achieved. But the responsivity of nano particles
can be tailored for specific tasks. Very efficient scientifically tailored
chemical compounds in the nano size range can critically change the fluids
interfacial tension

18.  Small Size;
Films are held at surface by intermolecular forces which act over short range
(Fletcher and Davis, 2010). The diameters of pores in normal oil reservoirs are
generally in the order of micrometer, so nanoparticles not only enter oil
reservoirs but also show a penetration effect excited by thermal and dynamic
energy resulting in desired changes. These nano particles are also able to interact
with the mineral components of the rocks hence contributing to wettability
alterations

19.  High Chemical reactivity; Its high chemical reactivity can be used to reduce
the binding forces between the rock and fluid and fluid - fluid
 Enhanced thermal properties
Surfactants need to be stable at high temperatures and pressures and or high
pump rates and share rates. Nanoparticles have high tensile and thermal
strength that will strive under these conditions. Gives high effect thermal
degradation hence be able to be adsorbed on the rock surface to reduce
interfacial tension

20. Nano Sensors
Deployed into pore space by means of nano dust. Provides data on reservoir
characterization, fluid flow modelling and fluid type recognition. This can be
used to detect the bypass oil after EOR. Which is based on the identification and
excitation of chemotaxonomic markers present in them. Since microbes thrive
on oil water surface, wherever they will be detected it is a sign that oil is present
there. This data is used to enable for efficient strategies to cause the alterations
in wettability and interfacial tension

21. Improvement in the Property of Injected fluids
Nanoparticles when mixed with the injected fluid enhances its viscosity, density,
surface tension and thermal conductivity hence improving the ability of injected
fluids to alter rock and fluid properties

22. CONCLUSION
• The properties of nanoparticles enhance the conditions necessary for
alterations of wettability and reduction of interfacial tension
necessary for a more efficient recovery of oil.

23. REFERENCES
A.J.P FLECTHER, J.P Davis. "How EOR can be transformed by Nanotechnology." Presented at SPE Improved Recovery
Symposium. Tulsa ,Oklahoma, USA : SPE, 2010.
Cocuzza Matteo, Pirri Candido , Rocca Vera and Verga Francesca. "Current and Future Nanotech Application In The Oil
Industry." American Journal of Applied Science 9(6).ISSN 1546-9239 (2012): 784-793.
Shallab Ayatollahi, Mohammed M. Zerafat. "Nano- Technology Assisted EOR Techniques; New Solutions to Old
Challenges." presented at SPE International Oilfield Nanotechnology Conference. Noordwijk- Netherlands: SPE, 2012.
Sunjay. "Nano-science & Technology in Upstream." presented at 8th Biennial International Conference and Exposition
on Petroleum Geophysics. HYDERABAD, 2010. 29.

24. THANK YOU