Enhanced Recovery

methods: using nano

particles to increase the
oil recovery percentage

B Sreeranga Pradyumna1
G Sai Akhil2
Himal Garg3
Gaurav Saini4

1,2,3,4B.Tech in Applied Petroleum Engineering, Department of Petroleum & Earth Sciences

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies,
Dehradun, India

ABSTRACT

Researchers worldwide are working progressively towards the emerging nanotechnologies. The
precise manipulations of dimension of matter revolutionized many industries including the oil
and gas industry. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes aim to extract trapped oil left in
reservoir after primary and secondary recovery methods. New materials are needed to make
EOR economical in challenging reservoirs or harsh environments. Recent experiments in Nano
science states that use of nanoparticles in the polymer flooding process can increase oil
recovery factor to a greater extent as compared to CO2 and Hydrocarbon injection. Use of
nanoparticles over conventional surfactants is chosen as an alternative method to get
remaining oil resources. The current study focuses on the better results in oil recovery by the
use of nanotechnology in place of conventional methods. The oil recovery was enhanced by 20-
30% by the use of PNPs (polymer coated nanoparticles) and SNPs(surfactant coated
nanoparticles) are used and explained their effects reducing oil-water interfacial tension,
surface wettability alteration, high viscosity agents for mobility control, stabilization of
emulsion and foam, and for investigating their propagation through porous media, reduction of
oil fingering, effect of single layer and double layer of surfactant over nanoparticles on above
mentioned factors and comparison of PNPs with SNPs.

In this paper we review the use of nanoparticles to increase the oil recovery
percentage and attempts have been made to overcome its drawbacks.
Contact Details:
1
pradyumnabellamkonda@gmail.com ( +91-8171949239 )
2
godavarthiakhil009@gmail.com ( +91-9505145382 )
3 garghimal432@gmail.com
4.
sainigaurav15@stu.upes.ac.in