Main Articles

• Philosophy

• Overview

• Discipline

• Industrial Products

• References

2
Main Articles

Philosophy
• Breakthroughs in nanotechnology open up the possibility of
moving beyond the current alternatives for energy supply by
introducing technologies that are more efficient and
environmentally sound.

• Nanotechnology is characterized by collaboration among

diverse disciplines, making it inherently innovative and more
precise than other technologies.

3
Main Articles

Philosophy (Cont)

• Such a technology may be the cornerstone of any future energy

technology that offers the greatest potential for innovative
solutions.
• Increasing global energy demand. (60% in next 30 years)

We need revolutionary breakthroughs

in energy science and technology

• Nanotechnology is an enabler that has proved to be a game

changer for exploiting fossil-based fuels.

4
Main Articles

Philosophy (Cont)

• The oil & gas industry faces a range of materials-related

challenges, which lead to increased costs and limit the
operating envelope of drilling and production technologies.
• This represents a significant market opportunity for
Nanomaterial-based solutions.

• However, barriers to entry and adoption are high, and

collaboration between the oil industry and Nanomaterial
developers has to date been limited.
5
Main Articles

Overview
• There are three areas of application of nanotechnology in
industry
– Materials
– Tools
– Devices.

• These have exploited the unique combinations of mechanical,

thermal, electronic, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties
observed at nano scales.

6
Main Articles

Discipline
• Drilling
• Extraction
• Separation
• Piping
• Stream Plants
• Structural Nanomaterials
• Sensors and Imaging

7
Discipline

Drilling

• Smart Fluids

• Application of Smart Fluids

• Drilling

8
Drilling

Smart Fluids

• A new type of fluids, which can be labeled as “Smart Fluids”

is becoming increasingly available to the oil and gas industry.

• Their Properties are controllable by some external agent.

• These nanofluids are designed by adding nanofabricated

particles to a fluid in order to enhance or improve some of its

properties.

9
Drilling

Smart Fluids (Cont)

• Nanoscale particles are suspended in the liquid phase in low

volumetric fractions.

• The liquid phase can be any liquid such as oil, water, or

conventional fluid mixtures.

• The nanoparticles used in the design of such fluids are

preferably inorganic with properties of no dissolution or
aggregation in the liquid environment.

10
Drilling

Smart Fluids (Cont)

• They can be designed to be compatible with reservoir fluids

and are environmentally friendly.
• Recent experiments have shown some promising nanofluids
with amazing properties such as:
– Fluids with advanced drag reduction
– Binders for sand consolidation
– Gels
– Products for wettability alteration
– Anticorrosive coatings
(Chaudhury 2003; Wasan and Nikolov 2003) 11
Drilling

Smart Fluids (Cont)

Another Example?

A smart fluid developed in labs at the Michigan Institute of Technology

12
Drilling

Application of Smart Fluids

• Designing specific hydrophobic or hydrophilic character into

such smart fluids, through the use of novel organic chemistry
on the surface of high-surface-area functionalized
nanoparticles, will significantly alter the mode of operating
and organizing water floods and surfactant floods.
• Moreover, by tailoring the responsivity of these smart fluids,
they can be used either to block or to increase the porosity and
tortuosity of the formations where they are injected.

13
Drilling

Application of Smart Fluids (Cont)

• Engineered nanoparticles, and in particular, nanocrystalline

materials, in combination with advanced drilling fluids, are
likely to increase drilling speeds and decrease wear of drilling
parts significantly.

14
Drilling

Drilling

• An advanced fluid has been developed mixed with nanosized

particles and superfine powder that significantly improve
drilling speed 1.
• This blend eliminates damage to the reservoir rock in the well,
making it possible to extract more oil.
• The most recent successes of nanotechnology
in drilling are synthetic nanoparticles, where size,
shape, and chemical interactions are controlled.

1. China’s Shandong U. 15
Drilling

Drilling (Cont)

• Elastomers are critical components for drilling under the

extreme conditions of temperature and pressure.

• Developing stronger, tougher, more inert

and reliable materials for deepwater and
ultra deepwater drilling is critical.

• Advanced drilling fluids based on polymers that are physically

or chemically associated with nanoparticles along with
amphiphilic surfactants or polymers have been developed as
stimuli-sensitive materials.
16
Drilling

Drilling (Cont)

• The mechanical and flow properties of these materials can be

altered in response to a change in stimuli such as
– Temperature
– Salinity
– PH
and these materials can be used in
– Reservoir conformance
– Flooding
– Completion fluids

17
Drilling

Drilling (Cont)

• By engineering elastomer nanocomposites with carbon

nanotubes and layered silicates, ensuring mixing at the
molecular level and wrapping and interpenetrating network
structures, a new class of elastomers has been developed that
are:
– Strong
– Tough
– Environmentally resistant
– Self-sensing for structural-health monitoring

18
Discipline

Extraction

• view

• Technology

19
Extraction

View
• More than 2 Barrel per 1 Barrel oil extracted, are wasted.
• Nanotechnology helps to extract more petrol from oil fields.
• The average field size of new discoveries has declined from
over 200 Mln BOE1 per discovery in the 1960s to less than 50
Mln BOE in the 1990s [1].
• Giant discoveries are perhaps not yet a thing of the past, but
they are rare.
• Where giant field potential does exist, it is usually in deep-
water frontiers or hostile regions in terms of climate.

20
1. Million Barrel Oil Equivalent
Extraction

Technology
• Known as Pepfactants, the peptide technology can control the
emulsions and foams used in a wide range of industry
processes
• Pepfactant process enables the reversible and controllable
making and breaking of an emulsion or foam, in an
environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
• For example, Pepfactants allows for the very quick separation
of oil and water as well as the reversible reformation of the
emulsion.

Ref : The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). 21
Extraction

Technology (Cont)

• Also, it would change the viscosity of the oil to increase the

amount of oil extracted from each underground oil reserve.

Pepfactants also recently won an Emerging

Technology Award at the TechConnect
Summit 2006 Conference in Boston and is
the subject of wide industry interest.

UniQuest Pty Ltd plans to commercialisation and license the technology into a start-up company.

Ref : The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). 22
Discipline

Separation

• Description

• Nanomembranes

23
Separation

Description

• Developing efficient chemical methods to remove impurities

from heavy oil.

• Nanosand has improved filtering properties to quickly separate

out the undesirable compounds in natural gas.

24
Separation

Description (Cont)

• Engineers at UT-Austin are developing a nanosand to purify

natural gas more economically.

• Filters and particles are now being developed with a

nanostructure that allows them to remove volatile organic

compounds from oil vapor and mercury from soil and water.

25
Separation

Nanomembranes
• The convergence of top-down and bottom-up synthesis that is
typical of nanomaterials has led to the development of large-
scale, lightweight, and sturdy nanomembranes.

• Inspired by the success of zeolites (materials capable of

separating small gases such as oxygen and nitrogen) and the
development of top-down and bottom-up synthetic methods, a
new generation of nanomembrance materials is being
developed and deployed for the:
– Separation of metal impurities in heavy oil
– Impurity gases in tight gas.

26
Separation

Nanomembranes (Cont)

• By exploiting methods common in the microelectronics

industry, the cost of manufacturing highly uniform and
reproducible membranes is quite competitive.
• These nanomembranes will enhance the exploitation of tight
gas significantly by providing efficient methods for:
– Removing impurities
– Separating gas streams
– Enabling GTL production

27
Discipline

Piping

• One of the underlying factors driving up development costs is

the need to handle increasingly hostile fluids at higher
temperatures and pressures.

• The development of methods to control the incorporation and

distribution of nanocrystalline materials in metal matrices
would lead to stronger and lighter-weight pipelines for
transportation of oil and natural gas is vital.

28
Discipline

Piping (Cont)

• These are likely to be especially important for the exploitation

of stranded gas.

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Discipline

Stream Plants

• Description

• Heavy oil

• Gas

• Petrochemistry

30
Stream Plants

Description

• Nanoparticles also are being used increasingly in catalysis,

where the large surface area per unit volume of nanosized
catalysts enhances reactions.

• Greater reactivity of these smaller agents reduces the quantity

of catalytic materials necessary to produce desired results.

31
Stream Plants

Description (Cont)

• The oil industry relies on nanoscale catalysts for refining

petroleum, while saving large sums of money.

32
Stream Plants

Heavy oil
• Another area of significant challenge lies in the upgrading of
bitumen and heavy crude oil.
• Because of their high density and viscosity, it is difficult to
handle and transport them to locations where they could be
converted into valuable products.
• Significant resources and intense research activities have been
devoted to develop processes and specifically designed
catalysts for on-site field upgrading combined with
hydrogen/methane production.

33
Stream Plants

Heavy oil (Cont)

• These processes would incorporate a minimized and controlled

carbon rejection, in conjunction with a catalytically enhanced
hydrogen generation performed on the rejected carbon from
the upgrading process.
• This central activity will be complemented with an effort to
integrate the research for ultradispersed catalytic formulas for
the in-situ upgrading of bitumen as well as for hydrogen
generation from coal/coke or petroleum pitch.

34
Stream Plants

Heavy oil (Cont)

• The former requires research on specifically designed
adsorbents and catalysts to be introduced into the reservoir
porous media in nanosized form.
• The latter requires extensive research on both catalytic active
phases and process setup as well as adopting different catalytic
forms for effective contact with the gasifying materials.
• This research has the potential to generate significant
technology to convert bitumen and heavy-oil reserves into
products cost-effectively.

35
Stream Plants

Gas
• Near-term challenges focus on:
– Liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) infrastructure and efficiency
– LNG quality
– Developing gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology
• Midterm challenges include:
– Developing super pipelines
– Constructing floating GTL platforms
– Production issues
– Regasification issues
– Storage issues
– Compressed-natural-gas transport.
36
Stream Plants

Gas (Cont)

• Long-term issues to be addressed are:

– production of methane hydrates and gas by wire producing
electricity at the location of the gas source

• Nanotechnology can address the problems associated with

accessing stranded natural-gas resources by developing:
– Nanocatalysts and nanoscale membranes for GTL production
– Creating nanostructured materials for compressed-natural-gas transport

37
Stream Plants

Petrochemistry
• Nanocatalysis is one of the most exciting subfields to have
emerged from nanoscience.
• Its central aim is the control of chemical reactions by changing
the size, dimensionality, chemical composition and
morphology of the reaction center and by changing the kinetics
using nanopatterning of the reaction centers.

38
 Petrochemistry (Cont)
• This approach opens up new avenues for atom-by-atom design
of nanocatalysts with distinct and tunable chemical activity,
specificity, and selectivity.
• Exploiting methane hydrates efficiently will continue to build
on this extensive knowledge base of the use of nanocatalysts
and other downstream applications of nanotechnology.

39
Discipline

Structural Nanomaterials

• Definition

• Few Examples

• Nanogel

• Better Equipments

40
Structural Nanomaterials

Definition

• Structural materials can be enhanced significantly by

nanotechnology with the addition of engineered nanoparticles
and hierarchical strategies inspired and implemented by
nanoparticles.
• Improved lightweight rugged structural materials are crucial
for many applications, including:
– Weight reduction of offshore platforms
– Energy-efficient transportation vessels
– Improved and better-performing drilling parts

41
Structural Nanomaterials

Definition (Cont)

• Parameters as :
– The large interfacial area
– The nanoconfinement resulting from
– Well-dispersed nanoparticles
leads to fundamental property changes in:
– Matrix metal
– Ceramic
– Plastic
and to a significant alteration of the paradigm of filled systems.

42
Structural Nanomaterials

Few Examples

• These are especially prominent for anisotropic nanoparticles

such as
– Rodlike nanotubes (Single-walled carbon nanotubes)
– Disklike clays (montmorillonite).
• For instance, the implementation of filled polymer systems
traditionally has been associated with a tradeoff between
stiffness and toughness with increased filler loading leads to
emerging class of polymer nanocomposites.

most prominent example is nylon-6-based

clay nanocomposite pioneered by Toyota
43
Structural Nanomaterials

Few Examples (Cont)

• With as much as 5 wt% of added clay, the nylon

nanocomposites demonstrated :
– A doubling of the modulus
– An impact strength that was virtually unchanged from that
of the matrix polymer.
– Reduction in the coefficient of thermal expansion
– Decrease in water-vapor permeability
• Rendering these nanocomposites extremely versatile and
attractive alternatives despite the increased cost.

44
Structural Nanomaterials

Few Examples (Cont)

• Using small quantities of nanoparticles to achieve materials,

leads to weight reduction compare with traditional elastomers.

• Nanomaterials are being developed that can absorb an

estimated 40 times their weight in oil.

Drillin
g
45
Structural Nanomaterials

Few Examples (Cont)

• Finally, such nanocomposites have the potential to be shape-

memory materials, with the triggering of the shape change
occurring as a result of changes in temperature, infrared light,
electrical current, or pH.
• Such shape memory-soft materials would help define a new
class of smart materials (as actuators) that could be used
downhole or in surface applications.

Sensors and
Imaging

46
Structural Nanomaterials

Nanogel

• Overview

• Types

• Application

• Future

47
Nanogel

Overview

• Advanced nanoporous Nanogel aerogel products will be on

display at the “Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in
Houston”1.
• The use of Cabot's Nanogel aerogel technology enables
significant advancements in pipeline and LNG ship design due
to the combination of Nanogel aerogel's ultra-low conductivity
and its unique mechanical properties.

1. TX from May 1 to May 4, Booth # P8904, in the Pavilion section of the OTC.06 trade show 48
Nanogel

Overview (Cont)

• Additionally, the wide temperature stability range of Nanogel

makes it an ideal solution for both high temperature and
cryogenic applications.
• One of the benefits of Nanogel aerogel is Cabot's ability to
continuously produce aerogel without supercritical drying.

49
Nanogel

Types
• The four new products use Nanogel aerogel, Cabot's branded
aerogel in different forms and are marketed under the names:
– Expansion Pack
– Compression Pack
– Particle Pack
– Thermal Wrap.
• These patented and patent-pending products with
conductivities ranging from 0.009 to 0.022 mW/m-K enable
significant advances for oil and gas operators.

50
Types

Expansion Pack

• Ability of packing Nanogel in tight annular spaces such as

those in pipe-in-pipe systems.

• This combination of superb thermal performance and

mechanical strength gives new options for improving pipeline
design, particularly for systems with large temperature
differences between inner and outer pipes.

51
Types

Expansion Pack (Cont)

• Creates a mechanical bond leads to transfers both axial and

radial load between inner and outer pipes for:
– The reduction
– Potential for elimination
of heat-bridging centralizers.

• No air gaps.

52
Types

Compression Pack

• The Compression Pack system offers operators the option to

precisely "dial in" required U-values by varying the thickness
of Nanogel in a given system with the same efficient method
of Expansion Pack system.

• The Compression Pack also allows fully independent

movement of inner and outer pipes, making it an ideal choice
for operators who want to avoid mechanical bonding in their
system.

53
Types

Particle Pack

• Filling annular spaces of any size or dimension.

Cabot has been using this technology to fill spaces

as narrow as a few millimeters with Nanogel aerogel

• Nanogel flows like water and with proper vibration techniques

can be densely packed for long life, high performance use
without settling or shifting without any residual air gaps.

54
Types

Particle Pack (Cont)

• The Particle Pack system offers maximum flexibility to

operators looking to insulate standard or irregular geometries
with great efficiency.

• It is an excellent and economical choice for insulating

pipelines systems, and LNG ships and vessels.

55
Types

Thermal Wrap

• The Thermal Wrap is Cabot's Nanogel aerogel blanket.

• The Thermal Wrap is easy to handle, and is delivered in rolls

that support rapid installation using existing pipe coating
infrastructure.

• It comes in variable widths and is compressible and

conformable yet strong and resilient.
56
Nanogel

Application

• In the LNG industry, Nanogel has been used as a key

component in :
– subsea LNG pipeline design
– increase capacity and/or reduce boiloff in the design of
LNG ships and storage vessels
• Cabot's grades of Nanogel particles are opacified to reduce
heat transfer via radiation, opaque, or translucent and all
particles have extremely high surface area (approx. 750 m2/g).

57
Nanogel

Future

• Major oil and gas production companies are considering

Nanogel for high-pressure, high-temperature pipelines,
cryogenic systems and long-distance subsea tiebacks.
• Aerogels are the lightest and best insulating solids in the
world.
• Nanogel, Cabot's branded aerogel is a hydrophobic aerogel
produced as particles each of which consists largely of air
(approx. 95%) trapped in nano-sized pores, that severely
inhibit heat transfer through the material.
58
Structural Nanomaterials

Better Equipment
• All industries need strong, stable materials in virtually all of
their processes.
• Nanomaterials help to produce equipments which are lighter,
more resistant, and stronger.
• “GP Nano Technology Group Ltd.” in Hong Kong was one of
the first to develop silicon carbide, a ceramic powder, in nano
size.
• It yields exceptionally hard materials.
• The company is now investigating other composites and
believes that nanocrystalline substances can contribute to
harder, more wear-resistant and more durable drilling
equipment.

59
Structural Nanomaterials

Better Equipment (Cont)

• Nanotubes have many potential applications within the oil

industry.
• For instance, nanotubes could be used to create lighter,
stronger, and more corrosion-resistant structural materials in
platforms for offshore drilling.
• Pollution by chemicals or gases is a difficult aspect of
petroleum production, but the signs are that nanotechnology
can make the industry considerably greener.

60
Discipline

Sensors and Imaging

• Description

• Futures

61
Sensors and Imaging

Description

• Nanosensors could be developed for applications in high-

temperature and high-pressure environments where
conventional sensors are not effective.

• There is significant alterations in optical, magnetic, and

electrical properties of nanomaterials.
• Ability to form percolated structures at low volume fractions
make excellent tools for the development of sensors and the
formation of imaging-contrast agents.
• Using the anisotropic nature of many nanoparticles, the
percolation is a strong function of orientation.
62
Sensors and Imaging

Description (Cont)

• For appropriately processed materials, highly anisotropic

electrical and mechanical properties are observed in different
directions.

• Anisotropic nanomaterials, when combined with smart fluids,

can be used as extremely sensitive sensors for temperature,
pressure, and stress down hole under extreme conditions.
63
Sensors and Imaging

Description (Cont)

• The most significant value as sensors results from the:

– Ability to interrogate the parameters of interest (T, P & )
without requiring contact .
– Amplification of signals by use of unique optical signatures
(such as absorption and fluorescence) of the nanoparticles
as surrogate probes of the parameters of interest.

64
Sensors and Imaging

Description (Cont)

• By chemical modification, the nanoparticles preferentially

segregate into different fluid regions or to the pores, allowing
for improved sizing and characterization of the reservoir and
the efficacy of sweep methods employed to enhance the
recovery of oil by monitoring the flow of fluids and by real-
time monitoring of the reservoir.
• The use of nanoparticles for such imaging is crucial because of
– The size of the pores
– The increased surface area of the nanoparticles
– The mobility associated with them

65
Sensors and Imaging

Description (Cont)

• Finally
– The increased sensitivity of the probes
– The strength of the optical and Spectroscopic signatures
of the nanoparticles
require only small amounts of nanoparticles, which could lead
to:
– The development of instrumentation and methods for
evaluating small test holes that minimize the footprint of
the drill
– Reduce drilling costs for exploratory wells

66
Sensors and Imaging

Futures

• Researchers currently are developing a set of reliable and

economical sensors from optical fibers for measuring
temperature and pressure, oil-flow rate, and acoustic waves in
oil wells.
• These new sensors are small in size, work safely in the
presence of electromagnetic fields, are able to work in high
temperatures and pressures, and can be changed at a sensible
cost without interfering in the procedure of oil exploration.

67
Sensors and Imaging

Futures (Cont)

• This technology could, with its accurate and reliable

measurements, make a great improvement in oil exploration.
• In the future, the industry may be using nanoscale sensors for
probing properties deep in the reservoir, allowing us to unravel
the complex nature of the rock/fluid interactions and their
effects on multiphase flow and providing the ability to design
a suitable exploitation plan for the asset.

68
Discipline

Industrial Products

Nansulate

69
Industrial Products

Nansulate

• Brazilian Oil and Gas Company, Petrobras, short for Petroleo

Brasileiro S.A Giant, Requests Specifications for Industrial
Nanotech's Nansulate Coating for Pipeline Project.
• What is Nansulate?
• Nansulate is a product line of water-based translucent
insulation coatings containing a nanotechnology-based
material well-documented to provide thermal insulation,
prevent corrosion and resist mold.

70
Industrial Products

Nansulate (Cont)
• The entire Nansulate Product Line includes:
– Nansulate GP : general purpose formulation designed for wood,
fiberglass and other non-metal substrates
– Nansulate PT : metal coating for pipes, tanks and other metallic
substrates
– Nansulate Chill Pipe: for extreme industrial environments,
designed for low temperature applications on pipes and tanks
– Nansulate High Heat : for high temperature applications
– Nansulate HomeProtect ClearCoat and HomeProtect Interior :
for residential and commercial buildings
– Nansulate LDX : designed for lead encapsulation applications

71
 References
1. Matthew R.G. Bell, Shell Technology Ventures Inc,” International
Congress of Nanotechnology (ICNT), November 7-10, 2004 San
Francisco”.
2. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, U. of Houston,” Extracting the Benefits of
Nanotechnology for the Oil Industry”, JPT, Nov. 2006.
3. Saeid Mokhatab, U. of Wyoming; Mariela Araujo Fresky, Imperial
College, London; and M. Rafiqul Islam, Dalhousie U, “Applications of
Nanotechnology in Oil and Gas E&P “.
4. Report from www.nanotechwire.com (Part of NSTI1) in : 6/13/2006,”
Nanotechnology to help extract more petrol from oil fields “.
5. Matthew R.G. Bell, Shell Technology Ventures Inc. “A Case for
Nanomaterials in the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Business”.

1. Nano Science and Technology Institute 72

MR Fluid

The MR fluid is liquid as shown on the

left, when no magnetic field is present,
but turns solid immediately after being
placed in a magnetic field on the right.

73