«Onshore and offshore oil and gas well construction»

Application of nanotechnologies to increase oil recovery factor: nanocatalysts

UDC: 620.3+622.276.344+622.245.54+622.276.6
DOI: -

Authors:

¹ Kuban State Technological University, Krasnodar, Russia

Keywords: nanotechnology, nanocatalysts, oil recovery, nanoparticles (NPs), SAGD, cyclic vapor treatment, viscosity, in-situ combustion, high-viscous oils and bitumen, sulfur organic compound, aquathermolysis reactions, asphaltenes and resins

Annotation:

Due to the reduction of hydrocarbons (HC) traditional sources, the development of deposits of high-viscous oils and natural bitumen has become a priority for many oil and gas companies. However, the extraction of unconventional resources (heavy oils, bitumen, gas hydrates) requires enormous investments. Currently, the most common methods for developing heavy oil and natural bitumen are SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage), steam cycling and in situ combustion. However, the listed methods have a number of disadvantages: some of them require expensive technologies, other ones do not allow achieving a high level of oil recovery, and others lead to partial wear of the raw material. Consequently, the oil industry is faced with the challenge of finding new, more efficient and less costly methods for developing high-viscous oils and bitumen. In this direction, more attention is paid to the potential use of nanocatalysts for the promising process of in-situ upgrading of heavy oils in order to increase oil recovery from reservoirs. The authors of the article overview the latest researches on the applications of nanocatalysts for a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach to unlocking heavy high-viscous oil resources.

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