A BREAKTHROUGH CONCEPT: ALL-IN-ONE RESERVOIR NANO CONTROLLER TO IMPROVE OIL RECOVERY

Abstract

Most fields in Indonesia have reached their mature phase; thus, conventional technologies have challenged further production. The decrease in oil production of the mature field is a natural phenomenon, and many methods have been conducted to solve this issue especially using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). The current popular method for EOR is a thermal method which usually includes flooding the reservoir with steam, gasses, or chemical polymer. This study aims to bring to light a breakthrough concept that contains new nanoparticles application to improve oil recovery. Firstly, as the methodology, a literature study and benchmarking were conducted to identify current EOR technology gaps. Then conceptual technology is designed considering three variables: economic, practicality, and feasibility, mainly because in a mature field, when the oil is trapped in the reservoir, it needs heat to diffuse. The current technologies have proposed various methods that have seen success even in the most challenging field. Unfortunately, such technologies still have a limited range of effects as the problem often happens upon the scale-up of a project. The chemical flooding EOR is reviewed, including the current development and challenges, and finally, nanotechnology is found to be promising to boost reservoir production. A breakthrough new technology in the form of nanoparticle EOR is proposed. The proposed set of nanoparticles can dissipate heat to the reservoir combined with molecular communication to control the reservoir temperature and better mobility (flow) of the oil within the reservoir.  The set of nanoparticles consists of nanoparticles A and B (all in one), which are responsible for altering the surface wettability and heating respectively with ultrasonic and electromagnetic sources to activate them.