- Overview
- Overview II (cont.)
- Exploration
- Reservoir Management
- Drilling
- Production
- Refining & Distribution
Nanotech Solutions cont.
Drilling
Nanomaterials and Coatings can provide solutions for:
- Ability to withstand harsh elements, high temperatures and pressures
- Extending lifeline of equipment with corrosion resistance, adhesion enhancement and wear resistance
- Improved robustness, longevity, flexibility of drill bits, gaskets, well caps and tubulars (e.g. nanotube based drill pipe that is lighter, stronger, more flexible than steel)
- Improved strength to weight ratio for an expanding range of geological settings
- Expandable tubulars for deeper wells without needing to telescope the well, or casingless wells
- Improved cement integrity - light density and high strength
- Improved hole quality and well placement
- Improved hermetic seals
- Innovative drill engines that can be sent deep into the shaft
- Improved elastomers - e.g. clay-based polymer nanocomposites that are impermeable to gases and liquids, including hydrocarbons, fire retardant, transparent, with improved temperature resistance and stiffness
- Prevention of bio-fouling
Miniaturization can provide solutions for:
- Miniaturized electronics, higher density batteries
- Small drill-hole evaluation instruments to reduce drilling costs and to provide greater environmental sensitivity
Nanofluids can provide solutions for:
- Improved drilling fluids
- Improved thermal conductivity
Nanomembranes (separations) can provide solutions for:
- Toxic metal removal (mercury, cadmium, lead)
- Preventing drilling mud invasion, separating mud filtrate and formation water
Smart drill bits can provide solutions for:
- Real-time SRO data acquisition
- Less invasive drilling, decreased damage to the payzone
Chemical Delivery Systems can provide solutions for:
- Steerable delivery vehicles
Production
Nanosensors can provide solutions for:
- In Situ Sensing and Control, monitoring of stresses in real-time
- Ability to withstand high temperatures to go deep into challenging resources of wellbore Deep reading of oil-water interface
- Chemical detection with no active components downhole
- Enhanced Measurements in the borehole (pressure, temprature, composition, conductivity)
- Accurate detection and location of leaks (pipeline, downhole)
- Downhole Separation
- Improved understanding of matrix, fracture, fluid properties and production-related changes
- Ability to direct fracturing
Nanomaterials and Coatings can provide solutions for:
- Increased wear resistance
- Self-healing Materials
- Pressure integrity, improved robustness
- Enhanced hydro-phobic or hydrophilic behavior for waterflood applications
Nanomembranes (separations) can provide solutions for:
- Improved water filtration (for industrial, agricultural and potable use)
- Filtration of impurities from heavy oil and tight gas
- Desulfurization, inhibiting H2S producing bacteria
- Cost effective CO2 sequestration
- Sand exclusion
- Effective water-shutoff
- Scale/wax removal
- Easy separation of oil/water emulsion on the surface
Nanofluids can provide solutions for:
- High-strength/light-weight proppant
- Less damaging fluids
- Enhanced Oil Recovery: enhanced fluid viscosity and molecular modification
- Improved production rates and water disposition
- Reversible/reusible swellables
- Ability to manipulate the interfacial characteristics of rock-fluids relationship
- Reversible and controllable making and breaking of emulsion or foam
Nanoparticulate additives can provide solutions for:
- Improvement of combustion and prevention of fouling and corrosion
Refining & Distribution
- Increased storage capacity & speed
- Better insulation
- Efficient conversion of hydrocarbons (including extra heavy and sour crude oils) into clean transportation fuels
- Microreactors performed on deep silicon etching tools in order to carry out the refinery at reservoir level
