Rio Oil and Gas’ final day included a presentation on how nanotechnology can play a role in exploration and recovery.
The oil and gas sector, with the support of IBP (Brazilian Petroleum Institute), is working on a nano agent capable of increasing oil recovery by 20%.
According to Baker Hughes’ Vice President of Technology Rustom Mody, 60% of nanotechnology patents are from the US and Canada and the number of patents has greatly increased in the last 10 years. Mody valued the market at US$9 billion, up from the US$ 4.5 billion five years ago.
Baker Hughes is currently developing a coating composed of carbon, which is manufactured through the use of nanotechnology. The innovative product can handle temperatures up to 700°F, which allows its use in geothermal wells.
Colombia’s Ecopetrol is also using a method of inorganic nanoparticles injection in its Castilla exploratory process. A petroleum engineer for Ecopetrol, Richard Romero, said that they have tested two types of nanoparticles and the one with best results presented 112mg of asphaltenes, resulting in a reduction in petroleum viscosity along with a reduction of 35% in BWS (basic sediments and water), which is the fraction of water produced, compared to the total production. During the testing procedure, Ecopetrol achieved a record production of 141b/d and increased the oil’s mobility through nanotechnology.
Photo: IBP
Read more Rio Oil & Gas coverage
Pre-salt production to increase by 2020
Subscribe
