Nanotechnology applied to the enhancement of oil and gas productivity and recovery of Colombian fields

- Colombia has pioneered the worldwide use of nanoparticles/nanofluids through field trials in different applications.
- Recent advances in nanotechnology applications for formation damage inhibition/remediation are described.
- An overview is provided of the effect of nanoparticles/nanofluids for improving the mobility of heavy and extra-heavy oils.
- An overview is provided of mechanisms for assisting thermal and non-thermal EOR processes using nanotechnology.
- Field trials have shown the potential of nanotechnology for increasing the productivity of wells and increasing reserves.

In Colombia, the estimated reserves of crude oil are approximately 2.0 thousand million barrels, decreasing by approximately 13% in the last year according to the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH). In addition, the exponential growth of the world population as well as increasing motorization and industrialization has led to higher demand for fossil fuels to supply energy requirements. Colombia is aware of this issue and has become a key player of incorporating advances in nanotechnology to address this challenge by increasing the productivity/reserves of crude oil. Nanotechnology progress in Colombia has been supported by academy - state - industry synergy, which has aimed to mitigate formation damage and enhance oil recovery to facilitate increases in oil productivity and reserves based on the development of nanoparticles/nanofluids. In this sense, Colombia has been a worldwide pioneer in the application of nanotechnology under field-scale conditions, which has led to significant increases in oil rate production. This document presents a review of the recent applications of nanotechnology in Colombia, from laboratory approaches to field conditions. This review addresses the development of nanoparticles/nanofluids for application to the inhibition/remediation of formation damage (asphaltenes, alteration of reservoir wettability from liquid-wet to gas-wet, and inorganic scales, among other applications), productivity improvement (hydraulic fracturing, drilling fluids, and improvement mobility of heavy and extra-heavy oils), enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and heavy oil transport. Finally, three cases of field trials employing nanofluids are discussed for inhibiting the formation damage of asphaltene in tight-condensate reservoirs and light oil crude, fines migration in tight-condensate reservoirs and mobility improvement of heavy and extra-heavy oils. It is expected that this document will aid in the alignment of the academic and industrial sectors to pursue and incentivize the opening of a wider range of applications under field conditions through the extrapolation of laboratory studies.