Iranian Scientist Makes Natural Fluid to Increase Oil Recovery from Reservoirs

Farhoud Navayee, in collaboration with foreign consultant Patrizio Raffa, successfully completed a study entitled ‘Laboratory study and simulation of the use of natural polymer surfactant to increase oil recovery’.

By implementing an innovative project, he succeeded in presenting a local and eco-friendly solution to increase oil recovery from reservoirs with high temperature and high salinity using a natural polymer surfactant; a method that, according to him, is an effective step in the development of enhanced oil recovery technologies in Iran with its multiple functions, reduced production costs, and localization capabilities.

“The main idea of ​​the project was to replace common chemical polymers with a natural polymer surfactant that is compatible with the high salinity and temperature of Iranian reservoirs and causes less environmental damage,” Navayee said.

Noting that this material can be extracted from domestic plant sources, has a lower price than imported polymers, and with its dual function of increasing viscosity and reducing interfacial tension, eliminates the need for multiple additive injections, he said, “In this study, 11 natural polymers were first screened and a sample with the code FN-116 was selected due to its high salinity tolerance and thermal stability. Then, its physicochemical properties, including conductivity, critical micelle concentration (CMC), rheology, and interfacial tension, were investigated at a temperature of 75 degrees and seawater-equivalent salinity.”

“In the next stage, the fluid performance was tested in a glass micromodel simulating the reservoir and in a real core injection test,” Navayee said.

“The results showed that oil recovery increased from 42 to about 64 percent. Also, by multiscale simulation of the data in COMSOL software, the laboratory results were generalized to the reservoir scale,” he added.

In a relevant development in August, researchers at the Iranian Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, in collaboration with their colleagues from a knowledge-based company, had also succeeded in making smart nanocomposite hydrogels that can control sand production from reservoirs as a serious challenge of the oil industry.

The achievement will reduce costs caused by pipeline erosion and well blockages and decrease environmental damage.

A team of Iranian researchers succeeded in designing and developing smart nanocomposite hydrogels that, with the ability to control and reduce sand production from oil reservoirs, can play a significant role in increasing productivity and reducing costs in the oil industry. This achievement, aimed at promoting enhanced oil recovery technology and as an economic-environmental approach, can become one of the country's strategic tools in preserving national resources.

The main innovation of this research team lies in the use of smart nanocomposite hydrogels. These hydrogels can behave dually in relation to oil and water. They swell and increase in volume in an aqueous environment, while they shrink in an oil environment. This smart behavior allows the product to simultaneously reduce the amount of produced water and improve oil flow.

Another important feature of these nanocomposites is their capability to change the zeta potential of sand particles and increase the strength of the formation. In other words, this material causes sand to stick together and prevents them from moving freely in the reservoir fluid flow, without damaging the formation.

This hydrogel nanocomposite has a three-dimensional and resistant structure, in which the presence of nanoparticles increases thermal stability and mechanical strength. Such features are very crucial for the harsh and challenging conditions of oil reservoirs.

Also, the product has an unparalleled performance in terms of optimal consumption, acceptable viscosity for injection, permeability in the depth of the reservoir, and adhesion to the sand surface. Thus, in addition to preventing sand movement and reducing water production, the product does not cause any destruction or damage to the formation and can be a suitable alternative to the current costly and sometimes destructive methods.

4155/v