Application of nano-fumed silica in heavy oil recovery

The resources of heavy oil in the world are more than twice those of conventional light crude oil and the technology utilized for the recovery of heavy oil has steadily increased recovery rates. Polymer flooding is the most commonly applied chemical enhanced heavy oil recovery technique. However, still there is a need for a large amount of polymer, leading to high operational costs, presenting a big challenge in technologies. This challenge can be addressed by considering the newly emerging nanomaterials especially those made from silica. In this work, the author focuses on roles of silica nanoparticles on polymer viscosity and improvement of recovery in heavy oil recovery. The author presents the results obtained from a coreflood experiment with polymer injection in heavy oil at 1320 mPa.sec viscosity. The results indicate that polymer flooding with higher viscosity can significantly improve oil recovery. These laboratory results will be helpful for the planning of nano silica polymer flooding for heavy oil reservoirs. Also flooding test showed a 8.3% increase in oil recovery for nanosilica polymer solution in comparison with polymer solution after one pore volume fluid injection.