The Role of Amphiphilic Nanosilica Fluid in Reducing Viscosity in Heavy Oil

Yuejie Wang, Wei Zheng (), Hongyou Zhang, Chenyang Tang, Jun Zhang, Dengfei Yu, Xuanfeng Lu and Gang Li
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Yuejie Wang: CNOOC China Limited-Pengbo Operating Company, Tianjin 300459, China
Wei Zheng: National Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 102209, China
Hongyou Zhang: CNOOC Tianjin Branch, Binhai New Area, Tianjin 300450, China
Chenyang Tang: National Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation, Beijing 102209, China
Jun Zhang: CNOOC China Limited-Pengbo Operating Company, Tianjin 300459, China
Dengfei Yu: CNOOC China Limited-Pengbo Operating Company, Tianjin 300459, China
Xuanfeng Lu: National Engineering Research Center for Oil & Gas Drilling and Completion Technology, School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
Gang Li: National Engineering Research Center for Oil & Gas Drilling and Completion Technology, School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Heavy oil accounts for a considerable proportion of the world’s petroleum resources, and its exploitation helps to mitigate reliance on conventional oil resources and diversify energy supply. However, due to the high viscosity and high adhesion characteristics of heavy oil, conventional methods such as thermal recovery, emulsification, and dilution have significant limitations and cannot meet the growing demands for heavy oil production. In this study, 3-propyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) was used to modify and graft amphiphilic surfactants (AS) onto nanosilica to prepare a salt-resistant (total mineralization > 8000 mg/L, Ca 2+ + Mg 2+ > 1000 mg/L) and temperature-resistant (250 °C) nanosilicon viscosity reducer (NSD). This article compares amphiphilic surfactants (AS) as conventional viscosity-reducing agents with NSD. FTIR and TEM measurements indicated successful bonding of 3-propyltrimethoxysilane to the surface of silica. Experimental results show that at a concentration of 0.2 wt% and a mineralization of 8829 mg/L, the viscosity reduction rates of thick oil (LD-1) before and after aging were 85.29% and 81.36%, respectively, from an initial viscosity of 38,700 mPa·s. Contact angle experiments demonstrated that 0.2 wt% concentration of NSD could change the surface of reservoir rock from oil-wet to water-wet. Interfacial tension experiments showed that the interfacial tension between 0.2 wt% NSD and heavy oil was 0.076 mN/m. Additionally, when the liquid-to-solid ratio was 10:1, the dynamic and static adsorption amounts of 0.2 wt% NSD were 1.328 mg/g-sand and 0.745 mg/g-sand, respectively. Furthermore, one-dimensional displacement experiments verified the oil recovery performance of NSD at different concentrations (0.1 wt%, 0.15 wt%, 0.2 wt%, 0.25 wt%) at 250 °C and compared the oil recovery efficiency of 0.2 wt% NSD with different types of demulsifiers. Experimental results indicate that the recovery rate increased with the increase in NSD concentration, and 0.2 wt% NSD could improve the recovery rate of heavy oil by 22.8% at 250 °C. The study of nano-demulsification oil recovery systems can effectively improve the development efficiency of heavy oil.

Keywords: nanomaterials; heavy oil; viscosity reducer; wettability; enhanced oil recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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