Despite the progress made on renewable energy, oil and gas remains the world’s primary energy source. Meanwhile, large amounts of oil deposits remain unrecovered after application of traditional oil recovery methods. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been adjudged as an efficient oil recovery technique to recover bypassed oil and residual oil trapped in the reservoir. This EOR method relies on the injection of chemicals to boost oil recovery. In this overview, an up-to-date synopsis of chemical EOR with detailed explanation of the chemicals used, and the mechanism governing their oil recovery application have been discussed. Challenges encountered in the application of the various conventional chemical EOR methods were highlighted, and solutions to overcome the challenges were proffered. Besides, the recent trend of incorporating nanotechnology and their synergistic effects on conventional chemicals stability and efficiency for EOR were also explored and analysed. Finally, laboratory results and field projects were outlined. The review of experimental studies shows that pore-scale mechanisms of conventional chemical EOR is enhanced by incorporating nanotechnology, hence, resulted in higher efficiency. Moreover, the use of ionic liquid chemicals and novel alkaline–cosolvent–polymer technology shows good potentials. This overview presents an extensive information about chemical EOR applications for sustainable energy production.

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An overview of chemical enhanced oil recovery: recent advances and prospects

Nanoparticle technology for heavy oil in-situ upgrading and recovery enhancement: Opportunities and challenges

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A comprehensive review of experimental studies of nanoparticles-stabilized foam for enhanced oil recovery

Primary oil recovery from fractured unconventional formations, such as shale or tight sands, is typically less than 10%. The development of an economically viable enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techni...

A Literature Review of CO2, Natural Gas, and Water-Based Fluids for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Unconventional Reservoirs

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

The effects of SiO2 nanoparticles on the thermal stability and rheological behavior of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide based polymeric solutions

Interaction of anionic surfactant-nanoparticles for gas - Wettability alteration of sandstone in tight gas-condensate reservoirs

Foams in the oil and gas industry have been used as divergent fluids to attenuate the fluid channeling in high-permeability zones. Commonly, foams are generated using a surfactant solution in high-permeability reservoirs, which exhibit stability problems. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to stabilize the foams by the addition of modified silica nanoparticles, varying the surface acidity and polarity for natural gas flooding in tight gas-condensated reservoirs. Four types of modified silica-based nanoparticles with varying surface acidity and polarity (coated with vacuum residue) were synthesized and evaluated using surfactant adsorption. The basic nanoparticles exhibited a greater adsorption capacity of the surfactant, reaching an adsorbed amount of approximately 200 mg of surfactant per gram of nanoparticles, and Type I adsorption behavior. Foams were generated and evaluated based on their stability using two routes, namely, (1) with mechanical agitation and (2) methane flooding, to determi...

Effects of Surface Acidity and Polarity of SiO2 Nanoparticles on the Foam Stabilization Applied to Natural Gas Flooding in Tight Gas-Condensate Reservoirs

Richard D. Zabala

Papers

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

The effects of SiO2 nanoparticles on the thermal stability and rheological behavior of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide based polymeric solutions

Interaction of anionic surfactant-nanoparticles for gas - Wettability alteration of sandstone in tight gas-condensate reservoirs

Effects of Surface Acidity and Polarity of SiO2 Nanoparticles on the Foam Stabilization Applied to Natural Gas Flooding in Tight Gas-Condensate Reservoirs

Application of nanofluids for improving oil mobility in heavy oil and extra-heavy oil: A field test