SMALL BUT MIGHTY

Nanotechnology has a big role in energy research.

BY SEAN MURPHY, BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

n energy research, as well as in other fields of scientific inquiry, researchers are always on the lookout for the next big thing. Ironically, the next big thing in energy research is not big at all. In fact, its infinitesimally small. It is so small, in fact, that its unit of measurement, a nanometer, is just one-billionth of a meter. To put that in perspective, it is equivalent to the thickness of a single drop of water spread equally over a square meter or, more specifically, its the length of 3 gold atoms laid end to end. This so-called nanorealm is so small and unexplored that it has never been seriously considered by most petroleum engineers, geophysicists, geologists, or geochemists. But, as

John Ullo at Schlumbergers Doll Research Center in Boston, Mass., recently suggested, the petroleum industry has been focused on characterizing and understanding the oil reservoir macro and micro worlds over the last century, but with the need to improve the recovery from conventional hydrocarbon resources and to develop unconventional sources, the industry now must understand where much of the remaining hydrocarbons are trapped at the nano scale. This could very well be the beginning of a new field of geosciences. One of the most promising and comprehensive research programs in the field of nanotechnology is being conducted by the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC). AEC, which officially opened its doors Jan. 1, 2008, is managed by the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at the University of Texas at Austin and comprises some of the worlds most successful oil and gas companies and industry service companies.

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AEC-funded researcher James M. Tour (Rice University, Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology) plans to build first-generation nanobots (nano-sized entities that can gather and display information) suitable for oilfield application. LEFT In an October 2005 paper in the journal Nano Letters, Tour and Rice collaborator Kevin Kelly described the synthesis and movement of nanocars. These single-molecule vehicles measure just 4 x 3 nanometers and have four buckyball wheels connected to four independently rotating axles and an organic chemical chassis. Oilfield reservoirs will require different designs, perhaps nano-submarines. (Image courtesy of T. Sasaki/Rice University)

Scott W. Tinker is director of the AEC, and the small bureau-led team includes Jay Kipper, Sean Murphy, Paul Ching, and Howard Schmidt. Current consortium members include BP America Inc., Baker Hughes Inc., ConocoPhillips, Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Marathon Oil Corp., Occidental Oil and Gas, Schlumberger, Shell, and Total. The Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University, collaborating with BEG, serves as a key technical partner. AEC focuses exclusively on applying nanoscale technologies to exploration for and production of oil and gas from reservoirs. One main goal is to develop subsurface microand nanosensors that can be injected into oil and gas well bores. These sensors would have the ability to migrate out of the well bores and through pores of the surrounding geological structure to collect data about the physical characteristics of hydrocarbon reservoirs, thus helping to illuminate the reservoir. Data collected would enable researchers to better characterize their reservoirs to more efficiently exploit these hydrocarbon resources. What is driving this research? Increasing world energy demand coupled with the difficulty in finding and accessing trapped oil are the driving forces behind AECs nanotechnology research. In 2006 the US Department of Energy reported that approximately 67% of all discovered US oil remains in place, estimating that perhaps one-quarter of this oil can be recovered using conventional recovery techniques. Locating and extracting the remaining petroleum billions of barrels of potentially available supply is AECs goal.

TOP IMAGEFigure 1. A study of reservoir properties as well as sensor properties is necessary to develop nanoscale sensors. BOTTOM IMAGEFigure 2. The scale of the problem ranges from kilometers to nanometers. (Images courtesy of AEC)

This so-called nanorealm is so small and unexplored that it has never been seriously considered by most petroleum engineers, geophysicists, geologists, or geochemists.

This remaining oil in place is not easy to find or remove, however. Despite current use of 3-D and 4-D seismic detection, advanced downhole electronics, control-source electromagnetic (CSEM), and sophisticated modeling and simulation technologies to improve the understanding of oil and gas reservoirs, these techniques are still lacking in resolution or deep penetration into reservoir lithologies. In fact, with the exception of seismic and CSEM, most sensing technologies penetrate and provide information about the reservoir only inches from the well bore. Even more problematic is the need to use these new nanotechnologies in complex and harsh operating environments. Such environments may be found in reservoirs at depths of

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TOP IMAGEFigure 3. Examples of pore types in clastic rocks. BOTTOM IMAGEFigure 4. Examples of pore types in carbonate rocks

thousands of feet, with operating temperatures of 480F (250C) or more and pressures of up to 15,000 psi. In addition, complex mixtures of oily, briny, waxy, and acidic fluids of two and three phases are often found in these reservoirs. Conventional microelectronic sensors could not survive under these conditions, let alone operate and communicate. AEC and its members started the year by hosting a number of workshops, putting electronics, sensor materials, and nanotechnologists together with experts from the oil and gas industry to investigate how existing technologies and research might be employed to better characterize reservoirs and aid in recovery efforts. A list of promising technologies includes nanoallomorphs of carbon, magnetic nanoparticles, chemotactic micro- and nanotube structures, and nanoexplosive materials. The consortium is convinced that building on research thats ongoing in smart dust, medical imaging, and nanofluidics fields could lead to breakthroughs in illuminating, or providing a detailed image of, the oil or gas reservoir. The consortium is currently funding a number of applied research projects at universities, labs, and private industrial facilities around the world that are developing functional technologies, including: Fundamental studies of nanomaterial behavior in fluidic reservoir environments; Microelectromechanical system sensors; Nanoelectromechanical system sensors; Passive or nanoscale material sensors; and Paramagnetic nano contrast agents. An example of AEC-funded research that is already starting to take shape can be found on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin; it exemplifies the interdisciplinary collaboration that will be necessary to successfully develop nanoscale solutions for reservoir-size problems. Three different engineering departmental teams are working together, bringing the unique expertise of each to the project: Principal investigator (PI) Chun Huh and co-PI Steve Bryant manage a group of students in petroleum and geosystems engineering who are investigating the aqueous transport of paramagnetic nanoparticles through different reservoir rocks and their adsorption on oil/water menisci in the rock. Professor Keith Johnston is managing a chemical engineering department team that is synthesizing iron-oxide nanoparticles with special surface coatings to control adsorption at the oil/water interface.

Professor Tom Milner and his students in biomedical engineering are studying particle responses to highenergy electromagnetic fields. The teams aims are to synthesize custom paramagnetic nanoparticles that will adsorb preferentially to the oil/water interface and that can be detected remotely. In addition, Dr. Masa Prodanovic is developing a theoretical model that links laboratory measurements to field-scale observations. If successful, this novel sensing technique could determine fluid saturations in the reservoir rock with much greater penetration than magnetic resonant imaging or nuclear magnetic resonance. Although AEC has laid a solid foundation for success in nanotechnology research, additional proposals are currently under review, generated from a mid-2008 RFP. As a result, a much broader portfolio of AEC-funded research projects will commence in early 2009. If successful, application of nano- and micro-scale technologies to oil and gas exploration and production could revolutionize the understanding of oil and gas reservoirs. The practical outcome of this revolution, springing from a tiny but mighty source, will be greater and more efficient recovery of the substantial hydrocarbon energy resources.

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