Think Outside of the Box - Nano Drug Delivery Technologies for Oil Recovery Applications

 

Jenn-Tai Liang

 

To improve oil and gas recovery, operators inject all kinds of expensive chemicals into the subsurface. Because of the often hostile downhole environment, most oilfield chemicals can- not survive the extremes of temperature, salinity, and pH level. There is a strong incentive to develop improved tech- niques to protect and control/delay the release of oil and gas chemicals so that they can be successfully transported to the target locations underground. Based on the drug delivery technologies from the pharmaceutical industry, a chemi- cal delivery system was developed using nanoparticles to trap and protect oilfield chemicals from the hostile underground environment. Nanoparticles must effectively stabilize, deliv- er, target, and/or sustain the effects of the oilfield chemicals. In this talk, the basic concepts behind the development of a cost-effective nanoscale chemical delivery system will be dis- cussed. Examples of applications in conformance control, hydraulic fracturing fluid cleanup, and surfactant transport will be presented.

Jenn-Tai Liang is a full professor and holder of the John E. and Deborah F. Bethancourt endowed professorship at Texas A&M University’s Department of Petroleum Engi- neering. He has researched the use of nano- technologies for conformance control, flow assurance, and hydraulic fracturing fluid cleanup. Liang holds a BS in chemistry from Tamkang University, and MS and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Alabama and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively.