Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) refers to a set of techniques used to extract crude oil that remains trapped in reservoir rock after conventional drilling methods have been exhausted, often leaving more than half the original oil in place. Researchers use X-ray computed tomography to image pore-scale fluid behavior directly inside rock samples, building detailed models of how oil, water, and gas interact within the complex geometry of porous media. Much of the current work centers on altering the wettability of reservoir rock—essentially changing whether rock surfaces prefer oil or water—using agents such as surfactants, nanofluids, and foam to mobilize oil that would otherwise cling to pore walls. Open questions include how nanofluids behave under the high pressures and temperatures of real reservoirs, and how findings from laboratory-scale core samples translate reliably to field-scale recovery predictions.

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67,162

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Keywords

X-ray Computed TomographyPore-scale ModelingEnhanced Oil RecoveryWettability AlterationNanofluidsSurfactants