Comparison between A Case for Nanomaterials in the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Business and nanoparticles

While nanomaterials are frequently associated with alternative energy sources such as solar, fuel cells and the hydrogen economy, their application in the hydrocarbon extraction business is less frequently discussed. The oil & gas industry faces a range of materials-related challenges, which lead to increased costs and limit the operating envelope of drilling and production technologies. This represents a significant market opportunity for nanomaterial-based solutions. However, barriers to entry and adoption are high, and collaboration between the oil industry and nanomaterial developers has to date been limited. This paper recommends increased collaboration between oil producers and nanomaterial manufacturers, and identifies some critical factors for such partnerships to be successful. Drilling tools must also contend with tremendous shock loads (repeated shocks in excess of 100 G have been measured), abrasion, and thermal degradation due to heat generated by the drilling process. A 20,000 ft long drilling assembly can weigh as much as 1 million pounds and will be subjected to rotation, compression and tension as it is run in, used to make hole, and retrieved. The material properties necessary to deliver enhanced drilling, wellbore, and production equipment are not foreign to the nanomaterials sector: abrasion and corrosion resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, increased thermal conductivity, thermal and chemical stability, and so on.