Events
The 2nd International Symposium on “Application Of Nanogeosciences in Petroleum Engineering”
Date: November 26 - 27, 2012
Venue: Shiran-kaikan, Kyoto University
Organized by:
- Kyoto University
- China University of Petroleum
- Institut Teknologi Bandung
- Kyoto University
Global COE Program “Global Center for Education and Research on Human Security
Engineering for Asian Megacities”.
Co-organized by:
- JAPEX (Japan Petroleum Exploration Company Limited)
- JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation)
- Schlumberger
- VPI (Vietnam Petroleum Institute)
Number of attendants: around 52 persons
Report 234
Outline
The purpose of the second symposium is to share and discuss the recent research achievements in the application of Nano-Geosciences to the petroleum engineering such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), shale gas exploration, and the CO2 Capture & Storage (CCS) for sustainable energy supply which is essential for human security. Many researchers and experimentalists who were interested in the Nano-Geosciences and a direct comparison from the molecular and multi-scale simulations have joined in this symposium.
Report
The second symposium on “Application of Nano-Geosciences in Petroleum Engineering” was held at Shirankaikan Kyoto University, on 26-27th November 2012. This symposium was organized by Kyoto University, China University of Petroleum, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and Global COE Program “Global Center for Education and Research on Human Security Engineering for Asian Megacities”. The chairman of the organizing committee was Prof. Toshifumi Matsuoka from Kyoto University. Dr. Yunfeng Liang, an Assistant Professor of Kyoto University, has coordinated the Symposium. Around 52 participants who attended the symposium were researchers (including professors, postdocs and students) and engineers from different institution and company among the world (Australia, Brazil, Denmark, China, California, Italy, London, Canada, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam).
The symposium was opened by Prof. Toshifumi Matsuoka. He welcomed all the participants and highlighted the importance of the application of nano-geosciences in the petroleum engineering for our common future.
After the opening session, there were presentation sessions followed by questions and answers at the end of each presentation. There were 29 presentations categorized into 6 (six) topics: (1) Characterization of the pore structure and multiphase flow in porous media; (2) EOR techniques and its fundamentals; (3) Special lecture on nano-geosciences and nanotechnology; (4) Flows in fractured media and shale gas exploration; (5) CO2 geo-sequestration; and (6) Oil-water-rock interactions. For each topic, one or two keynote speakers from university and petroleum industry gave special lectures to the audience. There were 6 presentations as the special lectures were given by:
1. Dr. Sergio D. Kapusta presented “Nanotechnology Applications in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production”. Sergio has summarized the challenges in oil and gas industry in one sentence: “Deliver twice the amount of energy with half the emissions of CO2 and the consumption of water”. He explained how to respond to the challenges of the new energy future with available nanotechnologies which poses challenges to the energy industry and at the same time it offers great opportunities.
2. Dr. Edo S. Boek presented “Multi-scale Flow Experiments, Imaging and Simulation”. He explained the pore scale models for imbibition of CO2 and analogue fluids in etched micro-model experiments and direct Lattice Boltzmann flow calculations. In the spontaneous imbibition micro-fluidic experiments, Edo and his group observed that the throat in closest proximity fills up first, instead of following Young-Laplace filling rules. This finding has potentially important consequences for calculation of residual saturation of CO2 at the core scale, which is determined by spontaneous imbibition of brine following CO2 injection. Further, Edo has shown how to gain insights of oil molecules in-place from his in-house NMR setup.
3. Prof. Susan L. Stipp presented “Nanometer Scale Insights into Controls on Surface Wetting”. Using surface spectroscopy (mostly X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS) to investigate composition, scanning probe microscopy (mostly atomic force microscopy, AFM) to observe surface forces and computational methods (density functional theory, DFT and molecular dynamics, MD) to explore bonding relationships, Susan and her group (NanoGeoScience Group) have shown that the wetting behavior of typical reservoir rocks is heterogeneous at lateral scales of nanometers and that adhesion forces and surface composition vary, depending on the composition of the fluid in contact. The Copenhagen NanoGeoscience group has been able to see some hints for understanding how low-salinity water flooding enhances oil recovery from the reservoirs.
4. Dr. Masaei Ito presented “Novel CNT-Polymer Nanocomposites Used in Oilfield for HPHT Sealing System”. The key challenges in exploiting the untapped oil in hotter, deeper reservoirs are high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). Masaei has presented a novel sealing material based on a CNT (Carbon Nanotubes)/rubber nano-composite, which was successfully developed and quickly communalized by Schlumberger and Shinshu University for the use in exploring and producing oil and gas from the extremely HPHT reservoirs.
5. Prof. Amos Nur presented “Digital Rock Physics for Shales”. He explained the application of Digital Rock Physics for shales characterization. Three key technologies (that have evolved rapidly over the last decade) were highlighted in Amos’ talk: One is highresolution diagnostic imaging methods that permit detailed examination of the internal structure of rock samples over a wide range of scales and down to tens of nanometer. The second is advanced numerical methods for simulating complex physical phenomenon and the third is high speed, massively parallel computation using powerful graphical processing units (GPU’s) that were originally developed for computer gaming and animation.
6. Prof. Caetano R. Miranda presented “Characterization of Hydrocarbon and Nanoparticle Adsorption on Mineral Surfaces through Advanced First Principles Techniques”. According to Caetano, it is now possible to assign the peaks in the NMR spectra for all structures studied. He could observe a chemical shift differentiation in atoms located on different sites (bulk and surface) for both calcite and silica systems. In addition, the presence of hydrocarbon molecules also modified the chemical shift of adsorbed Ca and Si sites with respect to the pristine and isolated surfaces. This may offers us an effective way to detect the hydrocarbon molecules adsorped on the mineral surfaces, which are not visible by other methods.
After the successful second symposium was carried out, finally the symposium was closed by Prof. Toshifumi Matsuoka. He mentioned that the comprehensive thoughts from all the presenters were very interesting. In general, he concluded the contribution of nano geocscience in the petroleum engineering relating to the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), Shale gas and the CO2 Capture & Sequestration (CCS). Prof. Toshifumi Matsuoka announced that Kyoto University will organize the third symposium in 2013. The audiences also were warmly invited to participate and support the upcoming symposium.
