IJSRD - International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol. 2, Issue 11, 2015 | ISSN (online): 2321-0613 All rights reserved by www.ijsrd.com 8 Emerging Nanotech Applications in the Oil Industry Javed Mohammed 1 1 Student 1 Department of Computer Science & Engineering 1 New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY Abstract— With the introduction of nanotechnology, energy industries envisage a potential revolutionary change in the field of exploration, development and production. Research by universities into such areas as nanosensors, nanomarkers and nanobots to provide valuable data regarding the reservoir are of great focus due to their large potential return on investment, but have yet to yield substantive products. By contrast, efforts into drilling applications of nanotechnology such as drilling fluids are less known. Nanotechnology can revolutionize the additive properties by tuning particle characteristics to meet certain environmental, operational and technical requirements. Nano-technology produces nanomaterials that are ultra-fines in nature, usually smaller than ordinary micro particles and thus has very high specific surface area with enormous area of interactions. Recent research has indicated that nanomaterials have unique properties for a broad range of applications in the field of oilfield exploration and drilling , where fluid loss control, borehole stability, cementing quality of a well, remediation of damaged reservoirs, hydrocarbon recovery efficiency, oilfield wastewater treatment, high-temperature tolerance and viscosity modification are of interest. This paper presents an extensive literature review of assessing the applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the field of oilfield exploration and drilling, investigating the existing problems in the application of nanomaterials in oilfield exploration and drilling , and evaluating the potential technical and economic benefits that nanotechnology and nanomaterials might provide to petroleum development and production. This paper will also discuss results from projects which utilize carbon nanotubes (CNT), nanosilica and other nanochemistries to achieve and enhance the performance of drilling fluids. Key words: Nano-sensors, Nanotechnology, Nano- materials, Oil field exploration, Oil field drilling, Carbon nanotubes, Drilling Fluids I. INTRODUCTION Nanotechnology continues to gain momentum in the areas of academics as well as applied research. Generally, material is said to be a nanomaterial if one of its dimension is less than 100 nm. Because of the large increase in the surface area to volume ratio, nanomaterials display different chemical and physical properties compared to their macro- or micron-sized counterparts. For instance, opaque substances become transparent (copper) and inert materials become catalysts (platinum). This enables niche application of nanomaterial. The global demand for energy is anticipated to continue to increase over the next few decades with the expectation that the world's energy consumption will increase substantially in the near future. Although the use of alternative energy sources, such as nuclear and renewable energy will increase in the coming years, the increase will be relatively small and the main role of the alternative energy sources, at least for the next two decades, will be to complement and supplement, rather than replace, the use of hydrocarbons. Accordingly, meeting the World's growing energy demand will be a major challenge in the coming decades and will only be possible with revolutionary breakthroughs in the oil and gas industry's core science and engineering. Breakthroughs in nanotechnology have the potential to move the industry beyond the current alternatives for energy supply by introducing technologies that are more efficient and more environmentally sound. Recently, the oil industry has been approaching nanotechnologies as a potential solution to the above mentioned challenges, calling for the same breakthrough effects that this relatively new branch of science has been gushing over the last century in Aerospace, biology and medicine. Nano technologies have the potential to introduce revolutionary changes in several areas of the oil and gas industry, such as exploration, drilling, production, enhanced oil recovery, refining and distribution. For example, nanosensors might provide more detailed and accurate information about reservoirs; specially fabricated nanoparticles can be used for scale inhibition; structural nanomaterials could enable the development of petroleum industry equipment that is much lighter and more reliable and long-lasting; and nanomembranes could enhance the gas separation and removal of impurities from oil and gas streams. Other emerging applications of micro and nano technologies in the petroleum industry are new types of "smart fluids? For enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and drilling. In short, there are numerous areas in which nanotechnology can contribute to more efficient, less expensive, and more environmentally sound technologies. This paper presents an extensive literature review of assessing the applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the field of oilfield exploration and drilling, investigating the existing problems in the application of nanomaterials in oilfield exploration and drilling , and evaluating the potential technical and economic benefits that nanotechnology and nanomaterials might provide to petroleum development and production. Additionally this paper will also discuss results from projects which utilize carbon nanotubes (CNT), nanosilica and other nanochemistries to achieve and enhance the performance of drilling. Also recent developments in research in areas of significance to the oil and gas industry are briefly reviewed. The potential opportunities and challenges that face future trends of nanotechnology applications in the oil and gas industry are also discussed. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS The true nano-revolution relies on the full exploitation of the bottom-up approach, i.e., the creation of smart materials by exploiting their self-organizational capacity. The ultimate breakthrough of the nanotechnologies will be the extensive