Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | Enhanced Oil Recovery of the depleted reservoirs of Upper Assam Basin and Rajasthan with simultaneous carbon neutrality for environmental sustainability |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Subrata Borgohain Gogoi, Dibrugarh University, Assam |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | subrata@dibru.ac.in |
Equipments : | Dynamic Foam Analyzer |
Details
Executive Summary : | This research aims at enhancing oil recovery from depleted crude oil reservoirs with simultaneous CO2 capture and sequestration. During the primary and secondary recovery processes, only 30% crude oil is recovered and 70% remains. To recover the remaining oil, exotic fluids are introduced to improve the reservoir efficiency. The exotic fluid that will be designed will be Nano Foam (NF). NF will comprise of Nano Particles (NP) and Bio Foam (BF). Iron NP will be synthesized from spinach and banana leaves. BF will be developed from biosurfactants obtained from Hydrocarbon (HC) contaminated sites and Carbon-di-oxide (CO2) absorbed from the flue gases of HC industries. BF will be stabilized by NP to form NF. Designing NF will be based on surface properties, thermal stability and transport behaviour in porous media. Objectives Characterization of reservoir rock and fluids; Production of biosurfactants from HC contaminated sites; Management of CO2 from flue gases by absorption-desorption; Development of NF from BF and NP; Green synthesis of amorphous Fe Nano Particles (NP) by extraction method and Characterization of synthesized NPs; Development of NF from BF; Performance analyses of NF-EOR by oil recovery; Social Cost Benefit Analysis; Development of a Techno-economic model. Hypothesis This research will contribute to India’s ongoing and urgent need to develop CO2 based applications for carbon neutrality, aimed at delivering breakthroughs in multidisciplinary research. The research will benefit the HC industries by planning for enhanced production through NF-EOR technology and reduction in CO2 from the flue gases of HC industries by using it in the formulation of BF. NF-EOR will be the first of its kind and the outcome of the project is expected to be highly fruitful for implementation in HC industries. Experiments Reservoir rock and fluids characterization; Reservoir Geomechanics; Production and Characterization of Biosurfactants; Absorption-desorption of CO2; BioFoams (BF) from Biosurfactants and CO2; Synthesis and Characterization of Nano Particles for NF; Designing of Nano Foams (NF) from BF; NF for EOR; Modelling and simulation of NF-EOR; Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA); Human health risk assessment; Development of Techno-economic model. Significance This research will contribute to India’s ongoing issue of deficient energy scenario and poor air quality via utilization of CO2 from HC industries and production of crude oil by NF-EOR. The method is expected to be low cost and practical for large scale oil production. The energy and air monitoring scientific community will be benefitted from this project. It will help in teaching & research of the participating universities. The experimental system developed will continue to be of use for future students and researchers. The new innovative technologies of EOR and CO2 reduction will benefit policymakers. |
Co-PI: | "Dr. Akhil Agrawal, Central University Of Rajasthan, Ajmer-305817; Dr. Dhrubajyoti Neog, Dibrugarh University, Assam-786004" |
Total Budget (INR): | 37,86,000 |
Organizations involved