Interview by Ramin Naziyev, Baku. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Today nanotechnologies are associated with modern technologies. The head of the Nanotechnologies Department in the SOCAR, PhD (technical sciences) Eldar Shakhbazov told Vestnik Kavkaza about the implementation of nanotechnologies in the Azerbaijani oil industry.
- When did the idea of using nanotechnologies in development of energy resources begin to be fulfilled in Azerbaijan?
- The idea of using nanotechnologies in the oil industry was voiced at the end of the 20th century by academician Azad Mirzadzhanzade. He believed that nanotechnologies could be a pill for exhausted deposits and improve rheological oil indices. In the majority of Azerbaijani oil deposits there is a significant amount of resources still. However, the poor permeability of collector layers, a high level of water cut, increased viscosity of oil make these resources difficult to extract.
Research by oil scientists of the SOCAR showed that major reasons for difficulties in oil extraction are physical nature of processes in depths of the earth. Oil and gas are nanosystems at the molecular and nuclear levels. Thus, influence on liquid for intensification of oil development should be provided at the nuclear-molecular nanolevel. Usage of nanoparticles of various metals as accelerators will enable to intensify old mines in the deposits where huge oil resources are left.
Today our company implements the developed and adopted program “Nanooil” for 2010-2015. It covers four directions – Nanodevelopment, Nanomining, Nanopetroleochemistry, and Econanooil. Studies, laboratorial and field test operations enabled to establish a data base for wide implementation of nanotechnologies in the oil industry. The oil industry is a pioneer of using nanotechnologies in Azerbaijan, which is a forward of the country’s economy.
- How are nanotechnologies used in the extraction of mineral resources?
- According to the International Energy Agency, by 2025 the growth of oil and gas demand will be registered in the world. It will lead to extraction of their development, annual demand of them will be more than 6 billion tons of oil. However, the problem is that it is situated in hardly accessible regions (the north regions, deep-frozen soil, deep-water parts of the coastal shelf). Secondly, exploitation of heavy and high-viscosity oil deposits demands significant financial and energy spending. Thus, innovative nanotechnologies are very important. Today a great part of the world oil development is provided by old and very water-cut deposits, as well as deposits with high-viscosity oil under conditions of low-permeability reservoirs. The fifth part of mines is not used because of intensive water-cut. At the same time, development and implementation of nanotechnologies enables to get effective results.
- What difficulties does SOCAR have in the development of oil resources?
- There are six main problems of oil deposits, which can be solved by implementation of nanotechnologies. First is excessive and subnormal pressures which are caused by improvement of mining effectiveness; second is ecological problems caused by water-cut of mines; fighting against sand appearance; scale buildup in pipelines and transport systems; irreducible oil; and paraffinicity of deposits and its prevention. To settle these problems, we have developed systems which could be successfully commercialized at oil deposits in the EU and abroad. We also can use nanotechnologies for extraction of irreducible and heavy oil, against sands and scale buildup, for mining. They are implemented in the SOCAR producing fields.
To be continued
