Recently, researchers have proved the application of nanoparticles (NPs) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in ambient temperature. However, to our knowledge no attempt has been undertaken experimentally to investigate the influence of NPs on EOR at higher temperatures. In this study, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and silicon dioxide (SiO2) were selected for EOR purposes from an intermediate-wet limestone sample at 26, 40, 50, and 60 °C. These metal NPs were dispersed in deionized water at concentration of 0.005 wt %. First, transportation of the NPs through limestone was evaluated. It was found that Al2O3 (8.2%) had the lowest and TiO2 (27.8%) and SiO2 (43.4%) had the highest adsorption on the limestone. Consequently, wettability of the limestone was changed into water-wet through NPs adsorption. The contact angle in the presence of Al2O3, TiO2, and SiO2 nanofluids was measured as 71° ± 2°, 57° ± 2°, and 26° ± 2°, respectively. Interfacial tension was also noticeably reduced with these nanofluids at all temperatures. Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofluids respectively demonstrated better results in EOR compared to SiO2 at all temperatures. Reduction of capillary force was the main reason for EOR via the nanofluids. Moreover, a considerable reduction in oil viscosity was observed after Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofluids flooding at 50 and 60 °C.

For the past decades, considerable attention has been focused on the manufacture of a highperformance, environmentally compliant water-based mud system to be a better choice than oil and synthetic-based muds (OBM/SBM). However, the improvement of WBMs has not reached the satisfactory level yet and attempts in this regard should be continued. Accordingly, in this study, an attempt was made to improve the performance of a Bentonite-WBM by adding four types of hydrophilic nanoparticles (NPs), namely aluminum oxide (Al2O3), titanium

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