AbstractFine migration is a serious problem in petroleum reservoir that causes damage to the reservoir and production equipment. One of the methods to solve this problem is using nanotechnology. Nanoparticles can reduce fine migration by various mechanisms such as reducing the zeta potential, changing the total interaction energy between surfaces, pH, and roughness of the particle’s surfaces. This study presents a review of the methods such as sand pack test, core flood test, and proppant test that study the nanoparticles’ influence on fine migration. Also, there are two different scenarios for the use of nanoparticles to mitigate fine migration. One of these scenarios is the co-injection of nanoparticles and particles suspended fluid, and another scenario is the initial injection of nanoparticles into the porous media (pre-flush). The results of the studies have shown that pre-flush of nanoparticles has a better effect on the control of fine migration.

Today, enhance oil recovery (EOR) methods are attracting more attention to increase the petroleum production rate. Some EOR methods such as low salinity water flooding (LSW) can increase the amount of fine migration and sand production in sandstone reservoirs which causes a reduction in permeability and inflict damages on to the reservoir and the production equipment. One of the methods to control fine migration is using nanotechnology. Nanoparticles (NPs) can reduce fine migration by various mechanisms such as reducing the zeta potential of fine particles' surfaces. In this paper, three NPs including SiO2, MgO, and Al2O3 's effects on controlling fine migration and sand production were investigated in two scenarios of pre-flush and co-injection by using sandpack as a porous media sample. When NPs are injected into the porous media sample, the outflow turbidity and zeta potential of particles decreases. Experiments showed that SiO2 has the best effect on controlling fine migration in comparison with other NPs and it could reduce fine migration 69% in pre-flush and 75% in co-injection. Also, MgO and Al2O3 decreased fine migration 65% and 33% in the pre-flush scenario and 49%,13% in the co-injection scenario, respectively.

There are a lot of fine particles in sandstone reservoirs that are not strongly bonded to the rock's surface. These fine particles move with the fluid flow and cause formation damage and facilities' erosion. An effective method for preventing fine migration is using nanoparticles (NPs). In this study, modelling and experimental methods were utilized to investigate NPs' effect on fine migration. The Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory was used to model NPs' effect on the stability of fines on the rock's surface. Long sand packs were utilized to study the silicon dioxide NPs' effect on fine migration and location distribution of blockage in experiments at different pH and temperatures. Modelling results showed that the presence of NPs reduces the zeta potential of fine surfaces from −27.6 and −35.6 mV to −1.8 and −6.7 mV at pH = 8 and pH = 12, respectively. Based on the DLVO theory, it was concluded that NPs increase the particles' stability on the rock's surface. The experimental results showed that although fine migration increases with an increase in pH and temperature, the presence of SiO2 decreases it by 58% and 38% at pH = 8 and 12, respectively. The results showed that the performance of NPs reduced with an increase in pH and temperature. It was shown that the presence of NPs influences the location distribution of pressure drop and leads to permeability being more homogeneous in porous media during low salinity water injection.

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