Nanotechnology is an emerging technology with the potential to effect revolutionary changes in several aspects of the oil and gas industry. While the advantages of nanotechnology in several small-scale downstream sections of the industry is well established, policy makers in the upstream section often tend to adopt a more conservative approach towards the emerging technologies. This is chiefly rooted in the comparatively extensive investments needed to impose any fundamental technology changes in this section, and the high level of economical risk involved. However, since the impacts of any widespread technological revolution will be inevitably felt in every large-scale industry, adopting an astute strategy in regard to the incoming tides is of utmost importance. Such a strategy must determine the areas most prepared to accept technological changes so that the emerging technology will be accepted in a premeditated manner, minimizing the associated risks. Regarding these considerations, in the present study, an extensive literature survey was conducted, with the aim of discerning those sections of the upstream oil and gas industry, where nanotechnology is potentially advantageous in providing technically and economically viable alternatives for present materials and technologies. This survey led to creation of a Technology Tree, which demonstrates these fields with the associated organic connections among them. In the next step, a priority assessment was carried out to determine those areas of upstream industry most suitable for investment. For this aim, comprehensive questionnaires were prepared and distributed among a number of experts in nanotechnology and energy policy making. The pool of experts were carefully handpicked, so that the selected individuals would have considerable experience and expertise in fields such as nanotechnology, upstream oil industry, technology management and policy making. The gathered feedback was then analyzed according to the AHP model, using software specifically engineered by the authors to include all the necessary criteria. At the end, a select-few of fields were found to have the highest priority for investment. Among these were Chemical EOR, i.e. application of polymeric nanocomposites specifically hydrogel nanocomposites for enhanced and improved oil recovery and taking advantage of nanostructured materials in producing high-efficiency water-based drilling fluids.

Treatment with a non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a new and effective technology applied recently for conversion of gases for air pollution control. This research was initiated to optimize the efficient application of the NTP process in benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene (BTEX) removal. The effects of four variables including temperature, initial BTEX concentration, voltage, and flow rate on the BTEX elimination efficiency were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). The constructed model was evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The model goodness-of-fit and statistical significance was assessed using determination coefficients (R and R) and the F-test. The results revealed that the R proportion was greater than 0.96 for BTEX removal efficiency. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the BTEX removal efficiency was significantly correlated with the temperature, BTEX concentration, voltage, and flow rate. Voltage was the most influential variable affecting the dependent variable as it exerted a significant effect (p< 0.0001) on the response variable. According to the achieved results, NTP can be applied as a progressive, cost-effective, and practical process for treatment of airstreams polluted with BTEX in conditions of low residence time and high concentrations of pollutants.

Nanotechnology has had revolutionary effects in various fields of industry such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials. However, upstream oil industry has been noticeably slow in adopting the emerging technologies. This is mainly due to the exceptionally large investments needed to implement novel technologies in this industry. However, the projections for the increasing global energy demand require that oil and gas industry inevitably move toward adopting the emerging technologies. The high risk associated with enormous investments required for this aim necessitates measured and well-researched energy policies, with regard to the implementation of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry. This paper presents a concise summary of the research reported in the literature on the potential benefits of nanotechnology in upstream oil industry. These applications were categorized into ten groups, and presented to a pool of experts, who judged on their relative importance with respect to various decision-making criteria. All this information was then compiled into a single matrix, which indicates the priority of each investment alternative with respect to every criterion in the form of a raw number. Finally, using a decision-making software package, a dynamic analytic hierarchical process (AHP) analysis was performed, providing a route to customized investment policies.

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