Oil reservoirs around the globe are at their declining phase and in spite of
enormous effectiveness of Enhanced Oil Recovery(EOR) in the Tertiary Stage.
This process still bypasses some oil reason being surface forces responsible
for holding oil inside the rock surface which are not being altered by the
application of existing technologies. The processes coming under Tertiary
Section Supplements primary and secondary sections. However, the mechanism of
operating is different in both. Nanoparticles are showing a significant role in
EOR techniques and is a promising approach to increase crude oil extraction.
This is due to the fact that size of nanoparticles used for EOR lies in the
range of 1-100 nm. It is also an interesting fact that in different operational
conditions and parameters, the performance of nanoparticles also vary and some
are more effective than others, which leads to various levels of recovery in
the EOR process. In the present study, we intend to summarize a report having
an up to date status on nanotechnology assisted EOR mechanisms where
nanoparticles are used as nano-catalysts, nano-emulsions and nanoparticles
assisted EOR mechanisms to destabilize the oil layer on carbonate surface. This
review also highlights the various mechanisms such Gibb's free energy,
wettability alteration, and Interfacial Tension Reduction (ITR) including
interaction of available nanoparticles with reservoirs. Experimental
measurements for a wide range of nanoparticles are not only expensive but are
challenging because of the relatively small size, especially for the
measurements of thinner capillaries of a nanoscale diameter. Therefore, we
considered computational simulations as a more adequate approach to gain more
microscopic insights into the oil displacement process to classify the
suitability of nanomaterials