U.S. Patent No. 10,801,310 B2, entitled, “USING GASES AND HYDROCARBON RECOVERY FLUIDS CONTAINING NANOPARTICLES TO ENHANCE HYDROCARBON RECOVERY” was issued to Nissan Chemical America Corporation on October 13, 2020. The inventors are Robin Watts from Smithville, TX (US), Kevin Watts from Spring, TX (US), John Edmond Southwell from Glen Ellyn, IL (US), David Holcomb from Florence, AZ (US), Naveed Aslam from Bellaire, TX (US) and Yusra Khan Ahmad from Friendswood, TX (US).
Abstract
A process of stimulating hydrocarbon recovery is described and claimed. This process includes introducing a gas, a liquified gas or a vaporized liquified gas, into an underground formation containing hydrocarbons such as crude oil and gas, permitting said gas to be absorbed by said hydrocarbons, and withdrawing said hydrocarbons containing the gas therein, wherein a pill of Hydrocarbon Recovery Fluid comprising surface functionalized nanoparticles is inserted into the underground formation containing hydrocarbons before, during or after the introduction of the gas, liquified gas or a vaporized liquified gas.