Mitigation of Fines Migration in Sandstone Reservoirs using Nanomaterials: An Experimental Case Study from Abu Rawash Formation-C Member, Western Desert, Egypt

Sand production is a major problem in petroleum industry. In this study, alumina (Al₂O₃) and silica (SiO₂) nano-fluids at different concentrations (0.1‒0.6 g/L) and various flow rates (1‒40 cm³/min) were injected into two sandstone Cores to evaluate the effect of the nanomaterials on preventing fines migration. Core porosity and permeability were measured at each step to monitor changes and assess the effect of nano-fluids on Core properties. The optimal concentration of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ nanomaterials for holding most of fines in place and producing a minimum quantity of fines was 0.4 g/L for both sandstone samples of Abu Rawash formation. The free fines in sandstone were entrapped by the electrostatic force of adsorption between the metallic oxides and the clayey fines. Monitoring the permeability of the Core plugs indicated a significant reduction in the permeability with increasing concentration of the injected nanomaterial, reflecting the entrapment of fines in the pores and plausible poreneck plugging. New terms were proposed to characterize the produced fines weight into a specific number of a definite grain size: clay particle equivalent and the fine sand particle equivalent. Nanoparticles show promise in solving the issue of fines production and can be extended to other applications in the future of petroleum-oriented nanotechnology.