Oil and gas companies are racing towards increasing production in their fields. As the well�s first stage of production through natural flow is completed, much of the effort is focused towards improved oil recovery. This is the application of diversified techniques with the purpose of improving the recovery factor of hydrocarbons. As varied techniques are readily available, we employ a novel method towards enhance oil recovery by utilizing nanoparticle materials that can complement current techniques used in the field.

The use of nanoparticle material homogenously mixed with surfactants alters the properties of hydrocarbons sweeping from pore throats of the reservoir. This mechanism greatly affects interfacial tension, wettability through the contact angle and the capillary pressure of hydrocarbons. Any rise in the recovery can obviously increase production rates, recover additional reserves and ultimately substantial economic gains. This research demonstrated that employing nanoparticles to complement EOR operation can be a promising method to be further studied and developed and later introduced to the oil industry.