Research Projects

India imports a significant amount of crude oil due to its limited domestic production, leading to a high oil bill. Polymer flooding is a major Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method considered by oil companies like ONGC, OIL, and Crain India. However, implementing this method in India faces technical challenges such as viscosity reduction at high temperatures, salinity and microbial degradation, and in-situ adsorption by reservoir rocks. The lack of cost-effective indigenous technology and environmental concerns make it difficult for Indian Oil Producers to apply widely in their fields. The proposed research aims to conduct a scientific investigation to understand the physics of polymer flow through porous media and develop indigenous polymer EOR formulations that can be produced in India at a low cost and used for EOR from Indian oil reservoirs. The objectives include understanding the viscoelastic flow of aqueous fluids through porous reservoir rocks, investigating the role of viscoelascity of injection fluids on crude oil displacement efficiency, formulating EOR efficient viscoelastic composites using synthetic polymers, bio-polymers, extended surfactants, and cost-effective nanomaterials and cross-linkers, and evaluating the oil recovery potential of the formulated polymer composites for different Indian reservoirs through laboratory experiments and computer simulations.