Nanotechnology for Oil and Gas Recovery?

Can nanotechnology help squeeze more oil and gas on earth? It is the hope of a consortium of energy companies that are putting millions of dollars in the development of new micro-and nanosensor technologies. The seven companies that make up the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC), which includes Halliburton Energy Services, BP America and ConocoPhilips will put up $ 21 million in total funding for research. The aim is to develop subsurface sensors, which can be used to improve both the discovery and recovery of hydrocarbons.

"It's been a long time coming," said Wade Adams, director of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for nanoscale science and technology at Rice University in Houston, the technical partner of the consortium. "This is the first time when energy companies have jointly fund this type of research, so, in fact, it'sa big deal," she said.

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