American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 72

and self-learning machines. These technologies not only give big data users the
ability to quickly mine massive quantities
of data, but also have evolving algorithms that can learn over time how information actually is being used.
Converging Technology Domains
Nanotechnology has evolved in discrete
fields focused on relatively specific applications such as miniaturizing mechanical
or digital devices, optimizing the perform-

into a single system could not only sense
and report on the status of its immediate
chemical environment, but also respond to
deliver targeted corrosion inhibitors.
A commercially available case in point
is chemically reactive proppants that release
chemicals to enhance corrosion resistance
or impede scale formation, based on an external stimulus such as detecting carbon
dioxide or water within the space of a fracture. Nanochemical reactions to inhibit scale
or corrosion are only the starting points.

"Nanotechnology has evolved in discrete fields focused
on relatively speciﬁc applications. The impacts of these
technologies are powerful in their own rights, but going
forward, the biggest game changers are likely to occur at the
boundaries of those discrete ﬁelds, where nanotechnologies across
diﬀerent application and development areas converge."
ance of fluids and coatings, and more recently, enhancing the characteristics of
metal alloys. The impacts of these technologies are powerful in their own rights,
but going forward, the biggest game
changers are likely to occur at the boundaries of those discrete fields, where nanotechnologies across different application
and development areas converge.
For example, smart materials that not
only have improved mechanical properties
by virtue of nanostructures, but also that
can respond to the environment they are
exposed to by self-healing, or sensing and
reacting to chemical or physical changes,
could extend further the life of oil field assets. The convergence of a ubiquitous sensor and a nanoscale chemical delivery pod

Imagine how nanothixotropic materials capable of detecting and altering the
viscosity and chemical properties of a
downhole fluid could revolutionize drilling
and completion, or how reactive nanodevices that could detect what was happening in a chemical, pressure or temperature
environment, and then introduce responsive actions to alter those conditions
could benefit production operations.
Increased Safety Factor
The applications for nanometallurgies are
not confined to the borehole or to cost reduction. They extend to platform structures, topsides equipment, subsea systems, and to creating safer and more robust infrastructures.
In one case, a nanolaminated alloy is

being used on fasteners deployed on offshore rigs. Although these are already lowcost commodity products, fasteners are
critical to both operations and safety. In
many cases, they are the component that
stands between a high-pressure chemical
environment inside a distribution system
and the people and environment outside.
Conventional metal fasteners have to be
replaced frequently because of actual and
potential corrosion, and there is significant
labor cost involved. Testing shows that using a nanolaminated alloy can extend fastener life by more than 15-fold at a capex
competitive with conventional fastener
coating technology.
This means not only the potential to reduce replacement and maintenance costs,
but also an increased safety factor through
a mitigated failure mode. Broadly, nanotechnology materials have the potential to
improve economics as well as to deliver
more robust and safer infrastructure products to the aggressive oil field environment.
As we look to the future, oil and gas operators can continue to expect very big things
from this very small technology. We do not
yet know what kinds of nanotechnologies
will be developed, but it seems a safe bet that
they will one day help the industry solve
"grand challenges" such as boosting recovery rates in ultralow-permeability rocks, enabling seafloor processing, or eventually perhaps, enabling solutions to realize the potential for carbon sequestration, the anticipated demands of this operating environment, and the clean and cost-effective oil and
gas industry of a future generation.
r

CHRISTINA
LOMASNEY

Christina Lomasney is chief executive officer, president and co-founder of Modumetal Inc.
in Seattle, which is focused on pioneering nanotechnology solutions for ultrahigh-performance
metals and coatings. Her career has focused on researching, developing and commercializing
advanced materials technologies, starting at The Boeing Company, where she served in
engineering roles, including Boeing's Phantomworks™ advanced metals manufacturing
department. Lomasney later founded Isotron Corporation, an advanced materials company.
She serves on the board of directors of ASTM International. Lomasney holds a B.S. in physics
from the University of Washington, where she also completed applied physics graduate studies.
72 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016

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