Geophysical Nanorobots To Explore Underground Formations To Find Oil, Gas and Water

Nanorobots to explore underground formations could squeeze through tiny cracks in the ground and report their finding to surface computers via radio.  The nanorobots would contain sensors and on-board laboratories capable of analyzing their findings.  These nanorobots would  provide superior geophysical analysis compared to current subsurface analysis techniques.  


Nanorobots to explore subterranean geophysical formations have been developed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) inventors Rami Ahmed Kamal, Modiu L. Sanni  and Mazen Y. Kanj according to U.S. Patent Application 20100268470.

 The nanorobots represent a system and method for exploring geophysical formations at great depths below the surface of the earth.

In order to explore the formation, nanorobots with a size less than 500 nanometers are inserted into the formation. The nanorobots propel through the formation, analyzing fluids and conditions as each moves through the formation. The nanorobots can communicate with a machine on the surface via a series of receivers and transmitters located in the wellbore.

A machine on the surface is able to combine and analyze the data from the nanorobots to create a three dimensional map of the formation. The map shows the locations of pathways through the formation, pockets of hydrocarbons within the formation, and the boundaries of the formation.

The overriding problem in exploring for hydrocarbons in the subsurface is the probing in, and characterizing of, an environment that cannot be seen. Similarly once a commercial hydrocarbon deposit has been discovered and is about to be developed and exploited much conjecture and many assumptions must be made by reservoir geologists and reservoir engineers in the modeling of a large volume of rock which cannot be seen.

Subsurface reservoir data is currently acquired from probes lowered into boreholes and from images (seismography). In the first instance, the data is handicapped by its insufficiency, by virtue of being sourced from a single 6-inch hole, thus giving too narrow of a view. The interpreted seismic volumes, on the other hand, gives too broad of a view due to their imaging quality and resolution inadequacies. Even combining the two, does not enable for the mapping of exact high permeability pathways. 

A nanoscale robot, with a dimension smaller than 500 nanometers, could move through the pores to map the pore and pathway structure, find hydrocarbons within the structure, find water within the structure, and analyze the fluids, minerals, and rocks within the structure. The geophysical exploration nanorobots move through the hydrocarbon reservoir and, thus, may be called "Resbots" ™.

Key to Figure Numbers
66	Geophysical Nanorobot	133	Reactive identification tag
68	Surface	134	Wellbore fixed receivers
100	Wellbores	136	Wellbore fixed transmitter
102	Geophysical Formation	138	Sensor
104	Casing	146	Electrodes
106	Production Wells	160	Radio Frequency Generator
112	Wellbore Fluid	166	Propellers
114	Nanorobot	168	Vibrating Membranes
124	Onboard Computer	170	Flagella
126	Surface Computer	214	Crawlers
128	Transmitter	244	Processor
130	Onboard Receiver	246	Memory
132	Body or shell	286	Swarm Of Nanorobots

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a geophysical nanorobot based geophysical exploration system

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a geophysical nanorobot having multiple propulsion devices, a processor, a radio frequency transmitter, and a sensor  

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a geophysical nanorobot having a nano-processor control system

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of operational propulsion of a plurality of geophysical nanorobots in a geophysical formation