# Special Issue on \"Nanotech for Oil and Gas\"
## 2 Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials Applications in the Oil and Gas Industry  
The aim of this Special Issue is to report the latest research outcomes on nanotechnology and nanomaterials applications in the oil and gas industry. We aimed to collect research on the fundamental aspects and applications of nanotechnology in hydrocarbon detection, drilling and hydraulic fracturing fluids, enhanced oil recovery, oil well cementing, corrosion inhibition, formation fines control, geology, etc. In total 10 papers were accepted by this Special Issue. The first paper by [PERSON] et al. [2] provides a state-of-the-art review on the application of nanoparticles and nanotechnology in the petroleum industry. It briefly summarized nanotechnology application in exploration and reservoir characterization, drilling and completion, production and stimulation, and refinery. Thereafter, this paper focused on the application of nanoparticles in EOR. The different types of nanomaterials that have been studied in EOR were discussed with respect to their properties, performance, advantages, and disadvantages. The parameters that will affect the performance of nanoparticles in EOR, and guidelines for promising recovery factors were emphasized. The mechanisms of the effect of nanoparticles on the EOR processes were underlined, such as wettability alteration, interfacial tension reduction, disjoining pressure, and viscosity control. Three papers focus on nanomaterials in drilling operations. The paper by [PERSON] et al. [3] applied amphiphilic (poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate-acrylamide)/nano-SiO\({}_{2}\)) composite materials as a novel shale stabilizer for water-based muds, which possessed the advantages of both plugging capacity and hydration inhibition during the drilling operations. The nanocomposite only created slight variations on the rheological parameters of the water-based muds and showed a significant filtration control performance. The paper by [PERSON] et al. [4], on the other hand, applied graphene nanoplatelets and silver nanoparticles (NPs) to a water-based mud. They demonstrated that the graphene nanoplatelet and the silver NPs increased the plastic viscosity by up to 89.2% and 64.2%, respectively, whileboth the yield point and the fluid loss values were reduced. The paper by [PERSON] et al. [5] reported polystyrene-organo-montmorillonite (PS-OMMT) nanocomposite particles modified with an anionic surfactant, and its tribological properties as an additive to polyalphaolefin (PAO). They showed that the presence of OMMT can effectively reduce the average molecular weight and particle size of PS. Compared with pure PS, the PS-OMMT nanocomposites possessed higher stability during thermal decomposition and higher glass transition temperatures. The PAO systems incorporating the nanocomposite particles exhibited higher friction reduction and antiwear properties compared with pure PAO, and could improve drilling fluid lubrication. One paper explores NPs for EOR applications. The paper by [PERSON] et al. [6] studied the potential of different silica nanofluids as surface modifying agents for Berea sandstone. Surface modification of sandstone by silica NPs has net attractive potential with fines, leading to reduction of fines migration and improvement of water injectivity. They suggested that NPs could be utilized to overcome the problem of formation damage induced during low salinity flooding in sandstones. The paper by [PERSON] et al. [7] reported a very interesting study on the application of red mud (RM) and NH\({}_{4}\)H\({}_{2}\)PO\({}_{4}\) composite nanoparticle powder in the suppression of gas explosion. The NH\({}_{4}\)H\({}_{2}\)PO\({}_{4}\)/RM composite powders possessed considerable suppression properties on methane explosions.