ill undoubtedly see some exciting uses of them in the oil industry.
Other Promising Secondary Oil Recovery Methods
Researchers in the oil and gas industry are constantly searching for ways to get more oil out of old fields. New technologies being experimented with include ultrasonic stimulation, where a device is lowered into the wellbore and ultrasonic waves penetrate the oil bearing formation, causing more oil to flow into the well bore. Horizontal wells could be used to place strings of ultrasonic vibration devices across several hundred or even thousand feet of the oil reservoir.
The Future: Multiple Methods Of EOR Combined?
Multiple methods, using vibration, steam and surfactants or CO2 and microbes could all be use to extract every drop of oil possible from an old reservoir. With advances in technology we could see many old depleted fields become revisited by oil companies who have developed superior enhanced oil recovery methods.
For more about oil and gas recovery methods and a good explanation of oil production in general see Oil and Gas Production In Nontechnical Language, which is used by many company training programs.