Data science's pivotal role in enhancing oil recovery methods while minimizing environmental footprints: An insightful review

Abstract

Data science has emerged as a critical tool in the oil and gas industry, revolutionizing traditional approaches to oil recovery while addressing environmental concerns. This review explores the pivotal role of data science in enhancing oil recovery methods while minimizing environmental footprints. The oil and gas industry faces the challenge of maximizing oil recovery from reservoirs while minimizing environmental impacts. Data science offers a transformative approach by leveraging advanced analytics, machine learning, and big data technologies to optimize oil recovery processes. One key area where data science has been instrumental is in reservoir characterization. Advanced data analytics techniques enable the integration of diverse data sources, such as seismic, well log, and production data, to create detailed reservoir models. These models provide insights into reservoir properties, helping engineers design more effective recovery strategies. Data science also plays a crucial role in reservoir monitoring and management. Real-time data from sensors and monitoring devices are analyzed using machine learning algorithms to detect anomalies and optimize production operations. This proactive approach minimizes downtime and reduces the risk of environmental incidents. In addition to reservoir management, data science is transforming drilling and completion operations. Machine learning algorithms analyze drilling data to optimize well trajectories, reduce drilling time, and improve wellbore stability. This leads to more efficient drilling operations and reduces the environmental impact of drilling activities. Furthermore, data science is driving innovation in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. By analyzing reservoir data and simulating different EOR scenarios, engineers can identify the most effective EOR methods for a particular reservoir. This targeted approach maximizes oil recovery while minimizing the use of chemicals and energy, thus reducing environmental footprints. Overall, data science is revolutionizing the oil and gas industry by optimizing production operations, enhancing reservoir management, and reducing environmental impacts. As the industry continues to embrace digital transformation, data science will play an increasingly pivotal role in driving sustainable oil recovery practices. Keywords: Data, Oil Recovery, Environmental, Footprints, Minimizing.