Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Petroleum Research: Potentialities and Prospects (A Review)

https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965544123020196

Potentialities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in petroleum research are analyzed. Major attention is paid to technical features of the method as applied to oil extraction and preparation. Available published data are systematized. Four key directions of MRI, which undergo active development now, are distinguished: oil in a porous matrix; oil interfaces; destabilization of petroleum systems; transport of crude oils and petroleum systems. Key studies in this field are considered, essential points reflecting the MRI efficiency are presented, and the range of problems that can be solved using MRI, including prospects for further expansion of the application fields, is outlined. The possibilities of studying the morphological, structural, and dynamic aspects of the interaction of crude oils with the environment and the phase behavior of oils under the conditions of intense external actions are discussed. The review favors expansion of the experimental potential of specialists in the field of oil extraction, preparation, and refining, and also in the adjacent fields of physical and colloidal chemistry, chemistry of surface phenomena, and macromolecular chemistry.