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Review

EOR Technology (Patents) and Science (Articles) Assessment of BRICS and nonBRICS with Growth Rates and Specializations within Responsible Global Energy Transition: A Critical Review

by
C. M. Quintella
1,*,
P. D. Rodrigues
2,
J. L. Nicoleti
3,
E. Ramos-de-Souza
4,
E. B. Carvalho
5 and
S. A. Hanna
6
1
Chemistry Institute, Campus Ondina, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40170-115, BA, Brazil
2
Center for Energy and Environment, Campus Ondina, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40170-115, BA, Brazil
3
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Health Sciences, Campus Ondina, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40231-300, BA, Brazil
4
Mosaico Fluido Ltd., Rua Ewerton Visco, nº 324, Ed. Holding Empresarial, 201/202, Caminho das Árvores, Salvador 41820-022, BA, Brazil
5
Campus Salvador, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Bahia, Rua Emídio dos Santos, Barbalho, Salvador 40301-015, BA, Brazil
6
Department of Biointeraction, Institute of Health Sciences, Campus Ondina, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40231-300, BA, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2024, 17(13), 3197; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133197
Submission received: 9 May 2024 / Revised: 6 June 2024 / Accepted: 11 June 2024 / Published: 28 June 2024
(This article belongs to the Section H3: Fossil)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
To achieve a low-carbon energy transition, it is essential to ensure that, as long as fossil fuels are needed, their production is sustainable, minimizing the environmental impact and securing resources for advancing greener technologies, in alignment with SDGs 7, 13, and 14. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) increases the recovery rates without new developments. The recent expansion of the BRICS consortium, involving major producers, underscores the need to evaluate their EOR technologies, particularly potential gaps that could hinder global energy transition strategies. We analyzed intermediate levels of technological readiness levels (TRLs) utilizing patents (TRL4-5) and articles (TRL3) for 18 EOR methods between 2002 and 2021. Composite indicators derived from patents including compound annual growth rate, specialization, concentration, diversification, and Gini inequality were employed. Both BRICS and nonBRICS exhibited analogous distributions in the articles (particularly Norway, United Kingdom, Canada) and patents (particularly Russia, China, and Ukraine). The decline in growth rates among BRICS and negative rates in nonBRICS suggest a technological plateau for traditional methods. However, environmentally low-impact EOR methods are experiencing exponential emergence (low salinity water, MEOR, polymers and macromolecular compounds, their associations with surfactants, and WAG). Both groups are self-sufficient in EOR, ensuring a responsible and low-impact energy transition. This ensures energy quality while facilitating the maturation of renewable technologies.

1. Introduction

Although there is a pressing need to transition toward a low-carbon energy matrix and renewable energies, responsible fossil fuel production will continue to play an important role in the coming decades [1]. To support this responsible transition, it is imperative to maintain fossil fuel production to avoid degrading the current quality of life and to finance the development of technologies necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda [2,3], especially with regard to fostering affordable and clean energy (SDG 7). However, to preserve our common home [4,5], special care must be taken to reduce the impacts on climate change (SDG 13) on life below water (SDG 14) and on life on land (SDG 15).
In 2022, oil and gas accounted for over 50% of the global primary energy consumption, underscoring the necessity of maintaining their production to support a responsible energy transition (SDG12) [6,7]. They provide indispensable foundations for ensuring affordable energy (SDG7), promoting decent work and economic growth (SDG8), and sustaining the operations of industries, their infrastructure, and associated energy consumption (SDG12), which are essential for SDG1 and SDG3.
In 2022, the leading oil-producing countries were the United States (21%), Saudi Arabia (13%), the Russian Federation (10%), Canada (6%), Iraq (5%), China (5%), the UAE (4%), Iran (4%), Brazil (3%), and Kuwait (3%). Conversely, in 2021, the top oil-consuming nations were the United States (20%), China (16%), India (5%), the Russian Federation (4%), Japan (4%), Saudi Arabia (3%), Brazil (3%), South Korea (3%), Canada (2%), and Germany (2%) [6,7].
These high-income and medium-income countries not only lead in oil and gas production, but also heavily rely on these resources to maintain their international status. They are at the forefront of developing green energy technologies. Thus, it is crucial to strongly focus the efforts in these countries to facilitate a responsible energy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, ensuring resources for these investments.
Global authorities such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assert that international technological collaboration is indispensable to avoid decades-long delays in the energy transition toward net-zero [8,9].
Indeed, energy partnerships are proliferating globally, accelerated by the impacts of the Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, initiatives like the France, Germany, UK, USA, and EU’s Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa [10] (EU, 2021) and the Asian Development Bank’s financing of projects to expedite sustainable energy transition [11].
The BRICS alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, emerged in the early 21st century as a political association facilitating regular meetings and fostering agreements and cooperation across various shared interest domains. BRICS functions without an official headquarters or website [12,13]. Significant achievements include the establishment of the New Development Bank [14] and the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement [15], aimed at addressing short-term global liquidity issues. Moreover, the recent inception of the BRICS Technology Transfer Center Network underpins the BRICS Innovation Action Plan 2021–2024 [16].
It is recognized that the energy policies of BRICS countries aligned with Agenda 203 must concurrently sustain economic growth (SDG9), being imperative to monitor CO2 emissions (SDG13) and undertake responsible energy transition from conventional to renewable sources (SDG7). Additionally, enhancing the trivariate relationships among the energy–output–emission nexus is crucial [17,18,19].
From 2024 onward, the BRICS will include Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Iran [20]. With this composition, they will be responsible for slightly over 42% of the world’s oil supply [6]. Given the BRICS’ pursuit of common strategies integrating energy production with environmental impact mitigation, exploring their technological potentials becomes pertinent.
The inventive activity within the BRICS in the energy sector has exhibited annual intensification between 2005 and 2025 [21]. An analysis encompassing various factors and indicators including patents revealed that the long-term estimations of energy consumption and technological innovations within the BRICS exhibit a strong positive correlation with carbon dioxide emissions while also demonstrating an adverse association with nitrous oxide [22]. Additionally, BRICS patents play a significant role in enhancing energy efficiency, particularly concerning investments in technologies aimed at reducing energy consumption [23].
The examination of competitiveness and bilateral trade complementarities among the BRICS nations in oil and gas energy trade relations has utilized indicators such as the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI), revealing insights through comparative advantage (RCA) and the trade complementarity index (TCI). The study also highlighted crude oil opportunities between the Russian Federation and China as well as with India, where the Russian Federation has demonstrated a robust and consistent supply capacity, particularly in natural gas partnerships [24].
Moreover, the impact of oil rents on the sustainable development of the BRICS economies has emerged as a significant factor influencing sustainability dynamics [25].
Studies have revealed a significant long-term relationship, both uni- and bidirectional, between macroeconomic variables and crude oil prices in the five BRICS countries [26]. Contributions from the oil and natural gas markets to the stock markets of these BRICS nations have been identified as substantial [27]. Conversely, the influence of the natural gas price on the exchange rates of BRICS countries is minimal [28]. However, the impact of global crude oil price fluctuations on economic policy uncertainty within the BRICS countries varied among the five nations, displaying high dependency on the intensity of these fluctuations [29,30].
To enhance their performance in energy and the environment, it is recommended that the BRICS countries pursue a balanced energy transition strategy. This strategy involves utilizing natural gas as a transitional fuel, allocating resources toward renewable energy financing, and advancing technologies such as carbon capture, electric vehicles, and hydrogen [31].
One solution to sustain oil production without further stimulating non-renewable energy use is through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) [32,33]. EOR stands out for its potential to significantly increase oil quantities by 30–60% without requiring new facility installations. It utilizes existing infrastructures with minimal capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments while maintaining nearly the same operating expenditure (OPEX) costs. Consequently, it has emerged as one of the most pressing technologies to incentivize [34], potentially leading to reduced oil prices. However, there are indications of interdependence between oil prices and solar photovoltaic deployment in the electricity mix [35].
EOR technology employs various methods [32,36]. Physical EOR methods encompass essentially fracturing, hydraulic fracturing (fracking), fracture reinforcement, repressuring, vacuum, water displacement, and gas displacement. Thermal methods include in situ combustion, heat, steam, explosives, and others [37,38,39,40,41,42]. Chemical EOR utilizes eroding chemicals, salts, polymers, surfactants, macromolecular compounds, low salinity water (smart water), and industrial by-products, among other substances [43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51]. Biotechnological approaches usually revolve around bacterial activity (microbially enhanced oil recovery—MEOR) or the utilization of biotechnological products [52,53]. Combined EOR techniques such as water and gas alternating (WAG), chemically enhanced water alternating gas injection (CEWAG), polymeric surfactants, alkalis, surfactants, and polymers (ASP), among others, have also been proven to be effective [54,55,56,57,58,59].
In this global context, several relevant issues arise: Do the BRICS possess EOR technology to increase oil and gas production independently from nonBRICS? Are the nonBRICS left without technological options if marginalized by the BRICS? Could the BRICS association represent a threat to global responsible energy transition strategies, where fossil fuels are extracted using EOR technologies, thus maintaining global energy quality while financing renewable energy developments? Are there EOR methods predominantly dominated and exclusive to either the BRICS or nonBRICS?
This article aims to comprehend how, within the context of a responsible energy transition, the EOR technology of the BRICS aligns with regard to other countries, the nonBRICS, in pursuit of sustainable development opportunities while minimizing the environmental impacts.
To accomplish this goal, it is essential not just to outline the existing EOR technology, but to also pinpoint potential future applications, particularly focusing on intermediate technological readiness levels (TRLs) [60,61,62]. This entails identifying methods reaching at least TRL4–5 through a comprehensive patent assessment. Moreover, the evaluation of scientific articles (TRL3) was conducted to assess future potential methods. Composite indicators based on patents allow for a comparison between the technologies of BRICS and nonBRICS countries as they are particularly suitable for comparing values of varying magnitudes [63]. This study aimed to scrutinize the growth rates, specialization, and technological readiness levels of EOR methods within both BRICS and nonBRICS, seeking to evaluate opportunities to align with global demands and contribute to the 2030 Agenda.
The aim of this article was a comprehensive review to uncover the distributions of EOR methods that belong to BRICS and nonBRICS, identifying potential constraints and opportunities within EOR technology that can facilitate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda. The analysis encompasses both static and temporal contexts to identify competitive methods and emerging trends in EOR technology.

2. Materials and Methods

For patent search purposes, the worldwide database of the European Patent Office, which encompasses about 100 countries, was selected [64]. This database was accessed through Questel Orbit, which includes all patents translated into English. To prevent duplicate results, patent families were employed using the FAMPAT criterion [65].
EOR, being a traditional and crucial technology for energy sustainability, already has several International Patent Classifications (IPC) that were used and complemented with a keyword search using truncation characters and suggestions provided by the database (more details in the Supplementary Materials).
The search did not consider the patent legal status to encompass all potential EOR technologies and avoid specificities related to national patent offices. Indeed, some BRICS nations like Brazil have encountered patenting obstacles such as issues with annual fees, improper classification application, and extended examination periods [66].
The annual number of patents for each of the 18 EOR methods was acquired in October 2023, covering the priority years from 2002 to 2021. This approach aimed to circumvent the 18-month patent confidentiality period after filing, focusing solely on the years when the patents were fully published. These 20 years were segmented into three equidistant periods for temporal evolution analysis. To mitigate outlier years, the average patent count from four biennial periods (2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, and 2020–2021) was utilized.
Two datasets were obtained and a third was calculated:
  • WORLD: The number of world patents for each EOR method;
  • BRICS: The number of EOR patents for each EOR method filed by residents of BRICS countries, determined by the assignee’s country at the earliest priority date: Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates;
  • NonBRICS: The number of patents was obtained by subtracting the BRICS dataset from the World dataset.
The proportional contributions of each EOR methodology within the articles and patents were assessed to identify highly concentrated areas in science and technology, respectively. Patent percentages were employed to compute the composite indicators.
The composite indicators including concentration (Herfindahl–Hirschman index—HH), specialization (CV), diversification (DIV), inequality (GINI) encompassing Lorentz curves, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) used to investigate the temporal trends were computed employing the following equations, as detailed in the literature [62,67,68].
H H = ∑ i n ( N i N ) 2
C V H H = σ μ
D I V = 1 H H n
C A G R t 0 ,   t n = 100 { P t n P t 0 1 t n − t 0 − 1 }
where HH is the Herfindahl–Hirschman concentration index, i is the technological methods (i = 1, …, n), n is the total number of EOR technological methods, Ni is the number of patents in a given technological method i, N = Σi Ni is the sum of the number of patents in each EOR technology method, CV is the technological specialization, σ is the HH standard deviation, μ is the HH average, DIV is the technological diversification, t0 is the start time, tn is the end time, P t 0 is the number of patents at the start time, and P t n is the number of patents at the end time tn.
To ensure the accuracy of the results and their reliability, multiple composite indicators were calculated wherever possible to avoid potential mathematical artifacts [69].
To assess annual growth and its future trends, the CAGR was computed for the total number of patents in each dataset and for three ratios between the patents and two output indicators of the respective country. These indicators, obtained from the World Bank Development Indicators in February 2022, encompassed the total population and gross domestic product (GDP) in current USD.
Additionally, the CAGR calculation was employed for each of the EOR methods to differentiate between emerging methods exhibiting growth and those already mature and stagnant.
The number of articles from BRICS and nonBRICS was also obtained to evaluate the potential differences between the TRL3 and the TRL4–5 of patents. For this purpose, the number of articles indexed in the Scopus database between 2002 and 2021 for BRICS and nonBRICS was acquired in October 2023. As there is no specific classification for EOR in the Clarivate Analytics database, keyword searches with truncation characters were utilized (more details in the Supplementary Materials).
The data were cleaned to eliminate duplicate or irrelevant documents unrelated to EOR, resulting in 4560 articles from BRICS; 4381 articles from nonBRICS; 29,219 patents from BRICS; and 20,099 patents from nonBRICS.

3. Results and Discussion

This section presents the obtained results and the analysis of science and technology production between BRICS and nonBRICS countries including their technology growth rates, temporal tendencies, and technological specialization in general. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the respective positioning, growth rates, and competitiveness of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods.

3.1. EOR Science and Technology Distribution among BRICS and NonBRICS

Table 1 shows the percentage distributions of articles and patents for each EOR method from 2002 to 2021 (more details in Table S1, Supplementary Materials).
For both BRICS and nonBRICS, “Forming crevices or fractures” has been extensively researched in articles (approximately 14–15%) and referred to in patents (23–30%), despite the technological efforts being nearly twice as intense. Another complementary method, “Fracture reinforcement”, is experiencing considerable technological appropriation by nonBRICS.
Scientific articles, in relation to patents, emphasize an EOR with polymers associated with surfactants (8–9%) and fracturing techniques (15%), suggesting that these methods are in a phase of new scientific discoveries. EOR with polymer injection is more focused on scientific development than technological advancement, both for BRICS and nonBRICS. “Low salinity water” is a method that has a higher percentage in articles than in patents where it is still uncommon, although is relevant when associated with carbonate reservoir exploration such as the pre-salt [51].
Water displacement is extensively cited in patents by BRICS nations but lacks representation in nonBRICS patents or articles.
The different focuses of BRICS and nonBRICS countries are a direct consequence of their diverse geographical distribution, encompassing reservoirs with various geological types and different oils, possessing inherent characteristics such as crude oil viscosity and acidity, reservoir temperature and pressure, formation permeability and porosity, and formation water salinity, among others. The use of EOR methods must combine these inherent characteristics with economic feasibility [70].
In the case of water displacement within BRICS, China is accountable for over 90% of the technologies and is the country with the highest number of fields experiencing significant water cuts where traditional water displacement methods are ineffective. This circumstance drives the development of new technologies such as changing the flow direction, cyclic waterflooding, plugging channels, single well puff and huff, and depressuring [71].
Within nonBRICS countries, the USA not only stands out as the largest oil producer, but is also the birthplace of the oil industry. Presently, it possesses a wide array of mature fields with long development durations. The ease of obtaining equipment and services, competitive pricing, and the advanced stage of exploration in its fields, which do not adequately respond to traditional water flooding, have led to the development of EOR technologies such as gas injection, thermal methods, and polymer and surfactant injection during the period of this study [72]. The USA has also been highly active in opening up new frontiers like low-permeability reservoirs, which demand specific technologies such as forming crevices or fractures and reinforcing fractures [73].
The most relevant countries contributing to technology and science were identified. To avoid disproportionality among countries, which have varying magnitudes of absolute numbers of articles, patents, population, and GDP, especially China (often referred to as the China effect [74]), the Russian Federation, and the USA [75], normalization was conducted using composite output indicators: dividing the number of articles by the population and the number of patents by the GDP (Figure 1).
Countries that stand out in terms of scientific development are Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the first being an prominent oil producer. Australia, despite having significance in scientific development, still needs to increase its level of maturity to excel in TRL4–5.
In technological development, three countries stand out: the Russian Federation, China, and Ukraine, the first two being BRICS members. However, Ukraine, due to the ongoing war, has experienced disruptions in its academic and technologic development systems and is facing considerable difficulties in continuity. Consequently, its contribution to global science might be at risk of being compromised.
The subsequent countries exhibited relatively lower numbers of articles and patents, among them, some of the top producers of oil and gas. It is necessary to point out that both the BRICS member Brazil and the nonBRICS United States, although being among the top producers, have shown relatively low scientific and technological output.
It is evident that the “China effect” is not as pronounced, only being relevant at a level similar to that of the Russian Federation concerning patents and is irrelevant regarding articles. In the context of EOR technology within BRICS, the observed effect attributed to China should be considered as the “China and Russian Federation effect”.

3.2. EOR Growth Rates and Temporal Tendencies

Figure 2 shows the growth rates over the past 20 years of EOR patents for both BRICS and nonBRICS countries.
For the BRICS, the CAGR remained positive, regardless of normalization by population or GDP. However, for the nonBRICS, despite the positive CAGR of patents, when normalized by population or GDP, the rate became negative, indicating a systematic trend. To better understand this effect, it is important to analyze what has occurred over these 20 years.
The population and GDP growth rates were almost parallel between BRICS and nonBRICS countries; thus, it is the patents that effectively control the temporal evolution [76].
Table 2 illustrates what occurred during the three temporal periods (also refer to Figure S1 in the Supplementary Materials).
In Table 2, it is noticeable that there were similar patterns in the growth rate indicators of patents, patents normalized by population, and patents normalized by GDP. Initially, the growth rate of patents in BRICS was lower than that of nonBRICS. However, in the intermediate period, this pattern reversed, and BRICS showed growth rates two to three times higher. During these two periods, the rates of nonBRICS practically stabilized.
In the final period, the growth rate of nonBRICS became negative, indicating stagnation in their EOR technology. The growth rate of BRICS, while generally remaining positive, experienced a pronounced decline. The indicator of patents normalized by GDP became negative, approaching zero, suggesting a tendency toward stagnation in the coming years.
Indeed, these findings illustrate the recent stagnation in technology developed by nonBRICS and the recent temporal trend toward stagnation by the BRICS, indicating a concentration of technological efforts, in general, toward renewable technologies.

3.3. EOR Technological Specialization

To compare the specialization of EOR technology between BRICS and nonBRICS, four indicators were calculated: concentration, Gini inequality similar to specialization, and diversification for their inverse (Table 3, also refer to Figure S2 in the Supplementary Materials for the Lorentz curves).
From Table 3, it is clear that, overall, in the 20-year period, the nonBRICS EOR technology was more specialized and concentrated, whilst the BRICS EOR technology was more diversified.
To identify temporal patterns, convergences, or divergences, the temporal evolution of specialization, concentration, inequality, and diversification in the four biennia of the 20-year period can be seen in Figure 3 (also refer to Table S2 in the Supplementary Materials).
Initially, it was observed that the patterns of specialization and concentration were inversely related to diversification, reinforcing the credibility of our findings. The BRICS remained stable but clearly increased their specialization, concentration, and inequality in the last period. The nonBRICS experienced a decline in specialization in the first period and successive increases in the following periods. In the last period, both exhibited a certain level of stability. On the other hand, the Gini inequality index, which did not allow for the identification of differences for the total 20-year period, although it did not vary significantly over time, it clearly reflected the fluctuations in the other indicators.
It is noteworthy that there was no temporal convergence but rather a parallelism pointing to similar technological development strategies, aiming to develop certain specific proprietary technologies in order to gain specific competitive advantages to enhance their exports. Therefore, it becomes essential to assess the relative position of EOR technology between BRICS and nonBRICS and interpret temporal trends, along with the most competitive EOR methods.

3.4. EOR Methods within BRICS and NonBRICS

This section explores the comparison between BRICS and nonBRICS countries for each EOR method.

3.4.1. Positioning of EOR Methods in Science (TRL3) and Technology (TRL4–5)

To compare the positioning of each of the 18 EOR methods, two scatter plots were constructed. The vertical axis represented the total number of documents from the BRICS, while the horizontal axis depicted the total number of documents from the nonBRICS for both science (Figure 4A) and technology (Figure 4B). Diagonal lines were added to each plot, marking where the BRICS and nonBRICS would have exactly the same total number of documents.
In Figure 4, when comparing the diagonal lines (solid) with the trend lines (dashed), it was observed that the latter were above the former (i.e., closer to the BRICS axis), indicating that in absolute numbers, the BRICS hade more articles and patents. In Figure 4A, most of the EOR methods aligned along the trend line (y = 1.1946x − 18.129), with a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.98), indicating a strong correlation between BRICS and nonBRICS in EOR science (TRL3). However, the correlation of the trend line for patents decreased significantly (R2 = 0.68), indicating the need for further analysis of the growth rates of BRICS and nonBRICS in each of the 18 EOR methods.
In the articles, the use of polymers stood out for both BRICS and nonBRICS, with a slight predominance among the former, a trend that was maintained in the patents. Macromolecular compounds are still scarcely studied in science, but they predominantly emerge in patents within nonBRICS. Surfactants were present in both the articles and patents, with patents showing a predominance among BRICS. Polymers associated with surfactants are at the scientific level, indicating the need to enhance their readiness to become relevant in patents. Low salinity water has recently emerged as a low-impact environmental opportunity; however, it is still clearly at the TRL3 stage. MEOR is an interesting technique but requires environmental care, possibly explaining its limited relevance in science (where BRICS predominate) and technology (dominated by nonBRICS). Heat and steam are moderately relevant in both science and technology, although technology demonstrated a predominance among BRICS. Water displacement is an older, cost-effective method with few articles, but, in technology, it represents a field with a high concentration of patents from BRICS. In WAG, nonBRICS are mainly involved in both science and technology, albeit with little significance. Traditional EOR technologies also used in mining have very few articles and patents such as combustion, explosives, fracturing, and repressuring or vacuum. However, forming crevices or fractures and fracture reinforcement appear to be significant scientific and technological challenges primarily focused on by nonBRICS. Eroding chemicals represents a field with limited quantities of articles or patents, likely due to potential environmental risks and damage to rock formations.
After evaluating the total number of patents and considering the high growth rate of BRICS patents, it was interesting to analyze which of these EOR fields are experiencing growth.

3.4.2. EOR Methods Growth Rates

To classify EOR methods based on their portfolio sizes and growth rates, distinguishing emerging and stagnant ones, the CAGR of the patents for each EOR methodology was calculated and plotted against its total number of patents (Figure 5).
In Figure 5, it is evident that while the BRICS maintained their patent growth rate for all EOR methods between 2002–2003 and 2020–2021, the nonBRICS decelerated their technological development in over half of the EOR methods, exhibiting negative rates in combustion and explosives, eroding chemicals, fracture reinforcement, repressuring or vacuum, heat and steam, macromolecular compounds, and MEOR. The nonBRICS stabilized in the growth rate of combustion associated with fracturing, forming crevices or fractures, and polymers.
However, in nonBRICS, some methods showed growth: WAG and water displacement, surfactants and their combinations with polymers, and fracturing.
Remarkably, within the BRICS, the growth rates of forming crevices or fractures (which also had a considerable number of patents), fracturing, and its associated methods such as fracture reinforcement, combustion, and explosives as well as the acceleration of promising methods like polymers and surfactants and macromolecular compounds, were significant.
Low salinity water EOR, being an emergent method, did not have enough articles or patents to calculate its growth rate over the two decades.

3.4.3. Description of Competitive EOR Methods

Methods for stimulating production by forming crevices or fractures and fracturing to interconnect two or more wells refer to sandblasting perforation, bridge plugs, perforation clusters, fracturing tools, viscoelastic surfactants, clay stabilizers, carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar, layered fracturing, fracking, sintered bauxite, slick water, staged fracturing, and wellbore.
Patents for reinforcing fractures by propping refer to propping agents, sand ratio, conducting flows, reducing friction, resinous particulate, nonaqueous tackifying, sintered bauxite, ceramic proppants, fumed carbon, pyranosyl sulfate, and zirconium lactate triethanolamine.
Combustion in situ patents are closely related to steam injection and gas injection in tubular columns, bitumen and heavy oil recovery, and horizontal wells as well as electrical ignition and steam-assisted gravity drainage. Additionally, combustion associated with fracturing refers to fracture creation and propagation, fracture network, fracking, treatment fluids, air injection, proppant transport, methanedione, kerogen, enhancing formation permeability, and implementing fire flooding techniques.
The explosives patents refer to perforating gun, coal bed, arc rc, stratum conditions, explosive columns, artificial cracking, axis x and axis z applications, detonation cords and devices, fracture network, fracturing liquids, high energy gas, nitrogen foam, perforating bullets, porous gas inlet pipes, shale gas recovery, and shock waves. The patents associating combustion in situ using explosives refer to steam-assisted gravity drainage, combustion front, perforation, use of casing perforation, ammonium perchlorate, methanedione, nitric ammonium salt, natural gas hydrate, and are also associated with fracturing.
Compositions for heat and steam injection refer to heavy oil, asphaltenic oil, bitumen, steam injection, flooding, gravity drainage, ferrofluids, and composite catalytic emulsification viscosity reducers.
Eroding chemicals refer to acidizing, acid liquors, blockage removal strategies, pipe column treatments, carbonate and sandstone formations, corrosion inhibitors, fracturing fluids, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and iron ion stabilizers.
Compositions based on water or polar solvents containing organic macromolecular compounds and/or specific polymers refer to carboxy methyl guaraprolose, carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar, colemanite, guaraprolose, guar gums, hydroxyethylcellulose, polyacrylamide, hydrazine crosslinked polymer emulsions, epoxy resins, polyvinylformamide, gas hydrate inhibition, azobisisobutylamidine hydrogen chloride, and olefin sulfonate, among others.
The patents referring to surfactants for EOR involve cationic gemini surfactants, heavy alkylbenzene, nonionic surfactants, viscoelastic surfactants, and salt tolerant surfactants, among others. The association of polymers and surfactants mainly refers to anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants, sulfonate surfactants, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, resistance to salinity, alkylbenzene sulfonate, reaction kettles, hydrophobic monomers, and xanthan.
Repressuring or vacuum methods refer to metahnedione injection, carbon dioxide injection, gas injection, and steam injection, among others. Water displacement patents refer to blanking plugs, water nozzles, eccentric water distributors, intelligent water injection, separate layers of water injection, water treatment, and biological control, among others. The WAG patents refer to alternate banks of, for example, carbon dioxide and aqueous solutions with surfactants as well as foaming agents.
MEOR and biotechnological product patents refer to microbiological cultures and their growth, anaerobic conditions, biopolymers, Acinetobacter, endogenous microorganisms, and yeast, among others.
The comprehensive assessment of the annual patent filings indicates a consistent yearly increase in methods such as repressuring or vacuum, combustion in situ, explosives, heat, and steam injection, eroding chemicals, and surfactants. Conversely, other methods experienced growth until 2010–2014, followed by a stabilization or decline in patent filings including fracturing, forming crevices or fractures, reinforcing fractures, combustion associated with fracturing, polymers, WAG, and MEOR. Two other emerging methods exhibited exponential growth in annual patent filings: compositions based on water or polar solvents containing organic macromolecular compounds as well as low salinity water.
The majority of the leading applicants comprise prominent multinational corporations along with academic and entrepreneurial organizations. Among these entities are Archon Technologies (a patent monetization firm), China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (a core subsidiary of SINOPEC Group), China University of Petroleum (a public university), China University of Mining and Technology (a public university), ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Halliburton Energy Services, PetroChina Company, Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Schlumberger Technology Corporation, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation-SINOPEC, and Tatneft.

4. Conclusions

With a focus on low-environmental impact opportunities for a responsible energy transition and achieving SDGs 7, 13, and 14, the EOR technology of BRICS and nonBRICS countries was mapped and analyzed for each of the 18 EOR methods based on their patents. A comparison was made with their scientific output through articles.
The China effect of having high absolute patent numbers was mitigated in this analysis by normalizing the articles per population and patents per GDP. The most active countries in science were Norway, United Kingdom, and Canada, while the most active in technology were the Russian Federation, China, and Ukraine.
In recent years, BRICS have shown a positive growth rate but with decreasing trends, while nonBRICS have exhibited a negative CAGR, indicating that both seem to believe they have already appropriated the necessary technologies to operate EOR during the energy transition. The question remains: What will happen now that the BRICS association has expanded? Will there be a sharing of existing technology and the synergistic creation of new ones? Or will the trend toward stagnation persist?
Specialization is trending upward in both groups; however, nonBRICS are already more specialized. There is a clear deceleration observed in more than half of the EOR methods among nonBRICS, an effect not observed in the BRICS group. The methods most suitable for both BRICS and nonBRICS are forming crevices or fractures and polymers.
Associations of polymers and surfactants are migrating from TRL3 to TRL4–5. Specialization is trending upward in both groups; however, nonBRICS are already more specialized.
BRICS countries exhibit a clear focus on cost-effective water displacement methods, while nonBRICS are more oriented toward fracture reinforcement, potentially influenced by their extensive use of fracturing in mature and low-permeability oil fields. However, both the growth rate and specialization patterns are largely dominated by traditional EOR methods.
It is noteworthy that environmentally friendly EOR methods are emerging such as low salinity water, MEOR, macromolecular compounds, associations of polymers and surfactants, and WAG. This explains the increased specialization seen in both BRICS and nonBRICS countries toward these methods.
Finally, the 20-year period covered in this study pertains to EOR technology filed before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is well-documented that intellectual property filings underwent significant changes during the pandemic across various global regions and technological domains [77]. The restrictions on laboratory work may have influenced the identified patterns, but only in the future will we be able to gauge the magnitude of the impacts on EOR technology.
This study has revealed that both BRICS and nonBRICS countries have technologies across all EOR methods, indicating no deficiencies within these country groups. This independence allows them to pursue their EOR strategies autonomously without the risk of marginalization.
Their self-sufficiency in EOR technologies contributes to a responsible and low-impact energy transition, preserving energy quality and potentially financing the advancement of renewable technologies. Consequently, they can collectively accelerate progress toward the 2030Agenda, specifically addressing SDGs 7, 14, and 15.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/en17133197/s1, Table S1: Total numbers and percentage distributions of EOR technological methods from 2002 to 2021 within BRICS and nonBRICS; Table S2. Temporal evolution of concentration (HH), specialization (CV), inequality (GINI), and diversification (DIV) in four biennia for EOR patents of BRIBS and nonBRICS (2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, and 2020–2021). Figure S1. Time evolution of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of EOR patents and its normalization by population (millions), and GDP (billions) for Brazilian BRICS and nonBRICS; Figure S2. Lorentz curves used to calculate the GINI inequality of biotechnology patents for the period 2002–20121 for EOR technological methods of BRICS and nonBRICS; List of patents as examples of EOR methods; Equivalence of EOR methods between the patent search and article search.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization: C.M.Q.; Methodology: C.M.Q.; Literature search: C.M.Q., P.D.R., J.L.N. and S.A.H.; Formal analysis and investigation: C.M.Q. and S.A.H.; Writing—original draft preparation: C.M.Q.; Writing—review and editing: C.M.Q., P.D.R., E.R.-d.-S., E.B.C., J.L.N. and S.A.H.; Supervision: C.M.Q.; Funding acquisition: C.M.Q., E.R.-d.-S. and E.B.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by Petrogal Brasil S.A and Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis of Brazil-ANP, who we thank for the financial and technical support through the project GALP51.

Data Availability Statement

Most of the data used are available in the Supplementary Materials. Additional raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors on request.

Acknowledgments

CMQ acknowledges a senior research scholarship from The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that this study received funding from Petrogal Brasil S.A. through project GALP51. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication. The Author E. Ramos-de-Souza was employed by the company Mosaico Fluido Ltd., a spin-off company, and his relevant potential interests are regulate by the Partnership Agreement number 23066.026062/2021-15, previously signed for the execution of the GALP51 project.

Abbreviations

BRICS—Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates; CAGR—compound annual growth rate; CV—specialization; DIV—technological diversification; GDP—gross domestic product; GINI—Gini inequality; HH—Herfindahl–Hirschman index; IPC—International Patent Classification; MEOR—microbially enhanced oil recovery; nonBRICS—nonBRICS countries; SDG—Sustainable Development Goals; TRL—technological readiness level; WAG—water alternating gas injection process.

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Figure 1. Ratio of patents to GDP versus the ratio of articles to population for BRICS (green triangles) and nonBRICS (blue disks).
Figure 1. Ratio of patents to GDP versus the ratio of articles to population for BRICS (green triangles) and nonBRICS (blue disks).
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Figure 2. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of EOR patents in the 20-year period (2002–2021), both absolute and normalized by the countries’ total population and GDP for BRICS and nonBRICS.
Figure 2. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of EOR patents in the 20-year period (2002–2021), both absolute and normalized by the countries’ total population and GDP for BRICS and nonBRICS.
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Figure 3. Temporal evolution of concentration (HH), specialization (CV), inequality (GINI), and diversification (DIV) in the four biennia for EOR patents of BRICS and nonBRICS (2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, and 2020–2021).
Figure 3. Temporal evolution of concentration (HH), specialization (CV), inequality (GINI), and diversification (DIV) in the four biennia for EOR patents of BRICS and nonBRICS (2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, and 2020–2021).
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Figure 4. Scatter plots of BRICS versus nonBRICS for each of the 18 EOR methods (blue circles) showing the trend lines (dashed red lines) and diagonal lines (solid red lines): (A) articles; (B) patents.
Figure 4. Scatter plots of BRICS versus nonBRICS for each of the 18 EOR methods (blue circles) showing the trend lines (dashed red lines) and diagonal lines (solid red lines): (A) articles; (B) patents.
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Figure 5. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of patents (TRL4–5) for each EOR method as a function of its patents in the 20-year period (2002 to 2021): (A) BRICS; (B) nonBRICS.
Figure 5. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of patents (TRL4–5) for each EOR method as a function of its patents in the 20-year period (2002 to 2021): (A) BRICS; (B) nonBRICS.
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Table 1. Percentage distribution of each EOR method within the articles and patents from 2002 to 2021 among BRICS and nonBRICS.
Table 1. Percentage distribution of each EOR method within the articles and patents from 2002 to 2021 among BRICS and nonBRICS.
EOR MethodArticles (TRL3) (%)Patents (TRL4–5) (%)
BRICSNonBRICSBRICSNonBRICS
Combustion2.82.93.74.2
Combustion-explosives0.000.010.190.29
Combustion associated with fracturing1.20.770.271.0
Eroding chemicals0.010.524.03.3
Explosives0.260.102.61.8
Forming crevices or fractures15152330
Fractures reinforcement0.080.025.413
Fracturing15152.83.6
Heat and steam7.98.11211
Low salinity water (smart water)5.96.90.0030.11
Macromolecular compounds1.60.802.34.0
MEOR2.31.40.951.1
Polymers2422108.0
Polymers and surfactants9.08.43.52.7
Repressuring or vacuum0.030.082.32.3
Surfactants11119.07.3
WAG3.46.11.01.9
Water displacement0.610.38164.0
Table 2. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of EOR for 2002–2021 and its temporal trends of patents and patents normalized by 2021’s output indicators: population (millions) and GDP (billions) for BRICS and nonBRICS.
Table 2. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of EOR for 2002–2021 and its temporal trends of patents and patents normalized by 2021’s output indicators: population (millions) and GDP (billions) for BRICS and nonBRICS.
CAGR (%)
IndicatorDatasetT1
(2002–2003 to 2008–2009)		T2
(2008–2009 to 2014–2015)		T3
(2014–2015 to 2020–2021)		2002–2021
Biannual patent averageBRICS9.6254.013
NonBRICS1313−262.0
Biannual patent average per million populationBRICS8.5243.211
NonBRICS1212−27−2.9
Biannual patent average per trillion GDPBRICS1.518−0.36.1
NonBRICS4.56.4−29−7.7
Table 3. EOR technology specialization (CV), concentration (HH), inequality (GINI), and diversification (DIV) for BRICS and nonBRICS over the 20-year period (2002–2021).
Table 3. EOR technology specialization (CV), concentration (HH), inequality (GINI), and diversification (DIV) for BRICS and nonBRICS over the 20-year period (2002–2021).
EOR Technology IndicatorsBRICSnonBRICS
Specialization—CV194263
Concentration—Herfindahl–Hirschman Index HH0.120.14
Inequality—GINI0.470.47
Diversification—DIV0.470.41
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MDPI and ACS Style

Quintella, C.M.; Rodrigues, P.D.; Nicoleti, J.L.; Ramos-de-Souza, E.; Carvalho, E.B.; Hanna, S.A. EOR Technology (Patents) and Science (Articles) Assessment of BRICS and nonBRICS with Growth Rates and Specializations within Responsible Global Energy Transition: A Critical Review. Energies 2024, 17, 3197. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133197

AMA Style

Quintella CM, Rodrigues PD, Nicoleti JL, Ramos-de-Souza E, Carvalho EB, Hanna SA. EOR Technology (Patents) and Science (Articles) Assessment of BRICS and nonBRICS with Growth Rates and Specializations within Responsible Global Energy Transition: A Critical Review. Energies. 2024; 17(13):3197. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133197

Chicago/Turabian Style

Quintella, C. M., P. D. Rodrigues, J. L. Nicoleti, E. Ramos-de-Souza, E. B. Carvalho, and S. A. Hanna. 2024. "EOR Technology (Patents) and Science (Articles) Assessment of BRICS and nonBRICS with Growth Rates and Specializations within Responsible Global Energy Transition: A Critical Review" Energies 17, no. 13: 3197. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133197

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