Advanced Materials in Petroleum Engineering: Advances and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, "Advanced Materials in Petroleum Engineering: Advances and Applications," focuses on cutting-edge breakthroughs and technological innovations in advanced functional materials for the drilling, development, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of complex oil and gas reservoirs. Theoretical and experimental research contributions related to the design and synthesis of advanced materials (including, but not limited to, smart, responsive materials, nanocomposites, high-performance polymers, and functional gels), multiscale structural manipulation, characterization of key properties (such as rheology, mechanics, and chemical stability), reservoir adaptability evaluation, and field applications are welcome for this issue.

As global oil and gas resource development extends into deeper, ultra-deep, and unconventional (shale oil/gas, tight oil/gas, etc.) fields, as well as high-water-cut and mature fields, persistent challenges threaten operational safety, efficiency, and ultimate recovery. These challenges include high-temperature resistance and environmental friendliness, severe lost circulation, and wellbore instability during drilling; exacerbated reservoir heterogeneity; extreme conditions (High Temperature, High Pressure, High Salinity, High Acidity—HTHPHS); and fluid channeling in complex fractured–vuggy reservoirs during development. In this context, advanced functional materials, leveraging their engineerable unique properties (such as smart responsiveness, self-adaptability, excellent mechanical and chemical stability, and multiscale transport and blocking capabilities), have emerged as key technological enablers to address these challenges. They enhance drilling efficiency and safety, optimize completion effectiveness, improve sweep efficiency, control fluid channeling, boost hydrocarbon recovery (EOR/IOR), and extend field life.

However, facing increasingly harsh reservoir environments and complex engineering demands, significant scientific bottlenecks and technical challenges remain regarding advanced materials. These include their long-term stability and performance retention mechanisms under extreme conditions, transport and interaction behaviors within complex multiscale pore and fracture media, strategies for smart response and precise control, feasibility and economic viability for large-scale applications, and life-cycle environmental impact assessments. Particularly in areas such as ultra-high temperature and pressure (uHTHP), ultra-high salinity, strong acidic environments, unconventional reservoir stimulation, nanoscale precise control, and intelligent closed-loop control systems, in-depth fundamental research and technological innovation are urgently needed.

This Special Issue aims to compile the latest research advances and application achievements in advanced materials for petroleum engineering. We particularly call for contributions focusing on (though not limited to) the following directions:

（1）Design, synthesis, and performance optimization of novel advanced materials (e.g., smart materials, nanomaterials, composites, bio-based materials);

（2）Investigation of interaction mechanisms, adaptability, and failure modes of materials in complex reservoir environments (HTHPHS, fractured–vuggy media);

（3）Material-reservoir/fluid interaction mechanisms and multiscale (nano/micro to macro) flow/blockage/displacement behaviors;

（4）Application of advanced characterization techniques (in situ, online, high-resolution) in material performance evaluation and interaction process studies;

（5）Material solutions for enhancing drilling safety and efficiency (e.g., lost circulation control, wellbore stabilization), optimizing completion and stimulation, improving hydrocarbon recovery (conformance control, water shutoff, EOR/IOR), and downhole intelligent monitoring;

（6）Case studies of large-scale applications, economic analysis, and environmental sustainability assessment of advanced materials.

We strongly encourage interdisciplinary research (integrating materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, drilling engineering, reservoir engineering, etc.) to drive the iteration and breakthrough of advanced materials technology in petroleum engineering. We cordially invite experts and scholars from academia and industry to submit original contributions, including theoretical studies, experimental research, numerical simulations, and field application case studies, to collectively advance this critical field.

Dr. Zengbao Wang

Prof. Weian Huang

Guest Editors

Dr. Zengbao Wang
Prof. Dr. Wei'an Huang
Guest Editors

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• Advanced Functional Materials
• Extreme Environment Adaptability
• Drilling Fluid Technology
• Enhanced Oil Recovery