A new technique involving nanoparticles and simple physics could lead to big improvements in recovering oil from old wells.

A group of Norwegian Scientists in collaboration with teams in China have come up with a new technique for draining the oil from tiny pores sandstone and other rocks.

In a test earlier this year the Chinese scientists were able to recover 15 per cent of the residual oil in a well, the test was considered a resounding success.

The new technique require nanoparticles that are about 100 times smaller than the microscopic rock tunnels in which oil hides, being slightly elastic the particles are used to surround and flush out residual oil. This method is reportedly much more effective than the previous one, which involved simply flushing wells with water.

Researchers will now move on to a large-scale test, likely on a site in the North Sea. On a commercial scale, the new technique could see oil companies recovering massive amounts of oil from previously abandoned wells. Continued research is being carried out by the Centre for Integrated Petroluem Research.