Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery - Recent Advances


Book Description

This volume is concerned with many aspects of petroleum microbiology and biochemistry, all with strong commercial applications. Worldwide research on the major topic, MEOR (Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery) is comprehensively covered under experimental work, field applications and modeling. The challenge of formulating a complete in situ MEOR system (microorganisms, nutrient package, and other amendments) is explored together with the future needs in the design and execution of this new biotechnology.




Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery


Book Description

This conference was instituted to examine field activities in Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored several field projects and the details from some of these were presented, as well as a few from industry. The balance of the program was concerned with new developments in research. Today's oil production technology leaves one third to one half of the original oil in place in the reservoir at abandonment of secondary recovery (waterflooding). This leaves a very large target for microbial enhanced oil recovery which was shown by the research papers of this conference to be capable of producing up to 50% of the residual oil. The field trials show that the normal projected oil production decline curve can be reversed, or leveled off by microbial enhancement of oil recovery. This conference has shown that a variety of applications are possible to correct oilfield problems as well as to enhance oil recovery. Among these is the suppression of hydrogen sulfide production which alone is a tremendous advance because of the large quantity of sour oil production.If hydrogen sulfide production can be curtailed it would increase the value of the produced oil, decrease it toxicity, and largely decrease it corrosiveness. All of these would be welcome both in the field and at the petroleum refinery where special precautions must be taken to process sour crude oil. Another very important discovery is the ability of certain bacteria to eliminate paraffin deposition around the producing well and in the tubulars. This is a welcome improvement for many producers who have considerable difficulty in controlling paraffin deposition.







Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery


Book Description

This volume is concerned with many aspects of petroleum microbiology and biochemistry, all with strong commercial applications. Worldwide research on the major topic, MEOR (Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery) is comprehensively covered under experimental work, field applications and modeling. The challenge of formulating a complete in situ MEOR system (microorganisms, nutrient package, and other amendments) is explored together with the future needs in the design and execution of this new biotechnology.




Theory and Practice in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery


Book Description

Selection of the optimal recovery method is significantly influenced by economic issues in today’s oil and gas markets. Consequently, the development of cost-effective technologies, which bring maximum oil recovery, is the main interest in today’s petroleum research communities. Theory and Practice in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery provides the fundamentals, latest research and creditable field applications. Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) is potentially a low-priced and eco-friendly technique in which different microorganisms and their metabolic products are implemented to recover the remaining oil in the reservoir. Despite drastic advantages of MEOR technology, it is still not fully supported in the industry due to lack of knowledge on microbial activities and their complexity of the process. While some selected strategies have demonstrated the feasibility to be used on a mass scale through both lab and field trials, more research remains to implement MEOR into more oil industry practices. This reference delivers comprehensive descriptions on the fundamentals including basic theories on geomicrobiology, experiments and modeling, as well as current tested field applications. Theory and Practice in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery gives engineers and researchers the tool needed to stay up to date on this evolving and more sustainable technology. Covers fundamental screening criteria and theories selective plugging and mobility control mechanisms Describes the basic effects on environmental parameters and the mechanics of simulation, including microbial growth kinetics Applies up to date practical applications proven in both the lab and the field




Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery


Book Description

During recent years, systematic, scientific, and engineering effort by researchers in the United States and abroad, has established the scientific basis for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) technology. The successful application of MEOR technology as an oil recovery process is a goal of the Department of Energy (DOE). Research efforts involving aspects of MEOR in the microbiological, biochemical, and engineering fields led DOE to sponsor an International Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1992, to facilitate the exchange of information and a discussion of ideas for the future research emphasis. At this, the Fourth International MEOR Conference, where international attendees from 12 countries presented a total of 35 papers, participants saw an equal distribution between r̀̀esearch ̀̀and f̀̀ield applications. ̀̀In addition, several modeling and s̀̀tate-of-the-art ̀̀presentations summed up the present status of MEOR science and engineering. Individual papers in this proceedings have been process separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.




Consequences of Microbial Interactions with Hydrocarbons, Oils, and Lipids: Production of Fuels and Chemicals


Book Description

This book covers the current states of microbial and related technologies that have been developed for the efficient production of chemicals, fuels and materials by integrating strain and enzyme development, fermentation processes, and downstream processes. The book also covers how microbes and microbial products can be employed to facilitate petroleum recovery. Global consequences of bio-based production of chemicals, fuels and materials are also discussed with insights.




Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery


Book Description

The use of microorganisms and their metabolic products to stimulate oil production is currently receiving renewed interest worldwide. This technique involves the injection of selected microorganisms into the reservoir and the subsequent stimulation and transportation of their in situ growth products, in order that their presence will aid in further reduction of residual oil left in the reservoir after secondary recovery is exhausted. Although unlikely to replace conventional microbial enhanced oil recovery, this unique process seems superior in many respects. Self-duplicating units, namely the bacteria cells, are injected into the reservoir and by their in situ multiplication they magnify beneficial effects. This new approach to enhancement of oil recovery was initiated in 1980 and the first results were published in the proceedings of two international conferences. This book evolved from these conferences, and was designed to encompass all current aspects of microbial enhanced oil recovery: the development of specific cultures, increase of the population for field application, various methods for field applications and the results, and the environmental concerns associated with this newly developed technology. It provides a comprehensive treatise of the subject, and is arranged to show the laboratory development of microbes suited to microbial enhanced oil recovery and the perpetuation of the special cultures in a petroleum reservoir. Thus, this book has specific usefulness in the laboratory, the oilfield and the classroom. Although not written as a text book, it can be used as a reference volume for graduate studies in enhanced oil recovery.




Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery - Recent Advances


Book Description

This conference was instituted to examine field activities in Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored several field projects and the details from some of these were presented, as well as a few from industry. The balance of the program was concerned with new developments in research. Today's oil production technology leaves one third to one half of the original oil in place in the reservoir at abandonment of secondary recovery (waterflooding). This leaves a very large target for microbial enhanced oil recovery which was shown by the research papers of this conference to be capable of producing up to 50% of the residual oil. The field trials show that the normal projected oil production decline curve can be reversed, or leveled off by microbial enhancement of oil recovery. This conference has shown that a variety of applications are possible to correct oilfield problems as well as to enhance oil recovery. Among these is the suppression of hydrogen sulfide production which alone is a tremendous advance because of the large quantity of sour oil production. If hydrogen sulfide production can be curtailed it would increase the value of the produced oil, decrease it toxicity, and largely decrease it corrosiveness. All of these would be welcome both in the field and at the petroleum refinery where special precautions must be taken to process sour crude oil. Another very important discovery is the ability of certain bacteria to eliminate paraffin deposition around the producing well and in the tubulars. This is a welcome improvement for many producers who have considerable difficulty in controlling paraffin deposition.




Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery


Book Description

This book aims at presenting, describing, and summarizing the latest advances in polymer flooding regarding the chemical synthesis of the EOR agents and the numerical simulation of compositional models in porous media, including a description of the possible applications of nanotechnology acting as a booster of traditional chemical EOR processes. A large part of the world economy depends nowadays on non-renewable energy sources, most of them of fossil origin. Though the search for and the development of newer, greener, and more sustainable sources have been going on for the last decades, humanity is still fossil-fuel dependent. Primary and secondary oil recovery techniques merely produce up to a half of the Original Oil In Place. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes are aimed at further increasing this value. Among these, chemical EOR techniques (including polymer flooding) present a great potential in low- and medium-viscosity oilfields. • Describes recent advances in chemical enhanced oil recovery. • Contains detailed description of polymer flooding and nanotechnology as promising boosting tools for EOR. • Includes both experimental and theoretical studies. About the Authors Patrizio Raffa is Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen. He focuses on design and synthesis of new polymeric materials optimized for industrial applications such as EOR, coatings and smart materials. He (co)authored about 40 articles in peer reviewed journals. Pablo Druetta works as lecturer at the University of Groningen (RUG) and as engineering consultant. He received his Ph.D. from RUG in 2018 and has been teaching at a graduate level for 15 years. His research focus lies on computational fluid dynamics (CFD).