Enhanced oil recovery techniques - petrofed.winwinho...

Microbial EOR ProcessMicrobial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) relies on microbes to fermenthydrocarbons and produce a by–product that is useful in the recovery ofoil. MEOR functions by channeling oil through preferred pathways in thereservoir rock by closing/ plugging off small channels and forcing the oil tomigrate through the larger pore spaces. Nutrients such as sugars,phosphates, or nitrates frequently must be injected to stimulate thegrowth of the microbes and aid their performance. The microbes generatesurfactants and carbon dioxide that help to displace the oil.Microbial growth can be either within the oil reservoir (in situ) or on thesurface where the byproducts from microbes grown in vats are selectivelyremoved from the nutrient media and then injected into the reservoir. Forin situ MEOR processes, the microorganisms must not only survive in thereservoir environment, but must also produce the chemicals necessary foroil mobilization.