Enhanced oil recovery techniques - petrofed.winwinho...

Microbial EOR ProcessMEOR has two distinct advantages:(1)Microbes do not consume large amountsof energy(2) The use of microbes is not dependenton the price of crude oil, as comparedto many of the other EOR processes.In some reservoirs, beneficial microbes are indigenous and only neednutrients to stimulate growth. Because microbial growth occurs atexponential rates, it should be possible to produce large amounts ofuseful products rapidly from inexpensive and/or renewable resources.Thus, MEOR has the potential to be more cost-effective than other EORprocesses. Studies have shown that several microbially-produced biosurfactantscompare very favorably with chemically synthesizedsurfactants. The ability to produce effective surfactants at a low pricemay make it possible to recover substantial amounts of residual oil.