Sunil.G.M
Subhanalla.N.S
 

 Introduction
 EOR
 MEOR
 History
 Mechanism
 Stimulation of oil production
 Wellbore cleaning
 Selective plugging
 Biosurfactants
 Microbial products
 Advantages
 Disadvantages
 Environment issues
 Current status
 Future prospects
 Conclusion
 References
 

 Primary recovery -20% to 30%oil in well

recovered without the need to introduce the
other substances into the well.

 Secondary recovery -The oil well flooded

with water or other substances to drive out
additional 30% to 40% more oil from well.
 

 
 

 Known as MICROBIAL ENHANCED OIL

RECOVERY ,it involves use of 
microorganisms to additional recover up to
30% more oil from well.
 

 MEOR involves use of microorganisms to

retrieve additional oil from existing well
thereby enhancing oil production from oil
reservior.

 Selected microorganisms are introduced

into oil wells to produce harmless product
such as natural substances or gases which
propel the oil out of well.
 

 1936 Beckman proposed the utilisation of 

microbes for enhanced oil recovery.
 1947 Zobell released oil from strata rocks
using Desulfovibrio sp. 
 1954 Kuznetsov inoculated molasses
enriched media and observed the
gas production.
 1958 Heinningen proposed the selective
plugging with microbial produced
biomass
 

 1977 Yakinov observed the strain of 

Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 in
enhancement of oil recovery.
 1983 Bubela examined the effects of 
reservior env.conditions on
microbial culture.
 2004 McInemey examined the 200 strains
of 
Bacillus sp.in oil enhancement.
 

 Stimulation of oil production.

 Wellbore cleaning.
 Selective plugging
 Production of Biosurfactants.
 Microbial Products
 

 Desulfovibrio sp .
 Bacillus sp.
 Clostridium  sp.
 Pseudomonas sp.
 Arthrobacter sp.
 Microbacterium sp.
 

 Partial repressurisation of reservior by

methane and carbon dioxide.
 Reduction of oil viscosity through
dissolution of organic solvents in oil phase.
 Increase of reservior permeability and
widening of fissures and channels through
etching of carbaneous rocks.
 

 Cleaning of wellbore region by Increasing

the average pore size.
 Various metabolites -
 Acids - react with various
minerals,loosen
the clay and deposits.
 Solvents - dissolve the precipitated
organic deposits.
 Biogas – push oil from dead spaces and
dislodge debris.
 

  Selective plugging of highly permeable

zones by injecting slime forming
microorganisms,increases the sweeping
efficiency and oil recovery.
 

 
 

  Biosurfactants are microbially derived

surface active agents that can lower the
surface tension of oil and act as slippery
detergents helping the oil move more freely
away from rocks and more easily out of 
well.
 

Arthrobacter sp. Trehalose,sucrose,

lipids,fructose
Bacillus licheniformis  Lipopeptides
Bacillus subtilis  Surfactin
Candida lipolytica  Sophorose lipid
Corneybacterium lepus  Fatty acids
Nocardia sp. Neutral lipid
Pseudomonas sp. Glycolipid
Rhodococcus sp.H13-A Glycolipid
Torulopsis bombicola  Sophorose lipid
Xanthomonas  Xanthan
compestris 
 

 Biodegradibility
 Low toxicity
 Environment friendliness.
 

  Selective plugging.
Biomass Modification of solid
surface.
Reduction of oil
viscosity.
Alternation in flow
properties.
 

BIOGAS
Increase the High energy
Carbon pressure potential in oil
dioxide(80%) field
Increase oil Give better oil
Hydrogen(20%) volume, mobilisation
decrease oil
viscosity

Methane Change Increase oil

pressure production rate
potential in
fissures,pores
 

 
 

 
Acetic acid, Decrease pH up to Increase
propanoic acid, 4.8 permeability of
valerianic acid rocks

Dissolve
Dissolve the carbonate partially
carbonate rock building up new
flow channels
 

 
Methane, Decreases Forces the imbibition of
ethanol, interfacial injected,fermented
propanol, tension molasses media into
pore canals to give
butanol more oil from rock

Increase wettability
Biolipid Alter the rock break oil/water barriers
creating emulsion
leading to improved flow
rate
 

 
 

 Cheap
 Environmentally acceptable alternative.
 Ability to grow on low cost nutrients.
 Small size help them to penetrate deep into
oil wells enhancing oil recovery.
 Do not consume large amount of energy.
 

 Need a standardized framework for

evaluating microbial activity.
 Exogenous microbes require facilities for
cultivation.
 Oxygen deployed in aerobic MEOR act as
corrosive agent on non resistant
equipments and pipelines.
 Plugging of reservoirs due to aggregation of 
cell mass or precipitation of metabolites.
 

(A) Subsurface water

Migration of organism or metabolites into
groundwater.
(B) Waste water
Spent fluids due to additional drilling.
Equipment washing.
Media and Chemicals used for pH adjustment.
(C) Atmospheric emission
Hydrogen sulphide production.
(D) Solid wastes
Bacteria in filter solids.
 

 TITAN INC.-Changing the skin surface of 

microbes to induce a unique oleophilic
activity which dislodges and breakdown oil
droplets and create natural emulsion.

 New project at Daquing field in CHINA to

change the structure of polymers to
strengthen their ability to break down the
long carbon chains of high density crude
oil.
 

 TERI,Delhi and ONGC,Gujarat – 

Development of Thermophilic paraffin
degrading strain consortium S 2 for
prevention of paraffin deposition inside the
oil well tubing.
 

 MEOR is direct application of 

Biotechnology.Use of Genetic engineering
and Recombinant DNA technology to
develop the strains of bacteria with oil
recovery traits and susceptibility to adverse
conditions.

 Recombinant strain of Bacillus  mojavensis  

 JF-2,RrB-2 having high efficiency.
 

 To Develop the strains of Bacteria which are

better able to survive harsh conditions in oil
well but still retain the ability to carry out
the chemistry needed for MEOR.

 To develop the microorganism that can not

only live in high temperature of an oil well
but also subsist on inexpensive
nutrients,remain chemically active.
 

 To develop the Bacteria that can be grown

on inexpensive agricultural waste materials
which is abundant in supply and is
environmentally friendly.
 

 MEOR reduces or eliminates the need to use

the harsh chemicals during oilwell
 drilling.MEOR will become increasingly
economically feasible as genetic
engineering develops.

 Methods for developing and growing MEOR

bacteria are improving, lowering the
production cost making it more attractive
alternative to traditional chemical methods.
 

 Belyaev S.S,Borzenkov I.A,Ibatullin T.N, May

17,2004 Use of microorganisms in
Biotechnology for enhancement of oil
recovery,Microbiology,vol 73(5):pg 590-598
  Jang L.K, Yen T.F. 1990 ,Mechanism of 
MEOR In MEOR Principle and practice :pg
158-163
 Microbial enhanced oil recovery,retrieved
May 5,2002 from Environmenta l
Biotechnologies inc.www.e-b-
t.com/meor.htm
 www.abc.edu/chyn/lect/lect-11 htm
 http//findarticals.com/p/articals/mi_m315
9
 

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