Developments in in-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery in Shengli oilfield

ABSTRACT

In-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is of high industrial importance during a period of low oil prices. However, in-situ MEOR is still not widely expanded due to the lack of sufficient data. This paper summarizes and analyzes the progress of in-situ MEOR in the Shengli oilfield. There are a variety of endogenous microorganisms in Shengli oil reservoirs. We assess the reservoir characteristics, activators, microbial community structure, and the correlation between predominant microorganisms and oil recovery increment in field trials of in-situ MEOR. The mechanisms of in-situ MEOR are acknowledged through field trials tests, long core flood experiments, and a visual microscopic seepage model. In-situ MEOR is shown to be an effective method for enhanced oil recovery. Future studies are needed to optimize the activator formula and control the combined effect of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms.

KEYWORDS:

• In-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery
• reservoir microorganisms
• field trials
• bioproducts
• reservoir screening criteria

Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Natural Science Fund(Grant No.2019D01A105).

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work. There is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Natural Science Fund [2019D01A105].