C.F. Smith, Dowell Division of the Dow Chemical Company
The negative effects of microbial activity in oil production are well-known to the petroleum engineer. Formation plugging problems or corrosion problems, especially in waterfloods, are undesirable characteristics of microbial metabolism which have been the subject of considerable expense to the industry. On the other hand, microbial activity has potential for enhanced oil recovery. The use of microbial agents to improve oil recovery is not a new idea. It has long been noted that certain microbes are capable of attacking complex hydrocarbons and producing less complex molecules.6-x Bacterial strains have been shown to produce light hydrocarbons from crude while others can produce carbon dioxide as a part of their metabolic activity. More recent developments have shown that biopolymers capable of being used as viscosifiers may be produced by a fermentation process.